The Duke-North Carolina game is flogged on a national level more than just about any rivalry. If Red Sox-Yankees or Colts-Patriots get more attention, it's because of their sports or the number of times they play.

In terms of college hoops, it's probably the only rivalry with consistent national interest every season. Part of that's because ESPN's builds its "rivalry week" TV schedule around it – usually leaving out games like Kentucky-Louisville, Indiana-Purdue and Kansas-Missouri – and because the two teams are usually on the shortlist of title contenders.

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Bruce Pearl and his pastel jacket are just one reason to elevate the Tennessee-Kentucky rivalry.

But does that make the Devils-Heels the best? After all, a person's favorite rivalry depend on where you live.

The list of rivalries here is a good place to start, but when there are more than 300 D-I teams, it's hard to spotlight all showdowns fans like. Sometimes it's hard enough to hit on every good one.

Take Cincinnati vs. Xavier. It's one of my favorites because it's probably the most heated local rivalry. This year's 83-79 double overtime win by Musketeers featured a couple of near-brawls, rowdy fans – and some excellent basketball.

And that's what local rivalries are: heated, entertaining and usually great games. By local, I don't mean schools in the same town or located near each other, but a rivalry that the fans of both schools know and love, but perhaps the rest of the country doesn't know enough about.

Kentucky-Tennessee is a good example. Two neighboring states, die-hard fans and good hoops, but because they're in football country, it doesn't get a ton of national attention. (It should, though. Calipari and Pearl alone are worth extra attention.)

More on my shortlist include: Cal-Stanford, 'Nova-Pitt, Virginia-Virginia-Tech, BYU-Utah, ODU-VCU and when any of the Big 5 schools play. All of 'em are either heightened by proximity or recent results. And all of 'em are worth watching. But that's hardly all of them worth mentioning.

So what's your favorite rivalry?

Mike Miller's also on Twitter, usually talkin' hoops.

Monday night's a dream for rivalry fans.

Georgetown plays at Syracuse in a Top 10 matchup. No. 2 Kansas looks to extend its unblemished Big 12 record while hosting Missouri. Sure, some might consider them throwback games – longing for the days of John Thompson and Norm Stewart – but forget that.

These matchups have blossomed into something new. And in this case, new isn't bad. Just different.

For starters, it sounds as if much the animosity between the programs might be gone. (It's now all on the fans.)

Ex-Kansas players talk glowingly about Tiger coach Mike Anderson, though perhaps that stems from the Jayhawks owning this series. KU's beaten Missouri 11 straight at Allen Fieldhouse and has won seven of the last eight in this series.

No. 4 Syracuse holds a slight edge in recent games against No. 7 Georgetown, which has produced some classic games. And it's those great games – not a mutual hatred – that's helped re-elevate this series.

"Great games make great rivalries," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told the Washington Post. "You can't structure that, you can't schedule it. It just has to happen. And we've had so many great games over the last years, including last year."

The Orange (19-1) have beaten the Hoyas (15-3) seven straight in Syracuse, including that 98-94 overtime classic Boeheim referenced.

With any luck, we'll see a couple of classics tonight.

Mike Miller's also on Twitter. Click here for more.

A catchy moniker goes a long way.

It's hard for college basketball fans to think of Duke without also picturing the Cameron Crazies, their loud and usually creative student section. It's gotten to the point where the Crazies get more attention than some college hoops teams, given that ESPN did a feature on one of 'em last year.

Well, Indiana wants a piece of that action.

The school is seeking names for its student section. It's open only to current IU student and ideas must be submitted by Nov. 17. The winner gets the name on the front of a T-shirt that's going to all student basketball season ticket holders.

In other words, students are going to wear this future name.

It'll be hard to top some of the other Big Ten student section names -- The Izzone (Michigan State). Orange Crush (Illinois). Maize Rage (Michigan) – though I'll be interested to see the winner. Could be classic.

 Of course, not everyone's in favor of naming the student section. And no, it's not Bob Knight. Maybe.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Ah, Rivalry Week. I don't care if it is a TV invention – it's one of the better themes ESPN uses.

It's not perfect. Kentucky-Louisville was last month, and Xavier-Cincy was back in December. Traditionalists don't get to see Indiana-Purdue until Feb. 21^st. Still, there's plenty for even the most discerning hoop fans who love a good rivalry.

Like Monday's primetime game. Few things build drama in college hoops like regional rivalries.

