Another Duke-N.C. showdown

DURHAM, N.C. -- There's a reason North Carolina and Duke meet every year in the regular-season finale: the Atlantic Coast Conference championship always seems to be on the line.

For the fifth time in series history, the ACC title -- along with the top seed in next week's league tournament -- goes to the winner when the No. 1 Tar Heels visit the sixth-ranked Blue Devils on tonight (8 p.m., ESPN) in the latest renewal of college basketball's fiercest rivalry.

"It's March. There's a month or so left in the season (and) I have to be the most excited that I've ever been," Duke freshman Kyle Singler said Friday. "Each game is the biggest game to this date."

The Tar Heels (28-2) and Blue Devils (26-3) bring identical 13-2 conference records into their final regular-season game. The Tobacco Road rivals, separated by an 8-mile stretch of U.S. highway, have staged plenty of memorable matchups during the past 88 years, with ACC championships, high tournament seeds and bragging rights having been decided on one of the most unique landscapes in the sport.

At least a share of the league title has been at stake in the finale 11 times, with four previous winner-take-all meetings. The most recent of those came in 1991, when Duke claimed the crown with an 83-77 victory and went on to win coach Mike Krzyzewski's first national championship by beating a Kansas team led by current North Carolina coach Roy Williams.

For many reasons, this one has the potential to join those. That's why those rowdy Cameron Crazies have been camping out in the patch of grass known as Krzyzewskiville for months and perhaps why Super Bowl MVPs Peyton and Eli Manning were spotted at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Friday and are expected to attend.

"It kind of carries a different vibe to it because it is for an ACC championship," Singler said.