The Next Play: Here’s what’s happening this week in Raleigh, Durham area sports
.jpg "Carolina Hurricanes’ Nino Niederreiter, left, celebrates his goal against Columbus Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)")
The next week should start seeing some semblance of a return to normal … until it doesn’t.
At least on the schedule, the ACC is roaring into conference play in men’s and women’s basketball, the Hurricanes are poised to play their first three-game week in more than a month, and high school basketball is in full swing as we reach the midway point of the season.
Here’s what to watch for this week in Triangle sports:
THAT WIN WAS NICE, BUT …
N.C. State made a statement with a big win over UNC in women’s basketball on Thursday. This week, the Pack gets a true test with a pair of road games against tougher opponents. First, Wes Moore and his team will head to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, and then head to face ACC rival Virginia in Charlottesville.
The Pack looked complete and solid against the Tar Heels, but any road game will be inherently tougher, and the level of experience both Notre Dame and Virginia have is greater than UNC.
SPEAKING OF THE TAR HEELS
The UNC men’s and women;s teams both have light weeks this week, with the men slated for just one home game, Saturday against Georgia Tech (which gave Duke all it could handle last week).
The women are in the same boat, with a Sunday matchup against Virginia Tech followed by a week off.
BLUE DEVILS MARCH ON
Duke’s continued efforts to maintain control in the ACC will be put to the test this week by a pair of opponents within driving distance to campus.
The Blue Devils will “travel” to Wake Forest on Wednesday to face the Demon Deacons, before returning home to Cameron Indoor on Saturday to face a young NC State squad that will undoubtedly bring plenty of energy, if nothing else.
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY
Meanwhile, on the ice, the Carolina Hurricanes return to what appears to be, at this time, a normal schedule when they play three games in one week.
The Canes are coming off back-to-back games this past weekend, and will travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday before hosting Columbus (Thursday) and Vancouver (Saturday) to finish out the week. It will be the first time in a month that the Canes will play three games in a calendar week … assuming none of the games are postponed by NHL COVID protocols.
