Meredith Shiner: How do you think the dynamics of the rivalry have evolved in the past 20 years, especially with so many players leaving early?
Jay Bilas: I don't think it's changed that much. The player aspect of it is probably not all that much different. You may not have as long of a history with the rivalry, but it's just as intense. What makes the rivalry is, one, how good the teams are. Usually when Duke and Carolina play, they're national contenders and not just cross-town rivals. The other thing that makes it is the intense scrutiny on the rivalry-that so many people are so interested in it. There are blood feuds all over the country that are just as intense but they don't seem to resonate with people in the same way.
What or who has impressed you most on this Duke team?
Just that they're really resilient. It's a younger team and if you look across the country, most young teams are really struggling. And this is a team that doesn't have any junior or senior leadership-really, just DeMarcus Nelson-everybody else are sophomores that are playing big minutes. For them to come together and played as good of defense as they've played and to be as competitive as they've been, I think it's really a credit to those kids and to the coaching staff.
A lot of teams are struggling to score around the country. Duke certainly has been more efficient than some of the others. To be as young as they are and to play as well as they play, I think that's a credit to their entire organization.
What will Duke have to do to beat UNC?
I think to beat North Carolina, they're going to have to slow their transition game down because Carolina can really push the ball up the floor. So I think they're going to have to really do a good job of taking care of the ball and the Duke offense has to help the Duke defense. If Duke turns the ball over or takes a quick shot, that provides a run-out for Carolina-that's going to put a lot of pressure on Duke defense and they're going to give up a lot of easy baskets that way. If they can make Carolina play more of a half-court game on the offensive end, I think they'll have a much better chance of winning.
The other thing they've got to do, is they've got to rebound. They've got to limit Carolina to one shot. That's a very good offensive rebounding team and a very efficient team. Your first-shot defense and making sure you limit the opponent to one shot is really, really important. And the last thing is the free-throw line. Duke has to win the free-throw battle in order to have a really good chance to win because North Carolina is deeper and they can afford to waste a few fouls here and there being aggressive. I don't think Duke has that same luxury.
A lot has been made out of the fact that there is not really a strong precedent for teams staring three freshmen winning a National Championship. How big of a factor is this is UNC's potential for winning it all?
I definitely think it's a factor. Is it something that's going to be a difference? I don't know. Syracuse started at least two freshmen in '03-Gerry McNamara and Carmelo Anthony, and they brought Billy Edelin off the bench.... They had a younger team and were able to put it together in the end and make a great run through the Tournament. Is it likely that that's going to happen? No. I think it's unusual for that to happen. I would still rather have experience talent than super, young talent. But the game is younger now and it's subject to more inconsistency because of that youth.
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