ESPN's Jay Bilas ponders how Duke can slow down UNC's Armando Bacot on Saturday

ESPN’s Jay Bilas is giving Duke the blueprint to slow down Armando Bacot ahead of the Blue Devils’ clash with the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Evidently, Bilas believes you have to get to Bacot early on the court if you’re going to stop him from wreaking havoc, as he explained while previewing the game.

“You really have to do your work early against Armando Bacot, because any time he’s out on the perimeter, they’re going to screen him back into the post, and they run these little on big cross-screens, to try to isolate him in the low post,” Bilas started, via SportsCenter. “I think you have to stay in front of him, stay on his left shoulder, so he can’t get to his right hand. He likes to spin baseline a lot, so you have to be aware of that. But you just have to stay between him and the basket, and make it a really tough shot.

“Then you better put a body on him and Harrison Ingram, because they are outstanding offensive rebounders. Carolina’s got three guys who can knock in threes, led by RJ Davis. I think you really have to stay with those three point shooters, and make Carolina beat you with tough twos.”

Last month, Bacot went wild for 25 points and ten rebounds against the Blue Devils, as North Carolina was victorious in Chapel Hill. Now with the game shifting to Durham to close out the regular season, Duke will be looking for an all-important victory.

Both North Carolina and Duke figure to be major players in the ACC and NCAA Tournament. We’ll see if the Blue Devils take Jay Bilas’ advice and are able to slow down Bacot on Saturday evening.

Jon Scheyer confirms Caleb Foster will not play vs. North Carolina

Moreover, No. 9 Duke will close the regular season on Saturday without the services of Caleb Foster for the fourth straight game.

Jon Scheyer confirmed as much during his press conference on Thursday. He addressed the status of the freshman guard at the very start and said that he will be unavailable for the Blue Devils’ season-finale tomorrow against No. 7 North Carolina.

“He can’t go tomorrow,” said Scheyer. “Yeah, so, it’s not there yet.”

Foster suffered some form of injury to his foot/leg in his last appearance in the team’s loss at Wake Forest two weeks ago. Since then, he has missed the last three games while wearing a walking boot and using a scooter as part of his rehab.

Foster has played 25 minutes per game in 27 appearances this season with 15 starts for Duke. In those outings, he’s averaging 7.7 points, 2.4 rebound, and 2.1 assists while shooting 43.7% from the field and 40.6% from three.