North Carolina Tarheels vs Duke Blue Devils: Predictions, Odds and Roster Notes

Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, USA.

When: Wednesday, February 20th at 9pm EST

How (TV/Radio): ESPN |

North Carolina Tarheels(Away)

Head Coach: Roy Williams {Overall: 20-5, .800 W-L% | Conference: 10-2, T-2nd in ACC}

Coach Roy Williams’ squad will make a short trip from Chapel Hill to Durham in search of a win at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a venue where the Tarheels have not won since March 5th 2016, when senior leader Luke Maye was a freshman.

North Carolina is coming off a routine tune-up game against lowly Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest on February 16th. The Tarheels abused the Demon Deacons 95-57 on the road in Winston-Salem behind Cameron Johnson’s 27 points on 7-10 shooting from three point range. Maye and freshman point guard, Coby White each chipped in 10 points in the win.

Duke Blue Devils (Home)

Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski {Overall: 23-2, .920 W-L% | Conference: 11-1, 1st in ACC}

Top ranked Duke will look to hold home court against their arch-rivals as well as their lead in the ACC standings. The last time these teams faced off against each other came in last year’s ACC tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. North Carolina prevailed in that game 74-69 despite Duke having future NBA starters Jayson Tatum, Marvin Bagley III, and Wendell Carter Jr.

Like the Tarheels, the Blue Devils are coming off a game against an intrastate rival, where they emerged victorious at home against the North Carolina State Wolfpack 94-78. Zion Williamson led the way with 32 points, while fellow freshman phenom, RJ Barrett put together the fourth triple-double in program history by scoring 23 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists.

North Carolina Roster Notes

Freshman forward, Rechon “Leaky” Black is out with an ankle injury suffered against Georgia Tech on January 29th.

Sophomore center, Sterling Manley is currently listed as questionable with a knee injury that has sidelined him for all of ACC play.

Duke Roster Notes

Duke has no injuries to report.

Head-to-Head: Coby White vs Tre Jones

Coby White

Point Guard| 6-5, 185lb (196cm, 83kg) | Greenfield School | Goldsboro, NC | Freshman

15.7 PPG | 4.3 APG | 3.3 RPG | 1.0 SPG | 0.3 BPG | 2.8 TOV | .436 FG% | .380 3P%

Tre Jones

Point Guard | 6-2, 183lb (188cm, 83kg) | Apple Valley HS | Apple Valley, MN | Freshman

8.7 PPG | 5.4 APG | 3.5 RPG | 2.0 SPG | 0.1 BPG | 1.2 TOV | .443 FG% | .271 3P%

This matchup will feature a pair of freshman point guards who have embraced their roles as facilitators despite being highly rated as recruits.

Although he did not arrive on campus with as much flair as his fellow classmate and possible NBA draft lottery pick, Nassir Little, Coby White has been a much bigger contributor for the Tarheels. White had a strong start to the season for a freshman point guard, which included a 33 point rampage in a loss to Texas on November 22nd. Since the start of conference play, Coach Williams has worked with White to become more of a playmaker which has boosted not just the performance of his team, but White’s own NBA draft stock.

Like White, Tre Jones arrived in Durham as the 4th ranked prospect in Duke’s 2018 recruiting class behind Williamson, Barrett, and Cam Reddish. However, the younger brother of current Minnesota Timberwolves point guard, Tyus Jones, has proven to be a valuable piece to Coach K, as evidenced by each of his last three games where he has played all 40 minutes. With his classmates providing so much offensive firepower, Jones has been able to focus on getting them the ball, and being a menace on defense.

North Carolina at Duke Predictions and Odds

Duke is listed as a 9 point favourite over North Carolina, while the over/under is currently at 167.5.