Bill Self: The attention deserves to be on North Carolina vs. Duke

The greatest rivalry in college basketball will be renewed for the third time during Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement tour when the Blue Devils take on North Carolina in the Final Four on Saturday night for the first time in history.

The other Final Four matchup, Villanova vs. Kansas is seemingly on the media’s back burner in terms of coverage and hype surrounding the matchup. Jayhawks head coach Bill Self said himself there was no doubt where the media’s attention should be focused toward.

“I don’t think the undercard here will get more attention than anything we’ve ever had before,” Self said. “So I don’t look at it that way at all. I do look at it as the majority of the attention, and probably rightfully so, will be on the second game because it’s through Carolina and they never met, Coach K’s last year and all those things.

“We’re fired up. I don’t think anybody in this field is flying under any radar or anything like that. Everybody has the same goals. Actually, I believe all four teams have a legitimate shot if they play well.”

The proverbial undercard, as Self puts it, is regarding the fact that Kansas and Villanova play in the first game of the double header — Duke vs. Carolina is the main event heavyweight bout despite the Tar Heels eight-seed status. Name recognition and history advocate for Carolina sliding in that main event spot.

With the storyline of Krzyzewski’s career on the line against his greatest rival and blue-blooded neighbor North Carolina, the story writes itself. Can Coach K avenge his final loss at Cameron Indoor? Or will Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels get the last laugh on their biggest adversary over the past five decades. Krzyzewski weighed in on the matter last week after Duke’s Elite Eight victory.

“The basketball gods put two very deserving programs there because both of us played well in four games to get here,” Krzyzewski said. “This is not somebody putting you there – it’s somebody earning the opportunity. I think this will be my 98th game that I’ve coached against North Carolina. 

“Roy Williams and I, before Hubert [Davis] took over this year, we often remark how lucky we were to be the coaches of Duke and North Carolina because what people have done before us. … Players and coaches have really elevated this rivalry to such a high level – and to do it on this stage is pretty cool, really.”

No. 2 seeded Duke and No. 8 North Carolina are set to tipoff at 8:49 p.m. ET on Saturday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, with TBS carrying the national broadcast. The winner will face the winner of No. 1 Kansas No. 2 Villanova in Monday night’s national championship game.