It’s that time of the year in college basketball. It’s rivalry week. This week teams that are bitter rivals will go head-to-head in heated competitions. Players will leave their blood, sweat, and tears on the floor this week. They will try to win everything for their schools this week and own the bragging rights for the next time the teams square off.

First off, we start off with the clash of the Tobacco Road showdown. The Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels will square off. This is the best rivalry in all of college basketball. Two blue-blood teams going at it. North Carolina leads that all-time series with a record of 134-108. The Blue Devils, swept the Tar Heels last year and won both meetings that they played against each other. The Blue Devils will have Coach Mike Krzyzewski back, as this will be his second game back since he went in for his back surgery. The Blue Devils are led by Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen who have won against North Carolina many times in their Blue Devils career. The Tar Heels are led by Justin Jackson and Kennedy Meeks who haven’t won against the Blue Devils since 2015. This will be the best game this week as millions of viewers will be watching this game just to see the two historic squads clash.

Another great game to watch will be the Oregon Ducks against the UCLA Bruins. The Oregon Ducks have experienced players such as Dillon Brooks, Chris Boucher, and Jordan Bell. They will look to lead the team over a high scoring offense in the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins have the number one ranked offense in the country this year and they don’t seem to be slowing down. They are lead by star-studded freshmen Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf. They also have experience from Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton. UCLA leads the all-time series 84-38. Oregon has won the past three though and they are looking to continue that streak when the two teams square off at Pauley Pavilion.

A huge Big Ten game will also be played. It will be the Purdue Boilermakers squaring off against the Indiana Hoosiers. This is going to be an amazing game. Indiana is led by head coach Tom Crean. They have Thomas Bryant and star-studded guard James Blackmon Jr., who will look to control this game with his outstanding 3-point shooting. Purdue is led by Caleb Swanigan, who is a double-double machine. They are also led by 7-foot center Isaac Haas and their shooting guard Vince Edwards. Purdue leads the all-time series 115-89 and they took home the first matchup this year. For Indiana, they will look to dominate this game and try to start making the series go their way.

Mike Joyce, a freshman, had plenty to say about this rivalry. “I feel like Indiana is going to pull off the upset because they have Thomas Bryant, who is just a beast. They also are the underdogs in this, so don’t count out an underdog.”

There are also some under the radar games going on this weekend. The Gonzaga Bulldogs will be facing off against the St. Mary’s Gaels. This is an old school rivalry and has been going on for some time now. Gonzaga leads the all-time series 63-29. They are 3-2 in the last five meetings they have faced each other. The Bulldogs are lead by Phil Karnowski, Nigel Williams-Goss, and Jordan Mathews. The Gaels are led by Elijah Thomas. The Gaels will also look to upset the number one team in the country.

Villanova and Georgetown will also face off in another historic rivalry. Georgetown leads the all-time series 42-28. The Wildcats have one the past four meetings and they are going into this game as the favorites. Never count out the underdogs in this rivalry, out as Villanova upset the Hoyas in the 1985 national championship game. The Wildcats are led by Kris Jenkins, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson. The Hoyas are led by L.J. Peak. They will look to upset the Wildcats and keep their tournament hopes alive.

There will also be another in-state game as well as the Michigan Wolverines will clash head to head with the Michigan State Spartans. Michigan State leads the all-time series 90-81, and they have won the last five meetings against each other. The Spartans are led by Miles Bridges and Cassius Winston, who are both studs. The Wolverines are led by Zack Ervin and Derrick Walton Jr. who will look to carry the team and end the five-game losing streak against the Spartans. This should be an amazing game as this will determine who is the real elite team of the state of Michigan.

Another under the radar game would be the Notre Dame Fighting Irish squaring off against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Notre Dame leads the all-time series and Wake Forest is looking for a bounce-back year after coming off of an 11-20 season. Notre Dame is led by Steve Vasturia, Bonzie Colson, and V.J. Beachum. The Demon Deacons are led by Bryant Crawford and Konstantinos Mitoglou.

This is going to be a very exciting week in college basketball. We are gonna see some shocking games. There will be plenty of upsets. Players will give it their all to bring back the bragging rights to their respective schools. This has to be the most exciting part of the college basketball season.