North Carolina and Duke will go at it for the first time this season Wednesday night in Durham, NC. And while the Tar Heels aren't having a typical season, they are still talented enough to make things interesting against the second-ranked Blue Devils.
UNC enters the game at 16-7 overall and 6-4 in the ACC while Duke is 21-2 and 8-2. But, UNC won last year's meeting at fabled Cameron Indoor Stadium by 18 points, so don't think the Tar Heels will make the eight-mile trip intent on getting rolled. They will come to play.
But that's what has marked the history of this rivalry. Wednesday's meeting will be the 235th meeting between the programs. UNC holds a 132-102 advantage and in the last 77 meetings, the Tar Heels have outscored the Blue Devils 6,029 to 6,013.
The following are some fascinating numbers in the UNC-Duke rivalry:
• Duke is 37-37 against UNC under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
• Roy Williams is 9-11 as UNC's coach against Duke but is 5-4 in games played at Cameron Indoor Stadium
• Duke is 40-35 all-time versus UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium
• Although UNC is unranked, both teams have been in the top-10 in 36 of their last 69 meetings
• Wednesday's game will mark the 136th straight in which at least one of the teams is nationally ranked, dating back to 1960. Amazingly, at least one of the teams has been in the top-10 in 124 of those games
• UNC has won five of the last seven games played at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• UNC has won eight of the last 14 meetings between the teams, though Duke has taken five od the last seven
• Since 1977, UNC and Duke have each reached 12 Final Fours and combined to play in 15 national championship games. They haven't yet faced each other in the NCAA Tournament and only once (1991) advanced to the Final Four in the same season
• Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has taken 11 Blue Devils teams to the Final Four and won four national championships
• UNC coach Roy Williams has taken seven teams to the Final Four (four at Kansas and three at UNC) and won two national titles, both at UNC
• Duke has been to one Elite Eight since 2004 while UNC has been to 6 Elite Eights in that same span
• Duke has been ranked in the top-10 of the AP poll for 108 consecutive weeks
• This will mark Duke's 200th consecutive game as a top-10 team. The Devils' record is 167-32 in that span
• Duke has shot 50 just once in 19 games against Williams-coached UNC teams
• Carolina and Duke have combined to win 36 of the 59 ACC Tournament championships, with Duke taking 19 and UNC 17
• UNC has won 29 regular season ACC titles, including six of the last eight, and Duke has won 19
• UNC has played for the national title in each full decade since the NCAA Tournament began in 1939
• UNC has more Final Fours (18) and more NCAA victories (105) than any other program
• UNC has 9 Naismith Hall of Famers and Duke has three
• UNC averaged 78.3 points per game while Duke averages 73
• UNC averages 41.7 rebounds per game while Duke averages 35.2
• Duke is shooting 47.3 percent from the field while UNC is shooting 44.5 percent
• Duke converts 40.9 percent of its 3-point shots, UNC is at 36.7 percent
• Duke is making 71.1 percent of its free throws, Carolina makes just 64.8 percent
• UNC averages 18 assists per game, Duke hands out 15.5 per outing.
• Duke turns over the ball 11 times a game, UNC does so 13.4 times a contest
• The Tar Heels average 8.1 steals per game, the Blue Devils average 6.8
