Duke basketball rivalry matchup with UNC sees uncharted waters since 2019

There will be an extra special meaning when the Duke basketball team tangles with the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday night (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in Chapel Hill.

It marks the first time the two rivals will play each other while both are ranked inside the Associated Press Top-10 since the 2019 ACC Tournament Semifinals in which Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils eventually won the ACC Championship.

North Carolina (17-4, 9-1 ACC), despite its loss to Georgia Tech this weekend, entered the week at No. 3 in the nation and Duke (16-4, 7-2 ACC), after edging Clemson in the final seconds last Saturday, jumped to No. 7 in the poll.

The Blue Devils handled Virginia Tech on Monday night leading up to the latest highly anticipated installment of the rivalry.

The winner on Saturday night also has the inside track of winning the ACC regular season title and earning the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

It will be the 49th time the Duke and North Carolina have played as Top-10 teams, the most of any two opponents in NCAA history, and has split the prior 48 matchups, 24-24.

The Blue Devils have won its last two games inside the Dean E. Smith Center and have won 11-of-12 games entering the matchup while the Tar Heels had won ten consecutive games prior to its loss in Atlanta against the Yellow Jackets.

Duke hasn't won three straight games in Chapel Hill since it won four in a row from 1999-2002.

The two programs are the only teams from the ACC currently ranked inside the AP Top-25.

ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast live from the Dean Dome at 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday morning and, if time permits, will have a 30-minute pregame show at 6:00 p.m. from center court.

The rematch will be held inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).