25 Jan 2025; Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils Guard Cooper Flagg (2) Drive to the basket against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Tre’von Spillers (25) during the second half on Lawrence Joel Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn images Duke’s Cooper Flag will get its first taste of the Tobacco Road rival Saturday night when No. 2 Blue Devils welcomes North Carolina to Durham, NC
Duke (18-2, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has extracted seven and 10-points wins over Wake Forest and North Carolina State in the last two matches. Driving against opponents in the state will conclude when taking Heels (13-9, 6-4), which swept last year’s series, makes the short trip to Cameron indoor stadium.
Both teams play it cool for the game day. Duke player and coach Jon Scheyer did not comment on his next opponent after hitting Wolfpack 74-64 on Monday. As for North Carolina coach Hubert Davis, an alumni at school, he stopped evenly.
“We will prepare, we will practice and we will play with the same type of competition enthusiasm that we played with (Tuesday against Pitt),” Davis said. “I think every game is Super Bowl. Whether it’s one for seasonal games or just when you get a chance to go out there on the floor, you should be ready to go.”
Davis spoke after making Heels dropped a decision of 73-65 on the way to Pitt. They committed 14 sales and were outscore 16-6 on a free throw, and neutrated North Carolina Plus-10 advantage on the boards.
North Carolina needs more quality gains to strengthen her NCAA tournament case, and to beat Duke would easily qualify that takes Heel’s second quadrant 1 victory.
It is another story in Durham, where Duke has an argument as the country’s best team. Blue Devils hit the only team in front of them in the AP Top 25 survey, Auburn, with six points at home on December 4.
Duke has won 14 straight matches, the longest active line in the country, and flags are just a reason why. Star Freshman and Prospective No. 1 Election In this summer’s NBA draft are on average 19.9 points, 8.0 returns and 4.1 assists per match -including 27.0 points, 6.4 returns and 5.2 assists during his Last five.
Flag is hardly perfect. He revealed after the North Carolina State game that Scheyer told him he was “very soft” during the first half.
“I felt it led to most of our first half problems, only I was soft,” Flagg said. “It’s hard to initiate the crime if I’m not strong with the ball. It’s not really a choice anymore. I have to be aggressive. What coaches have told me is that it will create for everyone else.”
Flag scored 23 of its 28 points against North Carolina State during the second half. He came to the Foul line more after the break and shot 10 out of 11 there.
Kon Knueppel added 19 points and Sion James had 13 on Monday when Duke’s defense kicked in and held Wolfpack to 27 points after half time.
Duke is ranked fifth in Division I in points defense (59.6 points per match), fifth in field-target percentage defense (37.2) and Per Kenpom.com, first in 2-points percentage permitted (41.0).
It can spell problems for a team in North Carolina who gets the majority of her crime. The guards RJ Davis (17.6 ppg), Ian Jackson (14.7), Seth Trimble (12.3) and Elliot Cadeau (10.7) average double figures in points, but of the quartet, only Jackson (38.1 percent) Shoots better than 30.3 percent from depth.
North Carolina won 93-84 at home and 84-79 on Duke last season. Duke swept the series the year before, which means that Scheyer and Hubert Davis are 2-2 against each other.
Taking Heels leads the series 145-117.
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