Duke will travel to Chapel Hill on Saturday to finish the regular season with a must-watch rivalry game against the Tar Heels – and though coach Mike Krzyzewski left the door open for Zion Williamson to play, the superstar freshman has been ruled out for the game.
Williamson suffered a Grade 1 knee sprain in Duke’s first game of the year against North Carolina, and has been listed as day-to-day ever since. Williamson has missed four starts due to the injury, but coach Mike Krzyzewski had some positive news for Duke fans on Friday. Earlier in the week, Krzyzewski doubted that Williamson would be ready to face UNC, but said he’d be surprised if he didn’t return for the ACC tournament.
On Friday, Krzyzewski opened the door for Williamson to return for the rivalry game. Coach K said that Williamson looked great in a non-contact practice, and that the team would make a decision on his status Saturday morning.
On Saturday, Duke announced that Williamson will not play.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams told reporters this week that the Tar Heels are preparing for game expecting Williamson to be on the court.
“We’re still preparing like Zion’s gonna play. And at the same time, they’re going to make that decision, we have no say over it, so why worry about that part of it. We’re going to try to prepare to play Duke University, and [whoever’s] got that uniform on.”
Duke vs. North Carolina will start at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