Kansas and Missouri used to be one of the nation's marquee matchups, but the Tigers haven't been part of the national picture since Quin Snyder ran the program into the ground. That changed Monday when the No. 16 Jayhawks and No. 17 Tigers played their first ranked showdown since 2003.

And it didn't disappointment for drama (it wasn't the prettiest game to watch, just exciting).

Missouri (21-4) trailed Kansas (19-5) throughout and trailed 58-51 with about 3:30 remaining. The Jayhawks – who made just one basket in the final 8:18 – should've had the game won, but Mizzou's nasty defense turned in enough defensive stops to finally take its first lead, 60-58, with :51 seconds left.

Kansas responded with a jumper of its own, but Missouri's Zaire Taylor gave the Tigers the win when his 10-foot jumper bounced off the back of the iron and through the net, prompting 15,061 fans to storm the court. (I'm a Kansas grad. I wrote the last three grafs gnashing my teeth and cursing. Often.)

What's in store the rest of the week? The MEGA game of the week is Wednesday. As if you didn't know…

Billy Donovan's Florida Gators (19-4) are atop the SEC East, while Billy Gillispie's Kentucky Wildcats (16-7) are trying to end a three-game skid. This game's usually been one of the conference's better matchups the last few seasons.

In-state rivals Michigan and Michigan State also play Tuesday. John Beilein's Wolverines started the year 13-3, but have lost six of their last eight. The Spartans (19-4) are trying to get healthy (no Raymar Morgan?), which makes Tuesday anyone's game.

Duke-North Carolina is Wednesday. More on that later. (If I were you, I'd hit a bar so you can watch Xavier-Dayton and Syracuse-UConn before the biggie begins at 9 p.m. ET.)

Thursday's not bad either.

Two of the Pac-10's best, UCLA (19-4) and Arizona State (18-5), play in Tucson. The Bruins may be the nation's best team that doesn't earn weekly raves and feature an offense that isn't what you'd expect from a Ben Howland team (Read: High-scoring and efficient). The Sun Devils aren't ripping through foes, but have a mighty efficient offense of their own.

Gonzaga (17-5) and Saint Mary's (19-4) would normally be a game worthwhile No-Doz game for East Coast folk, but the Gaels don't have Patty Mills. That makes the day's second-best matchup a Big 5 showdown between St. Joe's (14-8) and Temple (13-9).

Saturday closes with a couple of decent matchups, but nothing national.

Cal (18-6) and Stanford (14-7) aren't NCAA tourney locks. It won't matter to the fans. And Syracuse vs. Georgetown (13-9) is one for old-school fans who remember the days John Thompson II patrolled the Hoyas sidelines.

It's funny. The last Duke-North Carolina game resulted in the No. 2 Devils turning in an impressive 89-78 road win against the No. 3 Heels. A month later, UNC hasn't lost since and is ranked No. 1. Duke lost back-to-back games and is now ranked sixth.

As a result, Saturday's showdown includes some crucial details.

• The winner claims the ACC title outright and the top seed in the conference tourney. (The first time since '91 the finale has that kind of weight.)
• A No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament also awaits the winner. Carolina hasn't beaten a top 15 opponent all season and just three victories against the RPI top 25. But, at 28-2, it would be tough to deny the Heels a top seed with a victory. Duke (26-3) owns wins against four RPI top 25 teams (UNC, Wisconsin, Marquette and Miami) and could make a No. 1 argument even with a loss.

To be clear: Being a top seed doesn't guarantee Big Dance success, but it's a big key. Top seeds have won 13 of 23 national titles since the tournament expanded in 1985 and are 309-79; two seeds have won just four titles and just once since '99, and are 224-88. In the last five years, compare their 65-18 and 50-19 records. That No. 1 seed is an excellent indicator of how a team will fare in the NCAA tourney.

(Vegas sidenote: It's interesting that neither UNC or Duke are the odds-on favorite for the NCAA Tournament. UCLA is 9-2, with Carolina right behind at 5-1. Duke's odds to win are 10-1, behind Kansas, Memphis and Tennessee.)

• Heels point guard Ty Lawson missed the first meeting and is still nursing a left ankle sprain. How he handles Duke's pressuring man-to-man defense will be an indication of his NCAA Tournament health and how UNC's offense will function.
• There's the whole "misquoted" mess, too, but that's mostly for us media types to chatter and fret about. Don't hate us, it's just the way we're built.
• And, to put the game in perspective, there's this. There will be a moment of silence before the game for Eve Marie Carson.
• If all that's not enough, you could always watch ESPNU starting early Saturday morning. Five replays of previous Duke-UNC games would do it.

