5 reasons North Carolina will win the 2019 ACC Tournament

3. The Tar Heels have plenty of experience

In a pressure-packed situation, like the one and done nature of conference tournaments, having players who have gone through it before can be a huge advantage. This is an area where Duke is lacking due to its freshmen-heavy lineup, but the Tar Heels have plenty of experience to fall back on.

Johnson and Maye, both seniors, not only won the ACC Tournament last season but have multiple NCAA Tournaments under their belt. Maye was also a key reserve on North Carolina’s national championship team in 2017, an experience that will help guide the Tar Heels’ younger players in March.

That experience also comes from the bench with head coach Roy Williams, who has been through plenty of pressure moments in March before. Williams’ steadying presence will be a key to helping the Tar Heels emerge victorious in Charlotte.

2. North Carolina has Duke’s number

It is fair to question whether or not Zion Williamson’s absence impacted both of those games, but you cannot just ignore the fact that North Carolina beat Duke twice in the span of two and a half weeks. Maye feasted on the Blue Devils’ interior defenders in the first matchup, putting up 30 points and 15 rebounds in the win while White torched Duke from the outside in the second.

A big issue with playing Duke is that many teams simply don’t have the firepower to keep up with the Blue Devils on offense, and that is not a problem for North Carolina. The Tar Heels are third in the country in scoring with 86.6 points per game, so they can put the ball in the basket enough to beat Duke.

Williamson is expected to return for Duke in the tournament, but North Carolina still has a pair of victories over the Blue Devils in the bank. That can be a significant mental edge over a younger team and one that Williams will look to exploit.