Ranking the Best In-Conference Rivalries in College Basketball Right Now
College basketball's most noteworthy rivalries are steeped in decades of hatred and proximity, but they aren't necessarily the best current rivalries on the court.
Everyone knows not to miss a Duke vs. North Carolina game, but did you know that 50 percent of the games played in the past decade between Louisville and Notre Dame have gone into overtime? Or did you know that more than 80 percent of the games played between Baylor and Kansas State since 2002 have been decided by a single-digit margin?
We scoured game logs dating back to 2000 in search of the in-conference pairings you absolutely cannot afford to miss in the upcoming season.
Three major criteria were used:
1. Must currently be members of the same conference with a minimum of 10 head-to-head games in the past decade. Syracuse vs. Georgetown was a pretty fantastic Big East rivalry, and Syracuse vs. Duke is already a fun ACC pairing. But neither would meet this first criterion.
2. Both teams must have competed in at least three of the past eight NCAA tournaments. Maybe Northwestern and Penn State have been evenly matched over the past decade, but why should we care about the annual battle for last place in the Big Ten?
3. Series must be separated by a margin of three games or fewer. It's not much of a rivalry if one team clearly has the other's number.
Pairings that met those three criteria were ranked on something of a sliding scale in which the better the teams are, the longer they've been evenly matched and the closer the games are, the better. Lots of overtime and conference tournament games between annual title contenders are the ultimate goal.
Several of these are already iconic rivalries and received a little extra consideration because of everyone's familiarity with their showdowns, but some of the best ones were pleasant surprises.
Honorable Mentions
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After hours upon hours of sifting through the game logs of tournament regulars, there actually weren't all that many pairings matched evenly enough or long enough to qualify. Thus, our list of honorable mentions is a bit shorter than usual.
Indiana vs. Purdue (Indiana leads 12-11 since 2003)
Historically, this is one of the best rivalries in college basketball, as these in-state foes have squared off more than 200 times dating back to 1901. Based on that history and the win-loss docket over the past baker's dozen years, you might think this is a no-brainer for a spot in the top 20.
However, it has been a bizarre rivalry in which both teams have been equally dominant.
Of the 23 games, 17 have been decided by a margin of at least 10 points—eight blowouts favoring Indiana and nine won by Purdue. Indiana dominated for a few years with D.J. White and Robert Vaden; then Purdue took over with Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore before the Hoosiers started kicking butt again with Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo.
The 2015-16 season should be one of the only times in the past two decades that both programs have been really good at the same time, so perhaps we'll get a big revival of this rivalry this year.
Michigan vs. Purdue (Purdue leads 12-11 since 2002)
Similarly to Indiana vs. Purdue, Michigan and Purdue have pretty much just taken turns beating each other up, with 13 of these 23 games decided by double digits. Aside from an overtime affair in February 2014, the Wolverines and Boilermakers haven't played a single extra period or conference tournament game.
Florida State vs. North Carolina State (Tied at 8-8 since 2005)
More of the same, the Seminoles and Wolfpack have played to a draw over the past 11 years, but more than half of the games were decided by a margin of at least 10 points. They met twice in the ACC tournament during this stretch, but the No. 7 vs. No. 10 first-round blowout in 2005 and a No. 3 vs. No. 11 quarterfinals pairing in 2010 weren't exactly legendary battles. Also, none of the 16 games went into overtime.
20. LIU-Brooklyn vs. Robert Morris (Since 2010)
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Series: Tied at 6-6
Games decided by five or fewer: 4 (1 in OT)
Conference tournament games: 2 (2 NEC title games)
Because of the requirement that both teams compete in at least three of the past eight NCAA tournaments, minor conference pairings were few and far between. In fact, this was the only one, but at least it has been a pretty good one.
Robert Morris and LIU-Brooklyn have been quite evenly matched in winning six of the past seven Northeast Conference championships—two of which were decided against one another.
One of those head-to-head battles produced one of the best games of the entire 2011 championship week.
It was head coach Andy Toole's first season at Robert Morris after taking over for Mike Rice—who had led the Colonials to the NCAA tournament in his only two years with the program. They were already a fairly slow-paced team, but Toole slowed them down even more, which really frustrated Jim Ferry's Blackbirds.
LIU-Brooklyn ranked third in the nation in adjusted tempo in 2010-11, per KenPom.com. Of their 29 regular-season games, the Blackbirds played just three at a pace slower than 70 possessions. Two of those games came against Robert Morris.
They waged war for a third time in the NEC title game. RMU's Russell Johnson hit a game-tying three-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime but was unable to duplicate that feat to bring about a second extra period. Jamal Olasewere's 31 points and 11 rebounds propelled LIU to its first of three consecutive championships.
Over the past six years, nine of the 12 games between these two programs have been decided by fewer than 10 points, even though their styles clash so drastically.
19. Baylor vs. Oklahoma State (Since 2006)
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Series: Oklahoma State leads 11-10
Games decided by five or fewer: 8 (3 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 1 (2013 Big 12 quarterfinals)
This rivalry has largely flown under the radar because it's not very often that Baylor and Oklahoma State are really good in the same season.
From 1990-2005 under Eddie Sutton, Oklahoma State was consistently very good, winning better than 70 percent of its games during that 15-year stretch, including 13 NCAA tournament appearances and two Final Fours. But Baylor was equally awful for that entire time, failing to appear in a single AP poll or NCAA tournament.
Over the past eight years, Baylor has been much better, save for a disappointing 2012-13, which just so happened to easily be Oklahoma State's best season of the past decade.
Nevertheless, the Bears and Cowboys have had some great duels, particularly in the past four years.
Each of their past eight games has been decided by 11 points or fewer, including two decided in overtime. This past season, Baylor was undeniably the better team over the course of the full season, but Oklahoma State beat the Bears twice in a span of two weeks. Without those wins, the Cowboys probably don't make the NCAA tournament.
Just about every Big 12 conference game was appointment television this past season, but make it a point to at least watch one of the games between these two teams in 2015-16. Even though Baylor figures to be battling for tournament seeding while Oklahoma State could be playing for pride, you can count on the Cowboys getting up for their games against the Bears—a surefire sign of a good rivalry.
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18. Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh (Since 2002)
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Series: Tied at 9-9
Games decided by five or fewer: 9 (2 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 1 (2010 Big East quarterfinals)
One of the few rivalries to actually withstand the test of realignment, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh began disliking each other in the Big East two decades ago, but now they call the ACC home. However, it has been a full decade since they played each other twice in one regular season, so the bad blood doesn't run too hot in this one.
Like a lunar eclipse, though, you want to make sure you're watching on the rare occasion that they do cross paths. Of their past 15 games, not a single one has been decided by a margin of more than 15 points, and 11 had a final difference of nine or fewer.
Their first ACC battle was one of the best in the history of the rivalry.
Pittsburgh was 21-7 and fighting for tournament seeding, while Notre Dame was 15-14 and playing for little more than senior pride in its final home game of the season. But that was enough of a motivating factor for the Fighting Irish to push the game to an extra period.
Senior point guard Eric Atkins finished with 17 points and nine assists, and Steve Vasturia scored 12 points in overtime. But it wasn't quite enough to put away Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna.
Yet, the basketball rivalry between these two schools is nothing compared to their shared hatred on the gridiron. They have played 69 times over the course of more than a century, with nine of the past 10 meetings decided by a touchdown or less.
17. Iowa State vs. Oklahoma (Since 2005)
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Series: Tied at 9-9
Games decided by five or fewer: 6 (1 OT game)
Conference tournament games: 3 (No Big 12 title games)
Because of the old Big 12 North and South structure, Iowa State and Oklahoma didn't really become rivals until the past few years. But even though they only faced off once per regular season from 2005-11 and even though Iowa State didn't have great teams until 2012, the Cyclones and Sooners have been pretty evenly matched for more than a decade.
Of the 18 games in this rivalry, only two have been decided by more than 12 points. Oddly enough, they both came during the 2012-13 season, when Iowa State won at home by a 19-point margin and Oklahoma returned the favor with a 17-point win in Norman.
