When unranked, UNC has a 4-15 record against a top-five Duke teamUNC has entered its first Duke game with nine or more losses in seven seasons. The Tar Heels are 3-4 in those games.UNC basketball will be a significant underdog at Duke on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. But the Tar Heels have a chance […]
When unranked, UNC has a 4-15 record against a top-five Duke teamUNC has entered its first Duke game with nine or more losses in seven seasons. The Tar Heels are 3-4 in those games.UNC basketball will be a significant underdog at Duke on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But the Tar Heels have a chance to do something they’ve never done in the storied history of college basketball’s greatest rivalry. It’s a tough trend to buck, but UNC head coach Hubert Davis — who is 2-1 against the Blue Devils in Durham — knows what it’s like to walk into Cameron Indoor Stadium as a heavy underdog against Duke and walk out as a winner. BUY DUKE-UNC TICKETS HEREThe Tar Heels had 11 losses entering their first game against Duke in 2002, losing by 29 points at the Smith Center. In 2003, UNC carried nine losses to Cameron Indoor Stadium and lost by nine. The Heels had 10 losses ahead of their 10-point home loss to Duke in 2010 and carried 12 defeats into their 2020 matchup at the Smith Center, which ended with the Devils earning a 98-96 overtime victory. The Tar Heels are still looking for their first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium in this situation.
UNC vs Duke history with Tar Heels as underdogs
The Tar Heels (13-9, 6-4 ACC) are reeling after losses in three of their last four games. Meanwhile, the second-ranked Blue Devils (18-2, 10-0) are thriving as winners of 14 straight, owners of the nation’s longest winning streak.Since earning a 71-68 home victory against the Blue Devils in 1951, UNC has lost the last four games in which it faced this scenario.
The 2022 game between Duke and UNC was supposed to be a celebration of Mike Krzyzewski’s career, culminating with a win against the Tar Heels in Coach K’s Cameron farewell. UNC crashed the party, celebrating on Coach K Court after a 13-point victory. For the eighth time in the last 100 years, the Tar Heels will carry at least nine losses into their first home-and-home matchup with Duke. UNC is 3-4 in those games, with each of the wins occurring at Woolen Gym in Chapel Hill.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them torbaxley@fayobserver.com.
The odds aren’t in UNC’s favor at Duke on Saturday, but it’ll have a chance.Overall, unranked UNC teams have a 4-15 record against top-five Duke squads. But the Tar Heels have won back-to-back games in that situation. Metric sites KenPom and Torvik predict Duke to win by 16 points against UNC when the Tobacco Road rivals tip off Saturday (6:30 p.m., ESPN) on Coach K Court.
