For the Tar Heels, the importance of tonight’s game extends far beyond the Carolina-Duke rivalry. It’s about more than getting a ‘W’ and improving in the ACC standings. For the defending national champions, the last few weeks have been nothing short of disastrous. For that reason, tonight is about redemption, and returning pride to a university that has historically boasted some of the finest basketball players in the world.
“Everybody knows the situation here. Nobody is ignorant,” sophomore guard Larry Drew II said. “Everybody’s aware of what’s going on and the magnitude of the situation. Nobody is going to quit—we just got to work harder.”
Even though many predicted that the Tar Heels (13-10, 2-6 in the ACC) would struggle with the departures of Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, their season still began with promise, including a big win at home against then-No. 9 Michigan State in a rematch of last year’s national championship game. However, that win against the Spartans has turned out to be one of few impressive wins thus far. Come conference play, North Carolina fell apart, dropping six of its last seven games—good for 10th place in the ACC.
“Twenty-one years as head coach, and I’ve never been in this spot,” head coach Roy Williams said. “But someway, somehow I’ve got to help these kids get out of it. Being 2-6 is not comfortable. It’s just not good.”
However, the Tar Heels’ record may not do their talent justice. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski would be the first to say that the Tar Heels have a lot of raw talent in a young squad that has yet to fully develop and mature. That fact, combined with the do-or-die mentality with which they view this game, could prove dangerous to the Blue Devils tonight. After all, this game could put North Carolina back on the map, and even spark a late-season run to the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve got a couple more ACC games left to go,” senior forward Deon Thompson said. “This could be a great opportunity for this team to rally around this game and definitely come together to win.”
The Tar Heels will need to utilize their big-man duo of Thompson and sophomore center Ed Davis if they hope to control the boards and score in the paint. These two lead their team in scoring and rebounding, combining for 28.3 points and 16.4 rebounds. Their ability to score and their physical style of play will surely give Duke’s frontcourt a tough time.
If there’s one thing the Duke-Georgetown contest exposed, it’s that talented big men, such as Davis, can dominate inside the paint against Blue Devils.
“They’re really athletic and strong underneath the basket,” Duke senior Brian Zoubek said of Thompson and Davis. “I think that if we don’t play smart, then they could really pose a problem to us.”
On the other end of the court, it is imperative for the Tar Heels to improve their perimeter defense. North Carolina has allowed its opponents to hit 32.9 percent of their 3-point attempts, placing them at second-to-last in the ACC. In their last game against Maryland, they allowed the Terrapins to hit a dozen 3-point shots off of 52.2 percent shooting from behind the arc. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, they’ll be up against the trio of Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singer that not only has the highest combined scoring average in the NCAA, but also can pose a serious threat from long range.
No matter how much the Tar Heels utilize their big men or improve their defense, they’ll always know that their home-court advantage favors them—the Blue Devils are simply not the same team on the road. If North Carolina manages to get a couple of easy buckets to start the game, as well as a few defensive stops, it just may frustrate Duke into making poor decisions on both ends of the court. It happened to Duke against Wisconsin, then against N.C.State and finally against Georgetown. And in a deafening arena filled with 21,750 Duke-loathing fans, who says the same couldn’t happen in Chapel Hill?
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