2025 NCAA Tournament: Jay Bilas breaks down North Carolina's resume ahead of important Duke showdown

The North Carolina–Duke college basketball game is always one of the most anticipated events of the year. Fans get to see it twice a year, sometimes maybe even three or four times, depending on postseason matchups. The atmosphere surrounding the event is always buzzing, as it features two of the blue blood programs in college basketball. Heading into their final matchup of the regular season, Jay Bilas broke down the NCAA Tournament resume of UNC.

The Tar Heels were likely to miss the 2025 NCAA Tournament for much of the regular season, but lately, they’ve flipped a switch and put themselves firmly in the bubble mix. The ‘Heels have gotten hot, rattling off six straight wins. During the Alabama–Florida game on Wednesday evening, Bilas dove into their NCAA Tournament resume ahead of this Saturday’s highly anticipated showdown.

“Six straight wins, averaging 91 points a game and they’re shooting well over 40% from three during that time period – making over 10 threes a game. It’s a different North Carolina team than I think Duke faced in the first game. And North Carolina’s playing for their lives. They’re on the bubble right now. I think they’ve got a resume that compares favorably with the other bubble teams. But you get a win against Duke at your home floor, that could clinch it,” Bilas explained.

During their six-game winning streak, North Carolina has been averaging 90.8 points per game, scoring 81 or more points in each of those and 90 or more in four of them. They’ve also throttled their opponents, whipping teams by an average of 17.8 points per game. Their defense has been fairly stout, holding their opponents to 73 points or less in four of those. The ‘Heels never trailed in three of those games (Syracuse, NC State, and UVA). And North Carolina has been scoring 80-plus points in six straight ACC games, which is the most since 2016-2017.

And while North Carolina’s recent run of success is certainly impressive, Duke has been on a historical tear of their own for the entire season. Duke has now won 10 ACC games by 25 points or more, a school record. It’s also the most in ACC history. They’re the first Division I-A team to win 10 conference games by 25 points in a season since UNLV did it in the Big West in 1990-1991. They’ve looked like one of the best teams in college basketball for much of the year and there’s a reason that Jay Bilas and others have them penciled in as a No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

No. 3 ranked Duke and North Carolina will renew their rivalry on Saturday, March 8th. That one will be televised on ESPN. And tip-off is set for 6:30 PM EST.