When North Carolina hosts a top-five Duke squad this weekend, the stakes couldn’t be higher. It’s not just another chapter in one of college basketball’s most storied rivalries-it’s a chance for the Tar Heels to make a statement, and to do it in front of their home crowd.
But to send the Blue Devils packing with a loss, UNC will need more than just its stars to show up. This has to be an all-hands-on-deck performance.
Let’s start with the obvious: Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. These two have been the engine of this team all season long.
Wilson’s ability to dominate offensively and Veesaar’s presence in the paint are non-negotiables if Carolina wants to win. But at this point, their production is almost expected-they’ve set the bar that high.
The real question is who else is going to rise to the occasion.
Two names to circle: Kyan Evans and Jonathan Powell.
Evans has seen his minutes dip as the season's gone on, but the numbers don’t lie-when he plays well, UNC wins. The Tar Heels are 4-0 when Evans scores in double digits.
That’s not a coincidence. He’s a volume three-point shooter, and if he can find his rhythm and knock down even half of his looks from deep, that changes the game.
Consider this: when multiple Tar Heels hit multiple threes in a game, they’re 10-1. That’s the kind of stat that tells you exactly how important perimeter shooting is to this team’s success.
If Evans can make the most of whatever minutes he gets, he could be a sneaky X-factor.
Powell’s trajectory has been the opposite. His role has grown steadily, and he’s earned it.
Lately, he’s become one of Carolina’s more reliable threats from beyond the arc. If he continues to shoot it well, it’s going to stretch Duke’s defense and open up more space for Wilson and Veesaar to operate inside.
Powell doesn’t need to go off for 20, but timely threes and solid defense could tilt the scales in UNC’s favor.
And then there’s Derek Dixon.
The freshman guard has shown flashes of big-game potential, and he’s going to need every ounce of that confidence in this one. Duke’s going to key in on Wilson and Veesaar-they’d be crazy not to.
That means the Tar Heels’ backcourt has to shoulder more of the offensive load, and Dixon is right at the center of that. If he can get hot early, it could force Duke to adjust in ways that open up the floor for everyone else.
But this is no small ask. We’re talking about a true freshman being asked to step into the spotlight in the biggest game of the season, against the team’s biggest rival, with the pressure of the moment turned all the way up.
Still, Dixon’s shown he’s not afraid of the moment. If he can keep his composure, hit his shots, and make good decisions with the ball, he could be the difference between a hard-fought win and a missed opportunity.
This game is going to come down to guard play. That’s where the margin will be made. UNC knows what it’s getting from its stars-but it’s the supporting cast that will decide whether the Tar Heels walk off the court with bragging rights or go back to the locker room wondering what could’ve been.
If Evans, Powell, and Dixon step up, Carolina has a real shot to knock off a top-five Duke team and remind the college basketball world that the Dean Dome is still one of the toughest places to win in the country.