Duke hasn’t beaten UNC in Durham since 2005

Duke hasn’t beaten the North Carolina Tar Heels in Durham since 2005, before North Carolina fifth-year senior Marcus Ginyard arrived along with eventual national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough in 2005-06.

“There’s no question that it’s something that we’re very proud of,” Ginyard said. “But again, you’ve just got to get back to remembering why we were so successful there.”

The biggest reason, of course, was personnel.

North Carolina had two constants during its four-game winning streak from 2006-09: Hansbrough and Danny Green, two of the only four players to beat Coach K four straight times on the court that now bears his name.

Tar Heels vs Duke Game Preview on ESPN Here »

GO TAR HEELS! BEAT DUKE!

Another Tar Heel Injury - Ed Davis Breaks Wrist

CHAPEL HILL, NC - Sophomore forward Ed Davis, North Carolina’s leading rebounder and shot blocker and second-leading scorer, will be sidelined for at least six weeks with a broken bone in his left wrist, head coach Roy Williams announced this morning.

Davis broke the lunate bone in left wrist when he fell to the floor in a mid-lane collision with 9:16 to play against Duke on Feb. 10 and the game tied 43-43. He had the wrist taped and re-entered the game but did not score again. He tied his career high with six blocked shots against the Blue Devils.

Davis’s wrist will be immobilized for at least the next six weeks. Tests on Thursday revealed the fracture but showed no ligament damage. Surgery is not planned at this time.

“We’re all extremely disappointed for Ed and for our entire team,” says Williams. “It’s hard to lose any starter, but when you lose someone likely for the rest of the season who does so many different things for your team it’s a significant loss. He’s our second-leading scorer, top rebounder, shot blocker and field goal percentage shooter, so it’s a huge blow to our team. However, we have to band together and try to overcome this latest adversity caused by injury.”

Davis is one of three Tar Heel post players who are currently sidelined due to injury. Sophomore Tyler Zeller has been out of action beginning with the Clemson game on Jan. 13 with a stress fracture in his right foot. Zeller was cleared for straight-ahead running and on-court drills on Feb. 8 but is out until at least next week. Freshman Travis Wear missed the Duke game and is out indefinitely with a severely sprained left ankle.

Davis is averaging 13.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, has blocked 64 shots and is shooting 57.8 percent from the floor this season. He leads the ACC in blocked shots, is second in rebounding and would be first in field goal percentage but he has not attempted enough shots to qualify for the conference leaders.

North Carolina plays host to NC State today (Saturday, Feb. 13) at 4 p.m.

» For more, go to TarHeelBlue.com

North Carolina (13-11, 2-7) will face NC State (14-11, 2-8) in a battle of two teams trying to break a losing streak. Since their last meeting on January 26th, neither team has won an ACC game and Carolina has lost four straight. NC State lost 72-52 at home on Wednesday night to Virginia Tech. North Carolina lost that same night to Duke, 64-54. Carolina has dropped four home games in a row and the longest-ever streak is five straight, which happened in 2002. Carolina leads the series with NC State, 141-72, and has won seven in a row. Before the game begins, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will have a ceremony recognizing their jerseys being honored.

Ellington (2009 Final Four Most Outstanding Player) and Lawson (2009 first-team All-America and ACC Player of the Year) will see their jerseys honored in the Smith Center rafters during a pregame ceremony at approximately 3:40 p.m. on Saturday, 20 minutes before tipoff.

Tar Heels need to bounce back tonight verses the Blue Devils

No time better than tonight for the UNC Tar Heels basketball team to overcome their terrible 2010 slump as they face a tough Duke Blue Devils team at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill.

Several freshman get to experience their first big-time rivalry game against the Blue Devils, so it will be up to the Tar Heel seniors Ginyard and Thompson to lead their team with 110% hustle, tough defense and offensive efficiency (ie NO TURNOVERS) that the program has displayed over its 100 year history.

With the defending National Champion Tar Heels in jeopardy of missing the NCAA tourney, signature wins over ranked teams like Duke will be the key in keeping their post-season hopes alive.

GO HEELS!

Tar Heels Blue White Spring Football Game April 10th

The University of North Carolina will hold its Blue-White Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 10 at 3 p.m., and for the first time in school history, the game will be televised nationally by ESPN from 3pm to 5pm. Admission to the Blue-White Game is free.

ESPN currently reaches over 99 million households

Tar Heels face the Kentucky Wildcats at 12:30!

Ready for the #11 North Carolina Tar Heels at #4 Kentucky matchup today at 12:30pm EST on CBS TV!

The UNC Tar Heels have won the past 5 meetings and lead the all-time series 21-10.  The two programs are #1 and #2 for the most victories in NCAA basketball history (UK with 1,995 wins and UNC with 1,991 wins).

Players to watch today:

UNC - Ed Davis, Larry Drew II, and seniors Deon Thompson & Marcus Ginyard

Kentucky - Top rated freshman John Wall, Patrick Patterson, and DeMarcus Cousins