Dean Smith Honored with Moment of Silence in Cameron Indoor Before UNC vs. Duke

The rivalry between North Carolina and Duke hit the pause button before their contest Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, as players and coaches from the two teams took a moment of silence to honor late Tar Heels coach Dean Smith.

Playing in their first matchup since Smith's passing, the teams gathered and locked arms at center court. CBS Sports and ESPN's College Basketball Twitter feed passed along photos from the touching ceremony:

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Before the game, North Carolina & Duke huddled together to honor the late Dean Smith #UNCvsDUKE pic.twitter.com/at9kptxond

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) February 19, 2015"

Ryan Fagan of Sporting News shared video of the moment:

Smith died at his home in Chapel Hill on Feb. 7 at the age of 83. One of the winningest coaches in college basketball history, Smith had a special relationship with both Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and North Carolina's Roy Williams, acting as a rival and friend to the former and mentor to the latter.

"His greatest gift was his unique ability to teach what it takes to become a good man," Krzyzewski said of Smith in a statement released by Duke. "That was easy for him to do because he was a great man himself. All of his players benefited greatly from his basketball teachings, but even more from his ability to help mold men of integrity, honor and purpose."

"I'm 64 years old and everything I do with our basketball program and the way I deal with the University is driven by my desire to make Coach Smith proud," Williams said in a statement. "When I came back to Carolina, the driving force was to make him proud and I still think that today."

Smith defeated Duke 59 times during his career, the most of any opposing coach.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.