In Durham, N.C., the excitement is palpable for Oregon’s women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves as his team prepares to face Duke in the NCAA Tournament. Just a few years ago in the 2017 tournament, the Ducks made an impressive run as a 10-seed, advancing and creating unforgettable memories. However, this time around, there’s an added personal touch to his excitement. The proximity of the tournament’s location means the possibility for Graves and his family to watch two important games. Not only is Oregon playing Vanderbilt at the famous Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the Florida men’s team, where Graves’ son Will contributes as a graduate assistant coach, is also in action nearby in Raleigh, North Carolina.
As family arrangements go, the Graves family gathered Thursday evening at a hotel, knowing they’d face a scheduling challenge on Friday. Climate abilities get tested, as the Oregon game starts just 80 minutes before the Florida matchup, making attending both a tricky venture. “Every family has those trips or memories that are just different,” Graves expressed, adding that returning to Durham reawakens treasured moments from their first visit.
Set against the backdrop of “Tobacco Road,” a storied location in NCAA lore, the area buzzes with basketball fervor. This week is particularly extraordinary, hosting three women’s first-round sites at Duke, North Carolina, and N.C. State. The men’s first-round games add to the frenzy, with a total of 21 teams, both men’s and women’s, navigating the area for tournament play. No other city can match this concentration of ballgames, not even Los Angeles, which hosts notable athletes like USC’s JuJu Watkins and UCLA’s Lauren Betts.
Watkins shared her enthusiasm, “I might be biased, but I think this is like one of the best basketball cities in the country. It’s really cool to be able to see two arenas here that are hosting the biggest tournament of the year.”
North Carolina’s basketball landscape has rarely been as densely packed with talent and opportunity as it is this week. Dubbed the “Triangle,” the area’s four different venues are uniquely hosting both men’s and women’s events simultaneously for the first time. Logistics, such as accommodations, have unfolded smoothly, with teams based at Duke and Chapel Hill staying within a manageable distance from the venues, witnessing the heightened excitement.
This concentrated university hub makes the basketball atmosphere all the more unique. “This is what it’s all about. To have eight men’s teams and then have all three of the local teams on the women’s side hosting is pretty amazing,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. While emphasizing the logistical strain, he couldn’t deny, “It’s a great accomplishment, makes it hard to get hotel rooms, things like that. Other than that, I think that’s what it’s about. March Madness, you know.”
North Carolina holds a prestigious place in NCAA history, hosting more men’s tournament games than any state, with 269 games to their tally entering this year, outstripping California’s record. For women’s games, the count stands equally impressive, at 154, which is third-highest behind Texas and California. Duke coach Kara Lawson pointed out the rare advantage the Triangle has, noting that drawing crowds is often facilitated by such geographic concentration.
Adding to this competitive vibrancy is the renewed success of North Carolina’s basketball programs. Arriving in 2019 amid struggling teams, North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart now enjoys witnessing both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils hosting games, acknowledging, “As much as it’s hard to say, you are kind of secretly rooting for each other to bring basketball back here.”
Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro have all embraced the hosting role for men’s games over the past decade, with Raleigh rekindling its past with the men’s tournament returning for the first time since 2016. This has painted a feasible path for the Duke men’s team, number one in the AP Top 25, to make the quick trip from campus for their title quest.
At the Lenovo Center, home to Duke’s Atlantic Coast Conference neighbor N.C. State, teams prepared with press conferences and practices. The Duke men’s practice included the public return of freshman standout Cooper Flagg following an injury. Flagg’s presence was noted as he smoothly participated in drills, later engaging with fans by distributing T-shirts.
Friday holds potential for a dual basketball celebration for Duke enthusiasts as both the men’s and women’s teams have games. Scheduling permits fans the option to attend both, with men’s play in the afternoon and women’s in the evening, providing a full day of sporting spectacle.