The Battle of the Blues

by Zach Tucker

North Carolina. What a wonderful state. North Carolina offers various sights and sounds to visitors of all ages. North Carolina is home to the Biltmore House, the Outer Banks, Mt. Mitchell (the highest point east of the Mississippi River), Cheerwine and the first successful flight; among other things. North Carolina is also home to one of the greatest college basketball rivalries in the United States that features Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Both institutions have a lot in common. For starters the two schools are separated by only 10 miles. They both have a shade of blue for one of their primary colors, royal blue for Duke and light blue for UNC. Both programs have five national championships. Duke has 19 regular season championships and 19 ACC tournament championships. UNC has 31 ACC regular season championships and 18 ACC Tournament championships. They both have had prominent players and coaches that have participated in the rivalry over the years. Christian Laettner, J.J. Redick, Grant Hill, Shane Battier and Jon Scheyer are some of the names that headline former Duke players. Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Phil Ford, Sam Perkins and Tyler Hansbrough are some of the former notable UNC players. Not to mention that both teams are currently led by Hall of Fame coaches in Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams and who could forget about Dean Smith?

On March 4, 2017 the two schools will meet again for the 244 time. A win for Duke would mean that they could potentially move up to the #2 seed or #3 seed in the ACC tournament and possibly even earn a higher seed in the NCAA tournament. That would also mean that Duke would be 8-2 in its last 10 games against Carolina. A win for UNC would almost guarantee a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Carolina has already clinched the #1 seed in the ACC tournament. It would also be Carolina’s first win at home against Duke in three years.

Both Luke Kennard (Duke) and Justin Jackson (UNC) were named as finalists for the Naismith trophy earlier this week, which is given annually to the best player in college basketball. Both players will look to lead their respective teams to a win on Saturday. Nothing is guaranteed in a rivalry game, but both teams and fanbases will be licking their chops for the chance of a sweet victory.

It’s Duke.

It’s UNC.

It’s the greatest rivalry in college basketball.