It's the game they dream about-the game they've played out hundreds of times in the driveway, the game they've each won with a shot at their own buzzer.
But unfortunately, in those games in the driveway, the Blue Devil players did not have to defend Tywon Lawson, Brandan Wright or Tyler Hansbrough. And they were not coming off two straight gut-wrenching conference losses.
When No. 16 Duke (18-5, 5-4 in the ACC) takes the floor against fifth-ranked North Carolina (20-3, 6-2) tonight at 9 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils will be looking to do more than just beat their arch-rivals.
They'll be looking to get their season back on track.
"The rivalry means a lot," junior DeMarcus Nelson said. "For our team, it means that much more because of where our team is at as of today-coming off of two losses that we felt like we let slip through our hands. We just have to come out here and just play with an extreme chip on our shoulders, play with each other and play 40 minutes hard."
Duke has lost its last two games by a total of three points-each time missing looks at the buzzer that would have won the game. The Blue Devils' second two-game losing streak in the ACC this season has dropped them into a tie for fifth place in the conference, two games behind co-leaders Virginia and Boston College.
The Tar Heels are also looking to rebound after being stunned at N.C. State Saturday. Despite the loss, UNC remains just a half-game out of first in the conference.
"Obviously whenever you lose two in a row or one in a row, you just want to get back on track and find a way to win," Greg Paulus said. "You don't want to head down the other road. It's just going to be the urgency on both teams to get back in the win column."
That can be a challenging task, however, when the next game is one of the biggest rivalries in all of sports. The Blue Devils must avoid getting caught up in the pomp of the rivalry and focus on the circumstance of a potential third straight loss.
"If you look into it too much, you can [lose focus]," Paulus said. "But just the fact that we're coming off two losses, we can channel the anger or the urgency that we need to have and just let it go and play with a lot of emotion. Knowing from the experience last year, it doesn't matter wins and losses, records-it's going to be a hard-fought game."
Duke, like North Carolina, will be relying heavily on its freshmen-all of whom will be experiencing the intensity of the rivalry for the first time.
Freshman Gerald Henderson witnessed the atmosphere first-hand last season, when he was in the crowd for the Tar Heels' 83-76 upset at Cameron on Senior Night.
"Coach K asked me if I thought I could play in a game like that," Henderson said. "He thought I could, and I had to sit there and actually think about it because it was something that I had never seen before. I wasn't scared, but it was something I had never experienced before."
Henderson and his fellow Blue Devils, however, are ready to seize the moment and to cherish one of college basketball's grandest stages.
"These games are players' games," Nelson said. "As a player, you've got to love playing in front of that type of environment and playing against that type of competition."
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