As most fans around the sport know, the age-old rivalry between Duke and North Carolina is the best rivalry in college basketball, and potentially all of sports has to offer. The Blue Devils have been the leader of the battle as of late (maybe besides the 2022 Final Four), and this stat confirms what Duke fans already know: UNC has nothing on the Blue Devils.
UNC has struggled in March over the last decade
A new list shows the programs with the most March Madness wins across the last ten years. Duke boasts the third-most NCAA Tournament victories on the list with 12, but the Tar Heels are nowhere to be found. In fairness, both Duke and North Carolina have one national title to their names over the last decade, but the Blue Devils are way ahead in terms of consistent tournament success over that span.
𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) August 18, 2025
1. 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 16
2. UConn 13
2. Gonzaga 13
4. Duke 12
5. Alabama 11
6. Baylor 10
6. UCLA 10
6. Arkansas 10
9. Kansas 9
9. Purdue 9
9. Creighton 9
9. Tennessee 9 pic.twitter.com/5ejjkWZn70
The rivalry becomes even more lopsided after Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams, two of the most legendary coaches in the history of the sport, found their successors. Jon Scheyer took over for Coach K, and Hubert Davis took over for Roy Williams.
Davis took over as the Tar Heels' head coach after the 2021 season, and his first in Chapel Hill made it seem like he was the next great coach in Carolina Blue. As Duke fans know, UNC made it to the Final Four as an 8-seed and faced off against the 2-seed Blue Devils in the national semifinal, where UNC ended Coach K's career and shattered Duke fans' hearts everywhere.
But since that game, and after Scheyer took over in Durham after that season, the Blue Devils have been in control.
From the 2022-23 season on, Duke is 5-2 against the Heels and 1-0 in the ACC Tournament, as Duke took down UNC in the ACC Tournament Semifinal this past season en route to Scheyer winning his second ACC Tournament title as Duke head coach.
Scheyer became the third head coach in the conference's history to win the ACC Tournament in his first season at the helm, and the Heels are still searching for their first conference tournament title with Davis. Beyond the conference tournament, there's no doubt Scheyer also has Davis beat in terms of NCAA Tournament success.
Since the 2022-23 season, Scheyer has taken Duke to the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons, including an Elite 8 appearance in 2024 and a Final Four appearance in 2025. As for Davis, UNC has made the tournament in two of those three seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 as a 1-seed in 2024 and falling in the Round of 32 in 2025.
The one season under Davis where the Heels didn't make the Field of 68 was fresh off UNC's miracle tournament run in 2023, when the Tar Heels became the first team since the NCAA Tournament expanded to enter the season ranked No. 1 in the nation and miss the tournament entirely.
Scheyer has already established himself as one of the top coaches in college hoops through his first three seasons in Durham, whereas Davis is on the hot seat heading into the 2025-26 season. As the preseason rankings currently look, Duke again looks to be ahead of the Heels on a national scale.