Duke basketball looks to rebound against UNC on Senior Night

Two weeks ago, Duke went ice cold down the stretch and suffered a frustrating road loss to an unranked in-state rival before returning home to take down a ranked foe days later.

After allowing a 17-0 run in the final six minutes of the game to Wake Forest in a head-scratching upset loss, the Blue Devils hope that history will repeat itself when they host their arch rival.

North Carolina was the unranked team that surprised Duke three weeks ago—now winners of 12 consecutive games, the 14th-ranked Tar Heels are one of the hottest teams in the ACC. The No. 4 Blue Devils will host North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 9 p.m.

To finish off the regular season with a win on Senior Night, Duke (23-7, 12-5 in the ACC) must improve upon what senior captain Josh Hairston said was his team's "worst loss of the season."

"We as a group know that we didn't show up ready to play. That's just disrespectful to the game," he said. "It was disrespectful to the jersey and the University, our fans—everybody."

Surrendering a 17-0 run down the stretch to the Demon Deacons, Duke registered just two field goals in the final 5:44 of the loss. Redshirt sophomore captain Rodney Hood said that his team did not even watch tape of its loss to Wake Forest—instead the Blue Devils turned directly to footage from their loss to the Tar Heels Feb. 20, when they hit a similar cold streak late in the second half.

To knock off a North Carolina (23-7, 13-4) squad that is playing its best basketball of the year, the Blue Devils cannot afford to replicate a rough patch of shooting. Duke is shooting a meager 27.2 percent from 3-point range in its last four games after a 6-for-27 performance against Wake Forest.

"For the most part, we're getting the shots that we want," senior guard Tyler Thornton said. "Hopefully we start knocking them down."

One of the keys for the Blue Devils will be stopping North Carolina point guard Marcus Paige. The sophomore has been on a tear as of late and has asserted himself as one of the top playmakers in the country.

Although Paige made the key play down the stretch for the Tar Heels to seal their victory, it was Duke's interior defense that was its Achilles heel throughout the contest. The Blue Devils allowed the sizable North Carolina front line of James Michael McAdoo, Brice Johnson and J.P. Tokoto to control the inside and lead their team to a 43-30 advantage on the glass.

"We have to protect the basket. It's simple as that. They're a team that scores in the paint, other than Paige and [Leslie] McDonald," Hood said. "We had the game in our hands, and if we don't protect the paint... we're going to be in a position to lose, and we know that."

Tobacco Road rivalry aside, Saturday's showdown marks the final home game for senior captains Hairston and Thornton as well as graduate students Andre Dawkins and Todd Zafirovski. It could also be the final performance in Cameron Indoor Stadium for Hood and freshman Jabari Parker, both of whom are expected to make the leap to the NBA next season.

At their respective press conferences Thursday, both Hairston and Thornton were asked about their favorite memories from their four years with the Blue Devils, and both included the same game in their response: Feb. 9, 2011, when Nolan Smith and Seth Curry led Duke back from a 14-point halftime deficit to top the Tar Heels 79-73 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"We still have a lot more that we're going to accomplish this season. This is just the end of one road, and we're going on to another." —Josh Hairston

Both senior captains agreed that a win against North Carolina would be the perfect way to cap off their collegiate careers.

Senior Night will mark the final home game of the regular season, but the Blue Devil seniors indicated that they still have unfinished business to take care of. Once the book is closed on another chapter of the Tobacco Road rivalry, Duke will begin its preparation for postseason play in pursuit of a fifth national championship.

"It's also exciting knowing that this isn't it," Hairston said. "We still have a lot more that we're going to accomplish this season. This is just the end of one road, and we're going on to another."