North Carolina’s February trip to Duke now has a locked-in start time, and the rivalry is getting a prime national stage again.
ESPN announced that Carolina’s Feb. 13 game at Duke will begin at 5:30 p.m. and air on ABC. That’s a slight change from the usual setup for this matchup, which has typically lived on ESPN and started at 6:30 p.m. EST in recent years.
For this meeting in Durham, the Tar Heels and Blue Devils will be in an earlier Saturday evening window than fans have grown used to. It also means the game lands on ABC instead of its usual ESPN home.
With the Super Bowl set for the following day, the timing makes this one part of what could be the biggest sports weekend of the year. And yes, it falls on Valentine’s Day weekend too, so fans will have a little extra juggling to do over those 48 hours.
The start time is now set, which at least gives everyone something concrete to circle on the calendar.
That’s the beauty of this rivalry: Duke and North Carolina keep pulling the national spotlight back to them. When these two blue bloods meet, it’s must-watch television for just about anyone who follows sports.
The matchup also carries an added wrinkle this time around, as it will be the first game in which Michael Malone coaches against the Blue Devils. The Cameron Crazies should be ready for that one, and then some.
Both meetings between these programs are the kind fans mark down as soon as the schedule drops. Now, for the first one in Durham, the network and tip-off time are official, with the rematch in Chapel Hill a few weeks later likely to get similar treatment.
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