Do or die.
It’s the theme of this year’s rivalry issue. But it’s also the theme of UNC’s season entering its first matchup with No. 2 Duke.
After a difficult non-conference schedule featuring five top-25 matchups, the Tar Heels wanted to enter ACC play on a better note. And for a while, it looked like they were finding their groove. But back-to-back losses to Stanford and Wake Forest added yet another blemish to UNC’s already battered NCAA tournament resume. UNC has just one Quad 1 win in eight games and one Quad 2 loss so far.
And for a team that is sitting on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, this upcoming game against Duke is do or die.
On Saturday, North Carolina has the chance to tally its best win of the season as it travels to take on Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels had high expectations entering this season with returning All-American graduate guard RJ Davis and after bringing in two top-15 recruits. They haven't lived up to the hype at all. The lack of a true inside presence hasn’t helped either. And now, the Tar Heels have their backs against the wall.
Entering the season, North Carolina ranked as the No. 9 team in the country. RJ Davis, along with sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau, junior guard Seth Trimble and first-year guard Ian Jackson were slated to be one of the best backcourts in the country.
But RJ Davis has struggled. The reigning ACC Player of the Year has averaged just over 39 percent from the field and is hitting only 29.5 percent of his 3-pointers.
His average last season? 42.8 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.
In his last Duke game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, RJ Davis has the chance to do what he’s done before: help UNC win when it needs it the most. And although his jersey will forever hang in the rafters after last season's ACC Player of the Year award, it begs the question: will people remember his elite senior season, or his struggles in his final year in Chapel Hill?