Will Carolina-Duke be different this year? Yes and no.
Yes, this is the first-ever Blue Blood rivalry game that will be played without fans. And, yes, it’s the first time neither team is ranked since 1960. And, yes, both teams are battling just to get into the NCAA tournament instead of a high seed and ACC regular-season title.
But if you think Carolina’s 11-6 and Duke’s 7-6 records will make this game any less intense, that is a big fat no. In fact, the two wounded teams may play one of the hardest contests of the rivalry. Because that’s what this game is all about, and there is precedent.
Twenty-five years ago, for example, the Tar Heels went to Durham when both teams were struggling to make the post-season, and to jump ahead to the Big Dance UNC was a sixth seed and lost in the second round to Texas Tech; Duke was a No. 8 and lost in its first game to Eastern Michigan by 15 points.
But when they had met in Cameron weeks earlier, you would have thought everything was at stake. Although Carolina was 19-9 and ranked 19th and Duke was unranked at 18-10, the Crazies were their insulting best and on the court tempers flared from the opening tip.
The Heels had won two straight in Cameron and the Blue Devils were trying to send Chris Collins out with a win in his senior game. Coach K jumped on the officials early, and as play stopped for a TV timeout in front of the Duke bench, UNC’s Dante Calabria and Krzyzewski yapped at each other.
In the second half of an already rough game, Duke walk-on Jay Heaps body-checked Jeff McInnis into the sideline press table and the players had to be separated. McInnis somehow got a technical foul and wound up yelling at Dean Smith when he came out of the game.
Carolina won by six but would only get one more “W” before the season ended. For Duke, it was the first of three-straight losses to finish its season. But way back in 1996, it is still a game to remember. Somehow, Saturday night will be the same only without fans. Both teams are angry after embarrassing losses earlier in the week.
The Tar Heels are younger but bigger, and the Blue Devils will find their game just in time. Trust me on that, it’s still Carolina-Duke.
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