No list of dangerous conference games would be complete without mentioning the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Blue Devils, as they do every season, will play the Heels at least twice. Although the Devils won 15 of 24 games over the last decade, they are just 5-5 against UNC in the last 10. Except for the memorable comeback wins, Duke has not had great success away from home against the Tar Heels recently either, as its last five losses in Chapel Hill are by an average of more than eight points.
The Blue Devils are likely to stumble at least once against their in-state blueblood rivals, who welcome the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class. UNC’s six-deep bunch of newcomers, led by three five-stars in point guard Caleb Love plus centers Day’Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler, somehow bumped Duke’s haul to No. 3 last week on the 247Sports 2020 Class Rankings.
Roy Williams also returns two quality big men in senior Garrison Brooks, a top early candidate for ACC Player of the Year, and sophomore Armando Bacot, who averaged 9.6 points and 8.3 rebounds as a rookie.