Duke, UNC practice at Final Four ahead of historic showdown Saturday night

Tip off scheduled for 8:49 PM Saturday
Published: Apr. 1, 2022 at 11:38 PM EDT
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Duke, UNC practice at Final Four ahead of historic showdown Saturday night

NEW ORLEANS, LA (WITN) - Practice day at the NCAA men’s Final Four as the rivalry takes to new heights for Duke and North Carolina.

As you likely know by now, it’s the first time these two schools separated by 10 miles will meet in the Final Four. Both teams won as the visitor. They split the regular season series.

Both have grown along the way and Duke is the 4 point favorite going into this historic meeting in New Orleans on Saturday night.

“Caught in awe. I see the Final Four, I see New Orleans. I seen Saints banners,” says UNC guard RJ Davis, “You can see how big the Super Dome is.”

“We literally looking for a fight. It’s going to have to be that way. Final Four, Championship on the line, and they right down the road from us back home,” says UNC guard Leaky Black, “We don’t want to see the confetti dropping for them down the road we want to make sure that’s ours.”

“We don’t look at it as pressure. We get to play in front of more people than anybody has,” says Duke forward Paolo Banchero, “We get to play on the biggest stage in college sports. We looking at it as fun really.”

“It’s going to be really exciting. It is something I have been dreaming of since I was a little kid,” says Duke center Mark Williams, “I wouldn’t call it pressure either. It’s opportunity for all of us to have. It’s pretty cool.”

Winner will take the season series and earn a spot in Monday’s national championship game.

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