When they met for a third time that season in the Big 12 quarterfinals, the Sooners opened up a 12-point lead with less than eight minutes remaining, only to see the Cyclones close the game on a 25-6 run.
Aside from those games, it's been nothing but barnburners between these two schools.
And that should be the case, because outside of the 2008-09 season in which Oklahoma was a legitimate title contender with Blake Griffin averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game, Iowa State and Oklahoma have been in similar boats for the past decade.
Both teams struggled like heck to finish with an overall record of .500 for the first six or seven years of this rivalry, and both have gradually become fringe national championship contenders over the past four seasons.
This year should be no different with both the Cyclones and Sooners potentially opening the season ranked in the top 10. When they do square off in 2015-16, it just might be with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament on the line.
16. Illinois vs. Michigan (Since 2003)
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Series: Tied at 13-13
Games decided by five or fewer: 7 (2 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 5 (No Big Ten title games)
Were this more of a back-and-forth affair, it would have been a no-brainer for a spot in the top five. With five conference tournament games in 13 years, a dead-even split of 26 matchups and a pair of overtime games in the 2014-15 season, at first glance, it has all the elements of an amazing rivalry.
However, it has been much more of a back-then-forth pairing.
Beginning with their national runner-up team in 2004-05, the Illini won 12 out of 16 games before the Wolverines started dominating the series. Dating back to February 2011, in fact, Michigan is 9-1—mostly in blowout fashion.
The one exception to the rule over the last four years was Illinois' overtime win at home this past season. And frankly, the Illini should be embarrassed that it took them an extra period to win, considering they had one of their most complete lineups of the season and Michigan was without both Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr. (The Wolverines made up for the rare loss by stomping Illinois by an 18-point margin in the 2015 Big Ten tournament.)
As was the case with Iowa State and Oklahoma, the series has rather played to form based on the overall success of the two teams involved. Illinois has been consistently and marginally above-average for a little more than a decade, but Michigan went nearly 20 years without doing much of anything before finally becoming a national threat once again in 2012.
With Michigan an outside candidate for the 2016 Final Four and Illinois looking like a bubble team at best, look for the Wolverines to keep this a one-sided rivalry for at least one more year.
15. New Mexico vs. San Diego State (Since 2003)
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Series: San Diego State leads 17-14
Games decided by five or fewer: 10 (2 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 5 (2 MWC title games)
The biggest problem in ranking this rivalry is that it hasn't really mattered in the grand scheme of college basketball.
Despite mostly great regular-season records as of late—resulting in at least a share of the last seven MWC titles and seven of the past 11 MWC tournament championships—neither New Mexico nor San Diego State has ever advanced so far as the Elite Eight.
At least the Aztecs have done a little bit of postseason damage, picking up all six of the program's NCAA tournament wins in the past five years. The Lobos, on the other hand, have just two tournament victories since 1999.
Though they haven't accomplished much in the second half of March, it has been fun to watch these two teams beat each other up before Selection Sunday.
More than half of the games (16 of 31) have been decided by a margin of at least 10 points, but there has been a ton of give and take here. New Mexico won four in a row in 2004-05 during the latter half of Danny Granger's collegiate career, but SDSU responded with five straight close wins, led predominantly by Brandon Heath and Mohamed Abukar.
Since then, they have been quite evenly matched—aside from this past season, when New Mexico had by far its worst team of the last eight years.
Expect a more competitive pair of games this season, with the Lobos presumably rebounding for a 20-win season but still likely finishing well behind the Aztecs in the national hierarchy.
14. Georgetown vs. Marquette (Since 2006)
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Series: Georgetown leads 9-8
Games decided by five or fewer: 8 (3 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 2 (No Big East title games)
While some of the rivalries on the list have already finished their heyday, Georgetown and Marquette remain mired in their tug of war.
Over the last three seasons, the only game decided by a double-digit margin was the 95-85 overtime affair this past January, and we count that as a game decided by five or fewer because they were tied after 40 minutes.
For the most part, both squads have been very good over the course of this entire rivalry. Georgetown and Marquette have each competed in eight of the past 10 NCAA tournaments. But even when one of the teams hasn't been at its best, they still deliver great contests. Case in point: The aforementioned overtime game in a 2014-15 season where Georgetown earned a No. 4 seed and Marquette went 13-19.
