UNC Basketball: 5 keys to beat Duke in "must win" regular season finale

UNC Basketball: 5 keys to beating Duke in “must win” regular season finale

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 04: Caleb Love #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels defends Tyrese Proctor #5 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 04, 2023 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

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Armando Bacot #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

1) Get Armando Bacot going

Though Carolina escaped Tallahassee with a win, Armando Bacot had his worst game of the season, tallying only one point and eight rebounds over just 21 minutes. The Heels’ big man will be looking to rebound in more ways than one on Saturday.

For UNC to get revenge on Duke in their second matchup, Bacot will need to turn it around. It won’t be easy. Duke is anchored down low by freshman Dereck Lively II, a defensive dynamo that blocked eight shots in the game at Cameron. Lively isn’t a focal point of the Blue Devils’ offense, but he makes everything in the paint difficult.

As good as Lively was on February 4th, he didn’t completely shut Bacot down. Armando still had 14 points and 10 rebounds on 50% shooting. The Heels will need at least that, and possibly more, to get the W.

The best route to do that would be getting Lively into foul trouble. Duke has frontcourt depth in Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell, and Ryan Young, but it doesn’t have anyone that can protect the rim nearly as well as Lively, so not only could Bacot dominate, it would open things up for the likes of Caleb Love and RJ Davis to drive. Getting a vintage Bacot game is the best way for Carolina to win.

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