Duke Basketball: Tar Heels looking for unheard of three game sweep

The North Carolina Tar Heels will be looking for the unheard of three-game season sweep of the Duke Basketball team tonight in the ACC Tournament.

The North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils will be taking the floor for the third time together this season and with two wins already under its belt, the Heels will be looking for the unheard of three game sweep.

Roy Williams‘ team is coming off of a 83-70 victory over the Louisville Cardinals in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.

More from Ball Durham

Luke Maye and Coby White led the Tar Heels in the victory, both totaling 19 points on the evening.

Maye also added nine rebounds to North Carolina’s winning cause, while White had seven rebounds and six assists.

Cam Johnson had a 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Garrison Brooks added 11 points.

Off the bench, prized recruit Nas Little dropped five points and was very active on the glass with six rebounds in just 16 minutes.

North Carolina has been on absolute fire of late, winning fifteen of its last sixteen games dating back to January 15, with the lone loss coming to Virginia on February 11.

In that winning streak has been two victories over the Duke Blue Devils, but Duke was basically without Zion Williamson in both games.

In the first matchup on February 20 was when Williamson went down in the first 30 seconds with a knee sprain as North Carolina went on to win 88-season 72 and Williamson did not return back to the floor until last night against Syracuse.

Obviously, that means Zion also missed the second matchup last week in the regular season finale. The Heels took care of business on its home floor, holding off a Duke comeback and winning 79-70.

In the first matchup between the two teams, it was Luke Maye that was living in the paint without Zion on the floor as he finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds.

Cam Johnson had 26 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the victory while Garrison Brooks also had success without Duke’s star freshman on the floor with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Coby White struggled in February against the Blue Devils, only totaling nine points, five rebounds, three assists, but he had six turnovers.

White would flip the script entirely in the second matchup, leading the way for North Carolina with 21 points, three assists, and no turnovers.

The Blue Devils were able to limit the scoring abilities of Luke Maye as he only finished with seven points, but he also added 16 rebounds and seven assists.

On his Senior Night, Cam Johnson had 14 points and 10 rebounds, but other than that, it was the role players on North Carolina that hurt the Blue Devils.

Kenny Williams was a pest on defense, taking three charges, but he was also on fire from 3-point range, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists, making four of his seven attempts from 3-point range.

Next. Blue Devils hold on to defeat Syracuse in quarterfinals. dark

Duke was already without Zion Williamson, but fellow big man Marques Bolden also went down in the opening minutes in the second matchup and his counter part, Garrison Brooks, was able to finish with 10 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks without Bolden by his side.

With already two wins over the Blue Devils this season, North Carolina will be looking to try and prove a point that they are able to beat a Duke team with a healthy Zion Williamson on the floor.

The two teams will battle for a spot in the ACC Championship for a third year in a row at approximately 9:30pm ET on ESPN.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Home/Duke Basketball