CHAPEL HILL — As 1000’s of followers and college students waited exterior the Dean E. Smith Heart Saturday afternoon, there was a way that this rivalry — Duke vs. North Carolina — was just a bit extra essential than others in faculty basketball.
The rivalry will play out for the 261st time Saturday as Duke and Carolina sq. off as top-10 opponents for the forty ninth time.
For 2 of North Carolina’s seniors — Armando Bacot and RJ Davis — the rivalry is a well-recognized one.
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Each gamers had been a part of the 2021-22 North Carolina group that handed legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski a loss in his remaining recreation earlier than retirement. Duke’s loss within the Ultimate 4 in New Orleans got here one month after the Tar Heels defeated Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Krzyzewski’s remaining house recreation.
Bacot and Davis joined ESPN’s “Faculty Gameday” Saturday and revealed which of the 2 victories they cherish most.
“To me, it needs to be Coach Ok’s final recreation at Duke,” Davis mentioned when requested which of the 2 victories was most satisfying. “We went into that recreation with nobody considering we’d be capable to win it. However we got here out on high, and we had been tremendous assured going into that recreation.”
Bacot, who referred to as the matchup the “best rivalry in all of sports activities,” agreed with Davis forward of his remaining house recreation towards the Blue Devils.
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“For me, positively the one at Duke,” Bacot mentioned. “Seeing guys like Jay Williams, JJ Reddick, all these guys come again, and so they’re sporting their ‘Ok’ shirt. And simply to see the look on their face after the sport … the most effective emotions. They thought they might have night time out in Durham that day. So, we obtained it executed.”
The renewal of the rivalry may have main implications within the ACC race as North Carolina appears to keep away from a second straight loss and Duke makes an attempt to get even with the Tar Heels within the loss column.
“I feel that is my final time enjoying Duke right here,” Bacot mentioned. “So, obtained to verify we get that W.”
To snap a two-game house shedding streak to Duke, the Tar Heels might want to include Blue Devils sophomore Kyle Filipowski, who’s seventh within the ACC with 17.5 factors per recreation.
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“Simply his means on the offensive finish as a 5 is simply very tough as a result of he can deal with the basketball,” North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis mentioned of Filipowski Thursday. “He’s virtually … he’s a degree guard. His means to have the ability to move, he can get a rebound [and] advance the ball up the ground and make performs. Anyone with that kind of measurement, he’s aggressive. He can draw fouls. He can shoot from three. He can put up up. He can put the ball on the ground.
“So, it’s onerous to get the ball out of his arms. [It’s] onerous to double him. As a result of he can catch the ball and assault in so many various areas.”
Duke and North Carolina tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday.