Duke-UNC Men's Basketball Game Recap

Photo from goduke.com

UNC vs. Duke, a college basketball rivalry dating back to the 1920s. Whether you are a sports fan or not, if you live in North Carolina, you have heard of this rivalry. On February 1st, the teams met up for the 263rd time. This game has been long awaited by both Duke and UNC fans, as this was the first time they had faced this season. The Duke and UNC rivalry is known to be one of the biggest rivalries in men's college basketball, with their history as well as their fans proving the dedication behind it.

Duke students go as far as to camp in what they call Krzyzewskiville, or K-Ville, named after their last coach, Coach “K.” Dedicated students will camp out in tents outside of the basketball stadium in hopes of securing seats in the student section for Duke’s home games. According to Yahoo Sports, camping for the February 1st basketball game started on January 12th, a whopping 20 days before the game. As well as spending many nights in K-ville, each tent, housing 12 students, is expected to follow certain rules requiring at least one student to be in the tents 24/7. One Duke student told ESPN, "I know people think we are crazy, and we are," says Sam Freder. "No one should be surprised. It's right there in the name. The Cameron Crazies." 

As well as this, both teams fully dress out for the game, with people in head-to-toe Duke or UNC blue, holding signs with memes and messages to their teams to cheer them on. Whether the blue-blood rivalry game takes place at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, or UNC’s “Dean Dome,” you can count on not only the teams, but also the fans, to make it exciting.

In their most recent game, number 1 ranked Duke University faced unranked UNC, at Duke’s home court, Cameron Indoor Stadium, crushing them by an astounding 87-70, stretching Duke's winning streak to 15. While Duke had an overall better record going into the game, both Duke and UNC fans were expecting an exciting game, especially because UNC had won three of their last four games at Cameron Indoor, and because their games almost always keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

In the past 10 UNC vs. Duke games, excluding this one, there have only been two games between the two rivals where the point differential has been over 10. However, in this game, Duke dominated from the beginning, leading by as many as 32 points at one point. Two of Duke's freshmen were the lead scorers during the game, with Kon Knueppel scoring 22 points and teammate Cooper Flagg getting 21 points. As for UNC, their star player, senior RJ Davis, and freshman Drake Powell led Carolina with 12 points apiece. UNC started the game slow, shooting under 30 percent of their goals in the first 20 minutes, and ended the half 47-25. 

Duke not only started the game on fire and with energy, but their team also towered over UNC in height of their players, and by the end of the game, Duke led UNC in field goals, 3-pointers, free throws, and steals, and had only 8 turnovers to UNC’s 14.

While this game went in Duke's favor, nothing is to say the outcome of their next match-up will be the same. Duke and UNC will play again in March, and until then, Duke will try to continue their winning streak after playing Syracuse on February 5th, while UNC hopes to beat their next opponent, Pitt, later this week.

Sources:

1) "UNC vs. Duke: All-Time Head to Head Record, Rivalry History," Tar Heel Times

2) "Duke vs. North Carolina score, takeaways: Blue Devils rout Tar Heels as Cooper Flagg flirts with triple-double," CBSSports.com

3) "Men's College Basketball Standings," ESPN.com

4) "32 days in Krzyzewskiville - Camping with the 'Crazies' ahead of Coach K's home finale," ESPN.com

5) "1 hot ticket: Camping tradition continues at Krzyzewskiville before Duke-Carolina game," Yahoo Sports

6) "Duke Tops Men's Basketball, 87-70," University of North Carolina Athletics