North Carolina @ Duke preview

North Carolina at Duke

Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2020 ) North Carolina 76, Duke 89

The strange college basketball season for North Carolina and Duke is bound to seem even weirder Saturday night.

The teams collide for the first time this season, but the usual fanfare will not be part of the scene at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Fans will not be on hand because of COVID-19 restrictions on Duke's campus.

Then there is this: Neither team is ranked, making it the first North Carolina-Duke game since February of 1960 with both teams out of the national ratings.

"Yes, the Duke game is a huge game and yes, it'll always be a huge game," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "Neither one of us have had that success so far that we would like to have."

Both teams finally seemed to be generating momentum last week. Then on Monday, Duke dropped a decision at Miami and one night later, North Carolina stumbled at Clemson.

Per usual, the teams are together in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings -- just not near the top this time. North Carolina (11-6, 6-4) is in fifth place and Duke (7-6, 5-4) is tied for sixth.

Yet there is hype nonetheless.

"This is a game everyone's excited for," Duke's DJ Steward said. "Everyone's going to be watching around the world."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski noted the benefit of a familiar rivalry for fans to watch during the uncertainty of a pandemic. But Williams said it is hard to imagine going to Duke in such a subdued environment.

"I think that you're always going to have the big-game attitude and the spectacle and the pageantry around it," Williams said. "That is taken away with no fans in the stands."

On the court, the Tar Heels saw a three-game winning streak snapped this week.

"All of a sudden, we turn around and go south immediately against Clemson," Williams said.

Part of that came with Tar Heels scoring leader Armando Bacot held to a single point against the Tigers. He has averaged 11.9 points per game.

Duke is led in scoring by forward Matthew Hurt, who has scored at least 12 points in every game this season. He's second in the ACC with 18.9 points per game.

"We have to really play hard to win and if we don't play hard, we're going to lose," Krzyzewski said. "If we play hard, we still might lose."

Duke ended the 2019-20 season by defeating North Carolina at home. A lot has changed since that gathering last March. The Tar Heels might sense opportunity on this short trip.

"They're going to come out and try to punch us, punk us around," Steward said. "We just can't allow that."

--Field Level Media