There's an electricity in the air. The tenters are out in full force. Journalists from near and far have invaded the Duke campus. Opposing players are exchanging barbs. It can only mean one thing-the most divisive rivalry in all of college sports is ready to resume.
More than three months into the college basketball season, one month after brave students first pitched tents in Krzyzewskiville, and only five days after Duke barely survived its overtime contest against Maryland, the No. 2 Blue Devils (19-1, 7-0 in the ACC) take the court tonight at 9 p.m. against their archrivals from eight miles down the road, No. 4 North Carolina (17-2, 7-0).
And the stakes could not be any higher. National respect, a hold on first place in the ACC and, of course, bragging rights are all at stake when Duke and UNC meet.
"Hey, this is North Carolina. This is why you come here," senior forward Shane Battier said. "This being my last time around, I'm trying to savor every moment of it. It's special. I'll never be part of something like this again, no matter where I play."
The attention surrounding the game is nearly overwhelming. Not since 1998, when Duke and North Carolina entered their first contest ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the nation, respectively, has the matchup been met with such fanfare. In fact, as many as 30 journalists showed up for yesterday's press conference and many more are expected for the game itself.
As always, students have gone to great lengths to be a part of the action as well. Needless to say, the members of the Duke team are quite
"I don't think people come in here after camping out for weeks to be quiet," Battier said. "They earn their right to come and see this game by camping out, and it's an unbelievable atmosphere an hour-and-a-half before the game."
However, all members of the Duke team will readily admit that a hostile environment will not be enough to impede a North Carolina basketball team that has surprised its naysayers after an inauspicious start to its season. Following back-to-back losses to Michigan State and Kentucky, the Tar Heels have stampeded their competition over the past two months, winning 14 straight games and improving with nearly every contest.
While some credit this success to changes enacted by first-year coach Matt Doherty, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski believes this Tar Heel team is actually quite similar to many others.
"They still win. I think they play together, they did that under Bill [Guthridge] and certainly they did it for over 30 years [under Dean Smith]," Krzyzewski said. "I think they have a history of playing hard and of playing very smart basketball within their system. I think Matt has his own system, with some similarities, but the main similarity is that they win and that they play together."
Cohesion and ultimately victory start at the point guard position. However, the largest problem facing North Carolina at the beginning of the season, its lack of an experienced point guard, has seemingly been alleviated by the emergence of junior Ronald Curry. Curry has sparked the Tar Heels with steady play and solid defense since rejoining the squad after finishing up his football season as UNC's quarterback.
North Carolina has also benefited from the dominant play of its leading scorer, Joseph Forte, who averages a whopping 20.7 points per game and an impressive 5.3 rebounds from the off-guard position. And Forte's presence is even more vital during key moments of a contest, as the Tar Heels almost always give the ball to their silky-smooth sophomore in the clutch.
Therefore, the key for the Blue Devils will be denying the ball to Forte, who is adept at creating his own shot as well as at shooting off the pass.
"Joe is the type of player that gets the ball passed to him easily a lot," Duke guard Jason Williams said. "We have to try and play the passing lanes and try to keep him from the getting the ball so much."
However, stopping Forte is not the only concern Duke faces. North Carolina's experienced frontcourt tandem of Brendan Haywood and Kris Lang account for nearly one-third of the Tar Heels' points and 40 percent of their rebounds. In addition, the two big men have been effective at drawing fouls on their opponents, which could signal doom for a thin Blue Devil team. Nonetheless, Boozer and his cohorts are confident that they are ready for whatever the Tar Heels throw at them.
"If they go big, we'll use our quickness," Boozer said. "And if they go small, we'll use our power. However they match up against us, we'll adjust to it."
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