NEW ORLEANS – America had to like that.

North Carolina and Duke just gave college basketball exactly what it needed, and the nation a front-row seat on why this is the greatest rivalry in the country.

All other rivalries can bid for second best, because this is numero uno. And on this night, in the grandest stage ever for these schools, they delivered. It was basically a century of hard-fought battles from dimmer spotlights and less on the line to now, in which seemingly everything was at stake.

North Carolina came out the winner, edging the Blue Devils, 81-77, in the national semifinals on Saturday night at the Superdome.

Duke played well enough to win, but what the nation saw during peak viewing time, was a UNC team perfectly blend the art of winning gritty with the art of winning pretty. The Heels have found a way to look good wearing a dress while also donning a construction helmet.

American saw more from the Tar Heels:

They can lay gravel and immediately morph into ballet.

They can splatter cans of paint against a wall and suddenly stroke like Monet.

They can be ice when ice is needed, and they can be the sun when that is needed.

They can retaliate by punching back, and they can respond by one-upping a long swish with an even longer swish.

They can adjust mid-stream, finding matchups to their advantage on a possession-by-possession basis.

They can overcome injuries or foul issues within the framework of a game.

They can handle an opponents’ run by generating one of their own.

They can lock down on the defensive end, which wasn’t much the case a couple of months ago.

They can run myriad offensive sets and without an array of turnovers, which wasn’t the case a couple of months ago.

They can veer from organizational sets and find ways to feed off of each other for baskets against well-playing defenses, which wasn’t always the case a couple of months ago.

They can grab more and more of their own misses and actually get a decent volume of points from them, which wasn’t the case with any regularity a couple of months ago.

They can go the final 6:18 in a tight every-possession-means-the-world-game without turning over the ball.

They can hit six shots – from the field or free throw line – over the last 10 minutes of a Final Four game to beat their arch rival in what might end up as the most watched college basketball game of all time.

They can beat their fiercest enemy, not once but twice in the span of a month, ruining what was a fairy tale story in the making. (They can do that in the rivals’ sweltering gym and and a cavernous dome)

They can jump from Fort Worth to Philly to Nawlins with the same disposition and mission never once succumbing to all that derailed them two months ago.

They can hoist themselves onto the biggest stage imaginable and defeat a team few thought they could beat, and their legendary coach on his way out, in a game that will live for eternity.

They can run to family members afterward and cry tears of joy, because new-look Carolina cries and is okay with happy sobbing.

They can walk off the court at the Final Four with one more game to play, aiming to get this historic victory behind them to meet the next task at hand.

And Monday night, they can claim the program’s seventh NCAA championship, which didn’t appear the case or anywhere close to it a couple of months ago.

America got a treat Saturday night, and the Heels hope to deliver a second helping Monday.