Duke Will Take This Chapter Of North Carolina Rivalry
North Carolina vs. Duke, 6:30 ET
North Carolina vs. Duke, 6:30 ET
We get excited by a lot of games as sports fans, but there are some matchups that get our juices flowing a bit more than others, right? I mean, even if the teams are bad, we still get excited to see the Red Sox play the Yankees, the Packers playing the Bears, or the Lakers taking on the Celtics. Those are all matchups the players know are more important and so do the fans. Today we get one of the best rivalries in all of college sports as North Carolina takes on Duke for the first time this season.
North Carolina has been a bit all over the map this season, starting the season ranked, but they aren't at the moment. They are just 13-9 for the year, which has them in jeopardy of even making the NCAA Tournament if they keep up their losing. They are just 13-9 for the season, but they have a decent enough 6-4 conference record. The Tar Heels didn't start their year great, losing to Kansas in the second game, but that was on the road and they put up a good fight, falling by just three points. Then for the Thanksgiving tournament, they dropped three straight to Auburn, Michigan State, and Alabama. All three of those teams are very talented. Their next loss came against Florida, again on a neutral court where they dropped the game by six points. Once their ACC games started they fell against Louisville on the road and then have lost at Wake Forest and Pittsburgh. The other loss came on their home floor against Stanford, but they dropped that by just one point. Still, probably not a game that they should've lost. Their only win in the past four games was against Boston College and they needed overtime to get that done.

Dec 14, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels bench reacts in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Duke has been very good lately and really seemed to have found their groove. Duke is currently sitting at 18-2 for the season and is in the midst of a 14-game winning streak. Their losses both came in the early part of the season where they fell to Kentucky and Kansas, both games on a neutral court. I'm not quite sure the result would be exactly the same if those teams played again. Kentucky is good and so is Kansas, but it is possible that the early season losses were the Duke players trying to figure it out. I'm not saying this team deserves to be undefeated or anything, but they are really good. The team is led by Cooper Flagg who seems to have found his scoring stroke, finding himself leading the team in scoring in seven of the past eight games. I wouldn't say that their wins this season have been overly impressive though. They were able to beat Auburn at home, and Arizona on the road, but outside of that, I don't see many great teams that they've taken down.
This is the first taste of the North Carolina vs. Duke rivalry for the Duke freshman, but they've been firing on all cylinders. The Tar Heels aren't a great team and I think the Blue Devils should have a significant edge in this one. The Tar Heels haven't shown much lately and have also struggled on the road. With Duke at home, I think they cover the number here.
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