The rivalry between the UNC Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils is a tale as old as time, dating back to their first match in 1920. Since then, the two teams have played around 260 times, 49 of those times were when both teams were ranked in the top 10.
Up until Saturday, Feb. 3, the top ten matchups were tied 24-24 between the two teams. Now, the Tar Heels sit in the lead 25-24.
With a final score of 93-84 the North Carolina Tar Heels have dominated the Blue Devils in their matchups. Out of the 261 matchups, North Carolina has sustained a record of 147-117.
The two titans will match up again in four weeks on Mar. 9 to battle it out once again, giving Duke the chance to level the score, and the Tar Heels the chance to widen the gap.
In the current season, the Tar Heels are sitting comfortably in the third spot, but the Blue Devils have fallen to ninth as ranked by the NCAA. Depending on their performance, Duke may fall out of the top ten before the next matchup.
The rivalry between the two teams is one that is massive across the country, being one of the biggest controversies in sports history. The close proximity and frequent match-ups of the two teams have caused the rivalry to grow and grow as years go on.
These matchups have led to super fans, as people camp outside the stadiums over a month in advance in order to get their hands on a ticket. On both sides of the rivalry, fans have made their own traditions.
Students at UNC, in celebration of a victory, rush out into the streets to celebrate with each other. These celebrations can get out of hand. One of their traditions is to light mattresses on fire. After their match up on Feb. 3, multiple mattresses were brought outside after the big win to be burnt but were confiscated by police before this could happen.
These celebrations aren’t unique to UNC however, with students at Duke starting a fire on their Quad to celebrate the last time they won against UNC.
Sophomore Jude Robert Dixon said, “My family and I are big Duke fans. We watch all of their games, especially when they play UNC… Typically we all go to my grandma’s house to watch the games and celebrate when we win.”
The rivalry between the two teams has stood the test of time and continues to be one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports. The next historic match up will happen on Mar. 9 in just four weeks.
