This was supposed to be the big one. High stakes poker, all the chips in the center. ACC regular season title. Top-seed in the ACC tournament. NCAA No. 1 seed on the line. Everything to play for in the last regular season game of the 2000-2001 season. The first time these two would meet to fight for those titles in three years.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Duke lost, at home, on senior day, to a team that had recently been beat by lowly Florida State.
After the loss to Maryland, there will be no high stakes or fuzzy numbers to be decided this Sunday, when No. 2 Duke takes on No. 4 North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels clinched the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament and at least a share on the ACC regular season title and if they emerge victorious Sunday, they would almost certainly have a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed in the bag.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils cannot fall below No. 2 in the ACC and are definitely playing N.C. State in the opening round of the ACC tournament.
Yet this is still Duke versus North Carolina-the fiercest rivalry in sports, and no matter how each team's season goes, there is still a lot on the line. Pride. Victory. For Duke, revenge after an 85-83 loss earlier this season on their home court.
"We have nothing to lose right now," Shane Battier said. "So we're going to go into their house and
Although they may have nothing to lose, the Blue Devils do have a lot of questions which need to be answered, beginning simply with their starting lineup. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has yet to officially announce if he will go with sixth-man Chris Duhon or back-up center Casey Sanders to replace Boozer; Sanders, however, is listed as the probable starter for the game.
Sanders also bring a few question marks if he makes his first career start this Sunday. His 6-foot-11, 218 pounds frame has been pushed around easily at times this year. He also showed he is extremely prone to foul trouble, racking up four fouls in as many minutes against Maryland, so a loosely-called game will favor the Blue Devils. His hands are also suspect and his 2.3 points per game are a far cry from Boozer's 14.5 ppg. He has also never been in a situation where he has had to play 20 minutes at the collegiate level.
On the other hand, Sanders' height and incredibly long wing-span will keep North Carolina seven-footer Brendan Haywood from being able to simply shoot over him. And fortunately for the Blue Devils, Sanders has been playing the best ball in his career over the last few games.
"I think I can do everything I need to do to the best of my ability," Sanders said. "That's the only thing I'm willing to promise right now that I will go out there and help this team as best I can. That's the only mind set I can have right now."
If Krzyzewski starts Duhon, he will have to put Battier on Haywood which already leaves the Blue Devils four inches and 48 pounds lacking at the center position. Battier will probably be easily pushed around so his teammates will have to shoot lights out because they may only get one shot each trip.
"That's just basketball," Battier said "Carlos is out, so other people are going to have to step it up."
Meanwhile, it is also North Carolina's senior day, but this is a no-holds-barred game, and as Tar Heels learned against Clemson and Virginia, they can be very susceptible to upsets. Nobody gave Maryland a shot to beat Duke on senior day, and without Boozer, the Blue Devils are just as big underdogs this weekend. But there is nothing the seniors would like more than to beat North Carolina in its last regular season game. It just gets a lot harder without Boozer.
"We're not going to lay down and die just because we don't have Carlos Boozer," Nate James said. "We have to go out there and see what we're made of. We're a real good basketball team but we've had a lot of ups and downs this year. We have to regroup, get over the funk that we're in and go out there to win. Not just go out there to play and give a good show. We're a man down but we're still thinking of winning."
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