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Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski existed eight miles apart, coaching rivals who met 38 times over 17 years in the hottest rivalry in all of college sports.

Both, in their own way, built model programs they took to the top of the game. We were the lucky ones. We got to watch one of the greatest eras in all of sports, a coaching dynasty that has lasted almost 50 years. Today, after all the disagreements over coaching styles and politics, after all the national titles and social causes, the two stand even in all-time wins.

879 WINS

Their head-to-head meetings are a part of ACC lore. And each one was another chapter in history. Tonight, on the floor where the rivalry began with a 1980 Big Four showdown, Krzyzewski will go for No. 880.

THE FIRST MEETING

On a cold Friday night, Dec. 5, 1980, the two coaches met for the first time on a basketball court. The game marked the beginning and end of two eras — the start of the Carolina run that would eventually produce Michael Jordan and a national title for UNC and the end of the Bill Foster years that peaked in the 1978 Final Four. Carolina won 78-76 that night in Greensboro, behind James Worthy’s 26 points. The loss was Krzyzewski’s first at Duke.

SENIOR DAY, 1981

Gene Banks was the first great player Krzyzewski ever coached. Banks was a holdover from the Foster years, and he and the new coach clashed at times. In his final game in Cameron, however, the flamboyant Banks tossed roses to the crowd and gave Krzyzewski a monumental win — Krzyzewski’s first over Smith in one of the grittiest games in Duke-UNC history. Banks’ high arching jumper as time expired sent the game to overtime. He finished with 25 points. Carolina went in ranked 11th and left with a 66-65 loss in overtime, and the rivalry went to another level.

THE TURNING POINT

The last time Michael Jordan faced Duke was one he and his coach, and a future UNC coach, would rather forget. Carolina went into Greensboro ranked No. 1 in the country to take on No. 16 Duke in the ACC semifinals. UNC had beaten Duke twice, including 96-83 in double overtime the previous week in Carmichael. In the final minutes of one of the great games played in the coliseum, a young Duke team led by sophomore Johnny Dawkins played like veterans. Matt Doherty’s turnover in the last seconds doomed the Heels in the 77-75 loss.

ONE VS. TWO

The only time the two coaches met with their schools ranked first and second was Feb. 3, 1994, in the Smith Center. The atmosphere was as charged as any game ever played, and emotions would decide the game. Smith churned on the sidelines while Krzyzewski ranted in the din. Lenny Wirtz called almost every foul — all against Duke — in a key stretch of the second half, and the Devils came unglued. Carolina shot almost 60 percent in the second half as Derrick Phelps (18 points) and Eric Montross (16 points) beat the Blue Devils inside and out.

SMITH’S LAST HOME GAME

No one knew it at the time, but Smith would never coach another game in Chapel Hill. The team was loaded with Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter and Ed Cota. Jamison would score 33 that day — March 2, 1997 — and UNC would ride the momentum all the way to the Final Four. But it was a defensive effort by swing guard Ademola Okulaja on Duke’s Chris Carrawell that changed everything. The final was No. 8 North Carolina 91, No. 7 Duke 85. The Devils (23-7) had won 12 of 14 entering the game, but they staggered to the end, losing three of their last four. Bill Guthridge would take over for Smith, who retired just days before the start of practice for the 1997-98 season.