Banners are raised in recognition of Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships, but any of the nine ACC coaches will tell you that the regular season crown is what matters.
And that's exactly what No. 1 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina will play for Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The media and the fans, especially the 1,500 students who've camped out for the past six weeks, will tell you that this game is about The Rivalry-perhaps the greatest of annual college clashes today. The players and coaches know, however, that more than anything, this game is about winning the ACC and securing the top seed in next week's conference tournament.
"Last time we played them, it was huge," said Roshown McLeod, Duke's leading scorer in ACC contests. "But this time is for the ACC regular season championship. That was one of our goals at the beginning of the season and now they're in our way."
Should the Blue Devils (26-2, 14-1 in the ACC) emerge victorious from Saturday's sequel to 'the Game of the Year', they will finish the season alone atop the conference standings and set an ACC record for conference wins in a season.
"We don't want to share this title," Trajan Langdon said. "We want those 15 ACC wins and we want to win the title outright."
If the Tar Heels (27-2, 13-2) beat Duke for the second time this year, they will finish in a tie for first place and earn the top seed by virtue of their 2-0 head-to-head record with the Blue Devils.
North Carolina handed Duke its worst loss of the 90s in the teams' first meeting on Feb. 5, blowing the Blue Devils out in the final minutes of the game to turn a precarious four-point game into a 97-73 demolition.
Since that game, Duke has compiled a 6-0 record, all of which have been conference wins with the exception of a 120-84 pasting of No. 12 UCLA. The Blue Devils have also added freshman Elton Brand, who returned Sunday against the Bruins after sitting out since late December with a broken foot.
Brand's return will of course help Duke's interior scoring, but perhaps more importantly, it gives the Blue Devils someone else who might be able to slow down the Tar Heel's National Player of the Year candidate-Antawn Jamison.
"It would be asking way too much of Elton to expect him to stop Jamison," Langdon said. "He can help us but I don't think he's going to shut down Jamison by any means."
The Blue Devils will turn to freshman Shane Battier first to try and contain Jamsion. The Tar Heel big man dominated Battier for most of the first contest, but Battier has that experience under his belt and actually appeared to have Jamison's number at the end of the first game, blocking one of Jamison's jump shots.
The other pivotal matchup comes at the point, where Ed Cota got the better of Steve Wojciechowski the first time around. Cota had 17 points and a bevy of spectacular assists in the Tar Heel's late-game surge, yet the sophomore still took exception to Wojciechowski's defensive tactics.
"He just gets away with a lot of fouls, and I just have to play through that," Cota said. "I am going to continue to play the way I normally do. But when it comes time to get aggressive, then I am going to be aggressive."
Cota comments may have been aimed largely at the refs for Saturday's game, perhaps lobbying ahead of time for some foul calls. Still, the matchup should be just as fierce as the first.
"Those two go at it every time up and down the floor," Langdon said. "Cota's a great talent because he's so quick, and he gets the ball to his teammates in a split second. Wojo's a great floor leader and defender though."
While the Blue Devils have remained perfect since the loss in Chapel Hill, North Carolina has faced a tougher road, struggling at Georgia Tech (a 107-100, double-OT win) and having to rally at home to beat Wake Forest Tuesday night after having lost 86-72 to N.C. State Saturday at the Smith Center.
UNC's Achilles' heel during the last two games has been its perimeter defense. The Wolfpack's C.C. Harrison hit 8-of-9 threes against the Tar Heels and Wake Forest built its first-half lead behind a flurry of threes. North Carolina is sure to see more of the same from the sharpshooting Blue Devils.
The Tar Heels' other fault of late seems to be the onset of fatigue
Still, this is the last game of the regular season, and much like the last time out, fatigue should not be an issue on Saturday.
Having suffered through an even more draining 40-plus day camp-out season, the Cameron Crazies should be equally capable of shedding their fatigue for the two-hour battle to flex their cheering muscle and influence the outcome of the game, much like in last year's home contest with the Tar Heels when they remained at a roar even during UNC runs.
"Last year, the crowd was unbelievable," Langdon said. "There were times I couldn't even hear myself think. They won't be the key to us winning the game, but they'll be loud and really help us out."
Aside from sending the Tar Heels home with a case of low self esteem, the Crazies will also be out in full force to bid a fond farewell to the quartet of Blue Devil senior playing their final game in Cameron-Wojciechowski, McLeod, Ricky Price and walk-on Todd Singleton.
"I can't think of a better way to go out," said Price, whose first Carolina game was the 1995 contest where Jeff Capel sent the game into double overtime with a desperation heave. "My time here is winding down and I've played with and against so many great players. Now, here we are playing for the ACC title, two of the top three teams in the country. It's amazing to go out in this kind of setting."
When the dust settles Saturday afternoon, the team left standing won't have a banner to hang from it's rafters-yet-but it will have captured the toughest conference in all of college basketball.
Medical notes: Carter and Cota are both suffering from pink eye and will wear protective goggles to avoid infecting others.... Langdon suffered through migraine headaches Wed. and Thu., the first he's ever experienced. They faded after the start of the Georgia Tech game and have not returned.
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