THE rivalry, Take 2: How to watch, stream Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels men’s basketball

Steve Wiseman
North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis greets Duke head coach Jon Scheyer before Duke’s game against UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (Ethan Hyman/ehyman@newsobserver.com)

As is tradition, rivals Duke and North Carolina meet on the final night of ACC regular-season play.

For the second year in a row, the Tar Heels enter with uncertainty about their postseason future.

A year ago, UNC beat the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium to solidify an NCAA tournament at-large berth. That ultimately allowed the Tar Heels to reach the Final Four, and beat Duke again in the national semifinals before falling to Kansas in the national championship game.

Saturday night, at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, the bubble-bound Tar Heels once again need to beat the rival Blue Devils to strengthen their case for inclusion in the NCAA tournament field.

Ranked No. 1 when the season started, the Tar Heels (19-11, 11-8 ACC) have won their past three games to put themselves back in position to play in the NCAA tournament. Duke (22-8, 13-6) enters riding a five-game winning streak.

The Blue Devils have won eight of their past 10 games, including a 63-57 win over UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 4.

Currently in fifth place in the ACC standings, Duke needs a win to have a chance at a top-four seed and a double-bye into Thursday’s ACC tournament quarterfinals. If the Tar Heels win on Saturday, Duke will be the No. 5 seed and play Wednesday afternoon.

UNC will play on Wednesday at Greensboro, with a seed ranging from No. 6 to No. 8 depending upon its result against Duke and other league games on Saturday.

Tipoff time + TV channel for Saturday’s game

The game will start at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and air on ESPN, which is available on major cable and satellite services such as Spectrum, Dish Network and DirecTV.

How to stream Duke vs. UNC game online

Are you a cord-cutter?

If your preferred method of watching games involves streaming, there are options for that, too.

ESPN is available on Sling, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream and YouTubeTV streaming services. Or click here to view on the ESPN app.

Game day details: Duke vs. UNC

Teams: Duke Blue Devils vs North Carolina Tar Heels

Where: Smith Center, Chapel Hill

Date: Saturday, March 4

Time: 6:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN

Series history: Duke and North Carolina will meet for the 260th time with the Tar Heels holding a 143-116 all-time edge. Duke won, 63-57, on Feb. 4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In 37 previous games played at the Smith Center, UNC holds a 20-17 edge. The rivals have split their last 10 overall meetings.

Pregame reading

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