The North Carolina Tar Heels are on a rampage for the AP top 25 following their 74-66 upset of the Duke Blue Devils (5).
This Saturday, UNC will play Wake Forest in Chapel Hill and have a chance to win their third game this week and ninth in a row. They also have a shot at beating their archrivals a second time, when the two end their regular seasons against each other.
While Virginia (13) and Syracuse (1) seem to be a lock to finish the season atop the ACC, UNC is heating up at the right time.
Marcus Paige, the Tar Heels leading scorer, registered all 13 of his points in the second half to help erase an 11-point deficit. Since starting their ACC schedule 0-3, UNC has lost once, but the team knows they have to finish strong to make their season worthwhile.
"I'm not going to say we're a finished product because we've got games left," Paige told reporters after the game, according to the Associated Press, "but man, we're playing really well right now and we're winning games in a lot of different ways."
UNC is 5-1 against ranked opponents, knocking off Louisville, Michigan State, Kentucky, Pitt and now Duke.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils have suffered from inconsistency and Thursday night's game was no exception.
"We looked tired," Krzyzewski said, according to CBS Sports. "We didn't have life... and that, to me, is the disappointing thing. I'm not afraid to lose and respect people who beat us. But I would've liked to have done more tonight in the second half. So I'm walking out of here frustrated - not with the loss but with the fact that we didn't ante up the way we should've."
Duke plays Syracuse next and then Virginia Tech and Wake Forest before finishing up against UNC. The next bout between college basketball's greatest rivals will be in Durham.
