Jay Bilas reveals keys to victory for North Carolina against Duke

Jay Bilas believes he has the secret to success for North Carolina against Duke on Saturday.

The former Blue Devils star revealed what the Tar Heels must do if they want to find victory in their highly-anticipated showdown, believing there’s a few things North Carolina must do if they’re to capture a win.

“I think there’s a few things that North Carolina has to do in this game against Duke,” started Bilas. “No. 1, they have to protect the lane and protect the paint. Duke is not a great shooting team, so you can recover late for perimeter shooters. But you’ve got to keep Duke out of the paint. Next is rebounding. I mean, you have got to rebound in this game, because Duke is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. They get about 37% of their missed shots, and those are high percentage second shots. So the glass is going to be a really important factor.

“Another really important factor is Armando Bacot. In the last game, Derrick Lively II blocked eight shots in that game. I think they’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball to Armando Bacot a little bit more on the move, and then you’ve got to attack Lively’s body, and not try to shy away from getting your shot blocked. Go into his body. Carolina only shot three free throws in the last game between these two teams. They’ve got to get to the line more.”

As Bilas mentioned, Duke defeated North Carolina 63-57 in their last meeting, where the Blue Devils hosted the Tar Heels. Lively looked more like Bacot than Bacot during that showdown, pulling down 14 rebounds and having eight blocks.

The battle of the big men could be the difference on Saturday, and it’s going to be fascinating to see whether North Carolina follows Jay Bilas’ advice to a victory over Duke.