Duke wrapped up the ACC regular season title with a win on Monday night. That means the Blue Devils have nothing to play for in their regular season finale. Fortunately, they’ll be playing UNC—so thy have everything to play for.
Duke and Carolina always bring out the best in each other, and if Duke needed any motivation other than light blue, it has it in the ending to the game in Chapel Hill last month. UNC came back from 13 points down to take its first lead with 0.4 seconds left. The fans then stormed the court twice in the time remaining. With 40 minutes on the clock in the rematch in Cameron Indoor Stadium, that means we could see 6,000 court storming.
Since trailing at the end in Chapel Hill, Duke hasn’t trailed much in ACC play, and, coming down the stretch, the Blue Devils’ numbers have been downright ridiculous.
Since halftime against Clemson on Valentine’s Day, which saw Duke leading by five, the Blue Devils have played 180 minutes of basketball against ACC opponents. They’ve led by double figures for 147:32 of that time. They’ve led by 20 for more than 77 minutes, by 30 for more than a half hour. Duke has led by 40 points or more for longer than they’ve trailed—10:38 compared to 6:59.
In between those ACC routs, the Blue Devils took out No. 1 Michigan in a non-conference showdown to take over the top spot in the poll.
“I don’t know if it was a turning point,” coach Jon Scheyer said of the UNC game. “I think it’s just another reference point, step in the season. Any loss gives us the opportunity to look a bit differently at games. I certainly did as a coach—what can I do better for these guys? I’m sure these guys looked each other in the mirror.”
The latest win, a 29-point drubbing of NC State, left Wolfpack coach Will Wade marveling over the Duke experience. “We’ve got a long way to go to catch Duke right now,” he said. “They’re as good a team as I’ve played against. I’m not just talking about talent—the whole way they operated. They’re ruthlessly efficient. … These guys are in a little different weight class than us right now.”
When UNC tipped the scales against Duke, the Tar Heels certainly showed they were in the same class, sending the Blue Devils to their second loss of the season. Regardless of what happens on Saturday night, Carolina will be the only ACC team to defeat Duke in the regular season.
However, the Heels did that with a major contribution from freshman Caleb Wilson, who carried the team through the first half, keeping UNC from getting blown out early. However, Wilson has played 26 minutes since then. He suffered a hand injury in his next game and has been out ever since, heading into a Tuesday night game against Clemson.
The Heels have held up without him, going 4-2, including an impressive win over Louisville.
Following a weekend win over Virginia Tech, coach Hubert Davis gave an update on Wilson’s status.
“He doesn’t have his cast on anymore,” he said. “He can’t do anything five-on-five, but he can do individual workouts, and he can dribble, shoot. He can do everything, just nothing on contact. So that’s a huge benefit for us. He’s out of the cast and being able to work out. Moving in the right direction. He worked out the day before the game and was dribbling, shooting, catching, like normal.”
There were reports that he would be ready to return by the Duke game. However, with the regular season wrapped up for the Blue Devils, and the Clemson game going a long way toward determining if UNC gets a double bye in the ACC Tournament, there’s a chance Carolina will give him an extra few days of rest to have him ready for the postseason.
Beating Duke at Cameron with Wilson would be an accomplishment. Without him, it becomes a gargantuan task.
And the last thing the rest of college basketball might need is Duke responding to another loss.
“When you lose, I think you can splinter,” Scheyer said. “It’s very easy to do. We’ve chosen the two losses we’ve had to become more connected, to really attack the areas where we can grow & stick together. I think that’s what it’s all about.”
