There is always a competition between the UNC basketball program and its rival Duke but the Tar Heels are able to claim bragging rights this offseason, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In a recent story published after the National Championship, in which Florida completed the comeback to win over Houston and marked the third title since 2006 for the Gators, the value of each college basketball program was projected in terms of millions of dollars.
North Carolina was listed as the most valuable program in the country, edging out Duke by millions. The Tar Heels were pegged to be worth $378 million while Duke was listed second at $370 million.
The figures were only an approximation and not what the school could get for its men’s basketball program if it were to ever hit the open market – which would never be the case.
College basketball’s most valuable teams (WSJ)
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) April 8, 2025
1 UNC $378M
2 Duke $370M
3 Indiana $279M
4 Ohio St $262M
5 Louisville $260M
6 Zona $257M
7 Cuse $256M
8 Illinois $232M
9 UK $223M
10 Arkansas $217M
11 Kansas $191M
12 Michigan $189M
13 Mich St $183M
14 UConn $165M
15 Minn $164M
Despite the Blue Devils having won all three games against its rival this season and advancing to the Final Four, UNC (six) boasts one more National Championship than Duke (five).
Still, the Tobacco Road juggernauts were clearly the two most valuable programs with Indiana, being listed at almost $100 million lower than UNC.
The Hoosiers ($279M), Ohio State ($262M), Louisville ($260M), Arizona ($257M), Syracuse ($256M), Illinois ($232M), Kentucky ($223M), and Arkansas ($217M) completed the Top 10.
Kansas ($191M) was No. 11 while Michigan State ($189M) was at No. 13 and UConn ($165M) landed at No. 14.
The biggest advantage Duke has in the current climate of college basketball is there will never been a question as to how much NIL money the Blue Devils need to land a top prospect, whether it be from high school or the transfer portal.
If Jon Scheyer and his coaching staff want a player, they will have the resources to be as viable of an option as any other team in the nation – if not the top choice.
Regardless of its standing in a projection story, the Blue Devils remain the standard in college basketball and there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.