Tomorrow night is the night they've all been waiting for.
It doesn't get any bigger than No. 1 vs. No 2 - especially when it's the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. With untarnished records and the ACC title on the line, the stakes are higher than ever in this week's rivalry game.
Standing atop the national polls, these two nemeses are the only two undefeated Top 25 teams. Tomorrow's game will change that, as the No. 1 Blue Devils pay a visit to Tar Heel country for the first game of two this season between the two basketball powerhouses.
With Duke coming off a recent romp of Clemson, in which it outscored the Tigers 105-53, the Blue Devil offense is ready to put up big numbers once again. Senior guard Lindsey Harding and sophomore guard Abby Waner, both nominees for the John R. Wooden Award, given to the nation's best player, lead the Blue Devils in most offensive categories.
Stopping the Duke scoring attack will be no small feat for the Heels, as the Blue Devils have scored 70 or more points in 19 of their 24 wins this season. In the spring semester alone, the Blue Devils are averaging a 28-point win over their points. Harding and Waner lead the team offensively, averaging 14.5 and 14.7 points per game, respectively.
Also a Wooden Award nominee, senior guard Ivory Latta has been the backbone of the Heels. Latta, who scored 32 points when UNC defeated the reigning national champion and No. 6 Maryland earlier this season, is averaging 16.3 points per game. Her offensive contributions are complimented by the play of junior forward and fellow Wooden nominee Erlana Larkins, who is averaging 13 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
An examination of how the top two fared against other teams in the Top 25 may shed some light on tomorrow's match-up. Both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils faced-off against No. 4 Tennessee earlier this season. While the Tar Heels took care of the Volunteers, handily winning 70-57, the Blue Devils had a difficult time eking out a 74-70 win.
Similarly, both teams defeated Maryland by a decent margin this season. The Tar Heels, whose only two losses last season were to the reigning champion Terrapins, got their revenge this year, as they took care of Maryland 84-71. Similarly, the Blue Devils also handed Maryland one of their three losses of the season, as they blew past the visiting Terrapins by a score of 81-62.
Not only is the claim to the No. 1 ranking in the nation up for grabs on Thursday, but Duke and Carolina are also vying for the top spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. With two head-to-head match-ups on the horizon, however, tomorrow night's loser will have a chance at redemption later this month. While the Blue Devils travel to Chapel Hill this week, the Tar Heels will pay a visit to Durham on Feb. 25 for the second showdown between the rivals.
Should one team win both games, that squad will naturally take sole possession of the first place slot in both the national rankings and the ACC standings. A split between the two teams would set up an interesting scenario in the postseason ACC Tournament, however, with the possibility of their fates lying in a coin toss.
Florida State sits in third place in the ACC with a current 6-1 record, one that technically leaves the Seminoles still in contention for the top spot in the conference. While the Blue Devils have already dealt Florida State its only conference loss, the Tar Heels still must face-off against the Seminoles. If all three teams end up with one loss, a compelling tiebreaker situation will come into play.
Avid basketball fans could not ask for much more as the season comes to a close and the top teams chase one another for the top seeds in March Madness.