It hasn't much mattered whether it was Tom Crean, Buzz Williams or Steve Wojciechowski coaching for Marquette. The Golden Eagles seem to just intrinsically know that they need to bring it against the Hoyas.
Over the course of the 17 games in this series, each team has won a pair of games by more than 10 points and has five wins in regulation by a margin of nine points or fewer. The only difference in the series is Georgetown's 2-1 record in overtime games.
If that's not a neck-and-neck rivalry, what is?
13. Indiana vs. Minnesota (Since 2003)
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Series: Minnesota leads 12-11
Games decided by five or fewer: 12 (2 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 2 (No Big Ten title games)
What I find most impressive about this pairing is that Minnesota has even appeared in enough NCAA tournaments to qualify as a regular. Despite failing to finish above .500 in Big Ten play in 10 seasons (and counting), the Golden Gophers did sneak into three of the past eight tournaments as a double-digit seed.
Without winning four out of their six games against Indiana in those three seasons, perhaps they wouldn't have gone dancing in any of those years.
This is our first entry on the list in which the final scores actually indicate a pair of evenly matched teams. There haven't been many overtime affairs, but more than half of the games between Indiana and Minnesota over the past 13 years have been decided by a margin of five points or fewer.
Every now and again there's a real dud—Indiana's 90-71 victory in the only meeting in 2015, for example—but they have been primarily delivering Big Ten nail-biters for a while now.
For arguably the best recent game in the rivalry, look no further than January 17, 2010.
The Hoosiers were a train wreck. They went 6-25 in Tom Crean's first season and were midway through a 10-21 campaign when the Golden Gophers came to town. But for at least one night, the future was bright in Bloomington. Sophomore Verdell Jones and freshmen Christian Watford and Jordan Hulls combined for 48 points in the overtime win over the tournament-bound Gophers.
12. Duke vs. North Carolina (Since 2005)
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Series: Duke leads 13-10
Games decided by five or fewer: 6 (1 OT game)
Conference tournament games: 1 (2011 ACC title game)
The Tobacco Road Rivalry is pretty much unanimously regarded as the greatest in-conference hate-fest in college basketball history. Twice a year—or more, if they meet in the ACC tournament or have a game snowed out—ESPN hypes up the battle between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels like it's Yankees vs. Red Sox on steroids.
On the court over the past decade or so, though, it hasn't been anything close to the best rivalry in the sport.
There have been a few outstanding games, of course. Austin Rivers' game-winning three-pointer in Chapel Hill in 2012 and Duke's late comeback from a 10-point deficit to win in OT in 2015 immediately spring to mind.
However, those have been the only particularly exciting battles between Duke and North Carolina since Gerald Henderson elbowed Tyler Hansbrough in the face in 2007. Dating back to that bloody nose, 10 of the past 18 games in this rivalry have been decided by at least 10 points.
Surprisingly, they have only met once in the ACC tournament since 2003, and Duke won that game by a 17-point margin.
Still, based on nothing other than the fact that the whole world watches every time they play, we had to get this one somewhere on the list. The final scores simply have been indicative of how much fun it is to watch Duke and North Carolina go to war.
11. Baylor vs. Kansas State (Since 2002)
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Series: Kansas State leads 11-10
Games decided by five or fewer: 11 (3 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 3 (No Big 12 title games)
In the early 2000s, Baylor and Kansas State were frequently battling for position in the basement of the Big 12 standings. From 2000-06, both teams lost at least 10 conference games every year, failing to come anywhere close to sniffing the tournament field.
But then they both suddenly started coming to life.
After 14 seasons without a single appearance in the AP Top 25 by either Baylor or Kansas State, both schools found their way into the polls in 2007-08 and have done a pretty good job of staying there since.
Baylor has been ranked for at least one week in each of the past eight seasons, competing in five NCAA tournaments. Kansas State has been ranked in six of the past eight years and went dancing in each of those six seasons.
