College Basketball: Duke vs. North Carolina and the Top 18 Rivalries
One of the best things about college basketball is the many great rivalries that we as fans get to watch on a regular basis. So many, in fact, that you can usually count on seeing at least one rivalry game nearly every week of the season.
Whether it be location, recruiting battles, conference titles or even historical blood feuds causing the rivalry to exist in the first place, all of these games are great to watch, not only for fans of the respective schools but for the whole nation as well.
Some you probably know about, and maybe all of them. And there are many more rivalries I almost put on the list but ended up having to leave off. But I think that these are the 18 best rivalries in college basketball.
Please feel free to let me know which rivalries you think are best in the comments below and let me know who isn't on the list that should be.
Army-Navy
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When most people think of the Army-Navy game, they naturally think of the annual football game that draws a national audience every December.
However, these two schools have also met on the basketball court 113 times. And I don't care if it is just figure skating, if it is Army and Navy then it is a great rivalry that commands your respect.
While they are never the two most talented teams in the country you would be hard pressed to find teams that play harder game in and game out. And when they are going at each other, well, it's amplified to a level few ever rise to.
Navy has been the traditional power of the two and holds a 71-43 advantage over the Black Knights, including two wins last seasons, 85-81 and 75-58. In all sports combined all-time Navy holds a 934-711-39 advantage.
Philadelphia Big Five
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One of the best and most historic competitions in all of college basketball is the annual season-long round robin tournament known as the Big 5 Tournament.
Traditionally played at the famous Palestra, though that has largely changed in recent years to include all of the campuses, this tournament started all the way back in 1954.
With LaSalle, Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph's and Penn all sharing real estate in the Philadelphia area, it's hard to find five strong and historical teams like this in any other city in the country. And being a true round robin style tournament, it is one of the truest championships you will find in all of the sports world.
These teams respect one another a great deal and are all from great universities, but the respect stops once the teams hit the court, and the players and fans are as rabid for these games as any fans in the country. It is truly a wonderful, wonderful event.
Villanova won the Big 5 last season with a perfect 4-0 record.
Stanford-Cal
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Stanford and California may be best known for nerds and hippies, but when these teams meet on the court you can throw the stereotypes out of the window. Studying and pacifism be damned.
Stanford has the better national reputation and the better overall program, including a Final Four run as recently as 1998 and the Sweet 16 in 2008. They have also had more pros in recent years, including Josh Childress and the Collins twins.
However, Cal has the overall 143-114 lead in the series. It seems that Stanford has higher highs and lower lows, while Cal is the steady under-performer of the group.
Still, the basketball doesn't have to be great, or even good, to be a great rivalry. And with these schools' proximity and basically even talent levels most seasons, the games are often heated and actually quite good from a competitive standpoint.
There really aren't that many big west coast rivalries in college basketball, but this one has to qualify.
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Indiana-Purdue
4 of 18The roles have reversed over the past decade or so, but Indiana versus Purdue is still one of the better rivalries in college basketball. Unfortunately there probably isn't quite the disdain that there used to be when Indiana was the dominant team and Bob Knight was their coach.
Love him or hate him, that video of Knight and the donkey is great stuff. He really knew how to stick it to his rivals, even if he didn't realize that he was showing far less discipline than he would require of everyone else around him.
And for years he had the perfect foil in Gene Keady at Purdue. A great coach in his own right, Keady wasn't nearly as polished as Knight and had one of the worst comb-overs in the history of sports.
While they were very similar from a coaching standpoint, Knight and Keady were polar opposites in front of a camera.
And they perfectly represented their respective schools. Knight and the somewhat snobbish Indiana against the hardworking but less gifted kids from Purdue. It really was great theater back in the day.
And now, Indiana fans would kill for their team to be as good as Purdue is. And shockingly, though it isn't the perception most have, Purdue does lead the all-time series by quite a margin. Crazy how rivalries can work sometimes.
