North Carolina guard Larry Drew II steals from Radford's Amir Johnson. Top-seeded UNC and Duke comprise the only remaining ACC competition.
Texas on the court was equally impressive as much-hyped guard A.J. Abrams shot the lights out for the Longhorns, hitting eight three pointers in his team's 76-62 win. But as Abrams headed for the locker room after his post-game interview, the crowd erupted with the Blue Devils taking the court.
This was what many were waiting for, including my friend Will, a Duke fan who purchased his ticket for the chance to see his beloved Blue Devils in person. Although the presence of Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson may have been thrilling to most in attendance, the actual game against Binghamton was almost unbearable.
Both teams played horribly for the first 20 minutes, and Duke slowly pulled away in the second half, clobbering the Bearcats in their first-ever NCAA tournament contest.
With the time approaching 11:30 p.m., we left before the final buzzer sounded, knowing we would see more on Saturday. That really marked the main event - one final session, two second round games. Gone were the 15 and 16 seeds looking to make history. All that was left were two football schools and the two most popular basketball schools in the country. Seeing Carolina and Duke at the same venue was remarkable, even if they weren't playing each other.
What was really eye opening was the ratio of UNC to Duke fans. There is no 50-50 in the state of North Carolina - there's not even 70-30. In fact, the vast majority of fans that entered the gates on Saturday wore Carolina Blue.
The Heels pulled away to beat LSU, while Duke beat Texas in the nightcap in a contest that turned out to be best game of the six. A close one throughout, the Blue Devils eventually secured the win in the final seconds.
Leaving the arena amidst a sea of two different shades of blue was something special.
Fans, some inebriated, all around me walked to the exits going on about the next game or their hatred for their rival. There was an immense amount of passion, even more than at a UVa-Tech game. These people are obsessed. It really felt like a Red Sox-Yankees game.
As we got to our car, we agreed that the $200 that we each spent on a ticket had been worth it. No regrets. We're already planning for next year.
If you really call yourself a college basketball fan, experiencing March Madness in person is simply a must.
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