Fittingly, they have been very evenly matched each step of the way. Of their 21 matchups since 2002, only four have been decided by a margin of 10 or more points. With more than 80 percent of the final scores separated by a single-digit margin, there's a case to be made that this has actually been the best rivalry of the current millennium.
However, they were both so bad for the first few years of this era that it's hard to care too much about 40 percent of the games. And those early years were when they delivered some of the really intriguing scores, such as the 74-73 overtime game in the first round of the 2002 Big 12 tournament.
Still, aside from last year's 69-42 beatdown when Kansas State had already given up on the season, they've played enough quality games in the past eight years to earn a comfortable spot in the top 20.
10. Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State (Since 2006)
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Series: Tied at 8-8
Games decided by five or fewer: 9 (3 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 2 (No Big 12 title games)
For some reason, Iowa State has developed a pretty good rivalry with both of the Big 12 programs from Oklahoma. We already encountered the Cyclones and Sooners at No. 17, and here they are against the Cowboys at No. 10.
Though this one dates back to 2006 to get us to a nice, even eight wins apiece, this has been an especially heated battle since 2010. Of the 10 games played since then, we've got the great triple-overtime game in 2014, two other single-overtime games, four games decided in regulation by a margin of one possession and two others in which the final deficit was five points.
That's nine out of 10 games that came right down to the wire, and the 10th game wasn't exactly a snoozefest either. The final margin of their second meeting in 2013 was 11 points, but Oklahoma State got to within two points of Iowa State in the final five minutes before the Cyclones pulled away.
Furthermore, it has been a great rivalry over the past half-decade because—as is the case with several other Big 12 rivalries on the list—the games transpired during a time when both programs were working their way toward and then maintaining national relevance.
Iowa State has won at least 23 games in each of the past four seasons after failing to win more than 16 games in any of the previous six years. Oklahoma State's transformation hasn't been nearly as pronounced, but the Cowboys have gone dancing in three straight years after making it just twice in the previous seven.
If they remain heated rivals for another year, that could be either great news for Oklahoma State or terrible news for Iowa State, as the Cyclones should be title contenders and the Cowboys not so much.
Then again, those are the years when you know you've got a great rivalry on your hands. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise if ISU wins 12 more games than OSU yet has to fight tooth and nail to escape with head-to-head victories.
9. Northern Iowa vs. Wichita State (Since 2002)
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Series: Tied at 15-15
Games decided by five or fewer: 9 (2 in OT)
Conference tournament games: 2 (1 MVC title game)
Though it feels like Wichita State has been really good for a while and Northern Iowa just sprung up out of nowhere in 2010 and 2015, these two Missouri Valley programs have actually been going tit for tat for a long time.
However, it's kind of hard to believe that they have only met in Arch Madness once in the past 11 seasons (the 2010 championship game that the Panthers won by 15 points).
Northern Iowa has finished above .500 in conference play in 12 consecutive seasons, and aside from a disappointing three seasons as the Shockers transitioned from Mark Turgeon to Gregg Marshall, Wichita State has won at least 12 conference games in every year dating back to 2003.
But, that's why they call it Arch Madness. Top teams are always falling by the wayside in the early rounds. Case in point: Wichita State blew a shot at what should have been a great rubber match this past season by losing to Illinois State in the MVC semis.
Though we didn't get that third game, the two they did play last season were two of the best and most anticipated of the entire rivalry. Northern Iowa showcased its absurdly efficient offense in winning the first game by a 16-point margin, but the Shockers were even more unstoppable in the rematch, averaging 1.35 points per possession against one of the stingiest defenses in the country.
As far as the coming season is concerned, though, don't expect much out of this one. Wichita State is a legitimate national championship contender, while Northern Iowa might struggle to play .500 basketball after losing Seth Tuttle and three other important seniors.
8. Florida vs. Kentucky (Since 2005)
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Series: Kentucky leads 14-13
Games decided by five or fewer: 10 (1 OT game)
Conference tournament games: 5 (2005, 2011 and 2014 SEC title games)
In terms of deep tournament runs, it doesn't get any better than Florida vs. Kentucky. In the last 11 years, the Gators and Wildcats have combined for 12 Elite Eights, seven Final Fours and three national championships.
