College basketballs most celebrated rivalry resumes next week in Chapel Hill as the sixth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels host the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils.With the longtime foes once again tied atop the ACC standings, Wednesdays winner will be in the drivers seat for the top seed in March Madness. Where: Dean E. Smith Center When: Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 9:00 p.m. ET Watch: ESPN, or live stream at ESPN3.com Listen: Duke: WDNC-AM 620North Carolina: 1360 WCHL-AM Betting Line: Not available at this writing. Key Injuries North Carolina SG Dexter Strickland (knee) is out for the season, according to cbssports.com. North Carolina SF Harrison Barnes (ankle) is listed as in doubt for Saturday vs. Maryland, as reported by the Charlotte Observer. Whats At Stake? If Florida State loses to Virginia tomorrow, sole possession of first place in the ACC will be on the line.Regardless of the outcome in Tallahassee, Wednesdays winner will gain the one-game edge over their archrivals and become the favorite for the ACC title and the No. 1 NCAA tournament seed. What Theyre SayingDuke freshman standout Austin Rivers lauded his squads team-first approach in last nights rout of Virginia Tech. Everybodys so unselfish now and it makes everything fun, Rivers told USA Today. Tar Heel point guard Kendall Marshall tried to demeanour on the bright side of the 31-percent shooting performance by his team against Wake Forest. As reported by ESPN, Marshall observed, You have to demeanour at that as the positive that we are getting great shots and just keep working to get in extra shots and hope they go in next time. Duke Player to Watch G Tyler Thornton got his first start of the season last night against the Hokies and put up minimal numbers in 28 minutes of action. Thornton is out there for his defensehis biggest edge over former starter Seth Currybut hell need to produce more than two points and one assist against the Tar Heels. North Carolina Player to Watch C Tyler Zeller is coming off the monster 18-point, 18-rebo! und perf ormance against Wake Forest. Duke has plenty of size to throw at the seven-footer, so hell need to be on his game again to avoid the serious letdown. Key Matchup North Carolina PF John Henson vs. Duke PF Josh Hairston. Even if Hairston plays only limited minutes (as he did against Virginia Tech), the 67 sophomore isnt going to be able to avoid matching up with UNCs 611 junior.For all that Hairstons defense got him the start over Ryan Kelly, hell be hard-pressed to keep Henson from dominating inside. Prediction If Barnes ankle gets worse and he turns out to be sidelined, UNC wont have enough perimeter weapons to run with the deep Duke backcourt.Assuming the more likely outcome that Barnes is good to go, though, the Dean Dome crowd and Dukes inexperienced new starters will be enough to swing the game in the Tar Heels favor.Powered By iWebRSS.co.cc
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