Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Tuesday night’s narrow win over Wake Forest that he was not sure that star freshman Zion Williamson would be ready to play in time for Saturday’s top-five matchup against UNC.

“I don’t think he’d be ready for Saturday,” the Duke coach told reporters. He did say that Tuesday was the first time that Williamson had done some basketball activities since injuring his knee 34 seconds into the first UNC – Duke matchup in Durham.

Carolina came away with a 16-point victory in that game with Luke Maye capitalizing on Williamson’s absence with 30 points and 15 rebounds.

Krzyzewski said the challenge now that Williamson is taking part in some activities would be getting him more confidence and getting back in game shape.

“I have to be careful not to push this,” Krzyzewski said.

While he might not be ready to play against Carolina, “I’d be surprised if he wasn’t ready for the ACC Tournament.”

It will be No. 3 UNC hosting No. 4 Duke on Saturday. Game time is set for 6 p.m., and ESPN’s College Gameday will be in Chapel Hill.

UNC is coming off of a dominating victory at Boston College Tuesday night to complete its ACC road schedule at 9-0. Duke was able to hold off Wake Forest in Durham Tuesday night for a one-point victory.

Both UNC and Duke could still win the ACC regular season title with a victory on Saturday, if Virginia loses its final regular season game at Louisville.

AP Photo/Gerry Broome

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