Editor's note: This was written prior to the announcement that Maliq Brown is available for the contest.
No. 2 Duke men's basketball will take on its biggest rival tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Check our what our beats think will happen in the contest:
Ranjan Jindal: Duke 79-63
There's two things that make this close in my opinion — Duke’s nerves, and North Carolina having a hot shooting day. However, while I do think that could keep the game interesting to start, I don’t foresee it impacting the outcome. I think the key for Duke is making Elliot Cadeau uncomfortable with ball pressure, because he is really who facilitates the offense. Maliq Brown’s possible return would be huge for the Blue Devils because they will likely go small at points with either Brown or Mason Gillis at the center position. Duke is the much better team, and while I do believe that records matter less in a game like this, I’m not going to overcomplicate it. The Blue Devils open this game up early and take it with ease.
Dom Fenoglio: Duke 74-70
There’s about 100 ways this game could go. Most likely, Duke’s length and defense will overwhelm the Tar Heels and lead to a big win. Maybe, the Blue Devils have another tough shooting night, allowing North Carolina to hang around. Or, the Tar Heels’ talented backcourt could heat up, get to the free-throw line and up the pace. The game I am predicting is a combination of the three — making for an entertaining, if not excruciatingly stressful, ending. No matter how the first 39 minutes unfold, I am confident in one thing: Cooper Flagg will have the ball in his hands for Duke in the final 60 seconds. With 20 games of experience under his belt, I am picking him to deliver.
Sophie Levenson: Duke 85-80
I’m giving North Carolina more credit than I think it really deserves here, just because I can’t imagine a rivalry game that doesn’t end with a close score. First of all, there’s the height discrepancy — on top of the basic defensive power Duke has cultivated — which will make scoring difficult for the Tar Heels. I imagine that North Carolina will take quite a while figuring out how to get past the home team. On the individual level, where Duke has a star at every position on the court, the Tar Heels basically have one, RJ Davis. All due respect to Davis’ 17.6 points and four assists per game, but his stats are not at the caliber they were a year ago. The Blue Devils, on the other hand, have upgraded in every way since last season. Assuming nerves don’t play too much of a role for Duke’s freshmen, Scheyer’s squad should fare far better than it did last year against the Tar Heels in Cameron Indoor.
Abby DiSalvo: Duke 82-75
The Blue Devils have three key advantages in this game: stats, star power and their student section. Though North Carolina will inevitably benefit from a rivalry boost, I just don’t see a way for the Tar Heels to beat that trifecta. Davis’ squad has yet to prove it can match Duke’s intensity on either end of the court. The Tar Heels lag behind in almost every statistical category, and as Sophie pointed out, Davis has somewhat struggled to shoulder the burden. Though most eyes will rest on him and Duke’s freshmen, I'm curious to see how Ian Jackson steps up to handle the rivalry pressure for North Carolina. Chapel Hill’s second-leading scorer could find opportunities to keep his team close, and development in this contested environment may prove key later on. I’m nearly positive the Cameron Crazies will get to burn a bench, but watch for this rivalry game to illuminate other sparks as well.
Rodrigo Amare: Duke 78-72
On paper, Duke should stomp North Carolina in a dominant, blowout win that advances the Blue Devils’ pursuit of a perfect ACC season while wrecking the Tar Heels’ chances of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. But this is the Duke-North Carolina rivalry we’re talking about — it’s never as simple as it seems on paper. Especially if the Blue Devils’ recent offensive woes continue Saturday, the contest will likely be closer than the 13.5-point line in favor of Duke indicates. I expect the Tar Heels to come out red-hot as some of the Blue Devils’ inexperienced stars struggle to adjust to the pressure and intensity of the moment. Ultimately though, Duke’s superior talent and chemistry should prevail in a tight-back-and-forth game in which the Blue Devils’ stars elevate their play down the stretch. Look for Flagg in particular to deliver yet another standout performance which further cements the freshman as the best player in the country.
Caleb Dudley: Duke 71-65
I do think that this one will be much closer than the projected spread. Despite a clear talent gap between the two teams, anything can happen in the rivalry. Duke will be playing with a massive target on its back, and North Carolina is virtually playing with house money. The Tar Heels have struggled as of late, but a win over their rival would do wonders for their postseason hopes. For me, the main question is just how much the Blue Devils will dominate down low. They have a huge size advantage with Khaman Maluach, Patrick Ngongba II and Flagg, but will North Carolina be able to contain them? I don’t think so, and I think Duke improves its win streak to 15.
Andrew Long: Duke 81-75
I’d look foolish to call Scheyer a better coach than Davis and say North Carolina was going to win. For all the ways I think the Blue Devils thoroughly — and I mean thoroughly — overmatch the Tar Heels, Duke has shown a tendency in the last couple games to let things get closer than they should be. If North Carolina can find form from beyond the arc, much as it did last year in Cameron Indoor, I could foresee things getting anxious for the Blue Devils, but there’s just too much talent on Duke’s roster for a North Carolina upset to feel plausible. Without a true center, the Tar Heels have almost no answer to either Flagg or Maluach, and with a potential return for Brown, the Blue Devils can combat Davis’ guard-heavy rotation with a small-ball setup that can shut down perimeter threats. Anything can happen in this rivalry, hence my close spread. But an outright victory for the visitors would take both a cataclysmic underperformance from Duke and a miraculous overperformance from North Carolina, neither of which feel likely.
Rachael Kaplan: North Carolina 76-71
If this were any other game, this would be a bad pick. Duke’s talent and coaching outmatch North Carolina. However, the heightened stakes paired with the Blue Devils’ recent offensive slump just reeks of a trap for Scheyer and co. Duke has staved off upset attempts the last few weeks — it had an abysmal opening at home against N.C. State and barely escaped a close call against Wake Forest. Hubert Davis may just be coaching for his job, and the Blue Devils are going to drop one soon. While the odds may technically favor the home team (though in this game, what does that even mean?), I think the Tar Heels take their second-straight in Durham.
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Rachael Kaplan is a Trinity senior and a senior editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Rodrigo Amare is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.
Andrew Long is a Trinity senior and recruitment/social chair of The Chronicle's 120th volume. He was previously sports editor for Volume 119.