No. 2 Duke men's basketball sweeps rivalry series in road win over UNC
🏆 No. 2 Duke sweeps rivalry series in road win
No. 2 Duke completed its rivalry series sweep against North Carolina, winning 82-69 after a dominant second-half performance.
The win stamps the Blue Devils (28-3, 19-1 ACC) as the outright ACC regular season champions and likely solidifies their chances at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Knueppel, who dropped 22 points in the first meeting, starred again in Chapel Hill with 17 points. Outside of Knueppel, Duke finished with four players scoring 15 or more points, including Flagg, who ended with 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
The Blue Devils rarely cooled off throughout the contest — symbolic of their current lopsided winning streak — shooting 56.4% from the field and 47.4% from three. They led by as much as 15 points in the first half, even with Flagg in foul trouble.
North Carolina (20-12, 13-7 ACC) caught fire with eight minutes left before the break, going on a 10-0 to cut the deficit to one point at halftime. Davis and the Tar Heels continued the hot streak in the second, overtaking the Blue Devils and leading by as much as seven points. Across Duke's seven-game win streak, where they've won by 32 points on average, this was arguably the Blue Devils' first test in weeks.
The tide turned back in Duke's favor from there, though, and stayed that way for the rest of the affair. They outscored UNC 33-13 after North Carolina took a seven-point lead. Davis, who scored 15 points in the first half and five in the early minutes of second half, went scoreless in the last 17 minutes of the contest.
The Tar Heels will look to the ACC tournament as an opportunity to help their case at a spot in March Madness.
😈 Blue Devils breaking away
Duke's Maliq Brown entered the contest with just two made three-pointers on the season.
With nearly three minutes left in the game, Brown has doubled his season total — the second of the game upping the Blue Devils' lead to 11. Duke leads 78-67 with 3:15 remaining.
They've made four of their last five field goals, while UNC has only hit six shots since the 17:43 mark.
👀 Duke back in front, leads 65-59
The Blue Devils have retaken the lead, going on a 12-0 run and making their last four field goals.
Following forward Maliq Brown's trailing two-handed slam, North Carolina called a timeout with 9:39 left in the game Duke leading 65-59. The Tar Heels have gone silent from the field, hitting just one of their last seven field goals and not scoring in the last three minutes. Davis hasn't scored since the 17:43 mark.
Just five points in the first half, Flagg already has six after the break.
Liq's so back... slam capped a 12-0 run 👿
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB)
🔥 UNC takes FIRST lead of the game
North Carolina didn't skip a beat after halftime, clicking on all cylinders and taking its first lead of the game, leading 52-47 at the 17:34 mark.
Following Proctor's three to start the second half, the Tar Heels went on a 10-2 run behind back-to-back threes by Davis and forward Jae'lyn Withers.
Duke called a timeout to try to stop the bleeding.
sheeesh 😤
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball)
🏀 Duke leads 43-42 at halftime
Duke and North Carolina are only separated by one point entering the break after major scoring runs from both teams.
The first 12 minutes of the contest looked like a recreation of the Tobacco Road Rivalry's first meeting this season, where the Blue Devils went on a 16-0 scoring run early and didn't look back. Even with Flagg in foul trouble, Knueppel and guards Tyrese Proctor and Sion James picked up the slack, carrying Duke to a lead as high as 15.
But in the last eight minutes, it was all North Carolina.
Spearheaded by Davis' 15 points and back-to-back baskets with less than three minutes left, the Tar Heels cut the Blue Devils' lead down to one point. Davis tried to send UNC into halftime on an even higher note with a contested step back three at the buzzer but missed.
Flagg played just nine minutes in the half due to his three fouls.
Here's a breakdown of how each team fared in the first half.
🫨 UNC goes on run, trails by 1
HERE COMES UNC.
Down by as much as 15 points, the Tar Heels have stormed back before halftime, going on a 10-0 run and cutting Duke's lead down to 1. The Blue Devils have turned it over three times in the last three minutes.
Guard RJ Davis, who leads North Carolina in points with 13, scored back-to-back highly contested baskets to make it a one-point. After Davis' double-clutch layup, Duke called a timeout to send Dean Smith Center into a frenzy.
