Fans of Duke and the University of North Carolina basketball teams had two very different experiences on Selection Sunday.
The Tar Heel secured the last spot in the Men’s NCAA Tournament, and will play Tuesday in a play-in game against the San Diego State Aztecs in Dayton, Ohio.
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The Tar Heels’ spot in the tournament was nothing but a guarantee, as the team struggled for most of the year before getting hot in the final month of the year, winning eight of their final 10 games.
Cole Chapman has been a fan of UNC ever since he was on UNC’s campus at two months old. After watching UNC claim the final at-large bid in the big dance, he said he and other UNC fans have a new sense of optimism.
“It’s been a roller coaster of a season,” he said. “Looking back on the big picture of how we played from the start of the season – we played significantly better as a team.”
The Tar Heels' only two losses in their 10-game stretch were against Duke, who earned one of the four No. 1 seeds in the tournament and will play the tournament’s first two rounds in Raleigh.
Many Duke fans went into Selection Sunday believing they would be one of, if not the top seeds in the tournament.
“This year, the excitement and the talent that we have got on the Duke team makes it even more exciting,” said Eva Brungard, a Duke Blue Devils fan.
Beyond the men’s team, the Triangle women's teams will be well represented in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, with Duke, UNC and the NC State Wolfpack playing home games in the first two rounds of the tournament.
Brungard told WRAL News that she’s attended every Duke home game this season, and she’s now looking forward to watching the Blue Devils’ women’s team play two more games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“The thing about Cameron you don’t get at other stadiums is its sheer volume,” she said.
Fans across the Triangle know how much is at stake during March Madness, and they’ll all be rallying all the way throughout the tournament.