Duke and North Carolina will face off against each other in the next chapter of their classic rivalry Friday, but it won't be in Durham or Chapel Hill or anywhere in the South. They are meeting in New York in the ACC tournament semifinals at the Barclays Center, with the Blue Devils playing for a chance at their first conference championship game appearance in three years. The Blue Zone takes a look at a player from each team who could be the difference-maker in the game:
Duke: Guard Grayson Allen
Allen always seems to thrive under the bright lights against the Tar Heels, averaging 22.8 points in four games against them in the last two years. The junior guard bounced back from his first scoreless game since his freshman year in the Blue Devils' ACC tournament opener against Clemson Wednesday with 18 critical points on 5-of-12 shooting off the bench to help Duke upset Louisville in a quarterfinal nail-biter.
If Allen can knock down a few triples to spread the floor against North Carolina's sometimes shaky perimeter defense, he could help provide just enough offense to outlast the Tar Heels' high-powered attack in another shootout. The Jacksonville, Fla., native poured in 25 points and made seven 3-pointers in the two rivals' matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season, but battled injuries for the last few weeks of the regular season and did not come close to playing at that level again until Wednesday night.
Freshman Frank Jackson may start in Allen's place for the fifth straight game, but whether Allen is starting or coming in as a spark off the bench again, his performance could make or break the Blue Devils' upset hopes with Duke needing all hands on deck.
North Carolina: Swingman Theo Pinson
The Tar Heels' high-scoring duo of Joel Berry II and ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson gets a lot of well-deserved credit for North Carolina's impressive season so far, and so does its deep frontcourt led by seniors Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks that has made the Tar Heels the best rebounding team in the country. Pinson has flown under the radar as their fifth starter, but he is often the player that puts his more recognizable teammates in position to make plays.
Pinson has only played in 14 games this year due to injury, but is getting healthy at the right time and has been one of North Carolina's most important players for the last month, with the Tar Heels 12-2 when he plays. Although he has gone scoreless in two of North Carolina's last three games, the 6-foot-6 wing has dished out at least six assists in three of its last four contests. Pinson has led the team in that category in the last two games, and Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski went out of his way in his postgame press conference Saturday to praise Pinson's zero-point, seven-assist performance.
Pinson is very unlikely to be North Carolina's leading scorer Friday, but he makes his teammates better when he plays well and could take advantage of an exhausted Duke team playing its third game in three days.
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