Atlantic Coast title on line in Durham

North Carolina will try to retain its No. 1 ranking tonight when it visits Duke.

The game is the regular-season finale for both teams and the Atlantic Coast Conference title goes to the winner. Both the Tar Heels, who have won seven in a row, and the Blue Devils, who have four consecutive victories, are 13-2 in the ACC.

Hoping to avenge its last loss -- 89-78 to Duke on Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill -- North Carolina has a solid history when playing the Blue Devils as the No. 1 team.

The Tar Heels have won five of six against Duke when they are No. 1. They are 3-0 in games played in Durham, with the most recent win coming in 1984.

This is the fifth time the teams have played with the ACC regular-season championship on the line, with the teams splitting the previous four games. The only time such a game has been played at Duke was in 1958 when the Blue Devils prevailed, 58-46.

Pro basketball

Denver, which remains on the outside looking in as far as the NBA playoffs go in the Western Conference, has a tough chore ahead tonight.

The Nuggets are in Utah and the Jazz has the best home record in the NBA.

Utah has won 27 of 30 in Salt Lake City, covering the spread, according to the website Vegasinsider.com, in 19 of those victories.

Given their road woes, the Nuggets hardly seem a candidate to surprise the Jazz. Denver has lost 17 of 29 outside Colorado and has dropped three of its last four and seven of its last 10 against Utah.

Horse racing

The second pool of the Kentucky Derby future book wagering opened Thursday and will continue until 3 p.m. locally Sunday.

What odds at which certain 3-year-olds will close will be determined by what happens in the $600,000 Louisiana Derby today at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and, to a lesser extent, the $250,000 Gotham at Aqueduct.

The price on Pyro, who was 6-1 when betting commenced Thursday, certainly will be slashed if the talented stretch runner wins as the favorite in the Louisiana Derby. The field also includes Majestic Warrior (who opened at 20-1 on Thursday) and Tale Of Ekati, Yankee Bravo, J Be K and Blackberry Road (30-1).

Meanwhile, in New York, Giant Moon (20-1) will try to stay undefeated in his fifth start in the Gotham, a Grade III at 1 1/16 miles.

Motor sports

Carl Edwards, who has won the last two NASCAR events in Fontana and Las Vegas, is favored to continue his hot streak Sunday in Georgia.

Vegasinsider.com has Edwards as the 5-1 favorite to win the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Second and seventh in two races at the track last year, Edwards won the event when it was called the Golden Corral 500 in 2005.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com