- Duke and UNC are set to play in the Final Four in one of the biggest
college basketball games ever. - Ahead of the game, both sides have downplayed the matchup, saying it doesn't matter that they are playing their rivals.
Games between Duke and North Carolina are routinely among the biggest in college basketball each year.
So Saturday's meeting, their first ever in
The storylines have fallen into place almost perfectly. It's Mike Krzyzewski's final season on Duke's sideline, while it's Hubert Davis' first at the helm of UNC. The two teams have nearly split their last 101 meetings, with Duke winning 51 times to UNC's 50. If Duke wins the national championship, they will tie UNC for third all-time with six.
Former Duke star Jay Williams called it the "biggest game in college basketball history."
But to hear both sides tell it, though, it's just another game.
On Thursday, speaking to reporters from New Orleans, UNC head coach Hubert Davis admitted to the magnitude of the game — but then said his team is treating it like any other.
"The rivalry is real," Davis said. "My thought process and my communication to the players has been none of that. The reason being, that doesn't help us Saturday. What helps us Saturday is our preparation, our practice, and how well we play. The historical factor of us for the first time meeting in the Final Four, the rivalry, Coach K's last year, my first year, that's insignificant to us.
"The way that we're approaching this game is the same way we would approach it if we're playing Villanova or Kansas, and the same way that we approached playing UCLA and Saint Peter's."
His players have internalized the same attitude.
"Does it make a difference it's Duke? No," guard Leaky Black said. "At the end we're at the Final Four. We came here for one thing, that's to bring something home. And no matter who we're playing, that's our goal."
The last time Duke and UNC played was March 4, for Mike Krzyzewski's last home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UNC won, 94-81, spoiling the momentous occasion.
On Thursday, Duke players all shot down the idea of getting revenge on a bigger stage.
"I think it's just another game for us," forward Wendell Moore Jr. said. "We're not looking at either revenge, what happened last time. We're not looking at anything else."
Freshman forward Paolo Banchero said: "Just really trying to get away from that and not think about that. We're trying to play on Monday and win the championship. So we're going to do whatever it takes to do that, it doesn't matter who we play."
Sophomore guard Jeremy Roach said, "We're not looking at it as a rivalry."
Perhaps the closest admission that the atmosphere will be elevated for this game came from UNC forward Brady Manek.
"I think the games are going to be big no matter what," Manek said. "So I think just being in the Final Four brings that attention, and then Duke-North Carolina game, it just brings it even more."
Neither team will want to admit it, but beating the other on such a big stage will only give them greater bragging rights in the historic rivalry.