Duke-North Carolina basketball rivalry: How many top-10 games have Blue Devils, Tar Heels had?

Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORK

North Carolina and Duke men’s basketball share not just a lengthy and hallowed rivalry, but also an entertaining one.

While other rivalries in college basketball can get just as heated — Louisville-Kentucky and Xavier-Cincinnati come to mind — few, if any, consistently feature close, high-profile games with significant national championship implications.

Saturday’s game between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill is no exception. North Carolina enters the matchup No. 3 in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 while Duke is No. 7. It will be the first top-10 game between the rivals since 2019.

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How often has this happened, with both North Carolina and Duke ranked in the top 10 heading into one of their games? And how have those games transpired?

Here’s everything you need to know about the history of the North Carolina-Duke rivalry with both teams in the top 10:

How many times have North Carolina and Duke played as top-10 teams?

Saturday’s showdown between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils will be the 49th time the programs have played each other while both were ranked in the top 10.

How remarkable is that figure? In the history of men’s college basketball, no other series has more than 14 top-10 matchups. North Carolina and NC State have played 14 times as top-10 squads, followed by Kentucky-Duke; North Carolina-Kentucky; and North Carolina-Maryland, each with 13 top-10 meetings.

Perhaps it’s not surprising for programs that have gone 57-57 against each other since 1977, but the Tar Heels and Blue Devils are 24-24 in their previous 48 games against each other as top-10 teams. Of those 48 contests, 13 have been decided by three points or fewer. Collectively, those 48 total games have been relatively close, too, with North Carolina winning those matchups by a cumulative score of 3,684-3,647.

Thirty seven of the 48 games have taken place since 1985, which was Mike Krzyzewski’s fifth season at Duke.

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North Carolina-Duke games as top-10 teams

Below is a list of each of North Carolina-Duke game in which both teams were ranked in the top 10:

  • Dec. 30, 1955: No. 4 North Carolina 74, No. 8 Duke 64

  • Feb. 4, 1956: No. 10 Duke 64, No. 9 North Carolina 59

  • Dec. 28, 1956: No. 2 North Carolina 87, No. 9 Duke 71

  • Feb. 28, 1958: No. 6 Duke 59, No. 9 North Carolina 46

  • Feb. 4, 1961: No. 4 Duke 81, No. 5 North Carolina 77

  • Feb. 25, 1961: No. 7 North Carolina 69, No. 6 Duke 66 (OT)

  • March 2, 1968: No. 10 Duke 87, No. 3 North Carolina 86 (3OT)

  • Jan. 18, 1979: No. 3 North Carolina 74, No. 7 Duke 68

  • Feb. 24, 1979: No. 6 Duke 47, No. 4 North Carolina 40

  • March 3, 1979: No. 7 North Carolina 71, No. 5 Duke 63

  • Dec. 1, 1979: No. 3 Duke 86, No. 6 North Carolina 74

  • Jan. 19, 1985: No. 2 Duke 93, No. 6 North Carolina 77

  • March 2, 1985: No. 8 North Carolina 78, No. 5 Duke 68

  • Jan. 18, 1986: No. 1 North Carolina 95, No. 3 Duke 92

  • March 2, 1986: No. 1 Duke 82, No. 3 North Carolina 74

  • Jan. 21, 1988: No. 9 Duke 70, No. 2 North Carolina 69

  • March 6, 1988: No. 9 Duke 96, No. 6 North Carolina 81

  • March 13, 1988: No. 8 Duke 65, No. 9 North Carolina 61

  • March 5, 1989: No. 9 Duke 88, No. 5 North Carolina 86

  • March 12, 1989: No. 9 North Carolina 77, No. 7 Duke 74

  • March 3, 1991: No. 8 Duke 83, No. 4 North Carolina 77

  • March 10, 1991: No. 7 North Carolina 96, No. 6 Duke 74

  • Feb. 5, 1992: No. 9 North Carolina 75, No. 1 Duke 73

  • Feb. 3, 1993: No. 5 Duke 81, No. 6 North Carolina 67

  • March 7, 1993: No. 1 North Carolina 83, No. 6 Duke 69

  • Feb. 3, 1994: No. 2 North Carolina 89, No. 1 Duke 78

  • March 5, 1994: No. 5 North Carolina 87, No. 2 Duke 77

  • March 2, 1997: No. 8 North Carolina 91, No. 7 Duke 85

  • Feb. 5, 1998: No. 2 North Carolina 97, No. 1 Duke 73

  • Feb. 28, 1998: No. 1 Duke 77, No. 4 North Carolina 75

  • March 8, 1998: No. 4 North Carolina 83, No. 1 Duke 68

  • Jan. 27, 1999: No. 1 Duke 89, No. 10 North Carolina 77

  • Feb. 1, 2001: No. 4 North Carolina 85, No. 2 Duke 83

  • March 4, 2001: No. 2 Duke 95, No. 4 North Carolina 81

  • March 11, 2001: No. 3 Duke 79, No. 6 North Carolina 53

  • Feb. 9, 2005: No. 7 Duke 71, No. 2 North Carolina 70

  • March 6, 2005: No. 2 North Carolina 75, No. 6 Duke 73

  • Feb. 6, 2008: No. 2 Duke 89, No. 3 North Carolina 78

  • March 8, 2008: No. 1 North Carolina 76, No. 5 Duke 68

  • Feb. 11, 2009: No. 3 North Carolina 101, No. 5 Duke 87

  • March 8, 2009: No. 2 North Carolina 79, No. 7 Duke 71

  • March 13, 2011: No. 5 Duke 75, No. 6 North Carolina 58

  • Feb. 8, 2012: No. 9 Duke 85, No. 5 North Carolina 84

  • March 3, 2012: No. 6 North Carolina 88, No. 3 Duke 70

  • March 3, 2018: No. 5 Duke 74, No. 9 North Carolina 64

  • Feb. 20, 2019: No. 8 North Carolina 88, No. 1 Duke 72

  • March 9, 2019: No. 3 North Carolina 79, No. 4 Duke 70

  • March 15, 2019: No. 5 Duke 74, No. 3 North Carolina 73

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: How many times have Duke, North Carolina basketball met as top-10 teams?

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