[ATrain]

NC is the heart of ACC Basketball, thats for sure. VT is first and foremost a football school, but it is good to see the men's basketball team being competitive in the conference. Good luck to the Heels, Blue Devils and Tigers in the NCAA Tourney. Represent the ACC well.

[BJWilliams]

BJ, the only way to understand is to move to the triad and live there for at least 3 years.

Gotcha. Man, it must REALLY be something then

[bigsmooth]

i lived in the raleigh for almost ten years and ACC tournament weekend is just unreal. people call in sick from work, teachers turn it on tv in the schools, every bar and eatery is packed and the people that do work have it on tv or radio. i know i always took the tournament off. it is truly THE sporting event in the north carolina. sure in the other ACC states it is popular, but it is nothing like north carolina. The UNC/Duke rivalry is clearly one of the best in all of sports. indeed the 4 letter network overhypes it, but what do they not overhype???? and i hope that one day the ACC will make greensboro the permanent site of the tournament like the big east does MSG.

[truedrewdawg87]

Anybody else notice Seth and Dell Curry sitting behind the Clemson bench today?

[flamesbball84]

hansbrough should go into professional wrestling

[Casper]

Just another example how big the whole Duke/UNC rivalry is in NC. I grew up in Raleigh and I actully had a public Middle School basketball game cancelled because of no other reason except for the fact they realized it was the day of a Duke/UNC game. That my friends is some of the stuff that non-locals just can't grasp.

[Casper]

And to add another thing, I NEVER EVER had class during the ACC tourney. Every teacher sort of turned their class in to a study hall and had the game on TV.

[jcmanson]

Good luck to the Heels, Blue Devils and Tigers in the NCAA Tourney. Represent the ACC well.

I don't know what you're talking about. There will be at least 4 ACC teams in the tourney (either Miami or Va Tech) and I wouldn't be shocked to see 5

[ToTheLeft]

Good luck to the Heels, Blue Devils and Tigers in the NCAA Tourney. Represent the ACC well.

I don't know what you're talking about. There will be at least 4 ACC teams in the tourney (either Miami or Va Tech) and I wouldn't be shocked to see 5

UNC
Duke
Clemson
Miami
Tech

Book it.

[jmdickens]

Good luck to the Heels, Blue Devils and Tigers in the NCAA Tourney. Represent the ACC well.

I don't know what you're talking about. There will be at least 4 ACC teams in the tourney (either Miami or Va Tech) and I wouldn't be shocked to see 5

unless Georgia wins today.....Go Razorbacks!!

UNC
Duke
Clemson
Miami
Tech

Book it.

[ToTheLeft]

I guess that's true. UGA would take one of those bubble spots away.

[kel varson]

I think Miami is out.

[ATrain]

I say Miami gets in over Tech...their RPI is higher and they have a better non-conference resume. Hope I'm wrong though.

[givemethemic]

This discussion is nice.. But the Heels did win another banner

[blwall1416]

Sorry guys...I had no internet this weekend at the house.

SJ is right in that the ACC treatment here in VA is nothing like it is in NC. Not even close.

The ACC has 10 NCAA Championships. 9 of those reside in the state of North Carolina - UNC 4, dook 3, NCSU 2. That is a huge part of it. There are 9 NCAA champs within 30 minutes of each other...& dook/UNC are within 8 minutes of each other. The Heels & Devils are consistently among the best in the nation each time they meet. Add to that, the fact that the students from both schools go to the same movie theater, same mall, same gas stations, same Barnes & Noble, etc...you can't go anywhere down there without bumping into someone from the other school. The basketball teams fight for the same recruits year in & year out. Some have friends that have played for the opposing team....& got into an all out brawl (see Heyman, Art & Brown, Larry).

It is the biggest rivalry in sports...if nothing but proximity makes it so. Imagine if Texas & TAMU where 8 miles apart...both with multiple national championships, gunning for another virtually every year....or Michigan & tOSU....or VT & UVA....no one else can totally comprehend it because only in the state of North Carolina do they see it every day. Visitors get a taste of it...& they can't believe how hostile it is.

Many books have been written about it. "Tobacco Road" is a good one, but "Blue Blood" is probably the best out there.

ps. order my "Back to Bacck" t-shirt yesterday. GO HEELS!!!

[blwall1416]

I know a guy who told everyone he was in meetings from Noon to 5pm on Thursday and Friday so that he could watch the ACC tournament.

That guy sounds like the coolest guy in the history of cool guys...