Duke and UNC Rivalries Beyond North Carolina

Rolando Rosa Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

The UNC-Duke men’s basketball rivalry is one of the most intense throughout all of sports. Each victory is a source of immense pride and bragging rights for the respective alumni and fans. 

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While both teams will forever be linked as each other’s chief nemesis, they have passionate rivalries even beyond North Carolina. 

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Here are Duke and UNC's top-three out of state rivals.

1. Kentucky Wildcats

There’s been some classic matchups between fellow blueblood Kentucky against UNC and Duke. The most iconic example is “The Shot” in the 1992 East Regional Final between Duke and Kentucky. 

With Duke down 103-102 in overtime, Grant Hill tossed a perfect out of bounds pass three-quarters of the court to Christian Laettner. Laettner caught the ball, faked right, took one dribble, and swished the two-point jumper at the buzzer. Duke won its second straight national title after escaping vs. Kentucky. 

Six years later, Kentucky exacted revenge in the 1998 South Regional Final with an 86-84 victory. Kentucky’s Allen Edwards made the game’s last point on a free throw and Duke’s William Avery missed a half-court heave. The Wildcats rode that momentum to cap off the season with a national title.  

The all-time series between Duke and Kentucky is as close as they come, tied at 10 with an average margin of 0.6 per game. The last meeting between the programs was a 79-71 victory by Duke on Nov. 9, 2021 in the Champions Classic. 

Meanwhile, UNC and Kentucky have clashed in some significant contests. The Tar Heels and the Wildcats have squared off four times in the Elite Eight. UNC has a 3-1 edge in those games. 

Jerry Stackhouse and Donald Williams each had 18 points in UNC’s 74-61 victory in the 1995 Elite Eight. Kentucky defeated UNC 76-69 in the 2011 Elite Eight behind a hot 3-point shooting performance. The Wildcats drained 12 3-pointers, including a clutch corner conversion by DeAndre Liggins with 37 seconds left. 

In the 2017 Elite Eight, UNC edged Kentucky 75-73 in a classic. Kentucky’s Malik Monk tied the game on a 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left. However, UNC’s Luke Maye hit a long 2-pointer with 0.3 seconds to secure the dramatic victory. UNC leads the all-time series 25-18 against Kentucky. Kentucky has won the last two games in the series, both of which came in non-conference regular season matchups. 

2. Kansas Jayhawks

There’s a myriad of fascinating links between UNC and Kansas, two elite programs with immense respect for each other. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is one of the most significant common denominators. From 1988-89 to 2002-03, Williams guided the Jayhawks to 418 victories, four Big 12 regular season titles, three Big 12 Tournament championships, two trips to the Final Four, and a national runner-up finish. 

Williams concluded his decorated coaching career with a legendary 18 seasons at the helm of his alma mater UNC. The Marion, North Carolina native led the Tar Heels to three national titles, five Final Four appearances, nine ACC regular season titles, and three ACC Tournament championships. 

UNC’s Basketball Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith graduated from Kansas and was a player on the Jayhawks’ 1952 national title squad. Basketball Hall of Fame member Larry Brown played at UNC and as a head coach led Kansas to a national title in 1988. 

UNC and Kansas are tied 6-6 all time with a razor-thin margin of 0.4 points. The teams have met seven times in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas has won the last four NCAA Tournament matchups against UNC, all under current head coach Bill Self. 

The Tar Heels and Jayhawks have faced off twice in the national title game and both were epic. UNC edged Kansas 54-53 in triple overtime of the 1957 edition. In the 2022 national title game, Kansas rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat UNC 72-69. 

Duke has had its share of hotly contested battles with Kansas. Kansas beat Duke 85-81 in overtime of a scintillating 2018 Elite Eight contest. Malik Newman erupted for all 13 of Kansas’ points in the extra period. In total, the back-and-forth affair had 11 ties and 18 lead changes. 

The Blue Devils are 8-6 all-time against the Jayhawks with a margin differential of 1.9 points. In 12 of the 14 matchups, the games have been decided by seven points or less. 

With Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski at the helm, Duke went 6-1 in the first seven contests vs. Kansas. 

In the most recent meeting on Nov. 15, 2022, Kansas defeated Duke 69-64 in the Champions Classic. 

3. Virginia Cavaliers 

Historically, Duke and North Carolina have dominated Virginia. As of Jan. 17, 2024, Duke leads the all-time series 106-40, while North Carolina holds a 106-43 advantage. 

However, current head coach Tony Bennett has elevated the Cavaliers into a perennial ACC contender. Since Bennett took over in 2009, Virginia has captured a national title, six ACC regular season titles and two ACC Tournament championships. 

Behind 23 points from Malcolm Brogdon and a dagger 3-pointer from Joe Harris, Virginia knocked off Duke 72-63 to capture the 2014 ACC Tournament championship. 

North Carolina and Virginia split ACC Tournament Championship games in 2016 and 2018. 

North Carolina defeated Virginia 61-57 in the 2016 ACC Tournament Championship game. Joel Berry II finished with 19 points for the Tar Heels. North Carolina held Virginia scoreless for over eight minutes during a stretch in the second half. 

Despite being selected to finish sixth in the conference during the preseason, Virginia beat North Carolina 71-63 in the 2018 ACC Tournament Championship game. The Cavaliers ended the conference slate with a 20-1 mark against ACC opponents. 

When Virginia won the 2019 national title, its only two regular season losses came against Duke. Duke snapped Virginia’s 16-game winning streak with a 72-70 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 19, 2019. The dynamic duo of R.J. Barrett (30 points) and Zion Williamson (27 points) combined for 57 of Duke’s points. Duke then beat Virginia 81-71 in Charlottesville less than a month later, as Barrett amassed 26 points on 6-of-10 shooting on 3-pointers. 

Rolando Rosa

Rolando Rosa is a South Florida native and graduate of Florida Atlantic University. Rolando is a sports editor/writer and has worked on casino content for the past few years across multiple websites. More from Rolando Rosa