By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — GameDay coming to the Triangle for a Carolina-Duke battle is as predictable as sky-high ticket prices for the greatest rivalry in sports.
Aside from when ESPN didn’t go to campuses during the pandemic, it has taken the show to Chapel Hill and Durham for every matchup since 2011. Even though it’s become routine, fans filled most of 12 lower-level sections in the Smith Center on Saturday morning for the latest visit, with many there an hour before the show began.
There seemed to be an extra level of enthusiasm for the matchup between league-leading No. 3 UNC (17–4, 9–1 ACC) and No. 7 Duke (16–4, 7–2), the first top-10 battle in the rivalry since there were three in 2019.
The only downside was that the UNC student couldn’t make the half-court shot toward the end of the program.
Timeouts felt a bit like breaks during a game, with the UNC pep band playing familiar songs and, during one commercial break 40 minutes into the broadcast, “Jump Around” blaring on the arena speakers. Fans got into “Swag Surfin’ ” at one point.
The show, which debuted in 2005, features host Rece Davis, reporter Christine Williamson and four analysts: former Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, former Duke players Jay Bilas and Jay Williams and former Tennessee player Andraya Carter.
After the show, Davis told the crowd that they were “sensational” after Carter picked UNC to win the game, but Bilas and Williams picked Duke.
In the last 15 minutes of the show, Davis, Williams and Bilas moved from the set to chairs at one side of the court to interview UNC’s RJ Davis and Armando Bacot.
Both said their favorite win was at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game. Bacot said it was more satisfying than the Final Four win.
During the broadcast, ESPN announced that an hour-long ACC Network show, “Coach K and Roy Williams: Rivals Reunited” will debut at 9 p.m. Feb. 28. The program will feature Wes Durham having an extended conversation with the two Hall of Fame coaches.
A group of about 40 Duke fans banded together and sat in a corner section, at one point razzing the UNC fans with a chant of, “we can’t hear you.” That, of course, led to loud cheers for the Tar Heels faithful, as when a video was shown on the big screen of Krzyzewski walking off the court after the Final Four loss to UNC.
Carolina fans warmly welcomed Williams even though he is a former Duke player after commenting on a podcast that if he were a recruit now, he’d pick UNC because he likes the way the Tar Heels play.
One sign read, “Even Jay Williams wishes he went to UNC” and another read, “At least our alumni are loyal.”
One sign referred to the GameDay commercial that ran when UNC coach Hubert Davis was on the show and worked with Bilas: “Get out of our cafeteria, Duke boys.”
There were plenty of signs taking shots at Duke:
— “Jared McCain sleeps with a nightlight”
— “Kyle FLOPowski”
— “Filipowski hates children”
— “Dook underperforms in bed”
— “Duke is #2, as we aren’t talking about the ACC” (with a poop emoji)
— “Roses are red; Carolina’s the better blue. We beat you in the Final Four and we’ll beat you tonight, too.”
— “Daddy’$ money doesn’t buy wins” (with the blue devil replacing the “o” in doesn’t)
The pro-UNC signs included:
— “I (heart emoji) Bacot”
— “Supreme on the court; justice will be served” (with the faces of nine UNC players superimposed over the faces of the Supreme Court)
— “RJ 4 NPOY”
— “We go to UNC; of course we don’t need a cheat sheet”
One fan suggested they were disappointed, displaying a sign that read: “I thought Taylor Swift would be here!”
There was a segment with Williamson going to Town Hall Burger and Beer to have a Mondo Burger. She discovered that it was massive, with a large patty, onion straws, applewood smoked bacon, barbecue sauce, smoked gouda cheese, and lettuce on a brioche bun.
It was a good morning for the fans to get pumped up for Saturday night’s game.
Top photo via @UNC_Basketball
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