The Duke Blue Devils (27-5), led by forwards RJ Barrett and Zio Williamson, meet the North Carolina Tar Heels (27-5), led by guard Cameron Johnson, in a semifinal of the ACC men's basketball tournament on Friday, March 15, 2019 (3/15/19) at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Duke Blue Devils (27-5), led by forwards RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson, meet the North Carolina Tar Heels (27-5), led by guard Cameron Johnson, in a semifinal of the ACC men’s basketball tournament on Friday, March 15, 2019 (3/15/19) at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Both teams will advance to the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.
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Here’s what you need to know:
Who: Duke vs. North Carolina
What: ACC Tournament semifinal
When: Friday, March 15, 2019
Where: Spectrum Center
Time: 9 p.m. EDT
TV: ESPN
Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish
Livestream: WatchESPN
Line: Duke -3.5 (bet via FanDuel)
BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the ACC championship game is up for grabs as Duke and North Carolina are set to face off. In the regular season, North Carolina won both of the head-to-head matchups. The teams last played on March 9, when the Tar Heels shot 40.5 percent from the field while holding Duke to just 34.2 percent en route to the nine-point victory.
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED: North Carolina has been fueled by senior leadership this year while Duke has leaned on freshmen. Seniors Luke Maye, Cameron Johnson and Kenny Williams have collectively accounted for 47 percent of North Carolina’s scoring this season. On the other bench, freshmen R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones have collectively accounted for 76 percent of all Duke scoring, including 82 percent of the team’s points over its last five.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Barrett has either made or assisted on 50 percent of all Duke field goals over the last three games. The freshman forward has accounted for 29 field goals and 10 assists in those games.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Heels have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Blue Devils. North Carolina has an assist on 54 of 92 field goals (58.7 percent) over its past three games while Duke has assists on 41 of 78 field goals (52.6 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Duke offense has scored 84.1 points per game this season, ranking the Blue Devils sixth among Division I teams. The North Carolina defense has allowed 72.9 points per game to opponents (ranked 200th overall).
(The AP contributed to this report.)