One of the vital broadly anticipated contests in Remaining 4 historical past until happen within the second recreation from New Orleans Saturday evening when arch-rivals Duke and North Carolina sq. off within the NCAA event for the primary time in historical past.

Not less than level you nearly actually know all the defining storylines right here — first event assembly, Coach Okay’s final season, Duke out for revenge for his or her final assembly, UNC capturing for the last word rivalry trump card by ending Krzyzewski’s profession — so let’s tackle three issues in regards to the precise recreation that you need to know earlier than the Blue Devils and Tar Heels get it on in The Huge Simple.

1. Duke has a transparent expertise benefit

For a very long time on this rivalry, North Carolina was considered because the aspect that was at all times loaded with future NBA stars, whereas Duke’s success was extra in regards to the tradition of this system — one with terrific faculty gamers whose expertise wouldn’t essentially translate to the best degree of success within the NBA.

That dynamic has been type of flipped on its head lately, and by no means has that change been extra obvious than at this second.

Should you pull up just about any mock NBA draft on the web proper now, you’re more likely to see at the very least three Duke gamers earlier than you get to a participant on one of many different three groups that may play in New Orleans this weekend.

Paolo Banchero is a near-lock to be a prime three decide within the draft and will go No. 1 total, A.J. Griffin can doubtless lock up a prime 10 spot with a robust efficiency or a pair of sturdy performances contained in the Superdome, and Mark Williams and Wendell Moore Jr. additionally appear to be secure bets to be taken within the first spherical.

North Carolina’s Caleb Love and Brady Manek would appear to have an opportunity to listen to their names referred to as within the draft (Love if he chooses to depart college early), however nearly actually not till the second spherical.

We all know this Carolina workforce can outplay this Duke workforce as a result of all of us noticed it with our personal eyes only a month in the past. But when each groups are taking part in to their highest degree on Saturday — which might be fantastic to see from an goal viewing standpoint — it must be the Blue Devils who’re transferring on to Monday evening.

2. Count on a high-scoring recreation

Whether or not its the additional day without work, the huge arenas or simply the gravity of the second, the Remaining 4 tends, particularly lately, to supply poor capturing and low scoring video games from groups that had been lighting up the scoreboard within the previous weeks.

There are causes to consider Duke-North Carolina gained’t fall sufferer to this plague.

The over has hit within the final six conferences between these two arch-rivals. Not solely that, however the scores from these video games have gone over the pregame whole set by the oddsmakers by a median of 20.1 factors per recreation.

Duke lit up UNC in Chapel Hill on Feb. 5, capturing 57.6 p.c from the sector total and racking up 87 factors in a 20-point demolition of their Tobacco Street Rivals. The Tar Heels one-upped the Dukies a month later by hanging 94 on the Devils in Coach Okay’s final recreation at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

These have additionally been the 2 highest-scoring groups within the event, with North Carolina averaging 82.5 factors in its 4 March Insanity victories, and Duke averaging 79.8. Curiously, the Blue Devils have scored precisely 78 factors in all however one in all their 4 victories.

3. The three has carried UNC thus far, however it may not carry them on Saturday

North Carolina’s shock run to the Remaining 4 has been fueled primarily by red-hot three-point capturing. As a result of Caleb Love, R.J. Davis, Brady Manek and firm have been hitting the surface shot at the next clip, they’ve additionally been taking a bigger proportion of their pictures from three.

Throughout the common season, the Tar Heels took about 38 p.c of their area purpose makes an attempt from past the arc. Of their upset wins over Baylor and UCLA, that quantity jumped to 44 p.c and 47 p.c, respectively.

Curiously although, when UNC surprised Duke, 94-81, at Cameron Indoor again on March 5, the three-point shot wasn’t a weapon that basically fueled that upset. The Tar Heels took 23 pictures from past the arc, however made solely 9, good for a strong, however not spectacular proportion of 39.1. The larger causes for that massive rivalry win have been Carolina’s 19-of-22 efficiency from the free-throw line, it solely turning the ball over 5 instances, and it capturing a torrid 53.3 p.c from inside the arc.

North Carolina will completely be letting its fair proportion of pictures fly from deep on Saturday evening, but when these pictures aren’t falling early, it doesn’t essentially imply that the Tar Heels are cooked.