1. Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Nothing tops the yearly affairs on Tobacco Road between Duke and North Carolina. In what is perhaps the greatest rivalry in all of sports, two of college basketball’s greatest programs meet twice a year in ACC play (and perhaps a third time) in what is an incomparable atmosphere.
These fanbases loathe one another, while their teams have produced some of the greatest names in college basketball history.
At the moment, North Carolina holds a 139-112 lead in the overall rivalry, though that includes a 17-2 mark before 1929. This has been evenly matched in the decades since, as these programs have traded blows.
In this century alone they’ve both won three national titles and one of them seems to always make the Final Four. They’ve never played in the NCAA Tournament and that may be a good thing for the sake of whichever fanbase lost that contest.
There are so many memories to mention that we can’t possibly touch on them all. We had Austin Rivers’ game-winning shot in 2012 or Jeff Capel’s half-court heave to force double overtime in 1995.
There have been incredible games from stars like Michael Jordan and Christian Laettner. There was North Carolina’s incredible late comeback in 1974 against an unheralded Duke squad. The two schools have also played in the last three ACC Tournaments, leading towards a pair of ACC crowns for the Blue Devils along the way.
The ultimate rivalry continues to be led by two of college basketball’s most successful head coaches in Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams. Both of these schools lost talent, but bring in a whole new slate of recruits for next season. When these schools play, the college basketball world watches, knowing that another fantastic game between two vicious rivals is taking place.
This has been a look at the 25 best rivalries heading into next season. Not every exciting and highly anticipated rivalry could fit on the list, but we’ve certainly covered some incredible basketball programs. How will your team fare next year and will they get that win over their bitter rivals?