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The No. 9 Duke Blue Devils will make their final trip to Chapel Hill in the Coach K era on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App), meeting the North Carolina Tar Heels in one of three compelling Sonic Blockbuster matchups on this weekend’s slate. Saturday also sees the No. 8 Baylor Bears traveling to meet the No. 10 Kansas Jayhawks (4 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App) in a top-10 matchup at storied Allen Fieldhouse, while the streaking No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats travel to meet an up-and-down but immensely talented Alabama Crimson Tide squad (8 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App).
With that in mind, ESPN’s college basketball team of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi made their predictions for all three big games on the Saturday slate, while also ID’ing some of the other top matchups of the first college basketball weekend of February.
What has surprised you most about North Carolina (16-6, 8-3 ACC) in Year 1 of the Hubert Davis era? What do the Tar Heels have to do to beat Duke?
Lunardi: Don’t look now, but North Carolina could take over the top spot in the ACC with a win over Duke. That’s a commentary on the lackluster ACC, of course, but also on UNC’s resilience. The Tar Heels seemed destined for the bubble after back-to-back losses at Miami and Wake Forest — by a combined 50 points! — but have righted the ship with a four-game winning streak. A friendly schedule has helped, along with some friendly whistles at Louisville, but February ain’t about style points.
The surprise, then, is Carolina even being in this position. Can the Heels keep it going and upset the hated Blue Devils? Let’s say “yes,” as Hubert Davis takes one from Coach K on his last official visit to Chapel Hill.
Lunardi score prediction:: North Carolina 76, Duke 73
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A.J. Griffin tells the Notre Dame crowd to quiet down after splashing in a midrange jumper in the second half for Duke.
Medcalf: I’m surprised that Hubert Davis has a real shot at the ACC crown in Year 1. I think the…
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Source : espn
