Wednesday tip-off: Duke hosts North Carolina

Best bets

: The term "rivalry" can be thrown around a bit too much in sports contexts. But in the case of a couple of the college basketball games on the slate tonight, the word most definitely applies.The headliner features No. 16

North Carolina

at archnemesis

No. 5 Duke

(9 p.m. ET, ESPN). The two neighborhood foes have been on opposite trajectories, however, with the Blue Devils riding a five-game winning streak -- including that memorable rally at Virginia -- and the Tar Heels having dropped three of their past four. PG Marcus Paige has shouldered a heavy burden for UNC all season, but more of his teammates will have to help him out against the Blue Devils' solid mix of veteran talent and freshman phenoms.

The Crosstown Shootout rivalry between Xavier and Cincinnati might not be as high in the national hoops consciousness, but it's every bit as intense and of late has been downright nasty. Adding even more fuel to the meeting tonight at Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) is the simple fact that both teams are living in bubble land and could really use this win. The Bearcats took a hit thanks to Tulane's oft-replayed buzzer beater in their last American Athletic Conference outing. The Musketeers have hovered within a game of the .500 mark in Big East competition all season, neither winning nor losing more than two in succession. Both squads are accustomed to playing close contests, so don't expect a runaway in this one.

Number of the day: 6. While it's hard to take a night off in the Big 12, the fact that the league can still boast six teams ranked in the Paste BN Sports coaches poll means there's usually an immediate opportunity to follow a difficult loss with a quality win. No. 24 Oklahoma State hopes that will be the case this week, anyway. The Cowboys were on a roll before this past weekend's puzzling loss at last-place TCU. But they get two chances to bounce back on their home floor this week against other top-25 squads. First up to visit Stillwater tonight is No. 14 Iowa State (9 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

Days until Selection Sunday: 25.