By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Duke vs North Carolina or is it North Carolina vs Duke? Depends on what side you are pulling for.

I call it Carolina/Duke. What we have here folks is the biggest rivalry in all of college basketball.

There is no bigger rivalry in the sport, and you will not hear either fanbase say much nice about the other.

These two bluebloods meet in the final four on Saturday night in New Orleans for the first time ever. Here are the details:

Date: Saturday, April 2

Game Time: 8:49 pm

Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA

How To Watch: TBS

Records: Duke (2 seed, 32-6)

North Carolina (8 seed, 28-9)

A little series history between the two heated rivals:

UNC leads the all-time series, 142-115 (257 meetings).

UNC is third nationally in wins; Duke is fourth nationally.

This will be UNC’s 21st Final Four appearance which is most all-time, Duke’s 17th Final Four appearance which ranks third all-time.

UNC has won six national titles; Duke has won five national titles.

Combining for eleven national championships in the poll era.

Over the past 18 years, one of the two teams has been the Associated Press pre-season #1 ranked team in the country eight times.

Since 1977–78, Duke or Carolina has been in the pre-season top three twenty-eight times.

Over this same period, one has been pre-season #1 eighteen times.

One of the two teams has peaked at AP #1 in 32 separate seasons since 1977.

The two campuses are only 7 miles apart.

All five of Duke’s national championships come after 1981. 1981 was the first of Mike Krzyzewski era at Duke University.

Before Coach K, Duke had been to two title games, losing to UCLA in 1964 and Kentucky in 1978. Under Coach K, Duke has been to 13 final fours. Under Coach K, Duke has won National Championships in 1991,1992, 2001,2010, and 2015.

North Carolina has won National Titles in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, and 2017.

Frank McGuire, Dean Smith, and Roy Williams have all won titles in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina has been ranked in the top twenty-five of the AP Poll a record 927 weeks, has beaten AP No. 1 ranked teams a record fourteen times, has the most 25-win seasons with thirty-eight, and has the most consecutive top-three ACC regular season finishes with thirty-seven.

North Carolina has ended the season ranked in the top twenty-five of the AP Poll 51 times and in the top twenty-five of the Coaches’ Poll 53 times.

The Matchup Saturday Night:

We know now that North Carolina was under-seeded by the committee. Carolina at worst should have been a five seed.

This team turned the season around after a bad loss to Wake Forest in January and has been on a roll ever since.

Carolina has killed opponents on the boards during their NCAA tourney run. Carolina has been shooting three’s very well during this run as well.

Duke is an incredibly good shooting basketball team. The Blue Devils have shot over 50% in 18 games this season. Duke as a two seed was seeded properly by the committee.

Could this be the most watched College Basketball game ever? The 1979 Title game between Michigan State and Indiana State was watched by thirty-five million people.

That contest featured Magic Johnson for MSU and Larry Bird for ISU. Many pundits are saying this match-up could top that. That last title game to top thirty million in viewership was the Arkansas/Duke title game in 1994. Just too many viewing options on TV these days to approach records.

Prediction:

Carolina 84

Duke 80

Coach K’s storybook ending gets ruined by the hated Tar Heels.

Coach K will always be known as the greatest basketball coach in Duke history. Congratulations on a fantastic career.

New Orleans has been kind to Carolina. The GOAT Michael Jordan hit the game winner in the Superdome in 1982 to beat Georgetown as a first-year student.

And for the record in case someone gets offended from either side, I do not like either of these teams. I am an Indiana Hoosier fan during college basketball season. My Georgia Bulldogs are not particularly good in basketball.