Tar Heels Close Out Regular Season With Duke
Carolina can clinch a tie for the ACC regular season title with a win.
March 4, 2007
TAR HEELS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON WITH DUKE
North Carolina (24-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) will complete the 2006-07 regular season when it hosts Duke (22-8, 8-7 ACC) at the Smith Center on Sunday at 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally by CBS.
Sunday's game will be the last home contest for seniors Dewey Burke, Wes Miller and Reyshawn Terry. Carolina is 35-7 in its final home game in the last 42 seasons (dating to Billy Cunningham's senior year).
The Tar Heels are hoping to snap their first losing streak of the season. Carolina's loss at Georgia Tech on Thursday night was its second in a row.
The Tar Heels have never lost three consecutive contests in four seasons under Roy Williams. The last time UNC lost three straight games was a five-game losing streak in 2002-03.
Carolina can clinch a tie for the top spot in the ACC standings and a first-round bye in next week's ACC Tournament with a win over Duke. UNC entered the weekend in a three-way tie with Virginia Tech and Boston College for second place in the ACC standings at 10-5. Virginia, which lost at Wake Forest yesterday, is in first place at 11-5.
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and No. 8 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll this week. Duke is ranked No. 14 in both polls.
Sunday's game is worth one point in the 2006-07 Carlyle Cup standings. Carolina and Duke are tied in the multisport competition between the two schools this season, 7.5 to 7.5.
THE SERIES VS. DUKE
Carolina leads the all-time series with Duke, 126-96.
Carolina has beaten Duke in three of the last four meetings between the two schools, including the last two meetings in Durham. In the back-to-back wins in Durham, the Tar Heels trailed by double digits in both games before coming back to win. UNC trailed by 11 in the first half of its 83-76 win in Durham on March 4, 2006, and by 10 in the first half of the 79-73 win on Feb. 7, 2007.
UNC is 57-30 against Duke in Chapel Hill and 12-9 in the Smith Center. The Blue Devils have won six of the last eight over Carolina in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heel wins in that span were in 2002-03 and 2004-05.
Carolina is 33-31 against Mike Krzyzewski-coached Duke teams.
In the past 30 years, the Tar Heels have played 14 regular season games against Duke when coming off a loss (including earlier this season in Durham). Carolina is 10-4 in those games.
Since the start of the 1975-76 season, Carolina and Duke have met just six times when both teams were coming off a loss in their previous game. Those meetings were: Feb. 7, 2007, Feb. 5, 2003, March 4, 1995, March 5, 1989, Jan. 3, 1976, and Feb. 7, 2007.
Overall, Duke has won 16 of the last 21 games in the series.
Carolina and Duke have met 60 previous times when both teams were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, with Duke leading the series in those games, 31-30.
Sunday's game is the 139th straight meeting in the series that at least one of the two schools was ranked in a national poll. The streak dates to Feb. 25, 1955.
This is the 123rd consecutive meeting in which at least one school has been ranked in the AP Top 20 or AP Top 25. Of those games, 110 contests have featured a team in the AP Top 10. The last time Carolina and Duke met when neither team was ranked by the Associated Press was on Feb. 27, 1960. Frank McGuire and Vic Bubas coached the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, respectively, at the time.
Carolina has been ranked in the AP poll in 100 of the previous 122 games. Duke was ranked in 77 of those 122 matchups. In 26 of the last 55 meetings, both Carolina and Duke have been ranked in the AP Top 10.
This is the 143rd meeting between the two schools since the ACC began play in 1953-54 and the 140th time at least one of those teams was ranked in the AP Top 20 or AP Top 25 (the only games in which both teams were not ranked were in 1955 and 1960).
The longest stretch in between being ranked for the Tar Heels was 12 games (the first 12 games Dean Smith was head coach). Duke's longest stretch of not being ranked in the series was 24 games from 1970-1978.
Carolina and Duke have accounted for 31 of the ACC's 53 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships.
Carolina and Duke are No. 1 and 2 all-time in the ACC in wins, ACC regular-season wins, ACC Tournament wins and NCAA Tournament wins.
• Carolina has won the ACC regular-season title 24 times, including in 2004-05. The Blue Devils are second with 18 regular-season crowns.
