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How to watch No. 17 North Carolina vs. No. 1 Duke: March 7, 2026 men’s basketball game

The greatest rivalry in all of college basketball will wrap up the regular season in Durham on Saturday night.

Matt Tamanini
Matt Tamanini is the News Editor at The Streamable, where he oversees daily news coverage and editorial strategy, with a particular focus on breaking stories, streaming comparisons, and major industry events. A well-rounded journalist with a diverse background, Matt joined The Streamable in 2022 after holding key editorial roles at several high-profile outlets. He has an extensive career in sports and entertainment journalism, having served as a senior editor for BroadwayWorld, the world’s largest theater website, and as managing editor for Land-Grant Holy Land, which covers Ohio State sports.
Read full bio ›
Matt Tamanini
•
With a background in sports and entertainment reporting, he’s covered everything from Broadway to college football. He cut the cord in 2014 and has a sharp eye for streaming trends and a soft spot for Hallmark movies.
With a background in sports and entertainment reporting, he’s covered everything from Broadway to college football. He cut the cord in 2014 and has a sharp eye for streaming trends and a soft spot for Hallmark movies.

There’s no better way to end the regular season than facing off with your rival to wrap up the regular season, especially when you are both looking to cement your NCAA Tournament seeding. On Saturday, March 7, the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils will welcome the No. 17 North Carolina Tar Heels to Cameron Indoor Stadium to wrap up the regular season. Duke is 28-2 on the season 16-1 in the ACC, while the Heels are 24-6 and 12-5, respectively. in the first meeting between the rivals this season, UNC took a 71-68 victory, and now the No. 1 Blue Devils will try to even up the season series before heading into the postseason. Tip is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. If you are looking for a live TV streaming service to watch the game, but don’t want to get roped into a month-long contract, we recommend streaming it with a one-day pass to Sling TV. You can also stream it on the ESPN streaming service.

How to watch Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels

Everything you need to know to stream Duke vs. North Carolina:

Why we recommend Sling TV to watch Duke vs. North Carolina

Sling TV has long been one of our top choices for watching college basketball, thanks to its everyday low price and mix of channels — especially in larger markets. At just $46 per month, you can sign up for either the Sling Orange or Blue base plans, depending on which channel lineup makes the most sense for your viewing needs. In this case, Sling Orange would be your best bet to watch the Duke vs. North Carolina game, since it is airing on ESPN. Of course, you could always get Sling Orange and Sling Blue for just $61 monthly and have access to all of the streamer’s base package channels.

However, customers who don’t need a full month of Sling service can sign up to watch via Sling’s new Passes. Sling’s Day Pass will allow you to sign up for its Orange plan for one day for just $5. That means you can pay just $5 to watch the Utah vs. Nebraska game with Sling TV, which is far less than you’ll be asked to pay at other streaming services. That lower price and heightened flexibility are why we recommend Sling TV for watching the biggest games of the 2025-26 men’s and women’s college basketball seasons.

Save with Sling
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Sling TV

Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.

You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.

Save with Sling
$19.99+ / month
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Can you watch Duke vs. North Carolina for free?

If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.

Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.

The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.

If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial and gives you the best channel options.

What are all of the streamers you can use to watch the Duke vs. North Carolina game?

Fortunately for sports fans, there are six different streaming services that will stream the game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed DIRECTV and the free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.

In addition to the live TV streaming options, since the game is being broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, you are also able to stream the game on the new ESPN streaming service on the Unlimited plan.

DIRECTV Fubo Hulu Philo Sling TV YouTube TV
Free Trial Free Trial Free 3-Day Trial Free Trial Save with Sling Free Trial
$20.99 $9.99 $28.99 $25 $19.99 $29.99 $45.99 $45.99 $64.99
ESPN + $24 + $59 + $61 - ✓ - ✓ - ✓

How to watch Duke vs. North Carolina from anywhere

If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the game as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action, no matter where you are in the world, with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming like Sling TV in order to stream the game with a VPN.

ExpressVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get a month of service for as little as $5. ExpressVPN is the most-trusted VPN on the market and comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries, best-in-class encryption, 24-hour live support, and the best speeds available.

While ExpressVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.

  • Most Secure: NordVPN | Starting at $3.09 per month
  • Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
  • Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available

 

Matt Tamanini
Matt Tamanini is the News Editor at The Streamable, where he oversees daily news coverage and editorial strategy, with a particular focus on breaking stories, streaming comparisons, and major industry events. A well-rounded journalist with a diverse background, Matt joined The Streamable in 2022 after holding key editorial roles at several high-profile outlets. He has an extensive career in sports and entertainment journalism, having served as a senior editor for BroadwayWorld, the world’s largest theater website, and as managing editor for Land-Grant Holy Land, which covers Ohio State sports.
Read full bio ›
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