Durham, NC (Sports Network) - In a game that often times decides the ACC title, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils will close out their regular seasons against one another yet again.

Although the usual hype does not surround this particular regular-season finale, the fate of the ACC is still somewhat at stake, as the fourth-ranked Blue Devils can claim at least a portion of the conference crown with a victory over the Tar Heels. Duke failed in its bid to win the conference title outright with Wednesday's 79-72 loss at Maryland. The setback ended an eight- game win streak for Duke and allowed the Terrapins to tie the Blue Devils atop the league standings at 12-3.

The Tar Heels have taken considerable steps backwards after winning the national championship last season. With almost all of that talented team moving on, this year's squad has struggled to an uncharacteristic 16-14 overall mark. What's worse is the team's inability to remain competitive in- conference, winning just five league games against 10 losses. Still, the team has been able to win two straight games, including Tuesday's 69-62 home win over Miami-Florida, marking the 2,000th win in UNC history.

The Tar Heels hold a 130-98 edge in this rivalry, but Duke has won eight of the last 13 meetings at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils are seeking the regular-season sweep after posting a 64-54 decision in Chapel Hill back on February 10th.

Duke's season-best eight game win streak came to a close, as the team couldn't overcome Maryland on the road in a crucial ACC affair. The Blue Devils were within two points at the half, but shot just .333 from the floor over the final 20 minutes in the setback. Nolan Smith led the team with 20 points, while backcourt mate Jon Scheyer added 19. Kyle Singler also made his presence felt with 14 points, but the team didn't do enough to secure the victory. Duke is perhaps the most balanced team in the conference, averaging 79.0 ppg, while allowing just 62.2. The trio of Scheyer, Smith and Singler has given opponents fits this season, as all three have the ability to light up a scoreboard. Scheyer has proved to be one of the top point guards in the country, ranking third in the ACC in scoring (18.8 ppg) and fourth in assists (5.2 apg), while shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc (86-of-213). Smith is a sniper as well, averaging 17.5 ppg and shooting .405 from long distance. Singler is the perfect complement in the frontcourt, averaging 17.0 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game.

The injuries sure have piled up for UNC this season, but even before that happened the team was a little off. Now with star forward Ed Davis (broken wrist) out of the lineup, things are even worse. Davis averaged a near double- double (13.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg) before going down with the injury and his absence is not unnoticed. Still, the team has had to move on and players like Deon Thompson (13.8 ppg), Will Graves (9.9 ppg), and Larry Drew II (8.8 ppg, 6.0 apg) have stepped up. Thompson has been a workhorse in his time in Chapel Hill, playing in 145 games. He will break the record this evening. The team received a double-double from Marcus Ginyard (12 pts, 12 rebs) last time out, as the Tar Heels became just the second program in NCAA history (Kentucky is the other) to reach 2,000 wins with a seven-point decision over Miami. Graves led the way with 16 points, while Thompson poured in 14. UNC shot just .404 from the floor and turned the ball over 17 times, but completely dominated the Hurricanes on the boards (41-27) and outscored Miami at the free-throw line, 17-8.