There is a popular belief that casual fans don’t pay attention to college basketball until the week after the Super Bowl, when North Carolina and Duke renew their rivalry for the first time.

The same concept applies to this year’s ACC/SEC Challenge.

Competition between the rival conferences actually began on Tuesday, when 10 of the 16 games were played. But that was just the basis for the main event that will take place on Wednesday, when the No. 9 Blue Devils and the No. 20 Tar Heels take the court.

UNC plays 10th-seeded Alabama in a rematch of last spring’s Sweet 16 showdown at the Smith Center at 7:15 p.m. Two hours later at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils will face a top-two opponent for the second time in the last three games when they take on No. 2 Auburn.

The results of these games will contribute to the overall result, which will give one of the leagues bragging rights next year.

Or at least until March.

But that’s not the ACC’s most substantive goal.

To have any chance of restoring its reputation as one of the elite leagues in the country, especially after Tuesday’s utter disaster in which the SEC has already won the Challenge 9-1, with 4 of their wins coming by 20 or more points have been achieved, the 2 of the conference are two The most prominent programs must move forward and lead the way.

With all due respect to the NC States, Wake Forests, Boston Colleges and Georgia Techs of the world, few outside of their respective fan bases will notice or care how their games turn out this week.

However, they will be limited to the Duke and UNC brands.

That’s why, from a perception perspective, it’s not nearly as important for the ACC to “win” the Challenge as a whole as it is for the Tar Heels and Blue Devils to rise to the challenge by looking and playing like the bluebloods they are.

And not to make the “2-Bid League” crowd feel guilty by losing to quality opponents on their own home floor.

While both teams still have a lot of work to do, Duke believes they are in the best position to hold up their end of the bargain. Even though Auburn had an impressive performance last week by winning the Maui Invitational.

Jon Scheyer’s team is only 1:2 in their first three games against ranked opponents. But in both losses, against Kentucky and Kansas, the Blue Devils had possession of the ball and had a chance to equalize or take the lead in the final minute.

Each time they fell behind because of turnovers by their star rookies: Cooper Flagg against the Wildcats and Kon Knueppel against the Jayhawks. By the way, neither game took place at Cameron.

The experience of having been in such pressure situations will only help the development process of both young players. This also applies to the fact that Wednesday’s game will be played in a Cameron friendly.

Duke has a 274-7 record at home against non-conference opponents since 1983, with two of those losses — against Michigan State and Illinois in 2020 — coming without a person in attendance due to COVID restrictions.

UNC’s home-field advantage was almost as great.

And the Tar Heels should have plenty of motivation against the team that dashed their national championship hopes last season.

But while both teams’ stars are back for the rematch, RJ Davis and Alabama’s Mark Sears are surrounded by very different supporting casts. This has led to some early growing pains as they work to build chemistry and develop new roles.

The Crimson Tide are 6-2 (0-1 away) while the Tar Heels are just 4-3 after losing 2 of 3 in Maui.

Their matchup promises to be a fast-paced, high-scoring one, with UNC ranking 7th nationally with 89.7 points per game and Alabama close behind at 11th with 88.6.

A fast tempo should be an advantage for the Tar Heels considering their halfcourt offense is inconsistent and lacks a true presence in the low post. It will also help that the Crimson Tide will be without their third-leading scorer and most accurate 3-point shooter, Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon tear, according to coach Nate Oats on Tuesday.

Like their rival Blue Devils, the Tar Heels typically bring their “A” game in Challenge games on their home court.

UNC had arguably its best half of the season last December when it posted a 100-92 win over Tennessee in the first ACC/SEC event, while Duke went 10-1 against the Big Ten in the previous version of non-conference competition at Cameron won.

On Wednesday evening, they will put their intense rivalry aside for a few hours to do their part to pave the way towards a common goal.

The rest of the ACC is counting on them.