Winston-Salem, Day One

17 hours. That’s how long it takes to drive to Winston Salem from Raleigh, sit through four NCAA tournament games and drive back home. It’s 11:30 on Friday morning and I’m just waking up. I’m exhausted. I could sleep for two or three more hours. But it’s 11:30. I have to eat before the games start again. Today, instead of being in the LJVM Coliseum, I’ll be in the Eaves’ living room. I’m tired, but I’m ready for more.

For me, it’s been this way as long as I can remember. You can’t live in the Triangle region of North Carolina and NOT follow basketball. If you can, you didn’t grow up here. Yesterday, like the first day of the ACC tournament, was a holiday. People call in sick to work, take two hours lunches, and just HAVE to pick their kids up early from daycare. There’s BASKETBALL ON FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

Needless to say, yesterday was fantastic. Picture Bobby Knight, not throwing chairs, but consoling a player after his team lost to Boston College in the first round. Picture Tyrese Rice, who had to be one of the most dazzling players yesterday scoring 28 points, breathing a small sigh of relief as the time wound down in their defeat over the Red Raiders.

Now, picture Belmont, the musically-inclined college from Nashville, Tennessee, entering the Coliseum yesterday to thunderous one-handed, high-flying dunks by the Georgetown Hoyas. They were meant to intimidate the Bruins. It didn’t work...for the first four minutes.

Hear the thunderous applause in your head? That was the ENTIRE crowd, minus the Hoya fans, cheering for Belmont at the first TV time-out as they led 11-4. The energy was so thick you could feel it in the air. This Belmont team has a shot.

Fast-forward to the next TV timeout. The energy…GONE. Tie game…11-11. End of the road for the Bruins. But it was fun, even for only four minutes.

Then, it got REAL fun. The night session, after an overpriced order of chicken fingers and fries from a bar across the street, was a mere ten minutes from starting. But, the scoreboard was on and Duke had fallen behind early. I heard the cheers as we walked to our seats, but I didn’t see the score.

I asked our neighbors in the seats beside us, “What was that all about?” “Duke’s losing early,” he said.

“Hope they're losing in an hour-and-a-half,” someone replied from two rows back.

OK, on to the next game. Marquette-Michigan State. U-G-L-Y. I have NEVER seen, nor heard, of a team not making a two-point shot, for an entire half…at least, not in the modern era of college basketball. I WATCHED IT WITH MY OWN EYES LAST NIGHT! The Golden Eagles fell behind 11-0, trailed 30-18 at the half, made 4 3’s and six free throws. No two-point shots. AMAZING!!

Needless to say, this game was over. Back to the scoreboard. Time is winding down. They flash the Duke score again. Duke down 1. And the largest applause of the day comes from the crowd. After all, with the exception of the first 30 minutes of the Boston College/Texas Tech contest, we hadn’t seen, nor heard, of a close game in about 7 hours.

Ten seconds later, the score changes. Duke UP 1. The crowd boos…ANGRILY. 14,000 people in Winston Salem are mesmerized by a scoreboard as much as my two-year old is mesmerized by Elmo. There is a break in the action as the Marquette/Michigan State game has finally ended after about ten very unnecessary fouls by Marquette. A Golden Eagles fans scream from a few rows back after the fourth foul, “COME ON!! WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!!”

Again, back to the scoreboard. The score shows VCU 77, Duke 77 for about two minutes.

Then the PA announcer...

“FINAL SCORE FROM BUFFALO...VCU 79, Duke 77."

I thought for a moment the roof was going to blow off the place. The loudest roar of the night was saved for a game from played around 1,000 miles away.

But wait...North Carolina plays in ten minutes. We’re not done yet. UNC jumps out to a 36-13 lead over Eastern Kentucky in the first 11 minutes. The Colonels are extra crispy. Done. Game, set, match.

Almost.

Back-door cuts start to be more precise. Threes start falling. Turnovers become more frequent for UNC.

16 minutes to go…TV timeout. UNC 48, EKU 44.

Could a number one-seed lose? Really? Come on. I didn’t wait my whole life to buy NCAA tickets to see my team make history in the worst way, did I?

I didn’t. UNC, sparked by senior Reyshawn Terry, opened up another 23 point lead and finally sent the Colonels home 86-65. It was one of the very few times I’ve seen a team have to beat another twice to get only one win out of it.

Whew!!

Done.

“Survive and advance,” Jimmy V said a thousand times.

I did, but I’m ready for more. It’s 12:10 now. Pizza (“It’s not delivery…”) is done. Game starts in ten minutes.

I’ve survived. Now, I’ll advance. To my couch.

--Brian Eaves