CHAPEL HILL – In some respects, Duke had a slight advantage heading into its meeting with North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier this month.

The Blue Devils played that Tuesday night at Pittsburgh, so by the time they landed at RDU well into the morning, it was already Wednesday. The Tar Heels, however, had a home game versus Syracuse on Monday night, a game they won in overtime, and the players were all home before the clock struck midnight.

As a result, the Tar Heels actually had a lot of time – five full days – before taking the court in Durham, and the biggest task UNC Coach Hubert Davis had that week was finding a way to A: keep his team from emotionally playing the game too soon, and B: insulating themselves so they could block out as much of the hoopla building up to the historic game as possible.

After all, it was Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game and a massive Blue Devil celebration was going to take place all weekend. The Heels knew this, but ignored it. They closed out the noise and focused on themselves and winning the game.

That is exactly what they did.

But a month later, the Tar Heels find themselves in a somewhat similar position. They face Duke on Saturday in the Final Four for the first time ever, and the buzz surrounding this game could exceed that of any college basketball game ever played.

It’s Duke-Carolina. It’s Coach K’s final weekend of his career. And the possibility that UNC could beat Duke in its legendary coach’s last home game and then, on the biggest stage the fabled programs have ever met, beat him in his last game period will be THE topic this week in New Orleans.

But Carolina (28-9) has kind of already been here. It had a healthy trial run four weeks ago, so the Tar Heels are confident they will handle the hype – and deflect it – as well as needed.

“The noise is not on us, so I guess that's a good thing,” UNC junior Armando Bacot said during a press conference Tuesday at the Smith Center. “Nobody is talking about us. We are all fine with that.”

The Heels are certainly being discussed. If not for their participation in this game record ratings wouldn’t be expected. And had they not surprised the hoops nation and knocked off the Devils (32-6) in Durham, the game wouldn’t be as ballyhooed. But the talk has already begun with these storylines: What if Duke loses to Carolina in what would be Coach K’s last game, how awful would that be for the program and its fan base? And what a terrible way for perhaps the greatest coach of all time to end his career.

The pressure will be on Duke once again, and the Heels will be playing with house money. But that may not matter if they cannot insulate themselves enough to block out the noise. Yet, UNC Coach Hubert Davis still puts it on themselves regardless of the noise.

“I know it's very difficult to understand this, but as big and as exciting as this game is on Saturday and being a part of the Final Four - I’ve been to the Final Four, I’ve played 12 years in the NBA - it’s a game,” Davis said.

“There is no anxiety, there are no conversations to be had with the players other than what's most important to us. The most important thing for us is how we are going to prepare this week, how we’re going to practice, and how we are going to play. Everything else is insignificant.”

The players are still human, and they can’t be shielded from the media in New Orleans like they can in the regular season. All of the starters and a key reserve are mandated to take part in various interviews Thursday and Friday.

Each player will end up speaking with multiple television, radio, internet sites, and the general media access with the beat reporters and local and national columnists. They are all going to ask the same questions both days, and the players cannot avoid it.

So as much as fully insulating from the outside noise would be optimal, it isn’t possible. Plus, as it always does, the outcome will come down to which team plays the best and completes the next phase of its mission.

“What we did against Duke was great, but now this is for a bigger thing,” UNC sophomore guard RJ Davis said. “We're competing for a national championship. So, we are just going to have fun this week.

“But also at the same time, we know what we have to prepare and know what we are playing for. These are all of our goals going into the season so a lot is at stake.”

It surely is, whether or not the Heels can shade themselves from the hype.