If it could be guaranteed that Duke pantsed them in a truly epic fashion, then sure. Otherwise, heck no.
Lord no. Never.
If it could be guaranteed that Duke pantsed them in a truly epic fashion, then sure. Otherwise, heck no.
Duke has been playing college hoops for 115 years and, since the NCAA tournament started in the late 1930's, has had enormous success but been to the finals only 11 times -- five wins. I'd gladly watch another Duke NCAA final under almost any circumstances.
And I agree -- my only trips to NC are to visit Duke -- so I'm relatively immune to UNC fandom.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
I would love to see it. It would raise this great rivalry to new heights.
Have same-state rivals ever played in the NCAA championship game?
Only times I can recall are the 1961 and 1962 games in which Cincinnati (post-Oscar) upset Ohio State (Lucas, Havlicek), which had won the 1960 championship. Although those schools are close geographically (100 miles), they have not played each other regularly (so clearly wasn’t a “rivalry” similar to Duke-unc).
Yes.
Bob Green
Makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it but I'd be there.
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
Duke and the heels are in the final 4. Heels play first, I pull like hell for them to lose but they win. Am I going to pull for Duke to lose the 2nd game. Of course not. I take any option that has Duke in the final game, including 1991 against Vegas.
I have lived my entire life living behind enemy lines in NC. Their fans are insufferable to the nth degree all the time - and they are omnipresent. And they would continue to be regardless of the outcome of a Duke-Heel final.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
The 1961 national finals, where Cincinnati beat Ohio State 70-65 in overtime is the only time, I believe, that two teams from the same state played in the finals.
A cursory inspection of the history of the Final Four shows that five separate times two teams from the same state were in the Final Four:
1959-1960 Ohio State and Cincinnati did not play
1960-1961 Cincinnati beat Ohio State in OT
1974-1975 Kentucky and Louisville did not play
1976-1977 UNC and UNCC did not play
2011-2012 Kentucky beat Louisville in semis
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Hah!! What a mistake!! I looked at every FF and my eye just jumped over Duke and UNC in 1991 -- which was very close to the main idea of the thread. For the record --
1990-1991 Duke and UNC did not play (and Dean got thrown out of the semifinal game against Kansas)
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Yes. And because I know the weauxfgods are listening I will go no further.
Last edited by CameronBlue; 07-01-2020 at 05:29 PM. Reason: Plus OlyFan has got our back.
No Way! Risk/Reward factor isn't worth it.
First of all I would give a toe to watch ANY game at this point. All the more so for a national championship game. 10x all the more so for a championship game with Duke in it.
But at this point, as I am scraping the bottom of the barrel on Netflix and old games on Youtube, I for sure am not going to be picky about who our opponent would be in said game!
Why would I want UNC to win five games in the tournament?
Or even be in the tournament?
Or win a game, ever?
In the past, I would have said that I did not like them, but they were worthy rivals. Now, not so much.
Are we really chicken to face them because we might lose? Wow.
There was a time when I thought it would be the ultimate title game. But these days, I feel UNC shouldn't even be eligible to play post-season games, if not others too. Perhaps their legal eagles deserve admiration for threading the needle between SACS and the NCAA. But UNC sold their soul in doing so and I don't feel they belong on the same court, in the same conference, athletic association, etc etc.
No...