Oddly enough, though, they haven't been very evenly matched against each other. In the 27 head-to-head pairings, there have been as many games decided by five or fewer as by 15 or more—10 of each.
During the Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer years of the mid-2000s, the Gators won seven in a row, mostly in blowout fashion.
At the other end of the spectrum, Kentucky has mostly reigned supreme during John Calipari's six-year reign. Take out the 2013-14 season when Florida went 3-0 en route to the No. 1 overall seed, and the Wildcats are 11-2 against the Gators since the start of the 2009-10 season.
Truly, it has been less of a back-and-forth rivalry and more of a barometer indicating which team is the bigger threat to win a national championship.
Still, there's something to be said for the Gators and Wildcats consistently being the two best teams in the SEC for more than a decade.
At least one of these two teams has appeared in 11 of the past 13 SEC championship games, including four head-to-head battles. (In addition to the ones listed above, they also met in the 2004 SEC title game. However, we didn't include that season in the series, as the 3-0 sweep pushed Kentucky too far ahead for consideration.)
7. Arizona vs. UCLA (Since 2002)
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Series: UCLA leads 17-16
Games decided by five or fewer: 11 (1 OT game)
Conference tournament games: 7 (2014 Pac-12 title game)
Much like Florida and Kentucky, Arizona and UCLA has been a great rivalry more so because of the teams involved than the actual games they have played.
Arizona is still searching for its first Final Four under Sean Miller, but the Wildcats have advanced to five of the past 13 Elite Eights, winning the Pac-12 regular-season title in each of those seasons. They have also earned a No. 3 seed or better in five of the past 14 tournaments and have won at least 20 games in 12 of those 14 seasons.
If Arizona isn't the best team west of Texas in the 2000s, it's only because the honor belongs to UCLA. The peak for the Bruins was obviously the back-to-back-to-back Final Fours in 2006-08, but save for the occasional hiccups in 2003-04 and 2010, they have consistently been at or near the top of the Pac-12 standings since it was known as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in the 1960s.
You would think most of the games in this series would be barnburners, but 17 of the 33 games have actually been decided by a margin of 10 or more points.
The Pac-12 tried to steal a little bit of luster from this rivalry over the past two years by only pitting the titans against each other once per season, but they have managed to face off in each of the last four Pac-12 tournaments—each of which was decided by eight points or fewer, so clearly they both bring it when the games matter most.
They'll go back to two games per season this year and are both very strong candidates to reach the 2016 tournament. Sean Miller is one of the best recruiters in the business, and UCLA has already signed a couple of studs in each of the next two classes.
Don't expect this rivalry to go away any time soon.
6. Illinois vs. Indiana (Since 2006)
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Series: Illinois leads 11-9
Games decided by five or fewer: 9 (3 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 3 (No Big Ten title games)
We're interested in rivalries over the course of a full decade, but few delivered a better two-year stretch than Indiana and Illinois did in 2007-08.
The Illini were fresh off a stretch of six consecutive seasons with at least 25 wins and a ranking of No. 13 or better in the final AP poll of the season. They have been fairly average for the past nine years, but the list of teams better than Illinois from 2000-06 is very short, if existent at all.
Indiana, on the other hand, had just scuffled through the second half of the Mike Davis regime and was hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Kelvin Sampson. It worked pretty well for about 1.8 seasons, as he had a 74.1 winning percentage before being forced to resign amid allegations of serious recruiting violations which eventually resulted in a five-year show-cause order.
Prior to his resignation, though, Sampson led the Hoosiers in five great games against the Illini.
In total, the score between the quintet of battles was 307-307. Indiana won three of the five games, each by a four-point margin, including the double-overtime "rubber match" in February 2008.
Eric Gordon has his fingers all over that portion of this rivalry. Not only was he one of the primary names on the list of players that Sampson unethically and/or illegally recruited, but he was originally committed to Illinois before signing with Indiana. This led to a fanbase-wide hatred of one player on par with North Carolina's sentiments about Duke's J.J. Redick.
They were already evenly matched on the court, but that off-the-court drama helped crank the rivalry to an 11.
