A very happy UNC-Duke weekend to all those observing. Let’s ride down Highway 501.
How to watch North Carolina at No. 2 Duke
Duke’s phenom gets his North Carolina game. Cooper Flagg is building the legend right on cue. Flagg had an absurd January — the 18-year-old averaged 25.7 points on 58/43/86 shooting splits … plus 7.6 boards, 4.9 dimes, a full steal and block per game. Those are College Hoops 2K8 stats.
Fellow freshman Kon Knueppel is a fantastic second option for the offense. Three-year starter Tyrese Proctor is the stabilizer. The Blue Devils are playing especially well right now, with 14 wins in a row and top-10 offensive and defensive ratings.
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Coach Jon Scheyer put up 24 points in a full 40 minutes at Chapel Hill back in 2010.
From the New York Times‘ Thayer Evans: “Jon Scheyer has an undisputed reputation among his Duke teammates for being a clutch performer in football and in soccer. The 6-foot-5 senior point guard’s excellence in those sports is derived from playing video games — N.C.A.A. Football, Madden N.F.L. and FIFA Soccer. He is also accomplished in the video game series N.C.A.A. Basketball. Scheyer’s legendary last-minute comebacks leave teammates crestfallen.
‘He always finds a way to win,’ said the redshirt junior forward Steve Johnson, who described Scheyer as a maniac. ‘He’s just got a knack,’ he said.”
That Duke team was 20-4 to North Carolina’s 13-11. The vibes are similar in 2025: Duke is 18-2 and North Carolina is 13-9. Hubert Davis’ Tar Heels hit the weekend seventh in the ACC. They’ve lost three of four, two by one point.
Freshman Ian Jackson has scrapped his way to starter’s minutes and is scoring 14.7 points per game. Junior Seth Trimble’s January splits may cause ocular damage: 39 percent on 2-pointers, 11 percent on 3-pointers. At least lead dog R.J. Davis has put together a solid four-game stretch, averaging 19.5 points per game on 48 percent from the field.
They’re not on equal footing right now, but this matchup is one of the sport’s premier traditions. College GameDay will be outside Cameron Indoor. Jay Bilas and Jay Williams went to Duke, of course.
Recent Duke stars’ first game against UNC:
- Jared McCain had 23 points and 11 rebounds in 2024’s loss
- Paolo Banchero had 13 points and 10 rebounds in a Feb. 2022 win
- Zion Williamson’s shoe exploded in the first minute of his first Tar Heels matchup. He sustained a mild knee sprain and didn’t return. But in his first full test, the 2019 ACC Tournament thriller, Duke won by one and Williamson went 13-of-19 for 31 points.
(Photo of Cooper Flagg: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
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