College basketball's only national rivalry
North Carolina coach Roy Williams greets the Duke coaching staff prior to the Tar Heels' 88-70 win at Duke on Saturday, March 3, 2012 in Durham, NC (photo by Jack Morton).
Feb 13, 2013
DeLoss Dodds, the University of Texas director of athletics, recently undressed the sport of college basketball using the phrase "in shambles" to describe its current state. Dodds looked at stagnant (at best) television ratings, the perceived talent drain to the professional game and sagging attendance in general, and he aimed his barbs straight at the heart of college ball.
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There are valid points to be made about the lack of upperclassmen in the sport. Five of the first 10 players selected in the most recent NBA draft were college freshmen. In all, 18 of the 30 selections last June had completed just one or two years of college, a record. In all, over the last five years, the college game has lost 33 of its best freshman players to the NBA, and if you don't think the quality of play has suffered at the top of the sport you haven't been paying attention.
Wednesday at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium, talk of the game in shambles, the decline in talent and sagging TV ratings and game attendance will garner nary a mention because the highlight of college basketball's regular season is here. Throw out all of those other classic match ups. Toss aside Michigan-Indiana, Louisville-Kentucky or Georgetown-Syracuse, great, traditional rivalries all. Duke versus North Carolina is the only national rivalry in college basketball.
The game airs at 9 p.m. on WRAL-TV and 620AM The Buzz. Stay tuned for postgame celebrations, coaches' press conferences and fan celebrations.
Of the five top-rated college basketball games since 1990 on ESPN, four of them are Duke-North Carolina match ups. When ESPN launched ESPN2, they did so by slotting this match up for the sister network, hoping to entice cable providers to make the new channel more available to basic subscribers. That Jeff Capel and Jerry Stackhouse provided two of the most memorable highlights in rivalry lore only adds to the mystique. Stackhouse authored the greatest dunk in series history, posterizing both Erik Meek and Cherokee Parks during a reverse, tomahawk, fast-break jam that has been shown on TV more than Duke games themselves. Capel's career highlight, for what it's worth, was in the same game, a running, 30-footer as the horn sounded that forced a second overtime.
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That the Blue Devils lost that game matters only to the participants. So too, may be the fact that those teams could not have been more different. Duke would win only two Atlantic Coast Conference games that season, the only sub-.500 conference mark for the Blue Devils in the last 30 years. Meanwhile, that North Carolina squad boasted two of the top four players selected in June's NBA draft and was headed for the Final Four. Still, Carolina's double-overtime win provided an indelible memory for anyone lucky enough to experience these games over decades of match ups.
No one needs to hold a benefit for college basketball. It isn't the NBA or the NFL or Major League Baseball, or even college football, which, due to the evil Bowl Championship Series, has become a national phenomenon.
Television ratings are lower because so many more games are available every night. Wednesday alone, there are 15 college basketball games available on my cable system. Fifteen!
More so than the professional behemoths and college football, college hoops is a regional game. The only exception to that rule is showcased when the Tar Heels and Blue Devils meet. And while it doesn't always produce the best game, it is always captivating and steeped with historical timestamps and everlasting memories.
Because it's more than just a game when two of the most decorated, most storied programs in the history of the sport, two programs separated by a mere eight miles of asphalt yet joined by decades of similarities, get together for the first time each year. It's an event: The unofficial start of bubble season, college basketball's version of a pennant race.
And best of all, it's ours. The rest of the nation is just lucky we're nice enough here in the south to share it with them.
Most Recent Comments
Posted Feb 14, 3:11 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 23138
Joined: Dec, 2007
Location: Southern Pines, NC
RE: College basketball's only national rivalry
I agree. Loads of rivalries all across the Country. Dean Smith began the run way back against Duke. Coach K has done the job to bring Duke to one of the top teams in America. These two schools recruit essentially the same players, and they have always banged heads. Look at the Nationl Championships between these two schools.Every conference has its rivalries, but the Duke-UNC rivalry is probably tops. To say its the only National Rivalry is pretty shallow IMHO.- Posted by PanthersFan45
RE: College basketball's only national rivalry
Listen you, it takes time for a team that has sucked for 20 + years to get back to once they were the best in the ACC. But you don't know college basketball, your just some wal mart fan. But just so you know I know my basketball quite well. And I see this team only going to improve. You don't think improving from the last 20 years to now? Your a joke. It takes time for a team like us to improve, but you will see. Next year or two we win the national championship, TAKE IT TO THE BANK!!- Posted by rduguyhereI just want to say as a pack fan, we are on the rise and will continue to be. We are definitely better than the days under Sendek and Lowe. So just wait and I bet my life that in a year or two State will have their third national Championship. Maybe we get one this year who knows. But mark it down in the next year or two State will be national Champions.- Posted by braves309
What exactly is "on the rise"? State is tied with UNC for 4th place in the ACC two thirds through the season. This is Moo U's best team in 30 years and UNC's worst team in 10 and 2nd worst in 30 years. Oh well, if that means you are on the rise, that's cool.
RE: College basketball's only national rivalry
Glad its over. Didnt get my wish both teams didnt lose. Still love the shot by Rivers last year.RE: College basketball's only national rivalry
I just want to say as a pack fan, we are on the rise and will continue to be. We are definitely better than the days under Sendek and Lowe. So just wait and I bet my life that in a year or two State will have their third national Championship. Maybe we get one this year who knows. But mark it down in the next year or two State will be national Champions.- Posted by braves309
What exactly is "on the rise"? State is tied with UNC for 4th place in the ACC two thirds through the season. This is Moo U's best team in 30 years and UNC's worst team in 10 and 2nd worst in 30 years. Oh well, if that means you are on the rise, that's cool.
