NCAA basketball rivalries: Ranking the top 25 college basketball rivalries

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: A fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels (L) and the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo while holding a sign referring to the Duke/UNC rivalry during the semifinals of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 10, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /

No. 17 – North Carolina Tar Heels vs. North Carolina St. Wolfpack

All-Time Series: North Carolina leads 160-78

Although this heated intrastate rivalry along Tobacco Road does not compare to the one we’ll eventually see down the list (sorry, Wolfpack fans), the annual contests between the Tar Heels and Wolfpack consistently do what great rivalries do: evoke vitriol between the two sides and their supporters. This is true for North Carolina and NC State, in spite of a recently one-sided stretch of games in the favor of North Carolina.

Ask Tar Heel fans about the Wolfpack, and they’ll likely say they’re insignificant, no more than the little brother you spent your formative years leaving behind. Turn the tables and ask Wolfpack fans about the Tar Heels, and you’ll likely be met with a steely glare emoting utter disdain. In other words, this is what makes a great rivalry!

These are two proud programs with a history of NCAA success combining for eight NCAA national championships and 28 ACC championships between them. The Jim Valvano era in the 1980s led to NC State’s best run of success throughout this rivalry, and since then NC State has largely taken a back seat to the more widely known, “other” Tobacco Road rivalry. Still, prior to Duke’s rise under Coach K, the Tar Heels and Wolfpack were largely the biggest and best rival of the other program, and the animosity between players and fans alike continues to fuel these annual contests.

Game of Note: February 26, 2014 – No. 19 North Carolina def NC State 85-84 (OT)

When a rivalry is as frequently contested as this one, there is no shortage of worthy games for inclusion, but this particular battle was one for the ages where UNC’s Marcus Paige and NC State’s T.J. Warren battled shot for shot in an epic battle that needed overtime to find a winner. Behind 35 points from Paige, the Tar Heels pulled out the one-point victory on Paige’s running layup in the final seconds. Warren, who scored 36 of his own, saw his buzzer-beating attempt fall short and North Carolina prevailed on the road.