The Blue Devils take on the Tar Heels of North Carolina at 9 p.m. at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. Thursday night. Before every basketball game, we’ll break down a player on each team who could be the difference-maker in the upcoming contest.
Duke: guard Quinn Cook
Cook, a staple in the Blue Devil starting line up, came off the bench in Tuesday’s matchup against Georgia Tech. Still, Cook managed to make an impact in the game, scoring nine points and handing out two assists in 20 minutes of play. On Feb. 8 against Boston College, the junior shot 70 percent from the field, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. He finished with 26 points. Prior to the contest in Boston, and between the two games when Duke played Maryland, Cook struggled to find his offensive rhythm, having scored more than 10 points just once since Jan. 7 when he registered 13 in the first matchup against the Yellow Jackets. Cook will be looking to build on the momentum he's accumulated over the recent games and give his team a boost in Chapel Hill. In one of the most hostile environments Duke will face this season, it needs Cook to be able to run the offensive set effectively. If he can stay poised and score in double-digits, Cook will have a huge impact on the game.
North Carolina: forward Brice Johnson
The Tar Heels are the eighth-best rebounding team in the nation, averaging 41.1 per game. Johnson is one of the main contributors on the boards, averaging 6.4 per game. He had a team-high 11 rebounds in Monday's 81-75 win against Florida State, his best performance on the glass since grabbing 12 rebounds against Richmond on Nov. 23. The Blue Devils have had trouble rebounding this season, especially on the offensive end and against bigger teams. Johnson will attempt to swing the rebounding margin in North Carolina’s favor, while trying to run up the second-chance point statistics in the box score. Johnson’s scoring is also on the rise, as he has scored more than 10 points in his last five ACC contests, including a 14 point performance off the bench in 21 minutes against Florida State. With Johnson’s stock on the rise, he could be a player to watch, especially when the Blue Devils lock down on the Tar Heels’ other scorers.
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