The first installment of this year's Tobacco Road rivalry brought a thrilling 92-90 overtime contest that saw the Blue Devils emerge victorious in Durham. This time, the two rivals will travel to Chapel Hill to close out the regular season Saturday with a 9 p.m. tip-off at the Dean Dome. The Tar Heels are fighting for the No. 4 seed in next week's ACC tournament and will be looking for revenge against No. 3 Duke, who is looking to solidify its resume for a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament. Before every game this season, the Blue Zone will select a player on both teams that could make a difference for their respective squads.
Duke: guard Tyus Jones
When the Blue Devils faced off against the Tar Heels for the first time this season, on Feb. 18, Jones led the way. With 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, the Apple Valley, Minn., native gave Duke the push it needed to topple North Carolina 92-90 in overtime. Perhaps even more impressive than Jones’ stat line was his leadership late in the game. With the Blue Devils down 7 and 1:30 left on the clock, Jones himself outscored the Tar Heels 9-2 to force overtime. Duke’s freshman point guard made all of his free throws in that time period—an area in which the Blue Devils had struggled all game—and was able to mentally overcome a crucial turnover to lead Duke back.
Jones will be tasked not only with running the offense as point guard and managing the backcourt, but also guarding North Carolina’s Marcus Paige on the perimeter. Paige has been the Tar Heels’ most prolific scorer this season, averaging 13.2 points per game, and leads the team in assists, averaging 4.4 dimes per contest. Jones will have to slow down the junior point guard, much like he did last time the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels met—when Paige was held to five points on 2-of-11 shooting and three assists—if Duke wishes to end its regular season on a high note.
Jones has had a stellar 2014-2015 campaign, averaging 11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. The 6-foot-1 point guard has been a revelation for the Blue Devils, especially in big games. Duke will need Jones to show up in Saturday’s big game—as he has in so many other this year—to secure the season sweep against North Carolina and advance to 28-3.
North Carolina: forward J.P. Tokoto
Tokoto has been a solid starter for North Carolina all season long, averaging 8.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. However, he will need to take his play to the next level if the Tar Heels wish to down their Tobacco Road rivals Saturday night. When North Carolina last played Duke, Tokoto put up 15 points—good for third most by a Tar Heel—and recorded a team-high three steals. However, Tokoto’s 15 were two points too few—the junior forward’s potential game-tying jumper in the final seconds of overtime rimmed out, and sent a tired North Carolina team home with a loss to the rival Blue Devils.
As a wing forward, Tokoto will be playing against the likes of Duke’s Justise Winslow, Matt Jones and Grayson Allen. If the 6-foot-6 forward is able to play well and draw fouls on Duke’s wing players, he can put pressure on Duke’s lineup, which has lacked depth at the wing position since the dismissal of Rasheed Sulaimon. Tokoto should look to take advantage of Duke’s inexperienced perimeter players, driving to the basket and forcing turnovers like he did in the first matchup in Durham.
Tokoto will be calling for the ball early and often in Saturday’s contest, and has the potential to be the force that leads the Tar Heels to victory in their last game before the start of the ACC tournament.
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Jacob Weiss is a Trinity senior. His column, "not jumping to any conclusions," runs on alternate Fridays.