Memphis-Tennessee
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Nothing gets the blood boiling like a rivalry pitting the refined people in a city versus their country bumpkin counterparts. Or, if it's your preference, good salt of the earth country folks with values against prissy know-it-alls that couldn't change a tire to save their lives.
Either way, it usually leads to a pretty good rivalry. And these two schools and fan bases really don't like each other that much.
Sure it was better when Bruce Pearl and John Calipari were roaming the sidelines, but it's still pretty good. The teams aren't at the height of the rivalry like a few years ago when they were the top two teams in the country. They aren't going to be threats to win it all anytime soon.
Still, hatred is hatred and these guys have it for each other in spades.
Plus, it's always fun when rivals aren't in the same conference and conference bragging rights are on the line as well. This is a good solid game every year.
Oklahoma-Oklahoma State
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Rivalries can sometimes be boiled down to some simple truths. This is one of those rivalries.
Are the teams historically even on the national and conference stage?
Are the teams in the same conference?
Are the teams in the same state?
The two teams from Oklahoma can answer yes to all three, and that's why this is a great rivalry. They battle for the same recruits and the same titles, and usually if one is really good then that comes at the detriment of the other. It's hard to have two really good programs at the same time.
And that's why the games between the Cowboys and Sooners are so big. At least two times a year these teams have a chance to tell recruits and the people in their state that they are the team on the rise (even though we know they will have ebbs and flows in the rivalry) and that fans should get on the bandwagon.
And no matter how much one team thinks it has the leg up, the truth of the matter is that they will always be at about the same level. Love rivalries like this one.
Illinois-Missouri
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One of the more underrated rivalries in the country is the "Braggin' Rights" game between Missouri and Illinois. This is also one of the newer rivalries in the country, having started in 1980.
What makes this such an interesting rivalry to me is that you have two clubs that are generally very similar programs and on one of the middle tiers of college basketball.
These two teams are rarely threats to make a Final Four, but they often have the talent of Sweet 16 clubs. However they both rarely have those type of clubs at the same time.
To me, this has almost always been a sort of elimination game for these two teams to try and get on that next level for a season. It seems like whoever wins this game can probably be taken as a serious threat to do some damage in the NCAAs, while the loser is probably headed for something along the lines of a 7-12 seed type of year. May not always play out that way, but it's the perception I have of these two teams.
Illinois dominated the 2000s and stretched out to a big lead in the series, but Missouri has won the last two games to close within 20-10.
Kansas-Missouri
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I'm not going to turn this into a history lecture about the Civil War and all of the animosity between these two states, but while the rivalry with Illinois is a pretty friendly affair, Missouri's rivalry with Kansas is anything but. If you want the historical perspective, here is a good place to start.
As for the "Border War" on the court, the intensity is really all I can brag about for this rivalry. Because as far as the actual competition goes it is more of a hammer and nail relationship. And Kansas is the hammer. Kansas leads the all-time series 171-94.
As to the intensity of the rivalry, here is a message that my good friend, a kind and wonderful mother of two without a mean bone in her body, once sent out about Missouri:
"We’re the good people [Kansas], they’re the bad people [Missouri] That’s the best way I know to explain it. I don’t like their people, I don’t like their players, I don’t like a damn thing about ’em.”
That about sums it up.
Syracuse-Georgetown
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This was a much more intense rivalry in the 1980s, but boy was it intense. Some of my earliest memories were the Big East showdowns between these two teams. I can still recall John Thompson and his white towel pacing the sidelines like he was about to pounce onto the court at any time.
And with the Big East being new in the 1980s, there was also the drama of these two teams desperately trying to claim the top spot in the new and up-and-coming league and assert some sort of dominance to set the tone for decades to come.
Sure, it didn't have quite the national historical importance of some of the other rivalries on the list, and it has died down a little bit as time has gone on and other Big East powers have emerged. But at the time there was no better rivalry than this one.
ESPN owes a debt of gratitude to these two school for helping put them, and their college basketball coverage, on the map.
Kentucky-Tennessee
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I'm a Kentucky fan and a Kentucky graduate.
That is the picture I chose.
