The North Carolina Tar Heels dominated Duke for 39 minutes in their first matchup of the season, but fell apart late and somehow lost the game in the closing moments. That loss has not been sitting well with UNC since, and they are determined to get revenge on their bitter in-state rivals. Here are three reasons why they are guaranteed to do just that and knock off the Blue Devils:
3) Rebounding dominance
North Carolina dominated the paint on both sides of the floor against Duke earlier this season, out-rebounding them 46-34 and blocking seven shots. The Heels have a stellar front line in Kennedy Meeks, Brice Johnson, and Isaiah Hicks, and all three should have their way against a Duke team that's incredibly weak on the interior.
The Blue Devils have a short six-man rotation that features just one big man in Marshall Plumlee. He'll spent most of last game defending Meeks, but switched to Johnson late. That means Meeks and Hicks will be guarded by either Ingram (who is 190 lbs) or Matt Jones (who is 6'4"). Talk about a couple of mismatches.
UNC leads all major conference schools in points in the paint, and that strength should propel them to an easy victory against a team as inept at defending it as Duke.
2) Brice Johnson
Johnson was able to do whatever he wanted in the first matchup between these two teams, scoring 29 points (13-17 FG) while grabbing 19 rebounds in just 33 minutes, all while limiting Duke's Brandon Ingram to 33 percent shooting. He was the best player on the court all night long, but for some reason, UNC decided not to feature him in their offense for the last few minutes of the game - that's a mistake I fully expect Roy Williams to correct in a big way. Look for him to put up nearly 40 points in this one.
1) Sheer talent advantage
Let's be clear about one thing: North Carolina didn't lose to Duke last time because they were outplayed - they lost because they stopped doing what they did well down the stretch. Johnson took just one shot in the last 12 minutes of the game as UNC started relying almost exclusively on perimeter jumpers, which is their biggest weakness. Point guard Marcus Paige has shown signs of breaking out of his slump, which is great news since Duke doesn't have anyone who can guard him, Johnson, or forward Justin Jackson.
UNC won't have a huge cold stretch like they did in their first matchup - not with how determined they are to get revenge. Look for them to routinely exploit the multiple advantages they have to a double-digit win.
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