Thursday, January 15, 2009
26 Days UNC/Duke Basketball Rivalry: 2009 Edition
“Duke Swats Away Yellow Jackets,”,“UNC Stumbles In Wake Loss,” “Florida State No Match for Duke Offense,” “Unranked Boston College Stuns Tarheels!”
These are but a few of the headlines coming out of Chapel Hill and Durham as the always much anticipated first showdown of the perennial ACC heavyweights approaches on Feb. 11. This first encounter will be at home for Duke. But if we read the headlines, it might not seem that this years battle will live up to the quality of those of the past. Don’t Believe It! If on any given year, either team were to come into the contest without a single win in the season (and THAT will never happen), the UNC/Duke matchup would be the one that every basketball fan, especially every ACC fan, longs for. Both teams rise to the occasion every time. Both teams pull out all the stops every time. Both teams will fight for the win at all costs, every time. Yeah sure, Duke is now 3-0 in ACC league play and UNC is 0-2, but tonight UNC travels to Virginia and you can bet that the Cavs are not happy that UNC comes in with 2 losses. The Heels want a league win bad and Virginia is the unlucky one that is next on the schedule. And, what do you know, the Heels Won!!!
26 days from now, the intensity of the 2009 rivalry will be at full throttle –“which is the best shade of blue?” And the best part…it all starts over again immediately, the rematch happens on March 8!
Are you a Tarheel or a Blue Devil? Which team do you think is going to win the ACC Tournament or, better yet, the NCAA Championship? My bet is for Tyler Hansbrough and Carolina! Go Heels!