Getty Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils.
It’s the classic throw out the records situation as the North Carolina Tar Heels (10-12) meet up with the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday in the latest edition of the Tobacco Road rivalry.
The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV Stick, or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
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Sling TV
Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” package comes with 32 channels, including ESPN. And as part of a special 5-year anniversary deal Sling is offering until February 11, the first month is only $5 ($30 per month after that):
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Duke vs UNC live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Sling credentials.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes with 10 hours of cloud DVR storage.
AT&T TV Now
AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) offers six different channel bundles. They range from 45 to 125 live TV channels, and they all include ESPN. The “Plus” and “Max” bundles come with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for AT&T TV Now, you can watch a live stream of Duke vs UNC on your computer via the AT&T TV Now website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other compatible streaming device via the AT&T TV app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your AT&T TV Now credentials.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now — no matter what channel package you choose — comes with included cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
ESPN is included in Hulu With Live TV, which comes with 60-plus live TV channels and Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch a live stream of Duke vs UNC on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Hulu credentials.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Duke vs UNC Preview
It hasn’t been a pretty year for North Carolina, which is currently dwelling toward the bottom of the ACC standings with a 3-8 conference record. The Tar Heels have dropped two in a row to Boston College and Florida State.
Injuries have played a part in the lack of success for the traditional powerhouse, with head coach Roy Williams citing the uncertainty of who will be available as a big hinderance.
“Well, there has been a lot of uncertainty because of the injuries,” Williams said. “Literally every morning at 11 a.m., I call my trainer and say who’s going to practice today. So the people that are non-Carolina people think those are excuses, so I’m not going to say anything more than that. But it has been difficult. But when you’re getting ready to play Duke, all of a sudden everybody’s got a little more pep in their step, a little more bounce and we had a nice practice today. Everyone was focused. … I’ll be interested to see how we play tomorrow,” Williams said.
Despite UNC’s down year, there’s no underestimation coming from Duke.
“They still have a period of time to get there,” coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters this week. “They’ll move quickly. They’re a program. They’re not a team. They have immense pride in what they do. We know playing them, we’re going to get an amazing effort from them. They do some things better than we do. I think you don’t look at records, because the team that we’re playing against, that’s not their record. They’re actually forming kind of like a new team. They have good pieces.”
It’s the first time since 2002 that Duke will see a Tar Heels team below .500, but Duke point guard Tre Jones echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“We don’t look at any type of record,” Jones said. “(Against UNC) it doesn’t really matter. No record in the ACC really matters. It’s always going to be a tough game, no matter what. We don’t focus on that at all.”
Duke suffered back-to-back losses in mid-January, but have bounced back nicely with four wins — three by at least double-digits.
The Blue Devils are a 7.5-point favorite for the matchup, which has a total of 150.