Saturday will mark the start of the final full month of the regular season in college basketball, and the conference races are heating up. As teams reach the midway point of the season, they are beginning to solidify their positions within their respective leagues. The power conferences are tightly contested, with no team holding more than a one-game lead in the standings.
With the midpoint of conference play comes rivalry season. Tennessee and Kentucky face off on Tuesday, Auburn and Alabama will meet twice later in the year, Texas and Texas A&M delivered a thrilling showdown over the weekend, and Ole Miss and Mississippi State have already squared off.
The most anticipated rivalry of all is Duke vs. North Carolina, which will take place this Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. This fierce rivalry, which began in 1920, has consistently been one of the biggest games of the year in college basketball.
Last Saturday, College GameDay announced it would be broadcasting live from Durham for its weekly show. This decision, however, left Chris Fisher of 247Sports upset, and he took to Twitter to express his frustration.
“Duke-Carolina is only the “best” rivalry because it’s the one ESPN has chosen to actively endorse,” Fisher posted. “They shove it down your throat at every opportunity.”
Fisher argued that College GameDay should instead be covering John Calipari’s return to Lexington, rather than the rivalry game.
This year’s matchup between the two teams should be just as intense, as both squads feature a strong mix of experienced veterans and talented newcomers. RJ Davis and Tyrese Proctor will lean on their experience in these high-stakes games to help prepare their teams, while freshmen like Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, Ian Jackson, and Drake Powell will get their first taste of one of college basketball’s most exciting rivalries.