It’s No. 4 Duke against No. 14 North Carolina. Do you need anything else?! Every scouting report starts with the same question: Who are you guarding?

For North Carolina, it could look something like this:

• Freshman guard Derek Dixon will take Duke sharpshooter Isaiah Evans. Running him off the stripe will be essential. Best shooter on the floor, and you can’t forget about his drives anymore.
• Veteran guard Seth Trimble will take Caleb Foster. Keeping him from getting downhill is paramount.
• Junior guard Jaydon Young will take Dame Sarr. Under-control closeouts will be key because Sarr is shooting just 28% on catch-and-shoot treys.
• Future lottery pick forward Caleb Wilson will take future lottery pick forward Cameron Boozer. Keeping Boozer off the glass will be crucial.
• Big man Henri Veesaar will take Duke sophomore center Patrick Ngongba. Pressure him to eliminate easy passing windows and maybe coax a turnover.

Vice versa, here’s what it could be for Duke:

• Sarr will take Dixon, who is UNC’s primary ball handler. Blow up his pick-and-rolls and don’t let him get comfortable because he’s a dangerous shooter.
• Evans will take Young. Don’t let him get anything easy early or he could start hunting his own offense.
• Foster will take Trimble. Find him in transition and don’t let him get a head of steam. Don’t bite on the pump fakes and wall up on his slippery drives.
• Boozer will handle Wilson. Box him out and don’t let him have more energy than you. If he wants to take a ton of fadeaways, whatever. We’ll live.
• Ngongba will guard Veesaar. Don’t lose him on pick-and-pops because he’s shooting over 45% from 3-point range. Don’t let him go over his left shoulder.

Let’s dive into the rest of this rivalry showdown.

Duke vs. UNC: Need to know

Caleb Wilson vs. Cameron Boozer: The two best players (and NBA Draft prospects) will very likely be matched up. That’s glorious theatre. Boozer is stronger and a better shooter than Wilson. Wilson is faster and more vertically explosive than Boozer. Boozer does his work in the halfcourt. Wilson is a monster in transition. Both play incredibly hard and are wired exactly the right way. The winner of this one-on-one matchup could very well decide Duke-UNC.

Can UNC guard Duke’s layered sets without leaking oil? Duke is the best cutting team in the country. The Blue Devils average 12.7 points a night directly off cuts. No high-major team tops that gigantic number. Jon Scheyer’s offense is gorgeous because it has so many competent decision-makers on the floor at one time. Duke’s top three bigs (Boozer, Patrick Ngongba and Maliq Brown) are all phenomenal passers, and Duke’s spacing is usually outstanding. Can this UNC defense find its form again and guard multiple actions effectively? It lost its way with a barrage of coverage busts in early January. If UNC is not connected and communicating, it will get shredded by this Duke war machine. 

Glass battle: Duke has been the best offensive-rebounding team in ACC play, corralling north of 38% of its misses. It’s also been the second-best defensive-rebounding team in league play. Offensive rebounding is often the lifeblood of this UNC team. The Tar Heels average 13 second-chance points per game. That ranks in the 84th percentile nationally, via CBB Analytics. Wilson is a relentless offensive rebounder. Veesaar will stick his face in the fan every single time. That duo is one of the best offensive-rebounding groups in the ACC. Oh, and Jarin Stevenson has at least one offensive rebound in seven of the last nine games. I don’t know how UNC wins this game without getting second-chance points. Duke’s first-shot defense will be dialed in, but the battle for the boards could flip this in UNC’s favor.

Where to watch Duke vs. UNC live

Date: Saturday, Feb. 7 | Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Dean E. Smith Center — Chapel Hill, NC
TV: ESPN | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)

Duke vs. UNC prediction, pick

One extra layer is North Carolina’s potent, quick-strike transition attack against a Duke transition defense that has been shaky multiple times this year. Duke’s halfcourt defense can force UNC into some hiccups, but if the Tar Heels can get out in the open floor, there are buckets to be had. Ultimately, these frontcourts look close to a draw. Is Duke’s backcourt this much better than UNC’s? I can’t quite get there. Pick: North Carolina +6

Who will win and cover in every college basketball game? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up more than $1,200 for $100 players on its top-rated spread picks the past six years. 

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford edged New England Patriots counterpart Drake Maye to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday night, then made news in his acceptance speech by announcing he’ll return next season.

Stafford received 24 of 50 first-place votes and finished with 366 points. Maye got 23 first-place votes and finished with 361 points. It was the closest race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners in 2003.

In his 17th NFL season, Stafford, 37, became the oldest player in NFL history at the time of his first MVP. He also became the third-oldest player to win the award, behind Tom Brady (2017) and Aaron Rodgers (2021).

Stafford brought his four daughters — all dressed in identical black-and-white dresses — to the stage to accept the award at the NFL Honors show.

He thanked his team and saved his wife and daughters for last: “You’re unbelievable cheerleaders for me. I appreciate it. I am so happy to have you at the games on the sideline with me, and I can’t wait for you to cheer me on next year when we’re out there kicking ass.”

It was Stafford’s way of announcing that he will be back next season after contemplating retirement.

Over the last two months of the regular season, Stafford and Maye flip-flopped multiple times in the odds to win MVP, with Stafford emerging as the favorite after Week 18. He also was named an AP first team All-Pro for the first time in his career.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the 2024 MVP, received two first-place votes, while Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert got the other. Allen finished third in voting, followed by San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Stafford, who won Super Bowl LVI with Los Angeles in the 2021 season, became the fourth Rams player to be named MVP (Roman Gabriel in 1969, Kurt Warner in 1999 and 2001, and Marshall Faulk in 2000). Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards, as well as a career-high 46 passing touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

Stafford became the first player to win MVP for a team outside the top two seeds since Adrian Peterson in 2012. Since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, only eight players have won MVP for nondivision winners, including just two quarterbacks (McNair in ’03, Manning in 2008). The Rams secured the fifth seed in the NFC after finishing second in the NFC West with a 12-5 record.

Los Angeles fell short of the Super Bowl after losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game. After that defeat, the focus turned to Stafford’s future in the NFL, but the veteran QB assured fans Thursday night that he’ll be back for an 18th season.

“I’ll see you guys next year,” said Stafford, whose 64,516 regular-season passing yards rank sixth in NFL history — 1,758 behind Rodgers. “Hopefully, I’m not at this event and we’re getting ready for another game at SoFi.”

The Rams’ home stadium will host the Super Bowl in 2027.

Maye led the Patriots to a 14-3 record, the AFC East title and the second seed in the AFC in his second season. They’ll play the Seahawks in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Maye, 23, had a breakout sophomore season, leading the NFL in passer rating (113.5), completion percentage (72.0%) and yards per attempt (8.9), and throwing for 4,394 yards, along with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He became the youngest player since the merger to lead the NFL in completion percentage, surpassing the previous mark set by 24-year-old Joe Montana in 1980.

A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the playoffs began.

Voters selected a top five for the eight AP NFL awards. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.