It's Duke vs. UNC

Duke feels as if it regained its swagger and got back to playing "Duke basketball" in the second half of its 78-75 overtime win over Miami on Saturday.

To beat North Carolina tonight at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils will need swagger, confidence, assertiveness ... and much more. They also might need several best-case scenarios to play out, collectively and individually.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski is far more concerned with the collective effort, as one would expect.

He wants to see an offense like the one that was flowing and unselfish in the second half against Miami, when Duke rallied from a 16-point deficit.

The Blue Devils were totally out of sync in last week's 74-47 loss at Clemson, where they shot a season-low 30.8 percent from the field, and in the first half against Miami, when they shot 19.4 percent.

Krzyzewski is stressing the concept of what he calls "connectiveness."

"It's more interacting by talking, making the extra pass, things like that," he said. "You should talk and create an environment that's conducive to all the guys playing together. If you're just looking from your perspective and, ‘I need to do this,' then you become quiet, and you don't use the resources that your teammates can provide for you.

"(Against Miami), the shots in the first half were not connective. They were, ‘I need to take a shot.' And they were taking them like the pressure of the world was on them. They were taking them alone. So the connecting part of it is huge."

Duke also must find a way to stop a North Carolina offense that leads the ACC in scoring (92.3 ppg).

That's a daunting task because the Tar Heels are so versatile and balanced. The first key will be slowing them in transition and trying to keep point guard Ty Lawson under wraps, especially on fast breaks. Duke also will have to deal with Wayne Ellington and Danny Green on the wings and Tyler Hansbrough (22.1 ppg) inside.

Duke has allowed an ACC-low 61 points a game but has allowed an average of 75 in its three losses.

"They're the most explosive offensive team in our conference," Krzyzewski said. "They put a lot of pressure on you offensively, with how Lawson brings the ball down the court, he gets it down as fast as anybody in the country. Then you have two wings that can shoot like Ellington and Green, that puts pressure on extending the defense. And then when you have a great inside player like they do in Hansbrough, they put a lot of pressure on you in every way.

"Defense is a priority against them, to try to limit them and hold them down a little bit. They can get away from you real easy."

Rebounding and turnovers are always keys. The Blue Devils crashed the offensive boards in the second half against Miami, finishing with 18 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points, and that was vital in jump-starting the offense. They also cut down turnovers, committing nine in 45 minutes, primarily against Miami's zone, after committing 22 against Clemson's full-court pressure and aggressive man-to-man.

To accomplish the collective goals, the Blue Devils will need solid performances across the board.

Gerald Henderson has been far and away Duke's best player over the past four weeks, leading the team in scoring in eight of the past nine games. He energized the Blue Devils to start the second-half rally against Miami, and he must stay in attack mode tonight. He most likely will be matched up against Ellington, his former high-school teammate, and that's a critical matchup.

Greg Paulus moved into the starting lineup against Miami and scored a season-high 18 points. More important, he assumed a leadership role that Krzyzewski has been seeking. Duke got rattled at Clemson; Paulus provided the poise against Miami. He doesn't have the quickness to hang with UNC's guards, so he'll have to play to his strengths. He hit 10 3-pointers in the two games against UNC last season.

Kyle Singler is slumping, and it's hard to see Duke winning if that continues. He leads the Blue Devils in scoring (15.8 ppg) but was 1 for 9 in the first half and finished 5 of 23 from the field against Miami. He is 19 for 66 (28.8 percent) over his last five games and 2 for 13 from 3-point range in his last three games.

Jon Scheyer has been in a shooting slump, too, but he regained some confidence with 22 points against Miami.

Duke's complementary players must be adequate. Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek will get the task of guarding Hansbrough, which is a mismatch that the Blue Devils must work around. David McClure has provided energy and smarts off the bench lately and is playing the best basketball of his career. Nolan Smith has lost confidence in the past two games and was overwhelmed at Clemson, but his quickness will be needed against Lawson.

But everyone must keep the team concept.

"In a team sport, you relieve pressure by doing things collectively, not singularly," Krzyzewski said. "That's in essence what makes a good basketball team, if they can handle it collectively."

■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.

Their 10 most recent games

March 6, 2008: UNC 76, Duke 68*

Feb. 6, 2008: Duke 89, UNC 78

March 4, 2007: UNC 86, Duke 72

Feb. 7, 2007: UNC 79, Duke 73

March 4, 2006: UNC 83, Duke 76

Feb. 7, 2006: Duke 87, UNC 83

March 6, 2005: UNC 75, Duke 73

Feb. 9, 2005: Duke 71, UNC 70

March 6, 2004: Duke 70, UNC 65

Feb. 5, 2004: Duke 83, UNC 81

Wins

Duke 5, UNC 5

Average victory margin
6 points

Average score

UNC 77.6, Duke 76.2

10 of their best games

March 2, 1968: Duke 87, UNC 86 (3 OT).* Unheralded reserve Fred Lind finishes with 16 points and 9 rebounds, hits two free throws to force the first OT and a basket to force the second.

Jan. 19, 1974: UNC 73, Duke 71. Bobby Jones steals an inbound pass and makes a layup on the last play.

March 2, 1974: UNC 96, Duke 92 (OT). UNC rallies from 8 down with 17 seconds left in regulation.

Feb. 24, 1979: Duke 47, UNC 40. Coach Dean Smith of No. 4 UNC has his team hold the ball for the first half; Duke leads 7-0 at halftime.

Feb. 28, 1981: Duke 66, UNC 65 (OT). Gene Banks hits an 18-footer late in regulation, then scores the game-winner with 12 seconds left, and Mike Krzyzewski gets his first win against UNC.

Jan. 18, 1986: UNC 95, Duke 92: UNC is No. 1, Duke No. 3 in the first game at the Smith Center.

Feb 2, 1995: UNC 102, Duke 100 (2 OT). Jeff Capel's 30-foot heave ties it to end the first OT.

Feb. 28, 1998: Duke 77, UNC 75. Duke comes from 17 down in second half.

Feb. 5, 2004: Duke 83, UNC 81 (OT). Chris Duhon's reverse layup gives Roy Williams a loss in his first UNC-Duke game as UNC's head coach.

March 6, 2005: UNC 75, Duke 73. Marvin Williams' 3-point play with 17 seconds left caps UNC's 9-point comeback in the last three minutes.

North Carolina at Duke

• Site, time: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham; 9 p.m.

• TV/radio: WFMY Ch. 9 (CBS); WTHZ 94.1; WIST 98.3

• Of note: The winner will take sole possession of first place in the ACC, for now. UNC is 21-2 overall, Duke is 20-3 and both are 7-2 in the ACC. UNC has won three straight in Cameron, withstanding late pressure each time, and perimeter defense will be crucial against a Duke team that has taken 79 3-point shots in its past three games, including 39 against Miami last weekend. In their win in Chapel Hill last season, the Blue Devils made 13 3s. Duke, 14-0 at Cameron this season, shot 32.9 percent in its last game (an OT win over Miami) and 30.8 percent the game before (a 27-point loss at Clemson). Coach Mike Krzyzewski is 32-33 in his career against UNC; Roy Williams is 5-5 against Duke in games as UNC's coach.