Best Rivalries of 2022: UNC Tar Heels vs. Duke Blue Devils

Duke and UNC is one of the most storied rivalries in all of college basketball. 2022 brought the end of an era and a historic first-ever Final Four matchup.

Duke and UNC basketball had played 255 times over the span of 102 years coming into 2022, building one of the most heated and historic rivalries in all of sports. But for two fanbases that seen just about everything over the last century, their three matchups in 2022 wrote a stunning new chapter.

As part of our Fandoms of the Year project, we’re taking this week to celebrate some of the best rivalries of 2022. To get more perspective on the UNC vs. Duke rivalry, and what it felt like to be on either side of it in 2022, we’re turning it over to some of their biggest fans.

The UNC perspective

The ending of two eras coincided almost perfectly for North Carolina and Duke basketball.

With the departure of Roy Williams after the 2020-21 season, that left a one-year run for legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski to have a leg-up in the iconic rivalry as Hubert Davis took over as the head coach in Chapel Hill. It all set up perfectly for Coach K. He could ride into the sunset with a leg up on the Tar Heels.

Someone forgot to show him the script.

Admittedly for Tar Heels fans, most of the season felt like things were moving the direction that Duke fans hoped. UNC began the year stumbling far too often for a team with its talent. On top of that, the Blue Devils thoroughly dominated the first meeting between the rivals in Chapel Hill on Feb. 5, cruising to a 20-point win.

Then the narrative turned on its head. North Carolina found itself over the last month and a half of the regular season, leading up to Krzyzewski’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. There were pomp and circumstances as Duke set up a triumphant home farewell for Coach K only for the Heels to crash the party with a 13-point win.

But sports are better than any movie, so the rivalry didn’t stop there.

Despite being a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, UNC carried its momentum into March Madness. Duke, a favorite to win the title, did the same. And lo and behold, that set up the first ever Final Four meeting between North Carolina and Duke, a fitting end to Krzyzewski’s tenure.

For a Tar Heels fan, it was even sweeter that it turned out to be one last chance to thwart Coach K and send him home. UNC came out victorious in the 81-77 contest to punch its ticket to the National Championship Game — but more importantly to end Krzyzewski’s career with a loss to North Carolina.

This rivalry is etched in the fabric of the state, particularly on Tobacco Road with these programs separated by just eight miles. So it’s only fitting that 2022 gave us the combination of the sweetest possible start to the Hubert Davis era at UNC and a bittersweet end to Coach K’s. The script-writers wouldn’t have it any other way.

What’s next for the rivalry is just as fascinating, though. While the teams won’t meet until 2023 on the calendar, the 2022-23 season is now year two for Davis and the first time Duke has seen a new head coach since 1980 as a Coach K disciple and former player, Jon Scheyer, takes over.

It may have new faces, but the way North Carolina ended the Coach K era proved one infallible truth about this rivalry: You can change the names in the programs but the bad blood runs eternally deep.

— Cody Williams, FanSided Editor

The Duke perspective

Duke and North Carolina meeting on the hardwood is the pinnacle of college basketball. There is nothing better in the sport. But entering the 2021-22 season was different.

Roy Williams was gone. Mike Krzyzewski announced it would be his final season.

Times were changing on Tobacco Road but the Blue Devils had one last chance to put its stamp on the rivalry and it did in Chapel Hill after running the Tar Heels off the floor on Feb. 5 by 20 points. However, prior to the season, everyone knew that the final home game of Coach K’s career would come against North Carolina and it was a game Duke could not lose.

There was no greater pressure on the young Blue Devils to win a game in the regular season than the finale. With nearly 50 former players of Krzyzewski in attendance, North Carolina came out blazing to stun Duke and ruin the moment for the Hall of Famer and his program.

Paolo Banchero and company weren’t ready for the moment. The entire day was too big for them. But, there was a sliver of hope the two programs could meet again in the ACC Tournament Championship Game.

Duke advanced to the title game thanks to a semifinal victory over Miami and Banchero was asked after the game which team he would prefer to play and without hesitation, he uttered, “we want Carolina.”

North Carolina was upset by Virginia Tech in its semifinal matchup as it looked like the Tar Heels had the last laugh against Mike Krzyzewski. Both teams made the NCAA Tournament as Duke, a No. 2 seed, and North Carolina, a No. 8 seed, were both into the second weekend of the tournament. Things started to get serious after the Cinderella of the tournament St. Peter’s University, a No. 15 seed, upset Purdue in the Sweet 16 and the Heels defeated UCLA.

Things appeared to be destined for a Duke and North Carolina meeting in the Final Four.

The Blue Devils toppled Arkansas in the Elite Eight on Saturday night while the Tar Heels dismantled the darling of the tournament in the Peacocks. It was official.

For the first time ever Duke and North Carolina would meet in the NCAA Tournament and it would come in the Final Four with the Blue Devils having the opportunity to win a National Championship in the final year under Coach K or North Carolina could end his career for good.

It was the longest week and buildup ever to Saturday night in New Orleans. The pressure. The drama. The storylines. It was unavoidable.

North Carolina ended up defeating Duke in a game that’s still difficult to think about.

For non-Duke or Carolina fan it was an instant classic. One of the best NCAA Tournament games ever. For a Duke fan it was miserable. Depressing is probably a better word to describe it.

It felt like North Carolina won the rivalry.

They won the biggest game the two teams ever played. They not only handed Mike Krzyzewski a loss in his final game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. They ended his career. Period.

Not even the largest-ever blown halftime lead in the history of the NCAA Tournament Championship Game to Kansas could help fix the broken hearts. Perhaps Jon Scheyer will have a chance to fix the crushed Blue Devil fans in his tenure at Duke.

— Kevin Connelly, Ball Durham Site Expert