Rivals clash in battle for ACC

Two schools, separated by a mere eight miles and a shade of blue. Two schools, together again in the top five of the country. Two schools, their histories intertwined with a montage of magical moments, intense battles and legendary performances. Saturday night, at 9 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium, their fates will once again be inexorably linked, when No. 5 Duke (26-3, 13-2 in the ACC) hosts No. 1 North Carolina (28-2, 13-2) for the outright conference regular-season title. As important as the game is, the schools will keep the proper perspective and honor late North Carolina student body president Eve Carson with a moment of silence before the tip. It is the first time the season finale between the two will decide the outright ACC crown since 1991, when the Blue Devils upset the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill en route to the program's first-ever national title. Saturday's meeting also marks the first time since 1998 that both teams are in the top five for the regular-season finale. As a result, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament likely awaits the winner. "We have a championship game Saturday, then we have the ACC Tournament playing for a championship, then we have a regional championship and a national championship," senior captain DeMarcus Nelson said. "This is the time of the year when we can come together and be excited about playing." The lone senior on the roster, Nelson is the only Duke player to have beaten North Carolina on the Blue Devils' home floor. As a freshman in 2005, the wing had a breakout performance against the Tar Heels, scoring 16 points in Duke's 71-70 win. Since then, however, North Carolina is 2-0 in Cameron, scoring a stunning 83-76 win over the top-ranked Blue Devils in 2006 before coming back last season for a 79-73 victory. But Duke has spent an entire season exorcising the demons of the past. The Blue Devils have avenged each one of their conference losses from a season ago, capped by Wednesday's win at Virginia-the site of last year's most heartbreaking ACC defeat. The victory over the Cavaliers was Duke's fourth in a row following consecutive losses in mid-February. In those games at Wake Forest and Miami, the Blue Devils turned the ball over 45 times and surrendered an average of 91 points. During their winning streak, Duke has turned the ball over a total of just 42 times, and Wednesday night in Charlottesville, the Blue Devil defense suffocated Virginia star guard Sean Singletary into a 6-of-16 performance from the field. Nobody in the ACC and perhaps even the country, though, has as much momentum as North Carolina. The Tar Heels visit Cameron riding a seven-game winning streak that dates back to the 89-78 loss to the Blue Devils Feb. 6. All-everything junior Tyler Hansbrough has carried North Carolina during the stretch, much of which was played without point guard Ty Lawson, Hansbrough averaged 29 points and 10.7 rebounds per game with Lawson out of the lineup, including a 28-point, 18-rebound performance in the loss to Duke. The junior has seemed to save his best for the Blue Devils throughout his career. In five games against Duke, Hansbrough averages 22.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per contest. Lawson returned to action for UNC last Saturday against Boston College. The sophomore has come off the bench in the two games since his return, and he and senior Quentin Thomas have split the minutes evenly. "The difficulty just comes in that we're going to play at a little faster pace because of [Lawson's] speed and quickness," North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said. "The kids have to get used to that, people have to make adjustments, including him. He's never come off the bench before." The Tar Heels' winning streak has led them back to the top of the rankings after a six-week hiatus. "I like it better later in the year because it means you have accomplished something," Williams said. "What it says abut our team is we have gotten better defensively, and we have been able to withstand adversity.... I'm proud of the toughness of our team." Toughness should be on display on both ends of the court Saturday night. After all, an ACC title and a potential No. 1 seed hang in the balance. Even simpler, it is Duke and Carolina. Eight miles and a shade of blue? By the end of Saturday night, the only separation that will matter is that on the scoreboard.