UNC vs Duke: A Break Down

Let me first acknowledge that I'm calling this a "girl's guide" when I am very aware that many girls probably know more about this than me - it's just for the fun of it.

Last week, for my Sports Broadcast class, I wrote an article about the importance, and insanity, of Duke and UNC facing off in the final four of March Madness.

When I made my bracket at the beginning of March, it was a train wreck. I personally do not have much knowledge about the NCAA so my bracket was definitely the farthest from realistic. However, I was informed that the most unrealistic match up on my bracket was Duke and UNC competing in the final four. Ha.

All that to say, I did my research on why this is such a big deal, why we should care about it, and how it literally made history.

The last time that the University of North Carolina and Duke University’s men’s basketball teams almost faced off on the NCAA court was in 1991. Both teams made the final four as No. 1 seeds but were on opposite sides of the bracket. Duke defeated UNLV but UNC lost to Kansas, ruining the chances of a state rivalry NCAA championship game. But on April 2, 2022, this state rivalry will face off on the NCAA March Madness court.

The UNC Tarheels will competed against the Saint Peter’s Peacocks for a spot in the final four, and the Duke Blue Devils were up against the Texas Tech Red Raiders for a bracket space as well. Because these two North Carolinian teams won these matches, we will get to watch one of the biggest rivalry’s in history compete.

Duke has won 5 total NCAA Championship titles, has appeared in 11 championship games, and 17 final fours. The UNC Tar Heels have 7 national titles, 6 NCAA Championship titles, and have participated in a record 21 Final Fours – the only school in history to have reached at least one final four for 9 straight decades.

A poll conducted by ESPN in 2000 ranked this rivalry as the 3rd greatest in North American Sports. Sports Illustrated on Campus named it the “#1 Hottest Rivalry” In college basketball and the #2 rivalry overall.

These two teams have been playing each other for a little over a century, their first game being January 24, 1920. Since the 1949-50 season, Duke scored 13,559 points and UNC 13,581 – only a 22-point differential from 70 years and 179 games. These two teams sit on pedestals very close in height.

According to the NCAA, Duke ranks No. 4 on the all time wins list while UNC sits at No. 3. Combined, these schools have won more than half of all the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and 50 regular season titles.

Despite both schools’ massive success in basketball, there is also the fact of these schools sitting a mere eight miles apart. This well-known road is U.S. Highway 15-501, or as more commonly referred to “Tobacco Road.” This term comes from the rivalry’s nickname, “The Battle for Tobacco Road.” The term “tobacco road” refers to the tobacco-producing are of North Carolina, where these two universities have taken up residence. A straight-shot, 20-minute drive will take you from one university to another.

Neither of these schools seem to be moving anytime soon, and the rivalry is too loved to choose a winner, so the battle for “Tobacco Road” won’t be dying off anytime soon.

BasketballElite.com interviewed Gerald Henderson, a former shooting guard for the Duke Blue Devils, about his thoughts on the “biggest rivalry in basketball.” Henderson complimented UNC as a university and said, “the rivalry wouldn’t be anything without a good other team.”

If you watched the game on Saturday, you know it lived up to the hype surrounding it, with 18 lead changes and 12 ties.

The University of North Carolina's Mens Basketball team ended the Career of Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski after UNC's Caleb Love made a key 3-pointer and three late free throws to bring an 81-77 victory over the Blue Devils.

Hubert Davis, UNC coach, was crying again, much as he did last weekend when UNC won against the Peacocks' and was headed to its record 21st Final Four.

"I felt like over the last two or three years, North Carolina wasn't relevant," said Davis, "North Carolina should never be irrelevant. It should be front and center with the spotlight on them."

It's a fun rivalry, made up of two incredible teams, and it was an incredible game to watch...but sorry Duke, you'll have to sit this one out.