By Patrick Stevens The Washington Times - February 25, 2009, 04:27PM

Here’s an interesting nugget unearthed by Joe Giglio of the Raleigh News & Observer.

There have been 36 teams that have beaten both Duke and North Carolina since 1981 – excluding those who beat Duke in the Pete Gaudet Year and toppled the Tar Heels in The Year North Carolina Was Bad.

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So taking out 1995 and 2002, only one team that beat both Duke and Carolina in that span missed the tournament.

Just one – 2007 N.C. State, which happened to ride the magic of Sidney Lowe and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to victories over both.

So while Maryland isn’t a sure thing if it wins tonight, history is certainly on the Terrapins’ side if they can beat the Tobacco Road titans back-to-back.

– Patrick Stevens