Former North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough takes swipe at Duke after Blue Devils advance to Elite Eight

Tyler Hansbrough's loyalty to the North Carolina Tar Heels remains unwavering. 

The erstwhile UNC hoops prima hopes his alma mater's apical rival, Duke, volition travel up abbreviated successful its adjacent crippled successful the NCAA Tournament.

Duke survived against Arizona successful the Sweet 16 Thursday. Cooper Flagg finished the 100-93 triumph with a team-high 30 points. The triumph besides punched the Blue Devils' summons to the Elite Eight, wherever they volition conscionable the second-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. 

If Hansbrough gets his way, Alabama volition destruct Duke from the tourney Saturday.

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Former North Carolina Tar Heels hoops subordinate Tyler Hansbrough is recognized for his induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame during a crippled against the Duke Blue Devils astatine the Dean Smith Center Feb. 3, 2024, successful Chapel Hill, N.C. (Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images)

While Hansbrough is picking the Crimson Tide to triumph the archetypal nationalist title successful the school's history, helium besides took a infinitesimal to instrumentality a excavation astatine the squad helium despises.

"I'm truly locked successful connected the NCAA Tournament. I’m going to spell with ‘Bama," Hansbrough said during a caller quality connected "The Pat McAfee Show."

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"I cognize they’re facing Duke. I really had Duke losing the archetypal crippled to the No. 16 seed. So, I’m a small biased. I picked ‘Bama astatine the aboriginal portion of the year. So, I’ll instrumentality with ‘Bama."

Members of the North Carolina Tar Heels, including guardant Tyler Hansbrough (center), high-five fans arsenic they permission the tribunal aft defeating the Michigan State Spartans 89-72 successful the 2009 NCAA title crippled astatine Ford Field April 6, 2009, successful Detroit. (Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports)

The Crimson Tide precocious to past year's Final Four. Despite Hansbrough's idiosyncratic bias, Duke volition participate Saturday's matchup with Alabama arsenic the odds-on favorite.

As of Friday, FanDuel Sportsbook listed the Blue Devils arsenic a 6.5-point favorite.

Duke defender Sion James (14) and guardant Mason Gillis (18) question to teammates during the archetypal fractional of a Sweet 16 tourney crippled against Arizona Thursday, March 27, 2025, successful Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Tobacco Road rivalry remains among assemblage basketball's astir competitive. Mike Krzyzewski coached Duke to 5 nationalist titles during his storied career. North Carolina has hoisted the nationalist title trophy six times, astir precocious successful 2017.

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Duke and Alabama are scheduled to extremity disconnected Saturday astatine 8:49 p.m. ET successful Newark, New Jersey.

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