North Carolina vs. Duke Part One

Can’t you just feel the excitement in the air?

In just over three hours the annual biggest game of the year part one gets underway – North Carolina at Duke baby!

This game is so big that it’s starting at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. That means assuming we make it through the snarling traffic that are Southern California freeways, we’ll be home in time to watch the start of the game.

Good luck with that one.

So who do ya like?

The No. 3 Tar Heels (21-2, 7-2), which hold an overall series record of 128-97? This record includes four straight wins at Duke (so much for home court advantage).

Or do you like No. 6 Duke (20-3, 7-2), which has won 17 of the last 24 meetings?

I’m going out on a limb here and say the Tar Heels prevail again at Duke.

The Blue Devils failed to impress me when they lasted only a few hours at number one, was pounded by Clemson, and struggled at home against Miami (FL) to win in overtime.

The Tar Heels seem to have found their stride since the last time they were number one. North Carolina has won seven straight by an average of just under 14 points a game.

As far as regular season games goes, this is college basketball’s version of Lakers vs. Celtics, USC vs. Notre Dame and Michigan vs. Ohio State in football, Canadians vs. Maple Leafs, or Yankees vs. Red Sox.

This game is so big that ESPN has it listed as the third biggest rivalry in all of sports. Only Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier and Michigan vs. Ohio State in football ranked higher.

So sit back and enjoy. As uaual, this should be a very entertaining game for all college basketball fans.