Enough said.
Michigan-Michigan State
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Another in-state rivalry pits two teams that unfortunately never seem to be on the same page when it comes to being really good. Thankfully, that may all be changing soon.
With John Beilein taking over the Michigan job a few years ago, the Wolverines are finally taking basketball seriously once again. That's a good thing, as Michigan is a premier university in one of the nation's best hoops conferences.
And we all know that Michigan State isn't going to go away anytime soon so long as Tim Izzo is roaming the sidelines in East Lansing.
What this rivalry has been lacking the past 15 years or so should finally be there starting next year, as Michigan has finally turned the corner coming off of last season's very good NCAA run where they crushed Tennessee and nearly pulled off the shocker against Duke. Now maybe they can match the firepower and talent that Michigan State has been stockpiling for years.
And when that happens, the recruiting battles between these two schools should be fun to watch.
Two solid schools with multiple Final Fours, both national title winners and both with over 20 NCAA tournament appearances. Yeah, this could get really good now.
Marquette-Wisconsin
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Two schools battling for in-state recruits, hovering around the Top 15-25 on a regular basis and with both of them being good enough that they both have made the Final Four in the last decade. That, my friends, is a rivalry.
And having played well over 100 times, I don't really see the Marquette-Wisconsin rivalry slowing down any time soon.
One of the big aspects of this rivalry is that you basically have one city, Milwaukee, against the rest of the state supporting the state school. Well, at least in theory. But much like the situation Louisville faces in regards to Kentucky, there are tons of Wisconsin graduates living in Milwaukee, making it a very divided city.
Think of the relationship between brothers and you may have nailed this rivalry. Wisconsin is the big brother that feels like he is always having to put his younger sibling in place. Marquette is the younger brother wanting to prove that he can be the top dog every once in a while.
Kentucky-Indiana
13 of 18What used to be a top three rivalry in college basketball has fallen on hard times as Indiana just isn't anywhere close to being a relevant basketball program anymore.
A game that once commanded national interest is now only a regional curiosity at best, and truth be told is almost an afterthought on the schedule to a lot of Kentucky fans.
And the proof is in the numbers. Kentucky has now won 16 of the past 20 meetings between the two schools, with 10 of those games being won by double digits.
Still, Indiana dominated the early part of the series and Kentucky only holds a 31-23 edge in the rivalry overall, so there is some hope that Indiana can maybe keep this thing competitive.
And with Tom Crean at the helm, Indiana has to improve over what they have been lately; it's not like they can get any worse.
Maybe the days of 40,000 fans evenly split at half court are over for now, but here's to hoping that these two schools can maybe one day get all of that back in the near future. I know as a child growing up here in Kentucky this was always my favorite game of the year, and I would love to see it be important for my son as well.
BYU-Utah
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127-125. That's where this rivalry currently stands in favor of BYU. And those numbers alone should tell you that this is one heck of a rivalry.
The Holy War is one of the most hotly contested rivalries in large part because of the two schools being in the same state and often battling for many of the same recruits, but unfortunately also because of the religious affiliations of BYU. As Metallica might say, it's sad but true.
And that's one reason I'm a little bit uncomfortable delving too deep into this rivalry because those are some pretty tall weeds that I'd like to stay out of.
It should suffice to say that these two schools and fan bases really don't like each other all that well, and they are as competitive as hell with one another.
And while BYU currently has the upper hand by the slightest of margins, this will likely change often over the years as is has traditionally done. Very intense rivalry with some quality basketball to boot.
Pittsburgh-West Virginia
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You know that black sheep in your family that you always make fun of? Imagine that he is sitting at his house doing the exact same thing as you are...only you are the black sheep to him. Yep, that's this rivalry in a nutshell. In fact, I'm breaking this rivalry down conversation style.
Pitt Fan: You're poor trash and you kiss your sister.
WVa Fan: You're poor trash and kiss your sister.
Pitt Fan: Oh yeah?
WVa Fan: Yeah!
Pitt Fan: Well you're a moron and the only school you could get into was West Virginia.
