College basketball's rivalry week is in full swing and the ageless matchup of Duke against North Carolina is certainly one to watch. The Blue Devils are back in the top 10 after a January slump saw them lose positioning in the ranking. However, Duke bounced back against the ACC and sit at No. 8 as they face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Wednesday night.
January was not kind to Duke. The team lost to Clemson in January, along with dropping one to top-ranked Syracuse. However, improving their defense has the Blue Devils back as a favorite in the ACC with March Madness approaching. Since the loss to Clemson, Duke has put up seven wins while not allowing their opponent to record more than 68 points a game. Meanwhile, Duke has scored at least 72 a game. The team has forced at least 10 steals in three games after doing so just twice in their first 16 matchups.
The Tar Heels are no a five-game win streak thanks to the scoring of Marcus Paige. He is averaging 17.0 points per game. Paige has been plagued by slow starts. He is averaging 6.4 points on 36.6 percent shooting in the first half while putting up 10.6 points on 47.8 percent shooting in the second half. He is also shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc which could challenge the Duke defense on Wednesday night.
Paige is one of the best shooters right now in the conference. He is leading the ACC with a 90.5 free throw completion percentage. Not to be out done, Duke will bring freshman Jabari Parker who is growing his reputation as one of the best. He has scored at least 20 points in his last three of four games, while averaging 19.2 points per game.
Duke is on a role and preparing to overpower the Tar Heels. They have beaten their last six opponents by an average of 22 points despite the one loss against Syracuse. North Carolina's 11-3 home record might be the best thing going for them.
