North Carolina staging whiteout for battle of blue bloods with Kentucky

It's been a long, dry week for most college basketball fan bases as a majority of teams around the country didn't play because of finals week. The schedule is considerably busier Saturday and one of the best games of the day features two blue blood programs.

No. 11 Kentucky's trip to No. 18 North Carolina (5:15 p.m. EST) should be entertaining. Both have taken a few lumps early this season but they're still capable of a deep run into March not to mention a fun game in mid-December.

UNC has placed 22,000 T-shirts throughout the Dean Dome with the likeness of a certain alum on them for a whiteout. You might remember Michael Jordan. He played back in the 1980s and went on to a pretty successful NBA career.

The Tar Heels also have snazzy new white shoes from Nike to wear against the Wildcats.

In addition, UNC will honor former coach Dean Smith at halftime. Smith recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Smith, who now suffers from a degenerative neurological disorder was not able to attend the ceremony last month at the White House.

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Kyle Ringo

is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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