UNC basketball wants 'revenge' in rematch with Duke at ACC Tournament
CHARLOTTE — Standing outside of the Spectrum Center arena, UNC basketball’s RJ Davis was positioned in front of the 2025 ACC Tournament bracket.
To the right of Davis’ head were stickers of Duke and UNC, matched up on the same side of the bracket in a 7 p.m. semifinal for Friday.
“It kind of feels like another Final Four game, but just in the ACC Tournament,” said Davis, who scored 23 points in the fifth-seeded Tar Heels’ 68-59 win against fourth-seeded Wake Forest.
“I’m just super excited to play them again and get another crack at them.”
UNC (22-12), which got swept by the top-ranked Blue Devils (29-3) in the regular season, improved its odds of making the March Madness bracket and likely crushed the NCAA Tournament chances of the Demon Deacons (21-11).
The Tar Heels dominated the last 3 ½ minutes, finishing the game on a 9-2 run that was powered by Davis and Ven-Allen Lubin, who had 10 points and 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double in Charlotte.
Now, the Tar Heels get to face Duke for a spot in Saturday’s ACC championship and an opportunity to improve their resume ahead of Selection Sunday. As of Thursday evening, UNC is included in 40 of 106 brackets on Bracket Matrix.
Most bracketology predictions have the Tar Heels projected to be a No. 11 seed or No. 12 seed.
“We want that competition. We want our revenge,” Lubin said of facing the Blue Devils for a third time. "So, just give us another opportunity to get a win against them ... play a really great team. Just to give us a chance to play in the championship.”
UNC head coach Hubert Davis said the Heels are “excited” for “an opportunity to play against the No. 1 team in the country,” but he hasn’t mentioned the March Madness implications.
“My communication with them in regards to the NCAA Tournament has been zero. What is real for us is our improvement as a team. What is real for us has been the opponent right in front of us,” Hubert Davis said.
“Right now, it's playing Duke (on Friday) at 7. Those are the things that we're focused on. I've always believed this from Coach (Dean) Smith and Coach (Bill) Guthridge: if you just focus on the preparation, the process and your play, everything else will take care of itself. That's where our focus is on, and I feel like we're getting better, and I feel like we're improving.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What UNC players said about playing Duke in ACC Tournament
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