Many people underestimated the North Carolina Tar Heels all season long, and yet here they are in the Final Four and set to do battle with their ACC rivals the Duke Blue Devils for a spot in the national title game. UNC is playing tremendous basketball right now but would still be wise to not be over its head during the blockbuster showdown against Duke.

Nitrobetting is ready to dish out some timely assists to our bettors all throughout the March Madness season. This time, let’s highlight three keys to victory for the North Carolina Tar Heels in Saturday’s highly-anticipated 2022 March Madness Final Four matchup against the Duke Blue Devils.

3 Keys for the North Carolina Tar Heels to Win 2022 Final Four Matchup vs. Duke

Throw them fours up ?#CarolinaFamily | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/A4qLyPJoSc

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 28, 2022

READ MORE: Kansas Jayhawks 2022 March Madness Final Four Betting Keys

Embrace Being the Villain for a Change

Most fans often regard Duke as the antagonist of college basketball being a school for rich kids who only get richer with their countless ACC and national championships under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. However, with Krzyzewski retiring after this season and his team in great position to send him off with glorious fanfare in the form of another national title, the Blue Devils now have one of the best feel-good stories in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

Eighth-seeded North Carolina even needed to beat this year’s talk-of-the-town Cinderella program in Saint Peter’s to set up its Final Four clash against Duke and lose several casual fans in the process. Then again, the Tar Heels also got plenty of support from the hoops fandom as well after first-year head coach Hubert Davis gave an emotional post-game interview following their Elite Eight win over the Peacocks.

Regardless of whose side you’re on, this first-ever postseason matchup between UNC and Duke, and the last game with Coach K still running the show in Durham, will be a spectacle to behold.

Stick to What Has Worked Against Duke

For all the positive attention that Duke’s getting lately, some of us start to forget that North Carolina has gotten the better of its long-time nemesis of late. The Tar Heels have won three of the last four meetings against the Blue Devils. The last three games between these two juggernauts have all been blowouts, with UNC winning by 13 and 18 points over Duke over its last two victories.

Part of the Tar Heels’ success has to do with Davis giving his team the green light to take more shots from deep. North Carolina has seen an 11 percent increase in three-point shot attempts this season (38.2 percent of UNC’s field goals this season were from beyond the arc) compared to Roy Williams’ final season in Chapel Hill, and it’s actually working.

The Starting Five Doesn’t Miss A Beat

Each of North Carolina’s starters have gotten moments to shine in the Big Dance. First, Brady Manek led the team with 28 points in the opening round against Marquette. Then, R.J. Davis dropped 30 points in the Second Round against defending champions Baylor, followed by Caleb Love putting up a 30 burger of his own in the Sweet 16 against UCLA shortly after.

Most recently, it was none other than star big man Armando Bacot (20 points, 22 rebounds) who dominated Saint Peter’s in the Elite Eight. Is it Leaky Black’s time to shine? Black’s contribution to the team is not with his buckets but rather his sound command of the offense, as he’s averaging 4.8 assists per game in the tournament. If there was a time for the Tar Heels to have each of their five best players play the best basketball in their respective careers, it has to be in this momentous showdown against Duke in the Final Four.

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