UNC vs. Duke: Start Time, Tickets, TV Schedule, Live Stream and Prediction

In perhaps the most storied rivalry in all of collegiate sports, the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels meet for the 242nd time this weekend in what is the regular-season finale for both schools.

ESPN College BBall attempted to pump up college basketball fans with a promo for the game:

"

T-minus 3 days until the rematch.https://t.co/8h1SYk5cwE

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 3, 2016"

With 10 NCAA championships between the two teams and Duke holding the title of defending national champion, a matchup between the blue bloods is always high in anticipation.

North Carolina has had the better season, currently ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and tied for first in the ACC with the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes, but the No. 17 Blue Devils won the earlier matchup this season in Chapel Hill, 74-73, on the strength of sophomore Grayson Allen's 23 points. 

With an ACC regular-season title at stake for the Tar Heels and NCAA tournament seeding implications for the Blue Devils, there is no reason to think this won't be a heated game that will come down to the wire.

Let's take a deeper look at what should be a great contest.

Where: Cameron Indoor Stadium (Durham, North Carolina)

When: Saturday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Live Steam: WatchESPN

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

The rivalry, which started nearly 100 years ago, has become one for the ages. 

Number of Meetings	241
First Game	Jan. 24, 1920
Series Record	North Carolina, 133-108
National Titles	Tied at 5
ACC Tournament Series Record	Duke, 12-8
NCAA Tournament Series Record	0-0

With all the tournament success the two teams have had, it's hard to believe they've never met in the NCAA tournament. But it doesn't take the postseason for this matchup to be a good one.

The Blue Devils showed earlier this season they can put on a show, much to the chagrin of Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams and UNC's fans, per SportsCenter:

The biggest difference in that game was three-point shooting. Both teams were nearly identical from the field and free-throw line, and North Carolina out-rebounded Duke 46-34 with 17 assists compared to only seven for the Blue Devils.

However, Duke connected on 7-of-19 from downtown, while North Carolina missed 12-of-13 from behind the arc. It wasn't a huge surprise, as Duke has hit 38.9 percent of its shots from three-point land, while North Carolina only hits them at a 31.9 percent clip.

That could once again be a factor with the Blue Devils playing in front of their home crowd, although this season, Duke has not been as unstoppable at Cameron Indoor Stadium as usual. The Blue Devils lost back-to-back games at the historic building earlier in the season and have just a 53-46 record there against the Tar Heels all time.

Seth Davis of CBSSports.com noted as much on Tuesday when Duke struggled to a 79-71 victory over the lowly Wake Forest Demon Deacons:

Duke has gone just 2-2 since winning in the Dean Dome, but it might not matter come Saturday.  

The problem with predicting these games is the fact that records and past history are usually thrown out the window when the teams hit the hardwood. Take the past nine games in the rivalry for example.

Duke has won seven of them, and four in row, with two of those coming in Chapel Hill. One of the Tar Heels' victories came at Duke. In other words, home-court advantage isn't that prevalent; it seems to come down to who wants it more on the given day.

One prediction that is usually easy to come by is that the game will be close. In those nine contests, seven were decided by single digits, with three of them at two points or less.

Two players to watch in the game are Allen for Duke and Brice Johnson for North Carolina. Allen has been doing what he can to carry the team with senior Amile Jefferson out with an injury, averaging 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Johnson, who has 18 doubles-doubles this season, would have been the star of the earlier matchup had the Tar Heels won. He had 29 points and 19 rebounds in the contest. However, that wasn't even his best game of the season. The senior poured in 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds on Jan. 4 in a 106-90 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.

Prediction

It would be easy to say that since Duke already won in Chapel Hill and is playing at home, the Blue Devils will walk away with a victory, but that's just not the case.

Duke, at 22-8, has already lost twice as many games as it did during its championship run last season. It's senior night, but North Carolina doesn't care. The Tar Heels are playing for an ACC championship and No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Expect them to come out strong, dominate the boards behind Johnson and shoot better than 7.7 percent from three-point range—as they did in their last meeting—en route to a close victory.

Predicted score: North Carolina 79, Duke 77