With UNC putting the finishing touches on Saint Peter’s moments ago, it became official. Duke and North Carolina will meet in the Final Four.
For as many classic matchups as these two rivals have had over the years, they have never met in the NCAA Tournament. That will change Saturday night in New Orleans.
Besides the rivalry aspect of the game, you have the added story line of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s pending retirement. The Heels already beat Coach K in his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium–ending his career for good would be an even greater feat.
The hype for this game has been steadily building since Duke won last night. Not surprisingly, it is already through the roof.
IT’S HAPPENING!
Duke ✘ UNC in the Final Four ♨️ pic.twitter.com/cjWMuHNzue
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 27, 2022
SHOWDOWN OF ALL SHOWDOWNS 🔥
For the first time ever, Duke & UNC will face off in #MarchMadness… and on the biggest stage 🙌 pic.twitter.com/V2mRr03sqg
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 27, 2022
UNC—21st F4, 130 NCAAT wins, most ever
DUKE—101 NCAAT wins, 13 F4s for Coach K, most ever
KANSAS—2,355 wins, 63 conf. titles, most ever
NOVA—20 NCAAT wins since 2016, most of any program, plus two recent titles
Hard to have a Final Four with more widespread appeal than this.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 27, 2022
FINAL: UNC 69, Saint Peters 49
The Tar Heels are officially in the Final Four in Hubert Davis’ first season. Next up: North Carolina vs. Duke, with a spot in the national championship up for grabs. (And, oh yeah, potentially the end of Coach K’s career.)
Gonna be a week…
— Brendan Marks (@BrendanRMarks) March 27, 2022
#UNC-Duke in the Final Four is a gift from the basketball gods after the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled. It’s finally time.
— InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) March 27, 2022
You’re not getting more Goliath-y, blue-bloody than a UNC-Duke-Villanova-Kansas Final Four.
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) March 27, 2022
Final Four semifinals between ACC teams:
1981: UNC d. UVA
2001: Duke d. Maryland
2016: UNC d. Syracuse
2022: Duke v. UNC— David Teel (@ByDavidTeel) March 27, 2022
I can tell you with 100% certainty that both Duke and UNC fans are TERRIFIED of the potential matchup in New Orleans.
If UNC wins tonight, the state of North Carolina is going to be a complete and utter mess until Saturday
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) March 27, 2022
Some UNC fans near me inside Wells Fargo are starting to chant: “We want Duke. We want Duke.”
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) March 27, 2022
Duke and North Carolina split their annual regular season series, with the Blue Devils soundly winning in Chapel Hill before the Tar Heels shocked Duke in Coach K’s home finale.
Villanova-Kansas is the first national semifinal next weekend, with a scheduled tip time of 6:09 p.m. ET. Duke-North Carolina will likely get going shortly before 9 p.m. ET.
Both games will be televised on TBS.
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