Chapter 1: What makes the Duke vs. Carolina rivalry so intense?
all right blue devil fans it's carolina week actually it's been carolina week for a couple days but we couldn't really focus on it until the game with boston college was done but we are here to focus on it now i am jason evans this is dbr bites episode 141 donald wine is with me because neither one of us would dare to miss the preview of a carolina game am i right donald
We made sure that we both were present for this one because it's the one that we've all been waiting for. Of course, we're going to have a second one in a couple ā in a few weeks. But this is the start of what is going to be an intense, hopefully two months of basketball from Duke. And it starts with us going down 8.14 miles or whatever it is down to that ā
as one of our headlines came in, our preheated oven that is Chapel Hill. We go there Saturday, and Jason, I'm really looking forward to this one. So I want you to tell everyone, Donald was on the conference call with all the ACC basketball coaches earlier this week. It was Monday.
Chapter 2: How has UNC performed this season against tough opponents?
That's the day they do the conference call. And you asked John Shire about this game. What did John Shire say when you asked him about the Carolina game? So, again, this was before the Boston College game, and he said... Nothing. He said he was focused. He said, shut up, Donald. He said, I'm focused.
Chapter 3: What are the strengths and weaknesses of UNC's roster?
Well, first of all, he said, you know me, Donald. I'm focused on this game against Boston College. I knew that was going to be his answer, but you kind of have to ask. You only get one chance a week to kind of talk with these guys. But again, this team was focused. You heard Cam Boozer after the game on Tuesday night say, that they weren't worried about UNC until after the Boston College game.
They asked him, are you ready for this game?
Chapter 4: Who are the key players to watch in the Duke vs. Carolina game?
And he goes, I haven't thought about it yet because Boston College was the center focus. Now we can shift the center focus, Jason, to the Tar Heels. Yes, exactly. And as we always do on our previews, job number one, Falls to you, sir. Tell me who UNC has played. Tell me how they have done against that schedule. Give me the whole rundown of what the Tar Heels season has been like so far.
So UNC is 18-4 on the season. They're 6-3. They're tied for fifth in the ACC.
Chapter 5: What strategies should Duke employ to attack UNC's defense?
And Jason, when you look at this team, they've had a very strong schedule, similar to Duke. They have top 100 wins against Kansas, Kentucky, Georgetown, Ohio State. Florida State, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, UVA, and Syracuse. Their only losses, they have four losses, all against teams that we have seen, Michigan State, SMU, and then they went to California the same time we did.
We went 2-0 on that trip. They went 0-2 against Stanford and Cal. Jason, I think the one thing that's interesting about this schedule, and this happens quite a bit with Duke and UNC, we have a lot of common opponents. There's eight teams that we have played that UNC has also played. They are 4-4 against those teams.
Chapter 6: How do Duke and UNC compare in terms of rebounding and physical play?
They've beaten Kansas, as I mentioned. They beat FSU. They beat Wake Forest. And they beat Georgia Tech with their four losses that I mentioned are also against teams that we've played. We, of course, are 8-0 against those teams. So if you want to take those little things and kind of extrapolate it to something bigger, you can. But as we always say, throw everything I just said out the window.
This is Duke UNC.
Chapter 7: What role do bench players play in the upcoming matchup?
The breakfasts don't matter. Yeah, so regarding their schedule, a year ago, the book on Carolina, despite the fact that they made the NCAA tournament, was that they couldn't beat good teams. They did fine when they played the bad teams, but they couldn't beat the good teams. Well, this year, in quad one games, every single quad one game is a good team. Quad one games, Carolina's four and three.
You mentioned some of the teams they've beaten. It's not quite the murderer's row that Duke faced, but it's close. And Carolina has some very, very impressive wins against that schedule so far. Well, you could also, you know, you mentioned last year when they, you know, kind of had a backroom deal or everyone to call it to get into the NCAA tournament.
Chapter 8: What are the final predictions for the Duke vs. Carolina game?
There were one in 13 against quad one teams last year. So this is still a big improvement. They haven't played as many yet. And I sure I think, you know, between two Duke games and a couple other games that they may see, they're going to get more opportunities. Yeah. They got a half dozen or so left, yeah. Yeah, but this is the market difference. You think about that Kansas game.
That Kansas game that they played where they beat Kansas at home was like the second game of the year. So they started out early. They had a couple of hiccups. Again, that California trip being the biggest one. But they've consistently played well against some of these good teams, and it makes it where this game feels like it's a little bit more of a 50-50 toss-up, at least to neutral fans.
For us, of course, we're going to talk about why we think we can beat UNC. But they have performed well in these bigger moments. And sure enough, even with the slip-ups, they're against teams that we expect to see down the line as well. Yeah, I just looked at the Carolina schedule. Five of their next six games are quad one games.
Now, it depends a little bit on Syracuse is right on the cusp of being either a quad one or a quad two game. But they've got us at home. They go to Miami. They go to NC State. They go to Syracuse. They've got Louisville at home. They've got Clemson at home. They have a tough, tough game. scheduled down the stretch. They're playing most of the best ACC teams.
I want to mention one thing, Donald, before I get into all the metrics, which is that according to ESPN, this is the 88th time that Duke and UNC have faced each other as ranked teams, where both teams are ranked. The 88th time. Just for perspective, That is 47 more ranked matchups than any other two teams in all of college basketball. Double, double.
It is outrageous the history that these two teams have playing each other and being really, really damn good when they play each other. With that said, let me get into the metrics because before I even get into like all the stuff about where they are on the season, I want to break things down a little bit for Carolina. So they're currently 28th in Ken Palm, 29th in Bart Torvik.
But they're playing a lot better recently. That's what I want to break down. They had that ā Donald, you remember that disastrous trip to the West Coast. Same trip where Duke got really healthy and Duke played really, really well, sort of launching us back up where we feel like we belong among the top couple few teams in the country.
Carolina had a terrible trip to the West Coast where they lost to both Stanford and Cal. They looked lost, especially on defense. They got 95 points to Stanford, 84 points to Cal. Stanford and Cal are decent teams, but ā 90 points to each one. I mean, like, that's not good.
Since then, though, they've played four games, and it feels like the Heels have righted the ship over their past four games. Bart Torvik says they've been the number 12 team in the land. Again, you look at it and you go, oh, they're like barely top 30. Over their past four games, Carolina has been virtually a top 10 team.
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