Duke hosts North Carolina as Wednesday odds favorites

There are a handful of rivalries in college football that have an argument as the best in the sport, led by Alabama-Auburn, Army-Navy, Michigan-Ohio State and Notre Dame-Southern Cal. There is simply no argument, however, about which NCAA basketball rivalry surpasses all others: Duke-North Carolina.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

The Blue Devils returned to No. 1 in the polls Monday and will host the No. 8 Tar Heels on Wednesday in the first of two scheduled meetings as 9-point betting favorites. There’s just nothing quite like that rivalry, and if you ever get the chance to see a UNC-Duke game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, do it. Good luck getting tickets, though. Led by superstar freshman Zion Williamson, the Blue Devils are atop the ACC standings at 11-1. Their two overall losses are by just a combined six points and they enter on a nine-game winning streak.

North Carolina is tied with Virginia a game back of Duke in the ACC. On Saturday, UNC crushed Wake Forest 95-57 for its biggest margin of victory ever in an ACC road game. The Heels and Blue Devils split last regular season, each winning at home. They also played in the ACC Tournament semifinals, and North Carolina won by five. The Heels have covered 15 of their past 21 at Duke.