Whether Grayson Allen traveled or not, his game-winning buzzer beater against Virginia was exactly was the Duke Blue Devils (20) needed.

Visiting their bitter rival North Carolina Tar Heels (5), Duke has now won four in a row and five of their last six after a stretch of three consecutive losses. Looking up at four teams in the ACC standings, with North Carolina at the top, Duke seems to finally be building some momentum.

Tipoff: 9 p.m. ET in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Line: North Carolina -7.5

TV: ESPN

Listen live online: TuneIn Radio

Watch live online: WatchESPN, ACC Network

Despite being favored at home, North Carolina stands to build just as much confidence with a win as Duke does. Duke has won three in a row against North Carolina as well as 10 of the last 13 even though they have visited Chapel Hill as underdogs four times in the past five trips.

While Duke is trying to catch North Carolina at the top of the ACC, North Carolina needs to hold off the likes of Miami, Virginia, and a surging Syracuse team, all three of which they have at least one game against.

"My whole motivation this year was just winning the ACC championship and winning a national championship," North Carolina forward Brice Johnson said in a pregame press conference, according to ESPN. "Those honors, I would love to be a part of those things. It's just I'd rather win something with my teammates because you're remembered with your teammates more than anything."