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Battle of the Blues brings out Devils' spirit

The Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels hit the court Saturday night for their second regular-season meeting, the "Battle of the Blues."

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DURHAM, N.C. — The Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels hit the court Saturday night for their second regular-season meeting, the "Battle of the Blues."

Kyle Singler scored 19 of his 25 points in the decisive first half, and No. 4 Duke routed North Carolina 82-50 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The legendary basketball rivalry always brings out about the best of team spirit.

Duke senior Megan Banghart has been camping out since Jan. 23 to make sure she got a ticket to the big matchup.

"It's just so fun. I mean, I love the atmosphere,” she said.

The rivalry between the two teams is fierce – among the hottest in college basketball.

"They are both great schools, but being so close it just makes the rivalry even stronger,” UNC fan Dylan Despot said.

"This is both of our dreams to come here to this game for the first time,” Duke fan Mike Francisci said.

It was the Tar Heels' worst loss since a 96-56 loss at Maryland in 2003 and their fewest points since a 60-48 loss to Duke in the 2002 ACC tournament. Their No. 10 seed in next weekend’s ACC tournament is their worst; the last time their record was this bad, the league had nine teams.

"We got booed pretty hard, so I don't know, it's pretty rough,” UNC fan Nick Lisauskas said.

As for Duke, the team finished 17-0 at Cameron this year. All but one of those home victories can by a margin of more than ten.

"Why would I root for that powder blue, pathetic team?” Duke fan Mike Francisci said of UNC.

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