OK, that was a lot of stuff. Most importantly, who wins?

Kenpom.com predicts a 91-85 Duke win, with 69 percent certainty. Seth Davis likes UNC, 80-76. Jay Bilas is picking the Devils. Not sure if this is a good idea, but I'll side with Davis.

The Devils are at home, but I thought they played their best game last month in Chapel Hill. Wayne Ellington will hit his perimeter shots and the Devils won't hit theirs, or at least as proficiently as they did in their Feb. win.

Essentially, it comes down to this: The team that wins Saturday is more likely to make a run at the NCAA crown. Carolina's balance and Tyler Hansbrough's relentless style of play (SI cover jinx be dammed) makes it a better bet to win in March and on Saturday as well.

College basketball's regular season gets tagged as blasé, but even naysayers should be pumped about Saturday.

After all, No. 1 vs. No. 2 just doesn't happen that often. Top 10 games, sure. But this'll be the 38^th time since 1949 when the top teams face off in what should be the regular-season's best game.

In this instance, the SEC's best team, Tennessee, travels to No. 1 Memphis. No, the game isn't on Tobacco Road, but hoops in the state of Tennessee shouldn't take a backseat to anyone this season. (Well, maybe Indiana, with its four ranked teams would have something to say about that.)

Especially when one considers Memphis (26-0) hasn't lost at home in 47 games and wants to avenge last season's 76-58 thrashing. It all turns an already fierce rivalry into a monster game. (Want a ticket? Got $10,000?)

Beyond all that hype, there's plenty more:

Expect defenses to take center stage. It's the nation's best defensive team vs. a team that thrives on forcing turnovers.

It'll be fast. Memphis gets more than 71 possessions a game, Tennessee 73.2.

Joey Dorsey will own the boards. The Vols' Wayne Chism is good (10.3 OR%, 20.2 DR%), but Memphis' beast on the inside is among the top 10 in OR% (16.3) and DR% (28.4).

The free-throw line will hardly be free. Tennessee is 302^nd in FT percentage, but Memphis is worse at 338^th (58.8 percent!).

Kenpom.com expects an 81-71 Memphis win. I think it'll be like 89-85, Memphis. Feels like a game where the Vols can keep it close with outside shooting and balanced scoring, but  will fall short in a hostile environment.

More tidbits?

• The last time an undefeated No. 1 team played No. 2 this late in the season, top-ranked UNLV beat Arkansas, 112-105, on Feb. 10, 1991 in Fayetteville, Ark.
• Before this season, Memphis spent one week at No. 1 in the polls. It lost, 64-56, to Virginia Tech on Jan. 10, 1983.
• Tennessee has beaten No. 1 once. Dec. 6, 1969 at South Carolina.
• No. 1 has won 19 of the 37 meetings against No. 2, but has lost five of the last 6, including Wisconsin's 49-48 loss to Ohio State last season.

Duke looked every bit like a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in an 89-78 road victory against North Carolina on Wednesday.

The Blue Devils (20-1) hit 13-of-29 three-pointers, made five fewer turnovers in a raucous Dean Dome and their defense hounded UNC's Wayne Ellington (16.2 ppg) and Danny Green (12.1 ppg) into a nightmarish shooting night. Combined, they were 4-of-24 from the field for 11 points. Without point guard Ty Lawson, UNC's offense never got on track despite 28 points from Tyler Hansbrough.

In short, Duke looked like Duke. And Duke's been a No. 1 seed eight of the last 10 seasons. A game like that will go a long way to making it nine of 11.

But that brushes over the nagging thought from Wednesday's game: If Duke played that great and UNC only lost by 11 points, does that mean Duke's hit its ceiling?

That is, if the Devils play UNC – or another team with Carolina's depth and balance, like Memphis, Kansas, UCLA or Georgetown –in the NCAA Tournament, what are the odds they make 13 threes? Or benefit by playing an injured or struggling team?

After all, it seems strange to think that Duke is a team without room for error when March rolls around because that kind of hot shooting doesn't last.

(Consider a team like Tennessee, which wore down perimeter-oriented Florida on Tuesday. The Vols are long, athletic and relentless on the perimeter. As good as Duke is, it's hard to believe they'd get the same looks beyond the arc.)

That probably comes off as Duke bashing, but there's no other way to put it. Duke looked great against Carolina (21-2). It made plays when needed, hit shots and free throws down the stretch and basically owned Carolina. That's a helluva win. The Devils were aggressive and energetic and it showed in the final score. That's something to be proud of and relish until the rematch in Cameron.

"They're pretty special right now," Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said afterward. "We know who we are. We're a very unconventional team. We're not a strong physical team, but we are strong team emotionally, a real together group.

"You have to hope you don't get killed by a team for a stretch by their strength. You have to find a way and because we have versatile players we've been able to do that so far."

Coach K knows what he has. He's set up a Phoenix Suns-like offense that relies on dribble penetration and kick outs for threes (pretty much what Duke's done for years), making his squad deadly when it hits those shots.

Yet, Duke surely knows it didn't get Carolina's best game.

"It was just one of those nights," Ellington said. "We couldn't get the ball to fall."

Without Lawson, UNC struggled in transition and had trouble getting players like Green and Ellington open looks. Credit goes to Duke's defense, but Lawson's absence was apparent throughout. Would he be worth 11 points? Almost certainly.

This isn't to say Carolina will win in Durham if Lawson's healthy. The Heels will have to improve that perimeter defense – like Duke's gonna stop shooting – and ensure Green and Ellington don't start slow. And even all that may not be enough.

But it's enough to sew doubt in my mind about Duke. In March, being one-dimensional is just too risky.

Return to this space at 8:50 p.m.ET. I'll be doing a live blog of the Duke-UNC game. I'm trying something a little different than a normal post, which will allow readers to post comments in-between my in-game thoughts. Anyway, more details to come then.

It's not as if Duke-North Carolina needs any extra hype. The two teams enter Wednesday's game as No. 2 and No. 3 in the rankings, 3 and 4 in the RPI and 4 and 7 in kenpom.com's ratings. Duke (19-1) hasn't lost since Dec. 20. The Heels (21-1) won their first 18 games.

UNC's Tyler Hansbrough is the leading candidate for Player of the Year, while only Kansas and Memphis have a deeper bench than Duke (maybe UConn and Tennessee, too).

That alone would make it a monster matchup. Throw in the history between the two schools, and it's MEGA.

But, because it's Carolina-Duke, we get one more angle, involving Duke's Gerald Henderson and Hansbrough's nose.

To be honest, I'd nearly forgotten about that bloody play from last March, when Henderson's right arm struck the All-American in the nose, sending him crumpling to the floor. As a result, a brawl had to be averted, Henderson was ejected and Hansbrough wore a protective mask for the ACC Tournament and part of the Big Dance.

Now, with Henderson heading back to the Smith Center for the first time since that foul, I expect the game to be a little more heated than normal. But just a little. After all, it's Duke-UNC. It's always gonna be big.

About a week ago, my buddy Ben (die-hard Nebraska and Big 12 guy) and I were talking about Kansas and what kind of challenges the Jayhawks would have during conference play. Texas, for sure. Maybe A&M, maybe Baylor and maybe K-State (better than either of us thought). But we didn't consider Missouri, which makes me a little sad. Kansas-Missouri used to be one of THE rivalries that the networks had to broadcast and the national media swarmed upon. Now, it's just another game, with heightened local implications.

And without a major media market to ramp up the interest, Ben and I bemoaned the demise of KU-Mizzou as a rivalry. Frankly, I'm wondering if all the college hoops rivalries are going the same way.

Traditional ones like KU-Mizzou, Purdue-Indiana and Cincinnati-Xavier have lost national interest, mostly because one team dropped off as a hoops power. Even Kentucky-Louisville – two teams that have remained hoops powers – doesn't have the spark it used to nationally. To be clear, I think the localized interest is great -- and maybe even better in some ways because of how intense it can get -- but it's hard to get non-hoops diehards or non-local fans to care about what can be essentially two college towns going for bragging rights. (Maybe it's the timing. Playing after the NFL season is key has always been key to attract casual fans.)

Only North Carolina-Duke remains the must-see rivalry. This is because of two things: TV and the traditional excellence of both teams. Duke and Carolina are perennial title contenders with huge national fan bases. They churn out NBA players and their coaches are recognized as two of the game's best.

Still, the cynic in me wonders if even Carolina-Duke will always stand the test of time. When Coach K leaves, will Duke always be relevant? When Roy Williams retires, will Carolina endure another downswing? And if either happen, will ESPN still build a "Rivalry Week" schedule around their game? After all, Army-Navy football used to be the Duke-Carolina college football equivalent.

Maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Maybe the new rivalries – UCLA-USC, Florida-Tennessee, Marquette-Louisville, Texas-Texas A&M – will flourish. Maybe the traditional ones will be revived (Purdue-Indiana, with their combined records of 36-8 would be a good place to start).

Maybe both will happen. Then Ben and I can relive the good old days.

Tuesday was the Kentucky we expected to see this season. It always should've been a tough, defensively sound team with flashes of brilliance, despite a young roster led by a new coach.

But until a win against No. 3 Tennessee it was unclear if we'd see this Kentucky team this year. But UK seems to have figured it out. A double-overtime win against Vandy (the Commodores' first loss) and close road losses at Miss State and Florida (combined records 29-8) gave the 'Cats a big boost for when the SEC's powerhouse team for the 2007-08 season came into Lexington (along with a Vols' no-no during warm-ups).

So what to make of Kentucky now? And Tennessee, for that matter?

Let's start with the Vols.

Tennessee remains a NCAA title contender thanks to its depth, aggressive defense and excellent offense, even if Chris Lofton still hasn't quite found his shooting touch. (His 22-point, 7-for-14 outing vs. Kentucky could be the place to start, though.)

If nothing else, the Vols remain a key March team because they don't turn the ball over and force tons of turnovers on defense. That usually translates into an opponent that digs itself a big hole – unless it owns the boards like UK did Tuesday.

And it's that rebounding, or lack thereof, that remains their biggest detriment. When you start three players shorter than 6-3, it creates matchup problems and makes it easier for taller teams to hit the offensive glass, where Vols are among nation's worst teams.

And the Wildcats? They still have a shot at the NCAA Tournament, thanks to a star freshmen and two tough seniors.

Patrick Patterson continued to state his case for national freshman of the year and SEC player of the year. In the Year of the Freshmen (Part II), he's every bit as important to his team as Kevin Love is to UCLA or Eric Gordon is to Indiana. Make that more so.

Seniors Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford have gone from hated to essential, though it'll be interesting to see how an ailing Crawford handles the rest of the season. If he misses any games or becomes ineffective, sophomore Derek Jasper could become awfully important awfully quick.

But enough rambling about that – what about UK in the Big Dance?

Kenpom.com has Kentucky projected to a 15-14 record, but all except one are essentially toss-ups. Winning the next four is likely, making the 'Cats 12-9 with eight games remaining. If they hold court at Rupp, then grab road wins at LSU and South Carolina (asking a lot as it's Dave Odom's home finale), that's an 18-11 mark entering the SEC Tournament. From there, anything's possible. Their RPI could reach the 40s and they'd have their share of marquee wins.

Does the seeding committee overlook losses to Gardner-Webb and San Diego and put UK in? Close call, but it's certainly possible. Kentucky doesn't have much room for error.

It's been nearly two months since Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo ended up in my mailbox together. Glad I finally get to see them on the same court Saturday.

And the way Love gets opposing big men into foul trouble, maybe Mayo will even end up guarding him.

As a West Coast resident, I had USC-UCLA as my Sports Illustrated college basketball cover this season, which was a result of the nation's most hyped recruit landing in the same city as the sport's most storied program. Not a bad angle.

It's just too bad Mayo's Trojans haven't been in the same league as Love's Bruins. But by season's end, that could change -- IF a couple things work out.

(The magazine's other hoops preview covers, highlighting the game's "most heated rivalries," included Indiana-Illinois, Memphis-Tennessee, Louisville-Marquette, Texas-Texas A&M, Florida-Kentucky and Georgetown-Syracuse. For those not keeping score, The Cardinals handled the Eagles Thursday night, while Gordon led his Hoosiers to a road win over the Illini earlier last Saturday. Florida and Kentucky play Saturday, while the Hoyas and Orange face off Monday. Kudes to SI for this version of a real "rivalry week." As for me, I'll be nervous about another rivalry when Kansas travels to Missouri on Saturday. The last time KU started a season like this, their perfect start ended in Columbia. But ANYWAY.)

USC is young in terms of class stature, playing predominantly three freshmen (Mayo, Angelo Johnson and Davon Jefferson) and three sophomores (Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis), but that doesn't mean the Trojans are inexperienced. Everyone on the roster plays year-round and has seen competition like this before in AAU tourneys and such. They're just unpolished playing together.

(After all, plenty of college teams deal with young rosters today. Kevin Durant was one of four freshmen playing big roles for Texas last season, and Florida's title run began when four starters were sophomores.)  

At 10-6, the Trojans have had plenty of downs (season-opening loss to Mercer, 1-3 start in Pac-10 play), but have some decent ups, too, with wins against Oklahoma, Southern Illinois and on the road at South Carolina. They're actually a great defensive team (12^th in the Pomeroy ratings for adjusted defensive efficiency), which should keep them in games.

They're also not that young. Mayo, turned 20 in November, and Jefferson is 21.

Their biggest problem is where Mayo should, but hasn't been able to help the most – on offense. The Trojans' shot selection makes me cringe, they shoot too many threes and don't hit the offensive boards. Those three things make it tough for a team to be consistent offensively.

USC could get it together, though. The Pac-10 is tough, but after playing UCLA Saturday and a trip to the Oregon schools next week, seven of the Trojans' final 11 games are at home. With a few résumé building wins, the Trojans could get back to the Sweet 16.

UCLA, on the other, looks Final Four bound, yet again. Without Florida around, the Bruins should be thinking national championship – and that's because of Love.

He's not the nation's best freshman – Indiana's Eric Gordon gets my vote, though it's tough to ignore K-State's Michael Beasley and the impact of Kentucky's Patrick Patterson, who could save the Wildcats' season – but he's probably the most important because he makes UCLA a tougher, more physical team than ever before. Hard to believe, but it's true.

According to kenpom.com, the Bruins (16-1) are just as good defensively as in the past two seasons. (Click here, here and here to compare.) Yet their offensive and rebounding is vastly improved. Most of that credit goes to Love (and super sophomore Russell Westbrook, their most explosive player).

Few players rebound with Love's efficiency (16^th in OR%, 10^th in DR%) while being as offensively efficient. I've never been impressed with his athleticism, but his footwork and technique is as good as most NBA players. He reminds of me of what Carlos Boozer has become for the Jazz – powerful, reliable and no wasted effort.

All of that makes Love a nightmare to guard. Stanford's Lopez twins both fouled out trying to guard Love during UCLA's Jan. 5 win. Both have about 3 inches on Love, but that didn't help. Love finished with a routine line, 15 points, 7 rebounds, but disrupting another team's front line like that is invaluable.

UCLA's as scary as ever. The Bruins are disciplined, focused and talented. USC could be like that, IF the offense improves, Gibson hits the boards a little harder, Mayo becomes more disciplined and Jefferson more consistent.

Yeah, I know, that's a lot of ifs. The Trojans will have to settle for just being close.

Ah, rivalries. The best part of college basketball's regular season.

Whether it's Duke-Carolina, Kentucky-Louisville or any of the more regional – and perhaps even more heated – matchups like Kansas-Missouri, Indiana-Purdue, Arizona-UCLA or Philly's Big Five provide fodder for hoops fans to argue about and cheer for.

Wednesday showcased one of my favorites, Cincinnati-Xavier.

The crosstown throwdown features two schools from the same city, located less than 4 miles apart. It's always physical, always close and rarely gets enough national attention. Then again, without Bob Huggins, it doesn't have that touchstone figure.

Also, the Musketeers own this rivalry, winning eight of the last 11 games. Still, it's worth watching.

Wednesday's game was no exception. It had the technical fouls, rough-up players and a frenzied finish. Xavier's Derrick Brown took charge late to offset his team's poor shooting night and hand the Bearcats a 64-59 loss.

Yet I wonder if, without a larger-than-life figure like Huggins to ensure it garners attention every season, the Cincy rivalry will fade while others come to the forefront.

When we did this rivalries special feature a few years ago, it was made with Duke-Carolina in mind, but others like Cincy-Xavier and Kansas-Missouri were crucial. But in that time, Cincy and Missouri have faded as relevant basketball powers, while Xavier has had up-and-down seasons. (Mizzou has improved under second-year coach Mike Anderson, but isn't what it used to be under Norm Stewart.)

And other rivalries have emerged. Our hoops expert, Ken Davis, wrote about how the USC-UCLA rivalry has come to the forefront thanks to the school's impact freshmen and also mentioning the new feuds between schools like Tennessee and Memphis, Indiana and Illinois and Texas and Texas A&M. Heck, SI led its college basketball preview by rating the heat of all the new rivalries popping up (Indiana and Illinois hottest among them. Tempers flare when freshmen like Eric Gordon are in play.)

I guess I wonder if the old rivalries, like Xavier-Cincinnati, Kansas-Missouri or even Georgetown-Syracuse will ever be as compelling as they once were. After all, teams have to stay prominent and have reasons to stay rivals as the years wear on, right? Can there be a rivalry when one school isn't competitive?