Duke Basketball: Blue Devils' Biggest Storylines Ahead of UNC Showdown

The Duke Blue Devils head into their regular-season finale playing some of their best basketball of the season—winners of 10 straight and in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament if they can keep this up. But that means having to win in one of the toughest places to play in the ACC, North Carolina's Dean Smith Center.

The Devils have won three of their last five games in Chapel Hill but lost there last season. Duke won the first meeting of 2014-15 on Feb. 18, a 92-90 classic in overtime.

What else is there to look out for leading up to the next great clash between these rivals? Scroll through to see what's been going on of late for Duke.

Aching Ankles

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With as thin a rotation as Duke has, it can ill afford to lose anyone because of injury. The Blue Devils have been relatively lucky in that respect, but a series of recent rolled ankles are making every misstep a moment for fans to hold their breath.

Freshman center Jahlil Okafor missed the Feb. 21 game against Clemson after hurting his ankle during the previous game against North Carolina, but he has since come back without any lingering problems. Then in Wednesday's blowout victory over Wake Forest, both freshman forward Justise Winslow and junior forward Amile Jefferson suffered ankle injuries.

Guards Quinn Cook and Grayson Allen have also had ankle sprains in the past month, according to Laura Keeley of the Raleigh Observer.

"The good thing is ankles are better than knees, so let's hope that it works out that way," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski told Keeley.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article12548411.html#storylink=cpy

Building the Bench

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Duke has six guys who average 20 minutes per game, with sophomore guard Matt Jones taking Amile Jefferson's starting spot the last three games. After that, though, the playing time really drops off, with only freshman Grayson Allen and junior Marshall Plumlee playing eight or more minutes.

Yet Allen came up huge Wednesday, scoring a career-high 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting including 4-of-5 on three pointers in 24 minutes. Prior to that game, Allen had scored 74 points and made 10 threes in 25 games.

Those numbers were heavily aided by the opponent (Wake Forest) and the margin of victory, but Allen also saw significant time in the first half. He played 18 minutes and scored 10 in the Clemson game when Duke was without Jahlil Okafor, so he's making the most of his opportunities.

Will that prompt coach Mike Krzyzewski to give him more meaningful minutes in key situations?

Defensive Improvement

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Duke holds opponents to 65.3 points per game and 42.8 percent shooting, but on numerous occasions it has had major defensive breakdowns that have led to losses or stressful victories.

It's widely considered that the Blue Devils' play on the defensive end is what will dictate how far they go in the postseason, and time is running out to work on this area.

These past two games have served as a turning point, though, as Duke held Syracuse and Wake Forest to 52.5 points per game and 35.7 percent shooting. Neither team is particularly adept on the offensive end, but in the previous meetings those teams averaged 68.5 points per game and shot 48.3 percent.

Now comes a matchup with a North Carolina team that put up 90 points (albeit in overtime) and were able to dominate inside at times. The Blue Devils made adjustments to shut down key Syracuse and Wake Forest players who lit them up the first time, and if they can continue to make those improvements their defense won't be as much of a liability.

Revenge Factor

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Duke is trying to pull the regular-season sweep of North Carolina for the second time in three years and the third time since 2010. But the way the last game went down, what was already going to be a tough task is that much more difficult.

The Blue Devils rallied from down 10 points with less than three minutes left to force overtime before controlling the extra session and winning 92-90. The game was full of runs, with Duke jumping out big at the outset only to see the Tar Heels fight back late in the first half and go on a 13-0 run early in the second half to take control of the momentum.

It was another instant classic between the teams, and it was only a little more than two weeks ago. The memories haven't faded yet for UNC, and the Tar Heels will be itching to get revenge and potentially impact Duke's NCAA tournament seed.

Seed Scenarios

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Duke is locked into the No. 2 spot in the ACC tournament—regardless of what happens this weekend—because if it were to end up tied for second place with Notre Dame, the Blue Devils win the second tiebreaker (after head-to-head, which was 1-1) by virtue of their victory over first-place Virginia.

The Devils' NCAA tourney seed, however, remains in limbo.

Earlier this week we broke down a variety of scenarios for the final week of the regular season and the ACC tourney and what impact it would have on Duke getting a No. 1 seed. All of those scenarios remain in play, as they all included Duke beating Wake Forest, but beyond that it's fluid.

Beating North Carolina on Saturday lessens the effect that losing in the ACC tournament would have on Duke's hope of being on the top-seed line. Lose to the Tar Heels, though, and the Blue Devils might need to win the conference tourney to stay as a No. 1.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.