Luke Maye does not see North Carolina-NC State as rivalry

Luke Maye is bringing the smack talk ahead of Tuesday’s game with NC State.

Speaking to the media on the eve of the contest, the North Carolina senior big man called it “a big game” but said that the Tar Heels’ bigger game and bigger rivalry was with Duke, per Ross Martin of Inside Carolina.

Luke Maye on the N.C. State game: "It's a big game for us… but I feel like our biggest game is Duke… the Duke game is more of a rivalry game for us."

— Ross Martin (@RossMartin_IC) January 7, 2019

Maye, who is averaging 14.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this season, has a point. The rivalry between the two blue bloods, UNC and Duke, is among the fiercest and most storied in all of college basketball. Meanwhile, NC State has only won three of their last 25 games against the Tar Heels.

That being said, Maye in particular has some history with the Wolfpack, so he may be enjoying twisting the knife a bit here.