With the start of ACC play only days away, North Carolina and Duke will work on their problems and weaknesses again today against nonconference opponents.
UNC will play at home and will be trying to set a Smith Center record for consecutive victories when it meets Monmouth at 3 p.m.
Duke also will be at home, against Penn at 5 p.m., and will be trying to build on the second-biggest home-court winning streak in school history. Both games will air on ESPNU (Ch. 502).
UNC (12-2) has won 25 consecutive games in the Smith Center, tying the facility record set from the 1991-92 through the 1993-94 seasons. Coach Roy Williams is hoping the streak will continue through the rest of this season, during the Tar Heels' eight ACC home games.
"I was involved in 15 great years at Kansas, but I will admit that one of the things I enjoyed was winning 62 in a row at home (in Allen Fieldhouse)," Williams said. "It was a big home-court advantage.
"The fieldhouse was fantastic. That's what I want the Smith Center to be. I want people, when they come in here, to think that it's extremely hard to win."
The UNC campus record for consecutive victories is 32, set from 1926 through 1929 at the Indoor Athletic Center, also known as the Tin Can. UNC won 26 consecutive games from 1922 through 1926 playing at Bynum Gym.
Today's game will be UNC's last before its ACC opener — Saturday at home against Boston College — and its last nonconference game of the regular season.
Monmouth is coached by King Rice, a former UNC point guard (1987-91). His staff includes assistant coaches Derrick Phelps and Brian Reese, who played on UNC's 1993 NCAA championship team.
Rice is in his first season at Monmouth and is struggling to get his program moving. Monmouth is 2-11 overall, including 1-10 in games away from home in West Long Branch, N.J.
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Duke (11-1) will try to build on its 42-game winning streak in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The school record is 46, set from 1997 through 2000.
In a scheduling quirk, Duke will be playing on New Year's Day for the first time since 1966 and for only the fifth time in program history. The game will be Duke's second of three in six days, leading to Saturday's ACC opener at Georgia Tech. Penn is 6-7.
"I love this stretch where we play so many games so close together," guard Seth Curry said. "Practice is cool, but you'd rather get out there and play. I'm glad getting back from this break that we're playing as many games as possible."
Duke is 56-1 at Cameron since the start of the 2008-09 season. In the 42-game streak, 36 wins have been by at least 10 points.
"I'm really proud of the team, and I think we handled the break well," forward Miles Plumlee said. "It's been a difficult year with how early it started and all the traveling. We needed a longer break, but guys have handled it really well so far."
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