The North Carolina Tar Heels showed the rest of the basketball world just how susceptible to losing the Duke Blue Devils are without Zion Williamson. The Heels exploded for a huge win at Cameron Indoor when the future No. 1 NBA draft pick blew out a shoe and tweaked his knee in the opening moments of UNC’s eventual 88-72 victory. The Heels have rattled off six straight wins to share the ACC lead heading into the final weekend of regular season play.
Duke Blue Devils at North Carolina Tar Heels
Date and Time: Saturday, March 9, 2019, 6 p.m. ET
Location: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC
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Duke at North Carolina TV Coverage: ESPN
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We all knew Williamson was the gem of Coach K’s recruiting class, and Duke has struggled without their big man. There was the loss to UNC when Zion was hurt in the first minute and a setback to Virginia Tech, giving the Dookies two losses in three games. They bounced back with a thrashing of Miami, but the Wake game might be the most disturbing. Playing as a 24.5-point favorite, Duke couldn’t put the Deacs away and survived a last second miss to win 71-70.
There might be an asterisk next to UNC for its win over Duke earlier this season. But the Heels probably had a good chance of beating a healthy Devils team. Believe it or not, the Heels have won 15 ACC games for the first time since the league expanded to an 18-game schedule, and there have been some quality squads in that time. And UNC can share the regular season title with a win and get the outright crown with a win and Virginia loss, so there is plenty at stake on top of the bragging rights that come with this heated rivalry.
Last Meeting
Luke Maye took advantage of Williamson’s absence and owned the paint, leading the Heels to a rather easy 88-72 win when the teams met in Durham a little over two weeks ago. Maye went for 30 points on 14 of 24 shooting and grabbed 15 boards as Duke had no answer when their big man went on the shelf. The loss of Zion early disrupted Duke’s flow and rotations, leaving them worrying about their teammate rather than concentrating on the task at hand.
“It was a shock for us. Obviously, we’re used to playing with him, so playing without him was very difficult. We missed him today,” Cam Reddish said. Reddish scored 27 points and RJ Barrett tallied 33, but the rest of the squad scored just 12 points combined. That’s not going to get it done and it didn’t in this one.
UNC got little from Coby White, which makes the outcome even more surprising. The team’s second-leading scorer, White finished with nine points, seven below his season average, and was just 3 of 14 from the field.
Injury Report
Williamson is progressing from his knee injury, but he won’t be in uniform on Saturday. Coach K said he’d “be surprised if he wasn’t ready for the ACC tournament.” Still, it’s a void that’s hard to fill, especially with a roster that lacks depth. Without Williamson, Duke matched its number of losses over the first 25 games of the season in a three-game stretch, which included the setback to UNC. The Devils were also upset at Virginia Tech.
A few other Duke players are experiencing ailments. However, Tre Jones and Marques Bolden are expected to play. Some seldom-used players have seen additional minutes over the past few games with Alex O’Connell and Antonio Vrankovic getting a start against Wake. But there is no replacing what Williamson brings to the floor.
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Maye tore into the Dookies in the last meeting and he’s done that to just everybody. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him go off again. If the Devils concentrate on stopping him, White and Cameron Johnson can do damage, and White will be looking for personal redemption after struggling in the first meeting. Duke counters with its one-two punch of Barrett and Reddish, and they’ll get their points. However, they won’t score enough to take down the Heels, who bask in the glory of a season sweep over their rival.
College Basketball Score Prediction: North Carolina 80, Duke 75
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