Rivalry Renewed: 8 questions ahead of North Carolina vs. Duke

Keys to the game for Duke

1. Who guards Coby White?

North Carolina freshman Coby White is the engine that enables the Tar Heels to roar on the offensive end. White runs the point for the Heels but uses his combo guard skills to score at all three levels. White is never static and has gotten better throughout the season of setting teammates up while looking for scoring opportunities. Furthermore, White is a really tall guard, six-foot-five to be exact, all while playing the point. Most players at the point do not have White’s size or a combination of his speed and strength to combat him on defense.

So who will Duke put on White?

Freshman Tre Jones is a great individual defender but he does not have the physical profile to match up for White. If Duke puts one of their freshman wings on White, then the Blue Devils will be at a size disadvantage against the Tar Heels front-court, which can potentially hinder their team rebounding. Look for potentially a committee of Blue Devils taking turns trying to slow White down.

2. Will Cam Reddish be lights out from 3?

The Blue Devils are one of the nation’s worst shooting teams from deep, sporting a sub-par team average 31.3 percent, good for 304th out of 353 teams per Bart Torvik. Freshman R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson have showed-up so far during marquee games, but Reddish is the teams best shooter and his floor-stretching ability will give his teammates better driving lanes. There is so much an opposing defense has to account for when playing Duke, and Reddish’s shooting could give just a few more feet of space that Barrett and Williamson can exploit.

3. Can Duke get second-chance points?

Duke has the sixth best team offensive rebounding rate, while North Carolina is the 18th best defensive rebounding team, per Bart Torvik, so something has to give. Since Duke is prone to inconsistent shooting they might have to rely on creating as many second-chance points as possible. Look for the Blue Devils to crash the glass following misses.

4. Can Duke turn UNC over?

The Blue Devils lead the country in steals, which directly feeds into their explosive transition opportunities (Bart Torvik). However, North Carolina is one of the better teams in taking care of the ball. Duke will need to maintain their gambling for steals to reduce as many scoring opportunities for the Tar Heels as possible.