The best rivalry in college basketball will add another chapter when the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels meet Friday in the ACC tournament semifinals. Duke defeated UNC just six days ago in the traditional regular-season finale between the two programs but the rivalry has been a coin toss. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels are both 3-3 SU and ATS in their past six meetings.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Duke’s last 7 games with an average combined score of 130.6.
- Duke is 6-1 SU and ATS in its last 7 games against teams with winning records.
- UNC G Joel Berry II is averaging 8.3 points while shooting 26.5% in the past 3 games.
The No. 1 reason Duke beat UNC last week was Marvin Bagley III. The star freshman went off in the second half, scoring 18 of his 21 points and helping Duke erase a 13-point deficit. Bagley has been unstoppable recently, averaging 27 points and 16 rebounds while shooting 64.9 percent over the past two games. Though Bagley and Grayson Allen have both been exploding offensively for Duke, it has been the team’s shift to a zone defense that has made it a legit national championship contender. Since the change in defensive mentality, the Blue Devils are holding their opponents to 59.4 points per game in their last eight.
UNC is slowly undergoing its own changes, though a little more organically than Duke. The Tar Heels lived and died by Joel Berry and Luke Maye’s offense early in the season but senior Theo Pinson has slowly started to become more integral to the success of the squad. Aside from being UNC’s best defender, Pinson has become a playmaker – averaging 16.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game in UNC’s last eight.
North Carolina Tar Heels vs Duke Blue Devils Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Duke Blue Devils sit at 26-6 (20-11 ATS) on the college basketball season. By comparison, the North Carolina Tar Heels are currently 24-9 (18-13-1 ATS). Looking to bet on the total points scored? Duke is 17-14 OU, and North Carolina is 17-14-1 OU.
The OddsShark Power Rankings have the Blue Devils at No. 28 and the Tar Heels at No. 37 heading into this college basketball betting matchup.
Statistical Matchup
When it comes to rebounds, the visiting North Carolina Tar Heels rank No. 1 in NCAA Basketball Division 1 with 42.94 per game. That compares with Duke’s No. 2 ranking in that category. When it comes to three-point shooting, Duke is college basketball's No. 89-ranked team at 8.38 treys per game, while the North Carolina Tar Heels rate No. 95 with 8.27 per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
North Carolina got 25 points and 11 rebounds from Theo Pinson en route to an 82-65 victory over Miami on Thursday at Barclays Center.
Marvin Bagley III poured in a team-high 33 points for Duke on Thursday, as they defeated Notre Dame 88-70 at Barclays Center.
- North Carolina is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games
- North Carolina is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
- North Carolina is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Duke
- North Carolina is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing Duke
- Duke is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
- Duke is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Duke's last 7 games
- Duke is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing North Carolina
