Depending on where you grew up, the answer to the question of “who is college basketball greatest rivalry?” will vary. Kentucky residents will say UK and Louisville is the greatest, while North Carolinians would argue that DUKE/UNC hold the greatest rivalry in basketball. Kansas and Indiana residents would have something to say if their respective rivalries weren’t mentioned as well. Let’s try and take an objective (I’ve heard this word before) point of view to find out who is the greatest rivalry.
There should be some criteria in place to determine the winner here. The 2 teams’ overall records against each other should be fairly close, the rivalry must have occurred numerous times throughout its history, and the games must have been close numerically. If we can all agree those parameters are fair, we can rule out a few of these battles right of the bat.
The first to be eliminated sadly will be the UK Louisville rivalry. While this heated battle is physically intense and nerve racking for all those watching and playing, statistically it doesn’t stack up against the rest. The 2 teams have only played each other 42 times. This is attributed to playing only once a year (out of conference foes) and because the rivalry died during the years 1922-1948 and 1960-1983. While we all enjoy a Demarcus Cousins non intentional elbow to the face and a good ol’ fashioned chicken bucket beatdown (and other numerous great memories), nationally and historically it’s probably not “the greatest”.
Kansas and Missouri will also not be crowned “greatest rivalry”. These 2 teams do have the longest rivalry by playing a total of 265 games. That is impressive; however the win loss results of those games are not close to even. Kansas has made a habit of beating down the Tigers and has the edge in overall victories with a 171-94 record. Also to add to that uneven overall combined averaged score of a KU Mizzou game is 54-49. These stats make this a great rivalry, but not the greatest.
UNC and Duke’s rivalry isn’t just the most annoying one, it may indeed be the best one. If you look at the stats alone (and I will have to, since I am grinding my teeth as I type) UNC holds a 131-101 overall winning record against the Dukies. Out of 232 total games and only 30 wins separating these 2 historic programs is a close rivalry. The combined overall average score of all these games is 77-76. For playing each other 2-3 times a year for 50 years, a 1 point differential between the 2 teams is extraordinary.
The only other rivalry I could find that could compare statistically to UNC/Duke was Purdue and Indiana. These 2 teams have been playing each other since 1901 and battled a total of 196 times. Purdue holds the overall record over IU with a 112-84 tally. That is a closer margin than the UNC/Duke by 6 games; however the average game score is 57-55 so the games numerically aren’t as close.
So it appears the age old question comes down to UNC/Duke and IU/Purdue. Thus, the tiebreaker will come down to who has more memorable moments within the rivalry. Blame it on (the alcohol? Not now, hip hop influence) ESPN if you would like, but the UNC/Duke games have included half court buzzer beaters, vicious dunks, bloody Hansborough noses and Dick Vitale within the past 20 years. There you have it, at least the modern day answer is UNC and Duke have the nation’s greatest rivalry. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a drink.
