This edition of the North Carolina-Duke rivalry is in the books. It did not end well for the Heels, but there is a lot to take from last night's game.

Going into the season, nobody would have picked North Carolina in Wednesday night's game in Cameron. Not only did they take it to the wire, but they had an early lead that grew to 16 points and was fourteen points at the half. 

Tyler Hansbrough and Bobby Frasor know how.

In four years at North Carolina Hansbrough and Frasor never lost to the Blue Devils at Cameron. They know what it takes. The key ingredient is toughness and icy veins.

Toughness is key and Hansbrough always brought that to the court. The Blue Devils will get up in your face on defense and the crowd will be right behind you. They may deliver a Gerald Henderson-type blow to the face, but regardless the Heels must be tough tonight.

Everybody is included in this, but the big men need to show a toughness like we have never seen before. Tyler Zeller and John Henson are both great players, but sometimes they can get pushed around down low. Part of it is due to size, but nonetheless with a little more toughness they will be hard to beat.

The Heels also must demonstrate that they have ice in their veins. They cannot let the pressure of the crowd to get to them. In Cameron, Duke uses tremendous on the ball pressure which is backed up by the crowd making it very difficult for ball-handlers. There will be signs and chants about everybody, but Harrison Barnes in particular must not let it get to them.

Since the Heels pulled Barnes to Chapel Hill, the Cameron Crazies will be extra excited to chant about Barnes. He must take it and feed off of it.

As a team, the Heels must show toughness and have ice in their veins to win in Cameron tonight. Just ask Hansbrough and Frasor. They know what it takes.

Eric Montross and Tyler Hansbrough's bloody faces will forever be remembered in the North Carolina-Duke rivalry. Perhaps, it is because we American's just love a good fight, but these are two of the most remembered and played back clips from the rivalry.

In Eric Montross' case, the blood was a result of a long day's work banging inside against Duke's big men. He is especially remembered for knocking in two free throws while the cameras zoomed in on the cuts on his face.

A few days ago, I wrote an article entitled "UNC Basketball: How Soon We Forget." In that article, I warned us all not to forget how good UNC was back in 2008-2009 and how good of a coach Roy Williams was. I just did not want us to forget despite a terrible 2009-2010 season and a bad start to the 2010-2011 season.

Now, it seems that many others have forgotten and that includes recruits. One recruit in particular, Austin Rivers who is committed to Duke.

What an incredible performance by Kendall Marshall Sunday against Florida State! 16 assists to only three turnovers, 9 very-timely points in 36 minutes. 36 minutes! That's insane, especially, for a player not used to getting much more than 20 minutes per game.

Sunday, he was mentioned in the same sentence as Phil Ford, Ed Cota, and Raymond Felton. Those guys (along with Ty Lawson) are the best point guards in North Carolina history. Not only that they are some of the best passers ever to play college basketball. Yet, Kendall Marshall surpassed Ford and Cota's record of assists as a freshman, and it was the most assists ever by a North Carolina point guard in an ACC game.

Between now and the UNC vs. Duke game, Tar Heel Post will be preparing you for the big game with game previews, some history, and reflections. Here is the first part of the series.

It is the most storied rivalry in college sports: UNC vs. Duke. I have personally seen many of the games on television, but there was a lot more history written before I was ever born. This rivalry goes beyond Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, and Dean Smith. The Duke-North Carolina rivalry started around the time basketball was born in the Carolina's. 

At 2 o'clock Sunday, the commentators will be discussing Larry Drew leaving UNC, but do not forget that this is an important game for both teams. Florida State is only one game behind UNC in the ACC, and a FSU win would quickly change that. 

Going into the season, Harrison Barnes would have been voted most likely to be named the ACC Rookie of the Week the most, yet this is his first one.

He was not even the first Tar Heel to be given this honor since Reggie Bullock was just named a Rookie of the Week as well. This is a great accomplishment for Barnes as we sense him breaking out. 

His game winning shots against Miami, and his 25 point game against N.C. State are the reasons for this honor.