Duke’s Cooper Flagg will get his first taste of the Tobacco Road rivalry Saturday evening when the No. 2 Blue Devils welcome North Carolina to Durham, N.C.
Duke (18-2, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has pulled out seven- and 10-point wins, respectively, over Wake Forest and North Carolina State in its past two games. The run against in-state opponents will conclude when the Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4), who swept last year’s series, make the short trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Both teams are playing it cool in the lead-up to game day. Duke players and coach Jon Scheyer didn’t comment on their next opponent after beating the Wolfpack 74-64 on Monday. As for North Carolina coach Hubert Davis, an alum of the school, he stayed even-keeled.
“We’ll prepare, we’ll practice, and we’ll play with the same type of competitive enthusiasm that we played with (Tuesday against Pitt),” Davis said. “I think every game is the Super Bowl. Whether it’s a preseason game or just any time you get a chance to step out there on the floor, you should be ready to go.”
Davis was speaking after the Tar Heels dropped a 73-65 decision on the road to Pitt. They committed 14 turnovers and were outscored 16-6 on free throws, neutering North Carolina’s plus-10 advantage on the boards.
North Carolina needs more quality wins to bolster its NCAA Tournament case, and beating Duke easily would qualify as the Tar Heels’ second Quadrant 1 victory.
It’s a different story in Durham, where Duke has an argument as the best team in the nation. The Blue Devils beat the only team ahead of them in the AP Top 25 poll, Auburn, by six points at home on Dec. 4.
Duke has won 14 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation, and Flagg is just one reason why. The star freshman and presumptive No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA draft is averaging 19.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game — including 27.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists over his past five.
Flagg is hardly perfect. He revealed after the North Carolina State game that Scheyer told him he was being “very soft” in the first half.
“I felt like that led to most of our first-half troubles, just me being soft,” Flagg said. “It’s hard to initiate the offense if I’m not being strong with the ball. It’s not really a choice anymore. I have to be aggressive. What Coach has told me is that that’s going to create for everyone else.”
Flagg scored 23 of his 28 points vs. North Carolina State in the second half. He got to the foul line more after intermission and shot 10 of 11 there.
Kon Knueppel added 19 points and Sion James had 13 on Monday as Duke’s defense kicked in and held the Wolfpack to 27 points after halftime.
Duke ranks fifth in Division I in scoring defense (59.6 points per game), fifth in field-goal percentage defense (37.2) and, per KenPom.com, first in 2-point percentage allowed (41.0).
That could spell trouble for a North Carolina team that gets the majority of its offense inside the arc. Guards RJ Davis (17.6 ppg), Ian Jackson (14.7), Seth Trimble (12.3) and Elliot Cadeau (10.7) average double figures in scoring, but of the quartet, only Jackson (38.1 percent) shoots better than 30.3 percent from deep.
North Carolina won 93-84 at home and 84-79 at Duke last season. Duke swept the series the year before that, meaning Scheyer and Hubert Davis are 2-2 against one another.
The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 145-117.
–Field Level Media
