Duke vs. UNC: Who Has the Edge at Each Position?

The Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry is usually treated like a heavyweight title fight, so it makes sense to conduct a tale of the tape in advance of Wednesday's game in Durham.

But rather than height, weight and reach, we're comparing things like shooting percentage, defensive ability and court presence of the Blue Devils and Tar Heels players at each position to see how they stack up against each other.

This isn't a particularly scientific endeavor since the teams don't send out the same types of lineups, so it might mean comparing a shooting guard to a small forward or a power forward to a center. The comparisons are also being made using each school's most common starters, not necessarily what was used in their most recent games, but we're also factoring in the play of bench contributors at certain positions.

Check out who has the edge at each position heading into Wednesday's big ACC clash between Carolina and Duke.

All statistics current through games of Monday, Feb. 16.

Point Guard

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Starters: Marcus Paige (North Carolina) vs. Tyus Jones (Duke)

Reserves: Joel Berry (North Carolina)

2014-15 stats (starters only): Paige 13.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, 40.0% FG, 37.5% 3-pt FG, 82.9% FT; Jones 11.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.3 APG, 43.1% FG, 40.3% 3-pt FG, 87.3% FT

From the outset of this comparison, we're dealing with mismatches, as Marcus Paige is better suited as a shooting guard. But because of North Carolina's lack of experience and depth in the backcourt, he has to run the offense and create for himself. Tyus Jones doesn't have that kind of burden, as the weapons he has to work with are far more diverse.

The fact that Paige leads the Tar Heels in both scoring and assists drives home their offensive struggles, and when the 6'1" junior gets cold—as has been the case quite often this year—others have not stepped up. Paige might try to defer to others and let the game come to him, but that hasn't always worked.

The 6'1" Jones, on the other hand, has played far beyond his age all season. Though the freshman's shooting percentage is lower than what you'd expect from someone only taking seven shots per game, he makes up for it with his ability to get to the line and with a 3-1 ratio of assists to turnovers.

Edge goes to: Duke

Shooting Guard

Mark Wallheiser/Associated Press

Starters: J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina) vs. Quinn Cook (Duke)

Reserves: Grayson Allen (Duke), Nate Britt (North Carolina), Matt Jones (Duke)

2014-15 stats (starters only): Tokoto 8.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.0 APG, 40.9% FG, 34.5% 3-pt FG, 63.2% FT; Cook 14.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 45.4% FG, 39.2% 3-pt FG, 90.8% FT 

J.P. Tokoto has started games for the Tar Heels, but not the last two. Normally handling a sort of "point forward" position, the 6'6" junior has come off the bench and been replaced in the starting lineup by Nate Britt. This has been partly due to matchups and also because of his massively enigmatic play this season.

"Obviously, I'm not performing up to my ability," Tokoto told Andrew Carter of The News & Observer, noting that coach Roy Williams "sees that and he knows how to bring that out of me, and this is the way. So I've just got to keep on playing basketball."

Tokoto is still playing starter's minutes, but he's made just three of 12 shots in these past two contests. He's cut down on his turnovers, though, which were a big part of his problem.

Quinn Cook is essentially a second point guard on the court, but he's deferred most of those duties to Tyus Jones in order to free himself up to do what he does best (and what he seems to enjoy doing the most): shoot three-pointers.

The 6'2" senior's 65 made threes and 166 attempts are both more than any other two Duke players, but he's mostly avoided becoming too much of a heat-check machine and has taken the best shot available. 

Edge goes to: Duke

Small Forward

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Starters: Justin Jackson (North Carolina) vs. Justise Winslow (Duke)

Reserves: None

2014-15 stats (starters only): Jackson 9.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 46.6% FG, 68.8% FT; Winslow 11.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 43.8% FG, 36.7% 3-pt FG, 61.3% FT

The only spot on the court where freshmen will be regularly matching up against each other, both Justin Jackson and Justise Winslow have shown flashes of what they're capable of and what made them both 5-star prospects.

Each are capable of big things—Jackson had three straight games with 14 or more points in late January, while Winslow notched three consecutive double-doubles between Jan. 31 and Feb. 7—but also end up disappearing.

Which one, if either, will show up on Wednesday? It will likely depend on who they're matched up against and the other players on the floor.

The 6'6" Winslow often serves as the backup at the 4 when Amile Jefferson sits, which would put a much smaller defender on the 6'8" Jackson. His athleticism would make this even more of a mismatch and could lead to Jackson breaking out for a big performance.

Edge goes to: Even

Power Forward

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

Starters: Brice Johnson (North Carolina) vs. Amile Jefferson (Duke)

Reserves: Isaiah Hicks (North Carolina)

2014-15 stats (starters only): Johnson 12.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 0.8 APG, 57.2% FG, 63.3% FT; Jefferson 7.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 0.9 APG, 62.8% FG, 56.8% FT 

Amile Jefferson is a starter in name only, as his role with Duke has tailed off over the last few weeks. This has been despite the Blue Devils rotation going down to just eight players after Rasheed Sulaimon was dismissed from the team.

The 6'9" junior is coming off a season-low 14 minutes at Syracuse, and in his past six games, he's only averaged 3.8 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Brice Johnson, on the other hand, might be North Carolina's most consistent player this season, and that's saying something because the 6'9" junior has made plenty of disappearing acts. When he shows aggressiveness, which usually involves taking more shots and crashing the boards, Johnson is at his best.

He's made 23 of his last 39 shots over the past three games, this after taking just two shots in the overtime loss at Louisville.

Edge goes to: North Carolina

Center

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Starters: Kennedy Meeks (North Carolina) vs. Jahlil Okafor (Duke)

Reserves: Joel James (North Carolina), Marshall Plumlee (Duke)

2014-15 stats (starters only): Meeks 12.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.2 BPG, 57.7% FG, 65.7% FT; Okafor 18.2 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 BPG, 66.5% FG, 57.1% FT 

There has been no player who has been able to contain Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor, which is why most teams end up doubling him as soon as the ball gets fed to him in the post. But even then, the 6'11" Okafor usually has an advantage—assuming he doesn't lose the ball before he can get into position to turn to the basket.

Okafor is coming off one of his toughest matchups against Syracuse senior Rakeem Christmas, and he came out with 23 points and 13 rebounds. More importantly, though, he held Christmas to 5-of-17 shooting in one of his best defensive efforts yet.

UNC's Kennedy Meeks won't be nearly as difficult to deal with, especially with the way the 6'9" sophomore has been playing lately. Meeks was benched in favor of 6'8" sophomore Isaiah Hicks the past two games but likely will be in there against Okafor as the Tar Heels' biggest (and thickest) player at 270 pounds.

Meeks responded well to the benching on Saturday at Pittsburgh, scoring 15 points in 19 minutes on 6-of-8 shooting, but his defense was severely lacking.

Edge goes to: Duke

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.