Originally Posted by
Edouble
Yeah, this is basically what it boils down to. I personally think that it is advantageous to play in Greensborough. I think that the level of anti-Duke sentiments in the crowd has something to do with the order of the games.
In situations in the past when Duke and UNC are playing in back to back games, I remember that the effects are worse if UNC plays first. The crowd is usually amped up after a UNC win (usually) and they're usually willing to stick around to see if Duke's opponent gets off to a good start. If the game is competative, the 'Heels fans will stick around and things tend to build against the Blue Devils, somewhat exponentially, as the game is close, and the fans are against us. If Duke starts out hot, alot of the 'Heels fans will leave, and things get exponentially better for us--our team can hear mainly just our fans cheering for them, and we are winning the game.
If Duke plays before UNC, I feel like the effects of the 'Heels fans are felt to much less of a degree. IIRC, the 'Heels fans are not chomping at the bit to show up two and a half hours early just to cheer against the Devils in a game where Duke is seeded higher and will probably win anyway.
So overall, I think the situation gets really bad when UNC plays first and we get off to a slow start. The chances of this happening are low enough so that I think it is an advantage to get the Greensborough pod.