Carolina and Duke play for the 261st time when the Tar Heels host the Blue Devils in a meeting of the top two teams in the ACC standings on Saturday, February 3, in the Smith Center.
This is the 49th game in which both UNC and Duke are ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press poll. That’s the most top-10 games between two teams in college basketball history. The next highest total is 14 – between the Tar Heels and NC State.
Duke vs UNC
- This season marks the 104th anniversary of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry, which dates back to January 24, 1920 — a 36-25 UNC win in Durham.
- Saturday’s game is the 261st all-time meeting — North Carolina leads the all-time series 143-117, with Carolina leading 64-39 in Chapel Hill and 20-18 at the Smith Center. Duke has won three of its last four road games in the series.
- This will be the 49th time the Blue Devils and Tar Heels have clashed as top-10 teams. The record in those matchups is 24-24, with an average score of UNC 76.8, Duke 76.0.
- In the past 100 meetings, both programs have been ranked in the top-10 37 times, with North Carolina holding a 19-18 edge.
- The Blue Devils and Tar Heels have met six times on Feb. 3, with each winning three times.
About Duke
- Duke won at the Dean Smith Center the past two seasons, including a 62-57 victory on March 4, 2023, and an 87-67 triumph on Feb. 5, 2022.
- Duke is looking for its first three-game win streak in Chapel Hill since the Blue Devils won four straight from Feb. 27, 1999, to Jan. 31, 2002.
- Jeremy Roach tops the ACC and ranks 12th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (3.28), while Tyrese Proctor is positioned third in the conference and 32nd nationally (2.87).
- Proctor has scored at least 10 points in each of Duke’s last five games, averaging 16.4 points across that stretch, including a career-high 24 points at Louisville (Jan. 23).
- Among ACC leaders, Kyle Filipowski ranks seventh in scoring (17.5 ppg), fifth in rebounding (8.7 rpg), fourth in blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.504).
- Duke ranks 11th nationally in fewest turnovers (9.4 per game) and 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.70).
- With Monday’s win at Virginia Tech, Duke improved to 7-1 in the month of January, marking the winningest month by winning percentage for the Blue Devils since February of 2022, when the squad also went 7-1 (.875).
- Duke has started six different lineups this season, with the latest consisting of only freshmen and sophomores.
- The Blue Devils have won all four road games in this calendar year.
About UNC
- Carolina is 9-0 in the Smith Center this seasonand 36-5 at home in Hubert Davis’ three seasons as head coach.
- Carolina’s 10-game winning streak and 9-0 start to conference play ended Tuesday night in Atlanta with a 74-73 loss to Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels had won 10 in a row for the first time since an 11- game win streak in 2017 and were 9-0 in the ACC for the first time since 2001.
- Carolina is No. 3 in the Associated Press poll for the second week in a row. These are UNC’s highest rankings since being ranked third in the final three weeks in 2018-19.
- The Tar Heels are 4-2 against AP-ranked opponents this season with wins over No. 20 Arkansas, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 16 Clemson (rankings when UNC played those teams).
- The Tar Heels are No. 4 in the country in defensive efficiency (92.5 points allowed per 100 possessions) and No. 19 in offensive efficiency (117.8 points scored per 100 possessions).
- Carolina’s defense has held ACC opponents to 37.3% from the floor and 26.8% from threepoint range.
- RJ Davis is the ACC’s leading scorer in all games (21.5 points per game) and ACC games (21.9). Midway through conference play Davis is a leading candidate for national and ACC awards.
- Armando Bacot has averaged 15.1 points and 9.4 rebounds and has blocked 15 shots in nine games against the Blue Devils. He has four double-doubles, including each of the last three games.
- Cormac Ryan has scored 42 points in four previous games vs. Duke. He set a then-careerhigh with 28 points at Cameron while playing for Notre Dame in 2021. He was 10 for 16 from the floor and made four three-pointers in that game
How to Watch
Time: 6:30 p.m. (ET)
TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, Jess Sims)
Stream: Watch ESPN
Radio: Blue Devils Sports Network (David Shumate, John Roth), Tar Heel Sports Properties (Jones Angell, Adam Lucas)
Per Release
