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N. 7 Duke (16-4 SU, 10-10 ATS, 7-2 ACC) faces No. 3 North Carolina (17-4 SU, 12-8-1 ATS, 9-1 ACC) from Chapel Hill and the Dean Smith Center at 6:30pmET on Saturday in one of the greatest rivalries in sports.
These teams met twice last season with the Blue Devils winning both games and covering both.
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Duke (12th KenPom) has won three straight games over Louisville on the road (83-69), Clemson at home (72-71) and Virginia Tech (77-67) on the road as a 4-point favorite. This came after a stunning 80-76 defeat at home against Pittsburgh as a 12.5-point favorite on Jan. 20. They've now won 11 of their last 12 games, which is strong considering they've dealt with some key injuries. Those players are now back and the Blue Devils were very efficient in their last game, which was the 10-point road win over the Hokies on Monday. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points, while big man Kyle Filipowski added 14 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. Duke shot a sizzling 55% from the field and 53% (9-of-17) from long range. They committed 15 turnovers, and forced just four. But the Hokies shot just 27% (6-of-22) from long range and Duke outrebounded them 38-20.
Top plays from the win at VT pic.twitter.com/hGZGxyDx9W
— Duke Men's Basketball (@DukeMBB) January 30, 2024
This is a good team, but not a Duke squad loaded with superstars, who are going to be certain lottery picks. They are also just 17th in the latest NCAA Net Rankings, which would place them around 4th seed in the NCAA Tournament. That probably won't happen barring a collapse and a win at North Carolina would move them way up in all the important metrics.
Filipowski (7-0, 248) leads the Blue Devils with 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds with 1.9 blocks, while shooting 50.4% from the field and 37.3% from long range. Roach adds 13.9 points and 3.1 assists on 47.5% shooting and 47.6% from beyond the arc. Duke averages 81 points per game and 48.2% shooting (29th) with 38.7% from long range. They allow 67.2 points per game and 43.3% shooting (33.7 % 3pt).
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