For the first time since 2022, UNC and Duke will share NCAA real estate in March.
The ACC champion Blue Devils and arch-rival Tar Heels will both open NCAA play in Greenville, South Carolina, with both teams entering March Madness with very different mindsets.
Duke battled to an ACC Tournament title in Charlotte, despite missing two starters due to injury. The Blue Devils came out of the three games in three days with their third conference tournament crown in Jon Scheyer’s four years as coach. They hope to get center Patrick Ngongba back for the NCAA tournament’s first weekend.
UNC, meanwhile, looked out of sorts and fell behind early against Clemson in its ACC tourney quarterfinal game. The Tar Heels battled back to lose by one, leading to a social media debate over coach Hubert Davis. Carolina is also down a starter, but Caleb Wilson has been ruled out for the season with a broken thumb.
Now, for just the ninth time in March Madness history, the Heels and Devils will play in front of each other in the NCAA Tournament.
Most recently, the two blue bloods played against each other, in an epic Final Four showdown in New Orleans four years ago. They also both made the Final Four in 1991, with Duke winning its first national title.
The other six times, the two schools have shared a venue, but not a region, meaning that, like this weekend in Greenville, there’s no chance of the schools meeting.
This is the first time Carolina and Duke have been together since the 2017 tourney, also held in Greenville. The other five times were all in North Carolina cities—Charlotte (2005 and 2011), Greensboro (2009 and 2012) and Raleigh (1979).
The arrangement could bode well for at least one of the teams. The eight previous tournaments have resulted in four national titles. In addition to Duke in 1991, UNC went on to cut down the nets in 2005, 2009 and 2017.
Overall, UNC is 11-3 when sharing the spotlight with Duke. The Blue Devils are 9-4.
Duke
The Blue Devils finished the regular season as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation and added a conference tournament title to their resume. As a result, Duke is the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed. Duke is in the East Region and will advance to Washington, D.C. if it survives the weekend in South Carolina.
The general consensus online was that the selection committee didn’t do Duke any favors, giving it a tough road to the Final Four. Certainly, the Blue Devils drew some of the biggest names in the tourney field, including No. 2 seed UConn, No. 3 Michigan State and No. 4 Kansas. All blue bloods and former NCAA champs, they are joined by former champions Louisville (No. 6) and UCLA (No. 7). Big East champion St. John’s is at No. 5 and Ohio State is at No. 8.
While Duke’s region certainly has blue-blood name recognition, the numbers don’t exactly back up the argument that this is the tourney’s toughest region. Duke has the weakest 2-seed according to KenPom analytics, which has UConn ranked 11th in the nation, and the weakest 4-seed (No. 21 in KenPom), the two teams Duke is most likely to play in a second weekend.
Duke opens this weekend against Metro Atlantic champion Siena. If the Blue Devils win that game against the No. 16 seed, they’ll face the winner of the 8-9 game, between Ohio State and TCU.
UNC
The Tar Heels drew a No. 6 seed, which, according to the analytics, may have been a gift. UNC was ranked No. 29 in KenPom. The other three six seeds are 16 (Tennessee), 19 (Louisville) and 23 (BYU) respectively. Carolina ranks below three of the No. 7 seeds, as well as an 8 and a 9.
The Heels have dropped back-to-back games—to Duke in the regular season finale and Clemson in the ACC Tournament, and are just 5-4 in their last nine games. They’re assigned to the South Region, which would send them to Houston if they win out this weekend.
Carolina opens with No. 11 VCU, who won the A-10, have a six game winning streak and have lost once in the last 17 games.
The winner of that game faces either No. 3 Illinois or No. 14 Penn. The Illini lost in the Big Ten Tournament opener, their third defeat in the last five games. Penn won the Ivy League and has won nine of 10 games, including the last five.
It’s worth noting that, despite the winning records and championships in their shared history, when UNC and Duke get together in the postseason, it’s usually dramatic for at least one of the teams. Both teams have survived the weekend just three times in their previous eight times sharing a venue, and not since 2011. So, expect some madness this weekend in the Palmetto State.
