As Told by A.S.

Author: Andrew Schlegel

The rivalry between Duke and the University of North Carolina is arguably one of the most intense and exciting in sports.

Just ask Tyler Hansbrough, the Carolina center who was given a bloody nose by Blue Devil Gerald Henderson with only 14.5 seconds left in what became a 14-point UNC win at Chapel Hill last Sunday.

Henderson was ejected for the flagrant foul and suspended from Duke's opening game of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament against North Carolina State. Not having his 6.5 points per game may hurt Duke more than the forearm did Hansbrough.

Each year, the two schools not only fight for the right to be the best basketball team in North Carolina, but the games also decide who is the best in the ACC - if not in the entire NCAA.

With the win, the Tar Heels swept the regular season series for the first time since '95-'96 and clinched the number-one seed in the ACC Tournament, a spot that Duke held last year. With the athleticism of the program that has produced the likes of Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, and Jerry Stackhouse combined with Roy Williams' coaching, UNC is one of the most dangerous teams in college basketball this year.

With their loss, Duke fell to 8-8 in the ACC. Given that Wake Forest and Georgia Tech have fallen off of the map this season, this record looks even less impressive. Although this year Duke's program is struggling, it has beaten Georgetown, the number-one seed in the Big East Tournament, and Boston College twice. With a recruiting class consisting of three McDonald's All-Americans, the Blue Devils will soon be back at the ACC's number-one seed.

If it were not for the escort of Henderson by all three Duke assistant coaches off the floor, the two teams may have been fighting for something else: a nose for a nose.

There is more to the rivalry than meets the eye. Any serious sports fan could tell you Duke plays UNC a week before Selection Sunday. It is always the last game of the regular season for both teams - always has been, always will be. Yet the game itself is anything but regular.

Just ask Hansbrough, who had 26 points and 17 rebounds on Sunday - eight points and 10 rebounds more than his season average.

The fans get into the games like none other. Sleeping outside in March to get tickets may have something to do with it, but whatever the reason, if the game were being played in Durham, folks in Chapel Hill could hear the crowd's chants (and vice versa). If only we all could have heard what the fans were saying to Henderson.

I think they call it the Battle for Tobacco Road for a reason: the rivalry is addicting.