So, a month later and we are back with Carolina-Duke. The first meeting is rabid because, well, it marks the end of the first half of ACC play and restores a rivalry that has had 11 months off.
The second meeting, usually just a month later, always has a different feel. By now, the two teams are jockeying for (a) NCAA tournament seeding and (b) ACC tournament seeding. And, as of now, if they met again in a week it would be in the ACC Final.
The freshmen aren't freshmen anymore. We know about the matchups. We've seen the two face off. And, now, everyone has played in a Carolina-Duke game.
This edition is in Cameron Indoor Stadium....and any Carolina-Duke fan knows that this game in Cameron is what college sports is about. Nothing against the Dean Dome.....but the 22,000+ screaming fans in the big arena still pales in comparison to the 8,000 in that cigar box down the street in Durham. I love the game there because, as a Carolina fan, nothing feels better than shutting them up [enter Stackhouse underneath dunk highlight].
We haven't done much "shutting up" of Duke lately....at least not head to head. Even our title team of last year tossed the ball out of bounds in one loss....and needed a frantic last minute comeback in the win at the end of the season. We can still flash the ring for another month....maybe another year if Duke doesn't get to the Final Four....and then we go back to the grind again.
Of course, in the first meeting.....Duke was rolling along the season and Carolina had been just re-entered the Top 25. Duke, despite starting two freshmen, was by far the more experienced team. Carolina took the punch, played well, and had a shot to win the game. That's the last time the Tar Heels have lost. Since then, they killed NC State by 24 in Raleigh...beat Maryland by 24....and just came off a beatdown of Virginia by 45 points. Oh, and against Georgia Tech, Tyler Hansbrough dropped in 40 pts. In the last three games, Duke has beaten GaTech by 7, Temple by 8 and lost to Florida State on Wednesday.
The one common thread in those last three games has been JJ Redick's shooting. In those three, he has shot 18-for-59 [31%]....and 5-for-26 [20%] from behind the arc. This is a combination of good defense and what has plagued Redick the last two seasons....getting tired. I said to a Duke fan before the FSU game that Coach K would be smart to rest JJ....since, and I honestly felt and said this to him, that FSU was gonna win anyways. Not bench JJ or nothing....but get him off the floor a bit more. He has this history of burning out, which isn't all his fault. In ACC play, Redick has sat just a total of 35 minutes.....out of a possible 605. Throw in the G'town game and Temple game [which were both played during the ACC season] and he's played 605 of 685 possible minutes of basketball. And the only games he's had a least 5 minutes of rest?? A 23-pt blowout, 19-pt blowout and, oddly, that V-Tech game where Dockery hit that half court shot to beat the Hokies.
And there is the key to this game, in a nutshell. Obviously Redick beat the Heels himself in Game 1....and, despite my disdain for he and Duke....I was pretty much in awe of it. The Tyler Hansbrough-Shelden Williams matchup will be niiiiiice as well, just cuz the level Psycho T is playing right now, and how Williams has been percieved as underperforming in Chapel Hill. And, of course, those perimeter guys will be big too. Who could forget that little run Josh McRoberts had in the 2nd half of that game?? Or Reyshawn Terry's hot streak that netted the Heels a brief lead? And, of course, two of the best coaches in the history of the game on each sideline. Coach K vs Ol' Roy.
And, the old demons will be present. Carolina completely DOMINATED the glass....and are the best rebounding team [as far as differential] in the ACC. Duke is the worst. But Duke does a much better job at hanging onto the ball...where the young, inexperienced, fast paced Tar Heels are the worst in the league.
So, I will have at least two of the ESPNs on in my Sportz Room....and my ESPNMobile and ESPN.com on standby for all the stats and haps. I will get to see Dookie V pretty much hump Redick's leg....talk about how great Coach K will be as the Olympic Coach...talk about the two schools "doing it the right way"....say that Roy Williams will be a Hall of Famer....scream about the Cameron Crazies...talk about how hot it is there and how "high up" in the stands they are....and even give a shout out to "Michaelangelo" aka Dean Smith.
It's Duke-Carolina.
I mean, Carolina-Duke!
So...my prediction?? Well...I give you the same thing. Either Duke wins or Carolina wins....but probably by 4 pts.
How ya like that???
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