Cooper Flagg had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in his Duke-North Carolina rivalry debut to help the second-ranked Blue Devils beat the Tar Heels 87-70.

Duke’s dominant 87-70 win against North Carolina further cemented the Blue Devils’ status as one of the nation’s premier championship contenders. The Blue Zone discusses how much the victory really means for Duke’s chances of winning it all come March.

The 19-year-old Kon Knueppel did not remember what he said to soothe the nerves of fifth-year transfer Sion James.  "Ummm, I don't really remember, but he seemed a little jacked up, a little nervous," Knueppel said after No.

North Carolina entered the Duke rivalry game as the underdogs, but that didn't mean much. The Tar Heels had won three of the last four matchups at Cameron Indoor. However, this game came with different circumstances.

After each Duke men's basketball game, check back here for the Player of the Game and more. The Blue Devils cruised past North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the first of this season’s rivalry contests.

No. 2 Duke plays the North Carolina Tar Heels after Cooper Flagg scored 28 points in Duke's 74-64 win over the NC State Wolfpack.

It was never more clear than on Saturday night that the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels are a pair of programs heading into drastically different directions. An 87-70 win for the 2nd-ranked Blue Devils over their in-state rival wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated,