Last season, the Duke Blue Devils swept the annual Tobacco Road rivalry matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Between them, the two blue blood programs have accumulated 11 national championships over the years, as they’ve battled for both supremacy of the Tobacco Road and the national spotlight.
During last week’s segment of “Tar Heels Illustrated,” analyst Andrew Joe spoke about the Tobacco Road rivals, including the NC State Wolfpack starting a home-based series that would pit them against each other (17:45).
“So it’d be an opportunity to see Duke play if you’re a local,” Joe said. “State doesn’t play a lot of great non-conference home games. Carolina doesn’t, they have two this year, but the rest is junk except ECU. So, it gives a chance to see the teams in this area against some quality opponents. I mean, if you’re bringing in Iowa and you’re bringing in Minnesota.
“Joe further suggested that the home series would incorporate not only Duke, NC State and North Carolina, but also other elite programs in the country to make it a great fan experience.
“I’m going low mid from these middle conferences,” Joe said. “Imagine bringing Maryland back to this area after all that stuff. You bring in Providence, you bring in Seton Hall, you bring in St. John’s, pre or during the Pitino era. You bring in Oklahoma State, you bring in Iowa State, which is pretty good.”
You bring in, from the SEC, someone like a Missouri or LSU but you go a little bit higher, you bring in Florida, you bring in Auburn, something like that. Man, this place would be buzzing. It’d be great. Imagine if you’re able to get some really big programs in.”Duke and North Carolina headline Tobacco Road rivalry
The Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels rivalry has been one of college basketball’s longest-running and most intense matchups in history. However, the Tobacco Road rivalry has two other premier programs, including the NC State Wolfpack and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The last time that the four schools played against each other in a tournament was in the Dixie Classic, which ran from 1949 to 1961, and involved the big four Tobacco Road schools, as well as four other teams from around the country before they were disbanded.
Due to their respective standings on the national stage, Duke versus North Carolina is the most renowned rivalry of the Tobacco Road. However, despite the length of their dominance, they have only played each other once at the NCAA Tournament, when the Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils in the 2022 Final Four.
