CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Sporting Alert – After holding out for a big victory over Virginia at the weekend, No. 20 Duke takes on No. 5 North Carolina in a key conference contest on Wednesday night.
The night’s game will see a battle between college basketball’s biggest rivals and both ball clubs are confident about stealing the win and this game will be live on ESPN and streaming live on WatchESPN.
If you are a college basketball fan, you will not want to miss this one.
The Blues Devils (19-6, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) played their way back into the college basketball top 25 rankings over the last two weeks with some quality wins and the defending national champions will be seeking to extend that run against their league rivals.
After going three months without a win against a ranked opponent, Duke grabbed two big victories in one week after defeating then-No. 13 Louisville, 72-65 and No. 7 Virginia, 63-62 in their fixtures last week — with the latter coming on coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 69th birthday and achieved from a Grayson Allen’s bank shot as time expired.
The spirited travelers will now take a four-game winning streak into the matchup at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
Sophomore guard Allen is averaging 20.6 points and shooting 48.9 percent from the field, including 42.5 percent from 3-point range this season for Duke, while freshman Brandon Ingram is averaging 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.
North Carolina won both its schedule games last week as well to stay atop of the ACC standings and Roy Williams men will be seeking their third successive win, while hunting their 11th victory in conference play.
The Tar Heels are led by senior forward Brice Johnson, who has tallied 14 double-doubles this term and is averaging 16.4 points and 10 rebounds per game, while shooting 61.4 percent from the floor.
Senior guard Marcus Paige comes into this game averaging 13 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for North Carolina, and the hosts will need him to contribute big time if they are to beat a rejuvenated Duke side.
North Carolina leads the all-time series against Duke 133-107 but has dropped 10 of the last 13 meetings to the Blue Devils.
Meanwhile, also taking the court on Wednesday night in a very busy college basketball schedule is No. 1 Villanova (22-3) which take on Temple (16-8), No. 3 Oklahoma (20-4, 8-4 Big 12) seeks to bounce back from the defeat to Kansas against Texas Tech (15-9, 5-7 Big 12), while No. 4 Iowa (20-5, 11-2 Big Ten) battles with Penn State (12-13, 3-9 Big Ten).
Elsewhere in college basketball action, No. 11 Miami (FL) (20-4, 9-3 ACC) meet Virginia Tech (13-12, 5-7 ACC), No. 22 Indiana (20-6, 10-3 Big Ten) battles Nebraska (14-12, 6-7 Big Ten) and No. 8 Xavier (22-3, 10-3 Big East) and No. 23 Providence (19-7, 7-6 Big East) go head-to-head.
College Basketball Top 25 and Selected Schedule
Wednesday, February 17
All Live GameCast and Score Boards
No. 15 Dayton at Saint Joseph’s 6:00 PM CBSSN
No. 4 Iowa at Penn State 6:30 PM BTN
No. 1 Villanova at Temple 7:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
Syracuse at No. 18 Louisville 7:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Boston College at Clemson 7:00 PM ESPN3, WatchESPN
No. 23 Providence at No. 8 Xavier 7:00 PM FS1
Nebraska at No. 22 Indiana 8:30 PM BTN
Alabama at LSU 9:00 PM SECN, WatchESPN
No. 3 Oklahoma at Texas Tech 9:00 PM ESPNU, WatchESPN
Virginia Tech at No. 11 Miami (FL) 9:00 PM ESPN3, WatchESPN
No. 20 Duke at No. 5 North Carolina 9:00 PM ESPN, WatchESPN
Arizona State at No. 12 Arizona 9:00 PM ESPN2, WatchESPN
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