WVa Fan: Well you're an ignoramus and the only school you could get into was Pitt.
Both: $#%^ YOU!!!
And then fisticuffs break out and the whole neighborhood gets involved.
Ladies and gentleman, the Backyard Brawl.
Cincinatti-Xavier
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It may have been ripped off from the old Notre Dame and Miami football games of the 1980s, but anytime you have students wearing "Catholic v. Convicts" shirts to a game you probably have a pretty serious rivalry on your hands.
With no shortage of fans from either school in the greater Cincinnati area, you don't have to look very far to see remnants of this rivalry wherever you go in the city.
On the one hand you have the elitist, more educated Xavier fans. On the other you have the "city school" and all of the quasi-racial implications that come with that title and a more middle to lower class fan base.
And nothing can jump start a rivalry like class warfare.
But aside from that is also the fact that Xavier is a member of a weaker conference than UC is, and for all of the superiority that Xavier fans feel over their counterparts that one advantage has to burn X fans up.
This rivalry has led to fights on the court, dirty play and even uglier incidents in the stands. It's an embarrassment to both of these schools really, but I don't see it changing anytime soon.
And that's a shame because both schools actually have very rich basketball traditions, and this should be a more respected rivalry on the national level.
As it is, it's just a very fierce rivalry that only makes the top story when another on-court incident is involved.
Kentucky-Louisville
17 of 18Easily the second best rivalry in the nation, and some would argue the best, is Kentucky-Louisville.
Kentucky had such a disdain for "little brother" that they wouldn't even dignify them with a regular season game until forced to do so by the state legislature. And the animosity hasn't died down since.
Located a mere hour or so drive from one another, this rivalry has always had it all. Recruiting battles, fan battles, largely perceived (but unfortunately some very real) racial tension and dueling conference affiliations.
And both programs are two of the top 10 programs of all-time. A combined nine national titles and more than 20 Final Fours speak to that, as do all of the great players that have come from both programs.
However, the rivalry became the most heated in the entire country when Kentucky's former program saver, Rick Pitino, returned from the NBA to coach at Louisville.
You would have thought that Jesus had teamed up with Satan with the way Kentucky fans took the news, and nearly a decade later things haven't really calmed down any yet.
I know it's a bit long, but watch some of that video above. Within the first minute you really get all you need to know about the venom in the rivalry.
I have never heard anyone booed like that before and really haven't since. I mean, that's some serious, "Sgt. Slaughter after he turned against America and people thought wrestling was real" type booing, but worse.
Add to that the fact that these schools only play once a year with only that one shot for bragging rights and you often have the most intense game of the college basketball season. Really great stuff.
Duke-North Carolina
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No, this isn't the best rivalry in all of sports as Dick Vitale loves to tell everyone. Trust me when I tell you that Auburn-Alabama in football is bigger. As is Yankees-Red Sox and a few other rivalries. They just are, so deal with it.
But this is the best rivalry in college basketball, if only by a hair.
What makes it so special is the quality of the teams. I know, I know. They also share a conference and are really close to each other on the map. But with teams this good, that all goes out the window and doesn't really matter.
These teams are just good, and probably two of the top five programs in the history of college basketball...and they play at least twice a year and often three times.
Some people see that as a negative when compared to games like Louisville and Kentucky, but I disagree. I love rivalries that are played more than once a year. It lets things get a little more chippy depending on how previous games go.
And just think of next year when they are both Top 10 teams, again, and will likely meet three times, again.
Throw in the totally different origins of the fan bases (people in North Carolina make up the base of Carolina support while bandwagon northeasterners are largely the Duke base) as well as the class/political issues and this is a powder keg of great basketball just waiting to explode.
Really, the only complaint one could have with this game is the over-the-top hyping from ESPN. We don't need you forcing the fact that it is the best rivalry down our throats...it cheapens the whole thing.
We already know it's the best rivalry in college basketball because, well, they've proven it on the court.
Follow Eric on Twitter @ericpaulwright.
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