The last time Duke played North Carolina, the Blue Devils gave up a season-high 101 points as Ty Lawson torched them for 21 second-half points.
And that was when Duke had one of its best on-ball defenders at full strength.
Sophomore point guard Nolan Smith remains day-to-day with the mild concussion he sustained Feb. 25 at Maryland. He is just one of several Blue Devils dealing with injuries heading into No. 7 Duke's biggest road game of the season Sunday against No. 2 North Carolina at 4 p.m. in the Dean E. Smith Center.
With a victory against the Tar Heels (26-3, 12-3 in the ACC), Duke (25-5, 11-4) would earn a share of the ACC regular-season title and have the inside track for the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
"We have to beat the best team in America on their home court, and we're beaten up," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "So if we get a little bit healthy, maybe we'll do OK. But we have to get really healthy because they're going to be loaded for bear, and they're terrific. I think they're as good as anybody."
Jon Scheyer, Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek are also listed as day-to-day after injuring themselves in the Blue Devils' 84-81 win over Florida State Tuesday. Scheyer and Thomas have sprained ankles, and Zoubek broke his nose. Thomas went to the locker room for treatment after going down in the first half against the Seminoles, but Scheyer and Zoubek both returned to contribute to the victory.
Duke could certainly use the size of Thomas and Zoubek against North Carolina's potent frontcourt, which features reigning National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough will be honored with Danny Green and Bobby Frasor on Senior Night in Chapel Hill, where the Blue Devils beat North Carolina last season.
But the Blue Devils may miss Smith most if he can't play, especially if the game is as fast as it was Feb. 11 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"We've had a long couple of weeks against really good teams," sophomore forward Kyle Singler said. "This is the end of the season, so we've got to be at our best. We've got to get Lance back, we've got to get Nolan back and we've got to get healthy again. Those are the main keys-just getting rest and getting healthy."
After the Florida State game, Krzyzewski called it "a stretch" to say Smith would be ready by Sunday.
If he can't play, freshman Elliot Williams will likely have a larger role in trying to contain Lawson and North Carolina's vaunted fast break. Williams has averaged 11.6 points per game since becoming a starter Feb. 19 against St. John's and, more important, has emerged as one of Duke's best defenders.
Williams did not play in the last contest against the Tar Heels, but his presence could prove crucial against them less than a month later. And if there's anything Williams has shown since he was inserted into the starting lineup-a span in which he has played 31.4 minutes per game and the Blue Devils have gone a perfect 5-0-it's that he no longer plays like a freshman.
"Elliot has been huge throughout [his time as a starter]," Scheyer said. "We just need to keep going, and we need everybody to win this."
But even with all their injuries, the Blue Devils might be better prepared to beat the Tar Heels than they were Feb. 11. They have notched two key wins over ranked conference opponents since then, and they appear to be a different team than the one that lost four of six in early February.
"We've just matured," junior forward Gerald Henderson said. "We've had a lot of close games these last couple of weeks where, in different parts of the season, who knows what the outcome might have been. When we're at the end of games and a lot is on the line, we're making plays, locking in and making good defensive stops."
That return to the stingy defensive play of November through January-helped in part by Williams' on-ball pressure-may be just what Duke needs against the second-best offensive team in the country.
"There's never a time in a game where we don't think we're going to win [now]," Scheyer said. "We know of things we need to do to get a lead back. Pretty much it all starts with our defense. The way we get leads back, the way we come back, is by getting stops and really getting out and playing our defense."
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