DURHAM — The North Carolina basketball team will get junior forward Theo Pinson back for tonight’s rivalry game against Duke. But the Tar Heels will still be shorthanded when they take on the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Starting forward Isaiah Hicks will miss the game because of a strained left hamstring, suffered at practice on Wednesday. According to a UNC spokesperson, Hicks came down wrong on a dunk attempt during a fastbreak drill. He is listed as day-to-day. Hicks, a 6-foot-9, 242-pound senior, is averaging 12,8 points and 5.8 rebounds in just over 24 minutes per game this season. His absence will take away a large piece of the Tar Heels’ size advantage inside against the smaller Blue Devils.Sophomore forward Luke Maye will start in Hicks’ place.Pinson, meanwhile, returns from a three-game absence caused by an injury to his right ankle in a win against Virginia Tech on Jan. 26. He also missed the first 16 games of the season recovering from surgery to repair a broken bone in the same right foot.He is averaging 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the six games he’s played, all UNC wins.