RJ. DAVIS.
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb)
📺 x ESPN
😬 Duke catching fire, lead by 15
Duke walked into Dean Smith Center with the hot hand and haven't cooled off yet, holding a 15-point lead with less than eight minutes left in the first half. The Blue Devils look like they haven't skipped a beat from their matchup back in early February.
Leading 36-21, Duke has made 10 of its last 11 field goal attempts and is on a 12-2 run for more than three minutes. They are shooting 75% from the field on 12-of-16 shots.
They've scored 16 points since Flagg went to the bench.
👀👀👀 Rese (he's got 9 early)
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB)
👀 Blue Devils lead 24-17 early, Flagg sits with two fouls
The Blue Devils have found a rhythm from behind the arch early, knocking down four of five threes in the first eight minutes of play. Freshman forward Kon Knueppel leads the way with 10 points and two threes.
Freshman phenom Cooper Flagg picked up his second foul at the 12:53 mark and went to the bench.
The Tar Heels have forced five turnovers, which has translated to a two-minute scoring drought for Duke, but the Blue Devils are shooting 69% from the field.
Hot start from Kon 🔥
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB)
4-4 FG
2-2 3pt
10 PTS
🏀 Starting lineups
Below are the starting lineups for the Blue Devils and Tar Heels.
🔵⚪️ Duke
- Guard Tyrese Proctor
- Guard Kon Knueppel
- Guard Sion James
- Forward Cooper Flagg
- Center Khaman Maluach
🐐 North Carolina
- Guard Elliot Cadeau
- Guard RJ Davis*
- Forward Tyzhaun Claude*
- Forward Drake Powell
- Forward Jae'Lyn Withers*
*Celebrating Senior Night
The Blue Devils reported that forward Maliq Brown, who dislocated his left shoulder in Feburary, will be active for the rivalry game.
Duke's Maliq Brown (shoulder) is available for tonight's game against North Carolina, per a school spokesman.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein)
Has not played since 2/17.
Averages 2.5 PPG and 4.1 RPG.
A significant boost for the Blue Devils' defense.
🍿 10 minutes till tip-off
Round two of the Tobacco Road rivalry is almost here.
The in-state foes will match up for the 264th time, this go-around in the Dean Smith Center. No. 2 Duke and North Carolina's 2025 campaigns have traveled in completely different directions — their first contest on Feb. 1 where the Blue Devils won 87-70 showcased that.
However, the Tar Heels have put together a string of conference wins as of late, entering Saturday on a six-game winning streak. And with each contest becoming more and more important to their March Madness hopes, a win could solidify their postseason hopes even before conference tournament play.
Here's how ESPN's College Gameday Crew think the game will go:
"Duke wins. That's nothing new for me in this building."—Blue Devils alum 😯
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay)
The crew make their game picks for Saturday's matchups 👀
🔥 Latest bracket predictions
In Andy Katz's most recent March Madness men's bracket predictions, he has Duke as a No. 1 seed and North Carolina as a No. 11 seed. As we sit less than two weeks from Selection Sunday, this Saturday night matchup could certainly have ramifications on postseason placement come March 16.
