The G.(Rivalry)O.A.T.

Duke and North Carolina met for the upteenth time on Wednesday and reminded us why this rivalry is the best in sports. You can have Michigan-Ohio St., you can have Red Sox-Yankees… I’ll take Duke-North Carolina. The intensity these kids show in each and every meeting is unmatched, and no matter how much better one team is than the other throughout the season, the games between these two are always barn burners. Wednesday night was no exception as Duke was deadly from outside, while North Carolina continued to overmatch the Blue Devils inside. In the end, the third-ranked Tar Heels missed too many shots and the second-ranked Dukies’ marksmanship from three-point land led them to a 89-78 victory in the Dean Dome. Don’t let the 11-point final spread fool you, this game was a slugfest, and only a few Duke free throws in the final minute put some window dressing on the margin of victory.

A few things I took away from this game (take notes, ‘cause with my track record, you may want this info handy when filling out your brackets about a month from now): I love Duke’s offense. Just about everyone on the floor can handle the ball and almost all of them can light it up from deep. In true Duke fashion they are extremely unselfish and when their shots are falling (which is often), they can beat anyone. The problem I see with them going forward is that if they have a rough night from downtown, they could get smoked. They have no real post presence, which hurts them offensively and defensively, and their guards lack elite quickness and athleticism. They are the kind of team that has the ability to run through the tournament if they stay hot for all six games, but more likely than not they’ll go cold from beyond the arc and bow out before the Final Four.

On the other side, UNC was badly missing their talented point guard Ty Lawson (out with a sprained ankle), especially in the first half. Tyler Hansbrough had a monster game inside, as has often been the case this year, and his dominance showed he can almost single-handedly win games for the Heels. Also, as I mentioned before, the Heels shot terribly from the perimeter, yet they still managed to keep this game close right up until the final minute. Once Lawson returns, Carolina will be a legit Final Four contender.

These two teams meet (at least) one more time in Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 8, fittingly enough in the final game of the regular season. Hopefully, both teams will again be ranked in the top-five heading into the contest. If you are AT ALL a fan of basketball, I STRONGLY suggest you clear your calendar and watch that game. It promises to be (as just about every game between these two schools is) what every college basketball game, and every basketball game, hell every sporting event, should be— emotionally driven, hard-fought, well-played, well-coached, and probably close right up until the end (with a fair share of hotties in the student section to boot… though something tells me they’ll be few and far between at Cameron Indoor).