Andy Katz Ranks The Rivalries Which Means It’s Duke vs. UNC And Then Everyone

And #1 won’t surprise you a bit.

• By
  
  JD King
  
• on September 30, 2023 8:00 am

Mar 4, 2023; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Jeremy Roach (3) reacts as he leaves the court after winning the game at Dean E. Smith Center. 

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Andy Katz ranks his Top Ten rivalries in the country and to no one’s surprise, Duke and UNC are at the top.

There are some other goods here – Purdue vs. Indiana is his choice for #2, even though IU hasn’t had much success lately. But look how many are either missing or will soon fade away because of conference realignment.

Kansas vs. Kansas State is listed, but KU-Mizzou is not and that was a great rivalry. UCLA vs. Arizona is on the endangered list too.

Gonzaga vs. St. Mary’s could go too if the Zags ultimately move to a different league.

Then Kentucky-Louisville is somehow not listed, nor is Xavier-Cincinnati. That’s the closest thing to Duke-UNC, since those schools are so close together and they have had some rather significant heat there.

You could probably put Alabama and Auburn in here too, even though basketball success is hit or miss. Both have been good lately but it’s rare that they’re good at the same time. Still, there’s no love lost there.

All of them pale next to Duke vs. UNC though. Those games are consistently superb. It is the rivalry by which all rivalries are now measured, and we don’t mean just college basketball either.

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