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Friedlander: Duke and UNC must lead the way vs. SEC’s elite for the ACC to regain its hoop credibility
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There’s a widely held belief that casual fans don’t start paying attention to college basketball until the first time North Carolina and Duke renew their rivalry the week after the Super Bowl.
The same concept holds true for this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge.
The competition between the rival conferences actually began Tuesday with 10 of the 16 games being played. But that was only the undercard to the main event that will take place Wednesday when the No. 9-ranked Blue Devils and No. 20 Tar Heels get their turn on the court.
UNC plays 10th-ranked Alabama at 7:15 pm at Smith Center in a rematch of last spring’s Sweet 16 showdown. Two hours later at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils face a top-2 opponent for the second time in the past 3 games when they take on No. 2 Auburn.
The outcomes of those games will contribute to the cumulative result that will give one of the leagues bragging rights for the next year.
Or at least until March.
But that’s not the most substantive objective on the line for the ACC.
To have any chance at restoring its reputation as one of the nation’s elite hoop leagues, especially after Tuesday’s unmitigated disaster that saw the SEC already clinch the Challenge by going 9-1 with 4 of its victories coming by 20 points or more, the conference’s 2 most recognizable programs must step up and lead the way.
With all due respect to the NC States, Wake Forests, Boston Colleges and Georgia Techs of the world, few outside of their respective fan bases will notice or care how their games turn out this week.
They will, however, be locked in on name brands Duke and UNC.
That’s why from a perception standpoint, “winning” the Challenge as a whole isn’t nearly as important to the ACC as having the Tar Heels and Blue Devils rise to the occasion by looking and playing like the blue bloods they are.
And not throwing any red meat to the “2-bid league” crowd by losing to high-level opponents on their own home floors.
Though both teams have their work cut out for them, Duke figures to be in the best position to hold up its end of the bargain. Even with Auburn coming off an impressive performance in winning the Maui Invitational last week.
Jon Scheyer’s team is only 1-2 in its first 3 games against ranked opponents. But in both losses, against Kentucky and Kansas, the Blue Devils had possession with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minute.
Each time they fell short because of turnovers by their star freshmen: Cooper Flagg against the Wildcats and Kon Knueppel against the Jayhawks. Neither game was at Cameron, by the way.
The experience of having been in those types of pressure situations will only help the growth process for both young players. So will the fact that Wednesday’s game will be played in the friendly confines of Cameron.
Duke is 274-7 against nonconference opponents at home since 1983 with 2 of those losses – against Michigan State and Illinois in 2020 – coming with no one in attendance because of COVID restrictions.
UNC’s homecourt advantage has been nearly as strong.
And the Tar Heels should have plenty of motivation against the team that ended their national championship hopes last season.
But while each team’s stars are back for the rematch, RJ Davis and Alabama’s Mark Sears are surrounded by vastly different supporting casts. That’s led to some early growing pains as they work to build chemistry and develop new roles.
The Crimson Tide are 6-2 (0-1 on the road) while the Tar Heels are just 4-3 after losing 2 of 3 in Maui.
Their matchup promises to be an up-tempo, high-scoring affair with UNC ranked 7th nationally in scoring at 89.7 points per game and Alabama close behind in 11th at 88.6.
A fast pace should play to the Tar Heels’ advantage, considering the inconsistency of their halfcourt offense in the absence of a true low post presence. It will also help that the Crimson Tide will be without their 3rd-leading scorer and most accurate 3-point shooter Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who according to coach Nate Oats on Tuesday, suffered a season-ending Achilles’ tendon tear.
Like their rival Blue Devils, the Tar Heels usually show up with their “A” game in Challenge games on their home court.
UNC played arguably its best half of the season last December in rolling to a 100-92 win against Tennessee in the inaugural ACC/SEC event while Duke was 10-1 at Cameron against the Big Ten in the previous version of the nonconference competition.
Wednesday night, they’ll put their intense rivalry aside for a few hours to do their part in leading the way toward a common goal.
The rest of the ACC is counting on them.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
