Carolina and Duke will meet for the third time this season on April 2 in New Orleans, exactly four weeks after their previous encounter in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils will be hungry for revenge after the Tar Heels spoiled Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game as head coach of the Duke program.
Since then, each team has gone on its own odyssey to reach the Final Four. While Carolina has relied on its set-in-stone starting lineup, Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils have tinkered with their personnel in the last 28 days. Sophomore point guard Jeremy Roach, who started the first game in Chapel Hill but came off the bench for the second game in Durham, has been reinserted into the starting lineup for Duke’s NCAA Tournament run. Roach made the move pay off and then some, averaging 12.8 points per game on 51.3 percent shooting. Roach scored 15 points off the bench against Carolina on March 5.
To make room for Roach, Trevor Keels has moved into a sixth-man role for the Blue Devils. Keels missed time during the season due to injury and only played 20 minutes in the first game in Chapel Hill, but started against the Tar Heels in Durham. He struggled in that game, shooting only 4-12 from the field and scoring 12 points. Keels is averaging 6.8 points per game in four NCAA Tournament games.
As a team, though, the Blue Devils have been ruthlessly efficient on offense. Duke shot at least 51 percent in all four NCAA Tournament games, including shooting 71 percent in the second half of a Sweet 16 win over Texas Tech and the Red Raiders’ top-ranked defense.
Duke shot 57 percent from the floor in a gutty, second-round win over Michigan State. The Spartans led by five points with five minutes remaining before the Blue Devils went on a 20-6 run to end the game. Roach came up clutch, knocking down a three-pointer with 1:18 to go to put Duke up by four points. It was Roach’s only three-point make of the game.
“That’s the Jeremy Roach I played with in high school,” UNC’s Armando Bacot said Tuesday. “He’s really been finding his swag, and I’m happy for him.”
The Blue Devils’ shooting renaissance has rocketed their offensive efficiency to No. 1 in the nation on Kenpom.com. Their defensive efficiency, while still in the top 50, ranks fourth out of the four teams in New Orleans, but their offensive firepower has covered up any lapses on the other end of the court.
One bright spot defensively has been center Mark Williams. The seven-footer has been a menace all tournament long, blocking 16 shots through four games. Oh, and he’s scored at least 12 points in each game as well. Williams’ wingspan inside is often effective even when he doesn’t try to swat a shot, as opposing guards have been hesitant to drive inside or go up with a layup due to Williams looming a few feet away. Of Duke’s four opponents in the tournament, only Texas Tech shot over 50 percent on two-point shots.
It was a key defensive adjustment which won Duke the game against the Red Raiders. During the second half, Krzyzewski called for his team to run a 2-3 zone, as opposed to its standard man-to-man. The move worked, as the Blue Devils outscored Texas Tech 49-40 in the half. The Red Raiders went a span of 2:50 down the stretch without a point, allowing Duke to take a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Like Carolina, the Blue Devils are running a tight rotation deep into the NCAA Tournament. Duke played only eight players against Michigan State and Texas Tech and just seven against Arkansas in the Elite Eight. Keels and forward Theo John are the first two Blue Devils off the bench for Krzyzewski, but like the Tar Heels, there’s not much to be said about the players outside of the top seven.
Overall, Duke is appearing in its 17th Final Four, and is attempting to win its sixth national championship, all of which would have come under Krzyzewski. That would tie Carolina for third all-time among Division I programs, behind only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (eight).
Each of the four programs in New Orleans have won at least three national championships. With such traditions being put on display this weekend, any possible championship matchup of the four teams will be rife with storylines. A UNC meeting with Kansas could be dubbed the “Roy Williams Bowl.” Duke against Kansas would be a rematch of Krzyzewski’s first title win in 1991. UNC and Villanova… well, we know about that. Duke and Villanova could be viewed as a matchup of “Old vs. New” in college basketball, as the Wildcats have been arguably the country’s best program over the past decade.
Needless to say, it’s time for the entire state of North Carolina to buckle up.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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