Blue Devil and Tar Heel fans are lucky in a lot of respects, not the least of which being that both basketball programs are so high profile that nearly every game lands on national TV. However, even within the luxury of getting to see practically every game, there’s a bit of a heirarchy: games on local cable are tolerated, games on ESPN are enjoyed, but for me the Saturday games on CBS are ones that you really look forward to. As a basketball fan, there’s no sound that gets your heart beating fast like the “duh-dah-dah-duh-DAAAAAHHH-dunn-dunnnnnnnnn…” (yeah, I know you can hear it in your head) of college basketball on CBS.
Seemingly every year, the network lands a great slate of games and Duke and UNC have always seemed to be a part of it, this year being no exception. CBS announced they will be opening their 30th year of coverage with Kentucky-North Carolina on December 4, when UK comes to Chapel Hill. There’s also Texas-UNC on December 18, Duke at St. Johns on Jan. 30 at Madison Square Garden, and the rivalry game itself, Duke-UNC on March 5. That last one is really interesting as the it’s first time that the rivalry will air in prime time on network television, and should pull a pretty big number. Check out the full schedule of games on College Hoops Journal.
I try to catch every game UNC plays, of course, but these big weekend matchups are the ones that get circled with a big red marker on my calendar. Come on, basketball season… get here already.
Other linkage:
- Tar Heel Fan continues their great series of individual player previews with a look at Dexter Strickland, with a brilliant (in my opinion) comparison to Kirk Hinrich - that parallel clicked with me as soon as I read it. Here’s hoping Strickland blossoms in year two the way Hinrich did.
- Props at CHJ for good graduation rates for both Duke and Carolina, typical for both programs.
- Duke Hoops Blog says Ryan Kelly is poised for a breakout for the Devils this year.
- Virginia Tech’s Dorenzo Hudson thinks the Hokies should be picked ahead of UNC in ACC rankings, and the Dagger tends to think they’re right, given the way the schedule breaks nicely for VT.
- The recently reinstated Kendric Burney gets some light shown on his academic situation by his dad, who seems to be talking to a number of media outlets.
- Carolina March looks at the return of Mike Paulus to Kenan Stadium this weekend and asks a few questions about the future of the QB position for UNC.
- Duke’s 2011 recruiting class got a little lighter as Tyler Adams decommits from the Devils.
- Kendal Marshall discovered a little about how passionate fans on Tobacco Road are when he came across a 4-year old who can name all the players on UNC’s team this year.
