Tich’s Take

In 49 states, college basketball is just something that comes on television. People may even go to the games and everything.

But in North Carolina, college basketball is a religion.

Duke and North Carolina (UNC) met for the first time in 2015 on Feb. 18, and the game did not disappoint. Well, unless you are a Tar Heels fan.
The Blue Devils came back from a 10-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining, forcing overtime, eventually escaping Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 92-90 win. Just another classic game in a classic rivalry.

The hatred between the two is well documented, but there is also tremendous respect, like when a Duke student made up a Duke-blue T-shirt with the word “Dean” adorning the front, honoring the recently deceased UNC coach Dean Smith. Overall, there probably is not a better rivalry in all of sports.

Smith’s death further evidenced the devoutness of North Carolinians to college basketball. Local public schools lowered their flags to half-mast in his honor. The arena named after him on UNC’s campus was packed to capacity for his memorial service. The entire state mourned.

Still, Duke and UNC are only a part of North Carolinian basketball lore. NC State has won two national championships, including one of the greatest Cinderella runs in sports history en route to the 1983 national title. Wake Forest can claim NBA superstars Tim Duncan and Chris Paul as alumni, and is
usually an NCAA tournament fixture.

Still, if you are not a UNC and Duke fan, you are essentially a second-class citizen in the Old North State. Wake Forest fans have had to deal with early tournament exits, despite having guys like Paul and Duncan, along with college stars like Rodney Rogers and Randolph Childress. The Demon Deacons are more than half a century removed from their latest Final Four berth.

And of course, despite growing up equidistant from Duke, UNC and NC State, I was born into a life of tortuous NC State fandom.

Being an NC State fan among the great blue giants (and even Wake) has not been easy for any Wolfpacker born within the past 30 years or so. I was born in 1992 and have never seen the Wolfpack win a regular season or tournament conference championship. Meanwhile, UNC, Duke and Wake Forest have combined for 35 of the 44 ACC regular season and tournament titles. North Carolina and Duke have won the Big Dance a whopping five times in those 22 years. So 23 percent of the time during my lifetime, either Duke or UNC has won the National Championship. Good times.

Still, NC State fans pile into PNC Arena year after year, game after game, just like Duke and UNC fans, hoping the Wolfpack will vault back into the nation’s elite one day.

And no matter what kind of year a team has, there is the great equalizer awaiting at the end of the year — the ACC Tournament.

The tournament is essentially a holiday in every corner of the state. Even uncool teachers will abandon their curriculum for a few hours to let students watch the games.

College basketball is not a game in the state of North Carolina. It is a way of life.

Tichenor is the sports editor.