While Indiana recovered from the Sampson fiasco, Illinois dominated the series for two years, but they've gotten back to a pretty solid rivalry as of late. Over the past 10 games there have been a handful of blowouts, but they have gone perfectly back-and-forth with neither team stringing together so much as two consecutive wins since 2010.
5. New Mexico vs. UNLV (Since 2005)
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Series: UNLV leads 13-12
Games decided by five or fewer: 12 (3 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 3 (2013 MWC title game)
Though we're setting the start date for this one in 2005, it really goes a few years further back. From 2002-04, UNLV went 7-1 against New Mexico, but each of those games was decided by a single-digit margin.
It wasn't until 2005 that the Lobos started consistently winning some of those close games in the process of re-establishing themselves as something of a tournament regular.
What's more, from 2008-14, New Mexico and UNLV each won at least 20 games per season in transforming the MWC into a conference capable of sending upward of five teams to the Big Dance.
As was the case from 2002-04, they have been consistently delivering gems since the 2012 MWC semis. Each of their past eight games has been decided by 12 points or fewer, including a one-possession win by the road team in each of the past two seasons.
In 2013-14, UNLV went into the pit and opened up a 33-17 lead midway through the first half before the Lobos clawed all the back only to lose by a 76-73 margin after missing three three-point attempts in the final eight seconds.
The following year, it was New Mexico's turn to eke out the road win. Neither team led by more than six at any point in the game. They were all tied up in the final 10 seconds when Jordan Goodman tipped in the game-winner.
Don't be surprised if this year's pair of games dictates whether either team goes dancing. San Diego State and Boise State should be the class of the conference, but the Rebels and Lobos are both shaping up for bubbly seasons in the MWC's second tier.
Two more games decided at the buzzer, please and thank you.
4. Dayton vs. Saint Louis (Since 2007)
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Series: Dayton leads 12-8
Games decided by five or fewer: 10 (6 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 1 (No A-10 title games)
This was the one exception to the rule where we allowed a gap of four games in the series, but only because it is the entirety of the rivalry (Saint Louis was in C-USA before 2006) and because they have played so many overtime games.
Also, it didn't hurt that the overall score in the 20 games amounts to 1,195 points for Dayton and 1,194 for Saint Louis.
The opposite of love at first sight, the Flyers and Billikens have been waging war from the moment they became conference foes. Dayton won the first game by a 46-44 margin in a 54-possession game that even made basketball purists cringe. Four of the next six games were decided in overtime—including their sole meeting in the A-10 tournament (2008).
Most surprising about the rivalry is that Saint Louis wasn't a good team until just recently. The Flyers have finished at least three games above .500 in 15 of the past 16 seasons, but the Billikens were lucky to sniff 20 wins in a season until 2012.
Regardless of how they fared against the rest of their schedule, Rick Majerus and Jim Crews have gotten their Billikens to punch Dayton right in the mouth time and again.
Even this past season with Dayton headed for another NCAA tournament and Saint Louis doomed to finish in dead last in the A-10, the Billikens held a three-point lead in the final four minutes at home before letting it slip away.
Throw out the record books when these two teams get together and settle in for a rock fight.
3. Louisville vs. Notre Dame (Since 2006)
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Series: Louisville leads 8-6
Games decided by five or fewer: 8 (7 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 3 (No Big East title games)
Now members of the ACC, Louisville vs. Notre Dame was easily one of the best rivalries in the Big East for a few years.
Between Feb. 17, 2010, and Feb. 9, 2013, the Cardinals and Fighting Irish played six times, and every single game was incredible. Five of the six went to overtime. Three of them required at least two extra periods. And who can possibly forget the 104-101 five-overtime game that they played three years ago?
Not only was it arguably the most exciting regular-season game of the past decade—the win probability chart on KenPom.com looks like a reading from a seismograph positioned on the San Andreas fault line—but it was Louisville's final loss of the season before stringing together 16 straight wins and a national championship.
Almost as great as the games has been the fact that both teams have been rock solid on a national scale over the course of the rivalry.
