By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- Women's basketball hasn't reached the point where virtually every game is on television, but North Carolina and Duke fans will get the chance to tune into their fair share.

ACC fans may watch 33 regular-season games that are set for broadcast during the 2009-10 season according to the complete schedule released by the conference Friday, and nearly half of them -- 15 -- will feature either the Tar Heels, the Blue Devils or both.

UNC will appear nine times and Duke will appear eight, including both regular-season matchups between the bitter rivals: Feb. 8 in Durham and Feb. 28 in Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels will tip off the ACC's television schedule by visiting reigning national champion Connecticut on Jan. 9. Nine days later, the Blue Devils host UConn in another televised tilt.

Those marquee matchups are the only non-conference games involving ACC schools on the television schedule.

N.C. State will appear on television four times, including a Jan. 25 game against UNC in Raleigh. The Wolfpack's televised home game on Valentine's Day against Miami will be a part of "Pink Frenzy," which raises money for cancer research and also honors the legacy of former Wolfpack coach Kay Yow.

UNC and Duke both are coming off surprising second-round losses in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke will open its season on the road with games at Houston Baptist (Nov. 13) and Texas A&M (Nov. 15) as a homecoming trip for Houston native Karima Christmas, before returning for the home opener Nov. 19 against Georgia Southern. The non-conference schedule also features a home game against Ohio State in the Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge on Dec. 3; a home game against Southern Cal on Dec. 6; and a trip to Stanford on Dec. 15.

UNC opens at home on Nov. 13 against College of Charleston and will visit Michigan State on Dec. 3 for the Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge.

Duke and UNC both will take on N.C. Central -- one early in the season, one very late. The Blue Devils host the Eagles on Dec. 28, while UNC will host NCCU on March 14 -- between the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

NCCU also will visit Maryland (Nov. 14), Virginia Tech (Dec. 6) and Wake Forest (Feb. 22).