Coach K talks preparation for return to raucous Dean Dome for rivalry game

Duke. North Carolina. Mike Krzyzewski’s last run in the Dean Dome with 20,000 blue-blooded fans. The mission is understood — this game means a little more.

Krzyzewski’s trip to Chapel Hill in 2021 is one he’d like to forget. Not only did his Blue Devils get crushed 91-73, it wasn’t in the normal Duke-North Carolina atmosphere of thousands upon thousands of passionate fans screaming at the top of their lungs for over two hours.

Former UNC head coach Roy Williams was able to march into Cameron Indoor in their last meeting and pick up a 91-87 victory over Duke in his final game coaching against the Blue Devils. The game was regarded as one of the best of last season — something that is expected on a yearly basis, let alone Krzyzewski’s final road trip in the rivalry.

Krzyzewski has seen the highs and lows of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry since he became head coach at Duke during the 1980-81 season. Overall he’s 16-19 against North Carolina on the road, the second-best win percentage of any coach against the Tar Heels in Dean Dome history (min. five games). He only trailed Tony Bennett, who sits at .500 (4-4).

With the coronavirus pandemic shutting out 85 percent of fans to the game at the Dean Dome last season, Krzyzewski thinks the raucous atmosphere will bode well for his team.

“They’ll want to have the people in the arena like most players,” Krzyzewski said of his team. “But our guys, they love playing in front of big crowds at home or away, it’s exciting.”

The Dean E. Smith Center aka the Dean Dome holds 21,750 fans — it’s safe to say this game is sold out. Ticket prices were reportedly soaring into the thousands, while one batch of tickets were valued at around $50,000.

“They’ll have over 20,000 people there, and the atmosphere will be great,” Krzyzewski said. “And I just think that the atmosphere in both places lends itself to having really top notch performances by both teams. That’s why these games have always turned out to be be really good games. But no, we’re looking forward so, I would rather play in front of a full arena than a than an empty of arena”

Duke and North Carolina tip off live on ESPN from Chapel Hill at 6 p.m. ET. To find out more information on the game such as predictions, KenPom, BPI, etc., click here.