Desperate Heels Look for Spark in Rivalry

If there is a silver lining for staggering North Carolina -- and this might be an improbability by any stretch of the imagination -- at least the timing might be perfect for the Tar Heels.

Duke motors to Chapel Hill, N.C., Wednesday night to face UNC in one of the nation's best basketball rivalries. Despite the unusual circumstances -- Duke is No. 8 nationally and UNC is No. 10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- Tar Heels coach Roy Williams is searching for anything that might spark his team.

""If

you lose six of [seven], I don't know if playing Duke the next game is a very good thing any way you look at it," Williams lamented. "But we should get their undivided attention and undivided effort."

It will take both -- and, yes, plenty more -- for UNC to continue its recent success over Duke.

The Tar Heels have won the last three meetings and six of the last seven. The Blue Devils' last win at the Smith Center was in 2008 by an 89-79 score.

Both teams have been ranked in the top 10 of the national polls for six of the past 10 meetings, and both have been in the Top 25 for 12 consecutive meetings.

This meeting is different. Duke is up, UNC is down.

The Tar Heels lost four players to the NBA and already have lost six more games than they did all of last season when they won their second national title in five years.