Here are Katz's full predictions with region, seed and matchups. Duke and North Carolina are bolded below:
| SEED | SOUTH | West | East | midwest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | Tennessee | Duke | Houston |
| 16 | SEMO/Bucknell | Omaha | Southern/Quinnipiac | Bryant |
| 8 | Memphis | BYU | Vanderbilt | Gonzaga |
| 9 | Utah State | New Mexico | UConn | Creighton |
| 5 | Clemson | Louisville | Missouri | Maryland |
| 12 | Arkansas/Nebraska | UC San Diego | Yale | McNeese |
| 4 | Arizona | Texas A&M | Michigan | Kentucky |
| 13 | Chattanooga | Lipscomb | High Point | Akron |
| 6 | UCLA | Marquette | Oregon | Saint Mary's |
| 11 | VCU | Ohio State | Drake | San Diego State/North Carolina |
| 3 | St. John's | Purdue | Texas Tech | Wisconsin |
| 14 | Jacksonville State | Towson | Utah Valley | Northern Colorado |
| 7 | Mississippi State | Ole Miss | Illinois | Kansas |
| 10 | Baylor | Indiana | West Virginia | Georgia |
| 2 | Michigan State | Iowa State | Florida | Alabama |
| 15 | Central Connecticut | Norfolk State | Robert Morris | South Alabama |
First four out: Oklahoma, Xavier, Boise State, SMU
Next four out: Cincinnati, Wake Forest, Texas, UC Irvine
👉 Click or tap here for Katz's entire bracket predictions, including his entire field of 68 in order
📊 Season stats comparison
Here's how the instate rivals match up on the court:
*Number in parentheses is national ranking for each statistic
| Duke | Stat | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| 83.5 (#13) | Points/game | 82.1 (#24) |
| 61.1 (#6) | Points allowed/game | 75.9 (#288) |
| 38.5% (#15) | 3-point % | 35.4% (#98) |
| 78.3% (#16) | Free throw % | 73.7 (#119) |
| 9.4 (#10) | Turnovers/game | 10.9 (#94) |
| Cooper Flagg, 19.6 ppg (#27) | Leading scorer | RJ Davis, 17.2 ppg (#102) |
👉 Click or tap here for all DI men's college basketball stats
⚔️ Recent series history
Duke vs. North Carolina is one of the oldest and renowned rivalries in all of sports, matching up for the 264th time on Saturday. The two blue blood programs have been facing off on the hardwood since 1920, when the Tar Heels prevailed 38-25 on Jan. 24.
North Carolina leads the last 10 matchups 6-4, but Duke is going for the regular season sweep on Saturday. It would be the third straight regular season sweep in the rivalry, as UNC won both games last season and the Blue Devils swept the series in 2023.
Duke owns the largest margin of victory in the last 10, taking down the Tar Heels 87-67 in Mike Krzyzewski's last game at Dean Smith Center in 2022. Here's a look at the last 10 matchups:
| Date | Winner/SCore | location |
|---|---|---|
| February 1, 2025 | Duke, 87-70 | Durham, NC |
| March 9, 2024 | North Carolina, 84-79 | Durham, NC |
| February 3, 2024 | North Carolina, 93-84 | Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 4, 2023 | Duke, 62-57 | Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 4, 2023 | Duke, 63-57 | Durham, NC |
| April 2, 2022 | North Carolina, 81-77 | New Orleans, LA (Final Four) |
| March 5, 2022 | North Carolina, 94-81 | Durham, NC |
| February 5, 2022 | Duke, 87-67 | Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 6, 2021 | North Carolina, 91-73 | Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 6, 2021 | North Carolina, 91-87 | Durham, NC |
Fast facts
- The last time North Carolina beat Duke when it was ranked No. 1 or 2 was Feb. 20, 2019, when the eighth-ranked Tar Heels upset No. 1 Duke, 88-72, in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- The last time unranked North Carolina beat an AP top-two team was December 3, 2013, when UNC knocked off No. 1 Michigan State in East Lansing, MI.
- UNC has 21 wins over top-five ranked (AP) Duke teams in history.
📝 Recapping last matchup on Feb. 1
No. 2 Duke wasted no time asserting control in its 87-70 victory over North Carolina on Feb. 1 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils jumped out to a 16-0 run early and led by as many as 30, overwhelming the Tar Heels with size and sharpshooting.
Freshman star Cooper Flagg stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Kon Knueppel poured in 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Tyrese Proctor added 17 points and three assists as Duke shot 53% from the field and knocked down 10 three-pointers.
UNC struggled to find any rhythm against Duke’s defense, committing 14 turnovers that led to 19 Blue Devil points. RJ Davis and Drake Powell each scored 12, but the Tar Heels shot just 30% in the first half and trailed 47-25 at the break.
North Carolina made a late push, trimming the deficit to 16 in the closing minutes, but Duke never let the game slip.
👉 Click or tap here to recap all of the highlights from the first matchup
📺 How to watch the Tobacco Road rivalry
Here's everything you need to know to watch the rivalry matchup:
- 🗓️ Date: Saturday, March 8
- ⏰ Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
- 📍 Location: Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC
- 📺 TV/Streaming: ESPN
- 📊 Follow: Live scores and stats
We will be live-blogging the game right here on krikya18.com.