Duke, UNC enter college basketball’s greatest rivalry unranked, coming off losses, and in danger of missing NCAA Tournament
DURHAM, N.C. — Duke and North Carolina.
There's really no further explanation needed.
It's the greatest rivalry in college basketball and maybe all of sports, but Saturday's game at Cameron Indoor Stadium — the 253rd meeting in the series — lacks its usual Super Bowl-like hype with each team struggling to build a case for an NCAA tournament bid.
Yet somehow, that makes this game even more important.
Instead of an ACC regular-season title or a battle of top-ranked teams, this rivalry game offers a life preserver for the winner while an anchor gets tied around the leg of the loser.
"It'll always be intense because it's Duke and North Carolina," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "But there are some wounds that we're trying to get healed and problems we're trying to get fixed. I don't want to speak for Mike (Krzyzewski's) team, but I assume they have the same kind of feeling we do."
It's the first time since Feb. 27, 1960, that Duke (7-6, 5-4) and UNC (11-6, 6-4) have both entered this game unranked in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll. For a little context, in 1960, John F. Kennedy had just begun his presidential campaign and the United States was still nine years from landing on the moon.
Duke coach Krzyzewski had just celebrated his 13th birthday. North Carolina went on to beat Duke 75-50 at Cameron Indoor.
And while both have hit the basic requirement of playing 13 games in the pandemic-shortened season, neither has a strong enough resume to feel comfortable about landing a spot in an NCAA Tournament bracket.
Duke has not missed the dance since 1994-95. UNC is in danger of being left out of the tournament for a second straight time.
This season also marks the first time since Dec. 27, 1982, that both teams were not included in the AP Poll.
Duke opened the season ranked No. 9 and rose to No. 6 before dropping out of the poll two weeks later after a 74-67 loss to Virginia Tech on Jan. 12.
UNC began the season at No. 16, but has not been ranked since the Dec. 21 poll, although the Tar Heels have won six of their last eight games.
"All I know is that if you're a Duke or North Carolina fan, when the game is being played it'll be really important," Krzyzewski said. "It may not be important today, but at 6 p.m. Saturday, it'll be very important."
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Mike Krzyzewski (left) and Roy Williams exchange playful jabs before a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium last March. (Photo: Rob Kinnan, Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)
Coming off a loss
It's been an embarrassing week leading up to Saturday. It's the first time since March 3, 2018, that both teams enter this game coming off a loss.
The Blue Devils, coming off an impressive 79-53 win over Clemson last Saturday, dropped a stinker at Miami, 77-75, on Monday.
It was a major step backward for Duke's NCAA Tournament bid after rising 14 spots to No. 66 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ratings — ninth-best in the ACC. Miami is rated No. 151, good for last among ACC teams.
Krzyzewski called his team's performance "soft."
"With our team, wins and losses, we have to continue to learn about each other, about why you win and why you lose," he said Thursday. "We have to look at every experience and let them know."
The Blue Devils rank 343rd nationally in experience, according to KenPom.com, out of 347 teams that have played this season.
"That's not an excuse," he said. "What it is, is you have to coach that team differently."
That lack of experience has equated to very few quality wins this season.
They likely have one more chance at a Quad 1 win the rest of the regular season: a home game Feb. 20 against Virginia. (A Quad 1 win means a home win over a team in the top 30 of the NET, a neutral win over a team in the top 50 or and a road win over a team in the top 75.)
North Carolina, No. 56 in the NET, lost its recent momentum during a 63-50 loss to Clemson on Tuesday night, struggling to a season-low in points and finishing with as many turnovers (17) as successful field goals (17).
“I feel like this was one of our worst games,” North Carolina forward Day’Ron Sharpe said after the loss. “We didn’t play like ourselves, and I think everybody’s just frustrated about that.”
Home-court advantage?
Since Cameron Indoor was built in 1940 — known then as Duke Indoor Stadium before it was renamed in 1972 to honor former head coach Eddie Cameron — it has always given the Blue Devils a distinct advantage over its opponents.
That won't be the case Saturday with fans still not allowed in the arena amid the pandemic. But winning on the road hasn't gotten any easier this season.
As of this week, ACC road teams have won 30.5% (22-51) of their games, down from 39.5% last year and 41.7% the year before. Thirteen of the league's 15 teams have either a .500 record or below on the road, including North Carolina, which dropped to 2-5 after the loss to Clemson.
"You get used to the baskets, used to the rim and used to the background," Williams said about playing at home. "If you're going to pick a place to play, you're going to pick the place you've played the most."
Duke is 66-9 in the last five years at Cameron Indoor, but it did drop home games to Michigan State (75-69) and Illinois (83-68) in December. The Blue Devils have not lost three home games in a year since the 2015-16 season.
"Our guys, because we have so many freshmen, don't know what it's like to come to practice every day and have 1,200 to 1,500 kids in tents waiting to see them play," Krzyzewski said. "I miss it more for our school. It'll be good if we can get back to that in the future. It's our little Woodstock, so to speak."
Follow David Thompson on Twitter at @daveth89.
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