Duke @ North Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) North Carolina 88, Duke 72

Although the Tobacco Road rivalry between No. 4 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina rarely lacks for intrigue and importance, the next installment will be the first time since February of 2008 that both teams meet while ranked inside the top five. The stakes of Saturday's showdown are even more appealing as the host Tar Heels currently sit in a tie atop the ACC standings with Virginia, while the Blue Devils lurk one game back.

North Carolina will be looking to sweep the regular-season series from Duke after taking the first meeting 88-72 just two weeks ago where Luke Maye went off with 30 points and 15 rebounds. That was also the game when Blue Devils star freshman Zion Williamson blew out his shoe on the first possession and sprained his knee. Williamson, a likely lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, hasn’t played since and isn’t expected to suit up on Saturday, although the Tar Heels will be prepared if he does make his return. “We’re still preparing like Zion is going to play,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams told reporters on Thursday. “At the same time, they’re going to make the decision, we have no say over it, so why worry about that part of it? We’re going to try to prepare to play Duke University and whoever has that uniform on, we’re going to give a scouting report.”

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT DUKE (26-4, 14-3 ACC): The Blue Devils are 3-1 without Williamson in the lineup, although they were fortunate to pull off a 71-70 win over Wake Forest on Tuesday where Chaundee Brown’s game-winning attempt rimmed out at the buzzer. Duke was a 26-point favorite but trailed by 10 with 16 minutes remaining before rallying for the win, mostly because of RJ Barrett’s 28 points as the ACC scoring leader carried the team offensively. Tre Jones added 13 points but also had to leave the game for a few minutes after banging knees with a Wake Forest player, while Cam Reddish had one of his worst games of the season, missing his first six shots while being called for charging three times.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (25-5, 15-2): The Tar Heels are one of the hottest teams in the country and are on a six-game winning streak, with its most recent victory coming at Boston College on Tuesday. Senior guard Cameron Johnson led the team in scoring against the Eagles with 22 points while adding a season-high 12 rebounds as the Tar Heels were able to jump out to a 48-25 lead at the break. North Carolina, the nation’s No. 2 team in rebounding margin at plus-10.2, pummeled the Eagles 60-35 on the boards.

TIP-INS

1. North Carolina leads the all-time series 138-111, including a 62-36 mark at home. The Tar Heels are on a two-game winning streak in the series.

2. This is the first time in school history that the Tar Heels have reached 15 ACC wins.

3. Barrett is 24 points away from breaking the ACC freshman scoring record which is currently held by Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson (721 points in 1989-90).

PREDICTION: North Carolina 82, Duke 74