In busy night, Pitt's Xavier Johnson nears milestone, Duke, UNC meet in top-10 clash
College basketball fans in Pittsburgh have a decision to make Wednesday night. But if they can’t make up their minds, they need to check the batteries in the TV remote.
While Pitt visits Georgia Tech and tries to end its nine-game losing streak, Duke and North Carolina renew one of the great rivalries in sports at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Both games tip off at 9 p.m., with Pitt on AT&T Sports Net and Duke/North Carolina on ESPN.
No. 1 Duke and No. 8 North Carolina are meeting for the 46th time while ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll. The Blue Devils have dominated much of the hype on Tobacco Road, with freshmen Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett, who are projected to be among the top picks in the NBA Draft this year, leading the way.
But Our Lady of Sacred Heart graduate and Moon native Cameron Johnson is averaging 16.3 points per game for North Carolina after transfering from Pitt in 2017.
The least expensive ticket for the sold-out game is going for $2,500 on the secondary market, ESPN reported. One ticket went for $10,652. The cheapest ticket for Super Bowl LIII last month was $2,674.
The teams will meet again March 9 in Chapel Hill, N.C., where tickets for North Carolina’s home games average $70. When Duke makes the 8-mile trip from Durham to meet the Tar Heels, ticket prices will average $991.
One attraction for Pitt fans: Guard Xavier Johnson needs one two-point basket against Georgia Tech to pass Charles Smith for the school’s freshman scoring record. Smith set the record of 435 points in 1985.
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Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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