The rivalry battle between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels is just a couple of days away, and questions have undeniably turned their attention to the in-state matchup instead of anything else in the world of college basketball.
During a pre-game press conference, Jon Scheyer fielded quite a few questions about the rivalry, from the perspective of the Blue Devils' head coach and a former Duke player himself. When asked about the current state of the rivalry, Scheyer had the perfect response.
"There's no denying... what this game stands for for college basketball," Scheyer said. " I think people can be jealous of how much this game means."
Jon Scheyer's feeling about UNC run deep
Scheyer, of course, played for the Blue Devils and legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski during his collegiate career. Then, he quickly became an assistant coach at Duke before taking over as the team's head coach just a few years ago.
To put it simply, he feels the same way about the Tar Heels as players and fans do; he just might not be in a position to voice it in the same way he used to.
As the Duke head coach, he has won four straight matchups against the Tar Heels, and some are starting to question if the Blue Devils are running away with the rivalry, making it a little less of a rivalry than it used to be.
"In this game, rankings go out the window, records go out the window, whether you're playing home or away doesn't matter," Scheyer said on the matchup. "I think you really learn to appreciate this game and it's isolated... anytime you have success, it makes the other person want it even more."
Scheyer went on to say that his team is heading into the game with a 0-0 mentality, meaning that they aren't riding the high of Duke winning four in a row (mainly because none of the starting five from last year are even on the team anymore).
This year, in search of securing a fifth consecutive win for Scheyer, the No. 4 Blue Devils (21-1 overall, 10-0 ACC) and the No. 14 Tar Heels (18-4 overall, 6-3 ACC) tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.