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How Tar Heels prepare for UNC-Duke basketball games, from long lines to lucky rituals

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Students cheer on UNC Men’s Basketball as they prepare to play against Stanford at the Dean E. Smith Center on Jan 18, 2025. The Tar Heels lost 72-71 in the final seconds of the game. E

Matt Jones didn't expect his game day to smell like chlorine. He didn't expect to be trapped inside a natatorium for two hours. 

The air was sticky with no AC to break up the humidity. Jones, alongside fellow UNC students, jammed themselves into "very vertical" seating — the type of seats that promise back pain before you ever sit down. Knees were crunched to chests. Clothes clung to skin. 

"You're just sitting there in this room, uncomfortable, squished in like sardines," Jones said. "I just want to watch Carolina beat Duke."

Eventually, Jones' frustration culminated into one wish. He shared it with his friend, Matthew, who bore the natatorium's conditions with him. Jones wished for his AirPods. The silence was driving him crazy. He couldn't take it anymore. Matthew pulled out his own pair from his pocket. One AirPod in Jones' ear. One in Matthew's. Country artist Zach Bryan soothed the friends, making the time go faster ahead of opening tip. 

"It wasn't like we were suffering," Jones said. "But there were complaints. It wasn't the most fun waiting experience."

Although UNC students don't leave the comfort of their bedrooms to stay in tents like the Blue Devils ahead of rivalry games, they experience one long day of discomfort. When Duke and UNC play at 6:30 p.m., students wake up more than 12 hours earlier. They attend College GameDay, with lines forming as early as 7:30 a.m., and then they wait. Oh, and they wait some more, scattered around locations like UNC's business school, the Koury Natatorium or just outside the doors of the arena. In March, the Tar Heels will do it all again to see the two teams square off in the Dean E. Smith Center.

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Students cheer on UNC Men’s Basketball as they prepare to play against Stanford at the Dean E. Smith Center on Jan 18, 2025. The Tar Heels lost 72-71 in the final seconds of the game.

Still, the conditions don't hinder the anticipation. 

Last year, then-junior Abby Moore's excitement started four days ahead of the game when she saw nine numbers listed in a Microsoft Excel sheet created by Carolina Fever, an organization that provides students assured admission into the UNC-Duke game for attending different sporting events throughout the school year. It's simple: The more sporting events a student goes to, the more points they earn. Moore hadn't missed one game. 

The nine numbers in the spreadsheet were Moore's PID, her student identification number. Her roommate, Caroline Sevier, saw her PID as well. The information drove them out of their bedrooms and into the kitchen. 

They secured two tickets to a top-10 matchup against Duke and would be the first 200 people inside the arena. The pair later found out they would hold the first and second spots in line.

"We were running around the kitchen, screaming, texting everybody," Moore said. "We're gonna be the first ones in. This is crazy."

And preparation for the game commenced. Jones' pair of lucky socks — the ones he wears every UNC game day — were ready. Junior Ansel Whitley laid out his blue and white Jordans 3s he reserves for North Carolina basketball games.

Moore and Sevier made themed posters until midnight the night before the game. Sevier laid out her head-to-toe Carolina Blue outfit, even down to her underwear. Then, she entered her bedroom, turned all the lights off, lit a candle and gathered her UNC-themed pins. Sevier hovered each pin over the flame, manifesting good intentions to the tune of "Hark the Sound" playing on a speaker. It's her tradition.

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Fans cheer on UNC Men’s Basketball as they prepare to play against Stanford at the Dean E. Smith Center on Jan 18, 2025. The Tar Heels lost 72-71 in the final seconds of the game.

"I want to win," Sevier said. "We want to win. So I do that with mine and my housemates' pins, which is kind of weird, but it was something I did and still do."

Then came the waiting outside the stadium and figuring out when to eat. Granola bars were stuffed in bags ahead of concession stand runs.

But after what feels like years, the doors to the Smith Center finally open. Sevier and Moore were the first students inside. The pair planted their feet on Roy Williams Court, claiming spots on the baseline. Whitley was also somewhere near the court. Jones sat in the upper level. 

And the rest was a blur.

An RJ Davis 3-pointer here. An Armando Bacot dunk there. The players and bench hitting the "too small" over then-Duke center Kyle Filipowski all en route to a 93-84 victory over the Blue Devils. 

Although it's hard to put the rivalry into words, Jones described it as a justification for everything. There's pride on the line and history at stake. No one can understand the feeling unless they're inside the arena. 

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"I'm tired of them thinking they're smarter," Jones said. "I'm tired of them thinking they're better at sports. I'm tired of this, that and the other. We are better. We are Carolina. We are the school."

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Students cheer on UNC Men’s Basketball as they prepare to play against Stanford at the Dean E. Smith Center on Jan 18, 2025. The Tar Heels lost 72-71 in the final seconds of the game.

And on that night and in that specific game, North Carolina proved it was better. 

As Sevier and Moore readied themselves to celebrate following the win, eventual first-year UNC players Drake Powell and Ian Jackson sat in front of the roommates. At that moment, the pair knew more about the rivalry and its traditions than the players. Powell and Jackson will take the court for their first rivalry game on Saturday. 

Jackson asked Sevier and Moore a question. 

"Do we rush the court?" Jackson asked. 

As masses of people began rushing out the Smith Center, Moore responded quickly. 

"No," Moore said. "We'll meet you on Franklin Street."

@_emmahmoon

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com


Emma Moon

Emma Moon is the 2024-25 assistant sports editor. She previously served as the Summer Sports Editor and as a senior writer. Emma is a senior majoring in Media and Journalism, and English. She has red hair and drives a Prius.