Community Picks: Duke 0% vs North Carolina 0%

The first matchup of the season between Duke and North Carolina suddenly looks a lot more appealing than it did a few weeks ago. The Blue Devils have reeled off four straight victories culminating in back-to-back wins over Louisville and Virginia last week, vaulting themselves back into the AP Top 25 after a rare two-week hiatus. The Tar Heels meanwhile showed some vulnerability in back-to-back losses at Louisville and Notre Dame before righting themselves in a rout of Pittsburgh on Sunday. With fifth-ranked North Carolina (21-4, 10-2) trying to extend its one-game lead in the ACC and 20th-ranked Duke (19-6, 8-4) desperately trying to get back into the title chase, the stakes are high Wednesday night as they often are when the two Tobacco Road rivals meet. Here's a look at three keys that could help determine the winner Wednesday night in Chapel Hill: 1. Will Brandon Ingram burn the Tar Heels after spurning the Tar Heels? North Carolina appeared to be the heavy favorite to land Ingram after voraciously pursuing the McDonald's All-American for three years, but the Tar Heels lost him to rival Duke last spring. When his recruitment was over, Ingram and his parents acknowledged that the uncertainty stemming from the NCAA's investigation into the North Carolina program played a role in his decision to go elsewhere.   The sting of that decision has only increased as Ingram has emerged as one of the nation's top freshmen and maybe the only prospect with a sliver of hope of unseating Ben Simmons as the top pick in this year's draft. Ingram is averaging 17.2 points and 6.7 rebounds and has scored 20 or more points seven times since Dec. 1.  The matchup with North Carolina could be especially favorable for Ingram because he'll have 6-foot-9 Brice Johnson defending him. While Johnson is mobile for a big man, he is far more comfortable defending in the post than he is all the way out to the perimeter. That could be a challenge against a player like Ingram, an improving long-range shooter who is also adept at attacking the rim off the bounce. 2. Can Duke keep North Carolina off the offensive glass? Ingram's quickness and perimeter shooting may pose a challenge for Johnson to defend, but Duke could have similar issues with North Carolina's size and strength in the paint. The Tar Heels are one of the few top teams this season that plays with two traditional big men on the floor at all times.  Duke actually intended to frequently play with two big men as well, but the combination of Amile Jefferson's foot injury and the lack of development of Chase Jeter and Sean Obi have forced the Blue Devils to go with a smaller look. High-energy senior Marshall Plumlee is almost always the lone true big man on the floor with Ingram moving from small forward to stretch four..  While Plumlee has performed better than anticipated for Duke and Ingram has held his own against bigger, stronger players, Jefferson's absence has been felt most for the Blue Devils on the glass. They're 279th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage, not ideal against a North Carolina team that attacks the offensive boards hard with its frontline of Johnson, Justin Jackson and Kennedy Meeks.   3. Will Marcus Paige's February resurgence continue?  It's no surprise to North Carolina fans that a guard enters Wednesday night's game at the forefront of the ACC player of the year race thanks to his scoring average of 20.6 points per game. Tar Heels supporters just probably would have guessed before the season that guard would be North Carolina's Marcus Paige and not Duke's Grayson Allen. Paige hasn't been terrible or anything as a senior, but his 13.0 points, 3.7 assists and 36.4 percent 3-point shooting are his lowest since his freshman year. He endured a particularly brutal January slump during which he scored in double figures just once in six games and shot an anemic 21.1 percent from the field during that stretch. In North Carolina's past three games, Paige has averaged 16 points, sank 11 of 20 3-pointers and looked far more like himself, a critical development for the Tar Heels. Three-point shooting is one of the few glaring weaknesses for North Carolina, so it's critical that Paige not continue to struggle from the perimeter.  - - - - - - - Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @JeffEisenberg Continue to Article

February 17, 2016 11:32:am EST

Duke is on a roll, back among the nation's elite and looking to deal North Carolina another defeat at Chapel Hill. Brice Johnson and the Tar Heels are more concerned with widening their lead atop the ACC. The No. 20 Blue Devils attempt to knock off a third straight ranked opponent Wednesday night and prevent fifth-ranked North Carolina from a 14th straight home victory. Continue to Article

February 16, 2016 11:47:pm EST

It seems to happen every year at Duke: The Blue Devils get rolling again after a January lull. No. 20 Duke (19-6, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) has reeled off four straight wins - with the last two coming against top-15 teams - and enters this week's rivalry game against No. 5 North Carolina (21-4, 10-2) with strong momentum. The current winning streak - which includes victories over then-No. 13 Louisville and No. 7 Virginia in a six-day span - has pushed that four-losses-in-five-games slump further into the past. Continue to Article

February 15, 2016 5:38:pm EST

Duke basketball fans have another reason to love Grayson Allen. College basketball fans not cheering for the Blue Devils have another reason to dislike the feisty sophomore guard. At the start of the week, Allen earned national attention for intentionally tripping a Louisville player and earning a flagrant foul for the act. On Saturday, Allen made a  determined drive into the paint in the waning moments and tossed up a one-handed shot off the backboard that went in at the buzzer, giving coach Mike Krzyzewski a 63-62 win on his birthday over No. 7 Virginia. [ John Calipari ejected less than three minutes into Saturday's win ] The Cavaliers did everything they could to earn their first victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995, including Malcolm Brogdon somehow making an over the shoulder reverse layup with just over 10 seconds remaining to give his team a one-point lead. Virginia has lost 17 consecutive games at Duke. It looked like Brogdon might have finally snapped the streak, but Duke moved the ball up court and called timeout. Krzyzewski put the ball in Allen’s hands with six seconds left and Allen drove down the left side of the lane just managing to get a shot up over Marial Shayok. However, photos available long after the game showed Allen did travel. He actually landed from his jump on the shot before releasing the ball. Officials are looking at the ball & the light in this situation. RT @jefft : @joeovies @TheCauldron pic.twitter.com/roUojP9DAu — Joe Ovies (@joeovies) February 13, 2016 [ No. 15 Texas A&M tumbling down SEC standings ] Allen was mobbed by his teammates as officials reviewed the play and confirmed he had won the game, ending Virginia’s seven-game winning streak and likely vaulting Duke back into the national polls ahead of its meeting with hated rival North Carolina. Duke fell out of the polls last week after a subpar January in which it lost four out of five games during one stretch. But the Blue Devils have now won four straight and a victory over the No. 7 team in the nation and what was the hottest team in  the ACC will almost certainly move the Blue Devils back into the top 25. Allen played a big part in the victory outside of the game-winner. He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The effort complemented a 25-point, seven-rebound performance from freshman Brandon Ingram. Brogdon’s improbable final shot gave him 18 points in the game to lead UVA, which has to be wondering when its losing streak at Duke will ever end. - - - - - - - [ Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo Continue to Article

February 13, 2016 7:11:pm EST