A lot of rivalries get called the best in sports, but Duke versus North Carolina — whose latest chapter kicks off tonight at 9 on ESPN — is the best, and it's not even close. Last week ESPN conducted a "best rivalry" poll during SportsCenter; Duke-UNC finished third with 21% of the vote, ahead of Bruins-Canadiens (10%) and Celtics-Lakers (18%) but behind Ohio State-Michigan (24%) and Yankees-Red Sox (27%).

All that poll revealed was that 79% of voters are misguided dummies who don't understand Duke-UNC.

What makes a rivalry great is not any number of iconic moments or big shots, or even the presence of legendary players — every rivalry has those, including Duke-UNC. What makes Duke-UNC the best rivalry in the world are these seven reasons.