Hubert Davis' job as UNC coach is not on the line vs. Duke, but victory would bring much-needed momentum

There are major college basketball games between rivals, and there is Duke vs. North Carolina.

There is a difference.

The 266th all-time meeting between the two will take place Saturday in Chapel Hill in what may be a potential inflection point for No. 14 UNC as it welcomes No. 4 Duke into the Dean Dome. UNC is on the prowl looking to rebound after losing all three meetings vs. Duke a year ago, and in the process it is hunting to burnish its burgeoning NCAA Tournament resume after winning its last four games in ACC play.

Doing so under the immense pressure this rivalry presents will no doubt be a challenge, though, because Davis' team will be underdogs on their home court for the first time all season. And Davis is not only well aware of the pressures surrounding him and his program entering the matchup but also attuned with the fact that for those in and around the Tobacco Road, this is not just a rivalry.

"The main thing I've tried to communicate to the guys is that our preparation, our process, the way we practice, the way we play is no different," Davis said Thursday. "Only difference is: the circus is coming to town."

There will be no clowns or acrobats, but Davis is undoubtedly walking a tightrope as UNC's fifth-year coach. He led UNC to the NCAA Tournament championship game in Year 1, but he has led them past the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament just once since. 

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Davis entered the season on the hot seat and in need to prove himself after barely making the tourney a year ago, losing thrice to Duke and getting outclassed by its rival at every turn. He has his team 18-4 and things have turned for the better. But with a 4-6 career record as head coach vs. Duke, he will be under scrutiny more than most games this weekend.

Even if he said Thursday that the game vs. Duke is "just another game."

A loss Saturday for his team, to be frank, is expected given the odds -- Duke is favored by roughly 6 points -- so I hesitate to overstate the game's importance for Davis and for UNC. He's not getting canned if they lose. But you cannot understate just how momentous a win would be for this program at this point vs. this team. Duke is barreling toward an ACC championship and a No. 1 seed. Stopping that freight train on the tracks would take some gusto and breathe life into the Heels at a time it needs it.

It's a tall task and one Duke coach Jon Scheyer, who is in just his fourth season as Blue Devils coach, will not likely make easy. Scheyer is 5-2 coaching vs. the Tar Heels since taking over in 2022-23, and two of the three seasons he's been head coach in Durham he has led the Blue Devils to a season sweep of UNC. A tide turn in favor of the Tar Heels feels vital -- for UNC, of course, but also, and maybe especially, for Davis.

When the chips are down Saturday, the drama of the rivalry, the pressures of the hot seat and the lofty expectations foisted upon both schools and coaches will largely be lost to the noise of competition. It's UNC vs. Duke. They'll settle this one the old-fashioned way on the hardwood. 

But Davis will be prepped and ready to play the game within the game vs. one of college basketball's best and brightest young coaches in Scheyer to try and get his program back on top vs. its rival. It's been weeks since UNC last lost, and nearly two months since Duke last lost. These teams are rumbling in and will be raring to go. 

"We've established a way that we want to play on both ends of the floor," Davis, who with a win can improve to a career-best 19-4 start, said Thursday. "That's the chess match: being able to [try] to do what we've done throughout the year consistently well."