UNC Basketball: 3 keys for Tar Heels to beat Duke in must-win matchup

TV schedule: Saturday, Feb. 5 – 6:00 PM ET, ESPN

Arena: Dean E. Smith Center – Chapel Hill, N.C.

The best rivalry in college sports is back this Saturday as Hall of Fame Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski makes that nine-mile drive down Tobacco Road for the final time.

Coach K is 49-46 in his career against UNC Basketball, although the rivalry is an even 50-50 over the last 100 games. Carolina has scored 7,841 points in the last 100 games while Duke has scored 7,829 points. Out of more than 15,000 points scored in the last 100 games dating back to 1979, just 12 points separate these two teams. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the mark of an elite rivalry.

Carolina has won its last four games and is one of three teams currently at 8-3 in ACC play. Duke has also won its last four games and is 8-2 in ACC play, holding a half-game lead on UNC, Miami, and Notre Dame at the top of the league standings. As has often been the case over the years, this rivalry game will have a direct and significant impact on the top of the ACC standings.

As someone who grew up in North Carolina in the midst of Tobacco Road rivalry talk, I feel confident conjecturing that there is nothing short of winning an eighth national championship that UNC fans would love more than to send Krzyzewski into retirement with two final losses in the legendary rivalry.

Here are three keys for the Tar Heels to beat Duke in Coach K’s final trip to the Dean Dome.