Save for Notre Dame's lackluster 2013-14 season—which isn't even a part of the rivalry, since that was Louisville's one year in the AAC—the Fighting Irish have averaged 24.9 wins per year since 2006-07. And the Cardinals have been an annual title threat, averaging 27.8 wins per year over that same span.
Duke, North Carolina and Virginia are widely regarded as the ACC's best chance at a 2016 national championship, but go ahead and count on both Notre Dame and Louisville making the tournament. While you're at it, keep an ear to the ground for the full ACC schedule, and cancel all your plans when the Cardinals and Fighting Irish square off.
It might be a long night.
2. Florida vs. Tennessee (Since 2000)
20 of 21
Series: Tied at 16-16
Games decided by five or fewer: 13 (5 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 2 (No SEC title games)
Of all the pairings on the list, this one easily surprised me the most. That isn't to say that I thought Tennessee was awful—the Volunteers obviously had a great run for a few years under Bruce Pearl—but I wouldn't have guessed they were "Keeping Pace with Florida" good.
Florida has been one of the best teams in the SEC for a while. The Gators have earned at least a share of seven of the past 16 SEC regular-season titles and played in seven of the last 12 conference championship games, winning four of them. They have been a No. 5 seed or better in 11 of the past 16 NCAA tournaments, including seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and two national championships.
Meanwhile, Tennessee has earned a share of "just" three of the past 15 SEC regular-season titles and has played in just one conference championship game since 1991—a loss to Mississippi State in 2008. The Volunteers have competed in nine of the past 16 NCAA tournaments, earning a No. 5 seed or better four times. They have never advanced to the Final Four in school history and only made it to one Elite Eight during that 16-year span.
Playing each other an average of two times per year for 16 years, you'd think Florida would be leading the series by at least a 21-11 margin, but they are dead even at 16 apiece.
During their back-to-back national championship run, the Gators went 1-3 against Tennessee and 67-8 against everyone else. Even in 1999-2000, when the Gators went 29-8 en route to the national championship, they lost both games against Tennessee in a combined three overtimes.
For whatever reason, the Volunteers have been a rocky top thorn in Florida's side for nearly two decades.
1. Michigan State vs. Ohio State vs. Wisconsin (Since 2006)
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Michigan State vs. Ohio State: Tied at 11-11
Michigan State vs. Wisconsin: Spartans lead 11-10
Ohio State vs. Wisconsin: Buckeyes lead 10-9
Games decided by five or fewer: 25 (5 OT games)
Conference tournament games: 13 (2007, 2012, 2013 and 2015 Big Ten title games)
We could have separated these into three separate pairings that all battled for a spot in the top 10, but who says we can't have a three-way rivalry?
How's this for a combined resume? Over the past decade, Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin have a record of 805-272 (743-210 if we take out the head-to-head games), a share of 10 Big Ten regular-season titles, eight conference championships and seven Final Fours.
All that's missing is a couple of national championships.
Forced to pick a favorite from the three, though, it's Michigan State vs. Ohio State, no contest. Not only is it the only dead-even split of the trio, but 17 of the 22 games have been decided by a final margin of nine points or fewer, including each of their past nine games. They have squared off in five of the past eight Big Ten tournaments.
Of course, the Spartans and Badgers have also played in five of the past nine Big Ten postseasons, including the thrilling overtime championship game this past March. Three of their 21 meetings went into overtime, and another four were decided by a one-point margin.
Ohio State vs. Wisconsin is in a distant third place with only three conference tournament duels and no overtime affairs, but it has still been one of the more evenly matched pairings in the country. Nearly 50 percent of the games have been decided by five points or fewer, though that certainly wasn't the case this past season when Frank Kaminsky and Company smoked the Buckeyes by a 24-point margin.
Numbers aside, though, this one shouldn't require much justification for the top spot. The Big Ten is consistently one of the two or three best conferences in the country, and it has been more than a decade since any of these three teams finished below .500 in conference play. Not only are they always battling for position atop the Big Ten, but they're usually duking it out for spots in the AP Top 25.
Good luck finding a duo of teams—let alone a trio—delivering must-watch battles as frequently as these Big Ten foes.
Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.
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