Either Carolina or Duke have played in the NCAA Final Four 19 times in the last 26 seasons (Carolina in 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2005). Both teams reached the 1991 Final Four.
The Tar Heels and Blue Devils have won six national championships in the last 25 seasons (Carolina in 1982, 1993 and 2005).
Carolina has won 16 NCAA Regional championships and played in an NCAA-record 16 Final Fours. Duke has played in 14 Final Fours.
Sports Illustrated on Campus named the Carolina-Duke rivalry the No. 1 "Hottest Rivalry" in college basketball and the No. 2 rivalry overall in its Nov. 18, 2003 issue.
Sunday's game is worth one point toward the Carlyle Cup, the annual multisport competition between UNC and Duke. Entering Sunday's game, Carolina and Duke are tied in the multisport competition between the two schools, 7.5 to 7.5.
Roy Williams VS. DUKE
Roy Williams is 3-4 vs. Duke as Carolina's head coach and 4-7 overall vs. Duke.
Earlier this season, the Tar Heels won in Durham, 79-73.
Last season, Duke and Carolina split the season series with the Blue Devils winning in Chapel Hill in early February and the Tar Heels winning in Durham on senior night.
In 2004-05, UNC beat Duke, 75-73, in the regular season finale in Chapel Hill after Duke had won in Durham earlier that season.
In 2003-04, Duke swept the two-game series from UNC in Williams' first year as the Carolina head coach.
Williams went 1-3 vs. Duke while the head coach at the University of Kansas. Williams' Jayhawks defeated the Blue Devils, 69-65, on March 27, 2003, in Anaheim, Calif., in the NCAA Tournament West Regional semifinals. Nick Collison had 33 points and 19 rebounds in the game.
Prior to that win over Duke, Williams-led Kansas teams lost to Duke in the 1988-89 regular season (Williams' first year as a collegiate head coach), in the 1991 NCAA championship game in Indianapolis and in the 2000 NCAA Tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Tar Heels were 16-11 against Duke during Williams' stint as a Carolina assistant coach (1978-88).
EARLIER THIS SEASON IN DURHAM
No. 5 Carolina hit its free throws down the stretch and wore down No. 16 Duke, 79-73, on Feb. 7 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Brandan Wright led the Tar Heels with 19 points on the night, also grabbing nine rebounds. Tyler Hansbrough finished with 16 points, while senior Reyshawn Terry posted his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, nine of which came off the defensive glass. Ty Lawson tallied 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Lawson scored seven points in the game's final 1:46 (and seven of the team's last 12 points).
UNC has beaten Duke in three of the last four meetings between the two schools, including the last two meetings in Durham. In the back-to-back wins in Durham, the Tar Heels trailed by double digits in both games before coming back to win. UNC trailed by 11 in the first half of its 83-76 win in Durham on March 4, 2006, and by 10 in the second half of the 79-73 win on Feb. 7, 2007.
Carolina became the first team to win back-to-back games at Duke since Maryland in 2000 and 2001.
The last time UNC won back-to-back games against Duke was on March 2, 1997, and Feb. 5, 1998. Both of those games were played in Chapel Hill. The last time UNC won twice in a row at Duke was in the 1995 and `96 seasons.
Duke led throughout the first 35 minutes of the game, as Carolina's first lead came at 62-60 with 5:15 left to play.
UNC made 12 of 16 free throws in the second half and 7 of 8 in the final 31 seconds. Meanwhile, Duke made just 3 of 10 free throw tries in the second half after making all nine of their free throws in the first period.
Carolina out-rebounded Duke, 39-33, including a 29-22 edge in defensive rebounds. It was just the second time the Blue Devils had been beaten on the boards in ACC competition this season.
UNC held Duke scoreless for a stretch of 2:20 late in the second half, going on a 6-0 run to take a 70-63 run on a Lawson three-point play with 1:46 left.
The Tar Heels shot 59.3 percent from the floor in the second half and 50.8 percent in the game.
Carolina committed 13 turnovers while forcing 16 Duke miscues.
Carolina overcame a 10-point deficit to win, coming back from a 50-40 with 16:50 left to play. That marked UNC's biggest second-half margin overcome to win this season. The previous best second-half comeback win was nine points against Winthrop on Nov. 15. It was Carolina's first double-digit, second-half comeback since the Georgia Tech game on Feb. 15, 2006.
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