jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
DURHAM -- The long wait is over for Duke, which has waited all season to host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games at Cameron Indoor Stadium beginning Saturday.
The Blue Devils, the No. 2 seed in the Memphis Regional, are one of six ACC teams invited to participate in the tournament, including North Carolina, which slipped in as a No. 10 seed and will face No. 7 seed Gonzaga in Seattle, Wash., and No. 9 seed N.C. State, which will square off with UCLA in Minneapolis, Minn.
Duke, which enters the tournament as the ACC champion for the first time in five seasons, has known all along that it would be at home for the first two rounds.
That luxury was placed in the background as the Blue Devils worked their way through the regular season despite an advertising banner proclaiming the achievement.
For friends and family, it means a relatively easy trip to see the Blue Devils play. Senior forward Joy Cheek and junior guard Jasmine Thomas each said playing in front of their families for the first two games would be special.
"I'm glad my family will get a chance to see me play again, especially at home," Cheek said. "We worked hard to get to this point of the season, and we want to take advantage of it."
Duke (27-5) will first take on Hampton (20-11) in the second game on Saturday, starting at approximately 2:30 p.m. The first game of the day matches No. 7 seeded LSU (20-9) of the Southeastern Conference against No. 10-seeded Hartford (27-4), champions of the America East Conference. That game will start at about 12:06 p.m.
Cheek said she was excited about playing Hampton, having grown up in Washington, D.C., and being a ball girl for MEAC rival Howard. Hampton won the MEAC championship Saturday night and only has a week to get ready for the Blue Devils. Duke, meanwhile, took the ACC title on March 7 and has used the extra time to regroup and refocus.
Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said playing at home will have certain advantages, but the Blue Devils are more interested in stringing together two good games in order to advance to the third round in Memphis, where they potentially could meet Texas and former Duke coach Gail Goestenkors.
Thomas said she wasn't even thinking that far ahead, though she was among the last players Goestenkors recruited for the Blue Devils.
"We can't think about that," Thomas said. "We have to focus on Hampton first and then worry about the second game."
North Carolina (19-11) takes the longest trip of the area teams in the tournament, going to Seattle, Wash., for its first-round game on Saturday at approximately 10:30 p.m. The Tar Heels, who limped into the tournament losing eight of the past 11 games, will take on Gonzaga (27-4), the champions of the West Coast Conference.
"We're obviously excited to be back in the NCAA Tournament," UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell said in a news release. "Obviously, we have struggled at times this season but I think our best basketball is still ahead of us. We're looking forward to facing a very good Gonzaga team."
N.C. State (20-13) and first-year coach Kellie Harper will take on UCLA (24-8) in Minneapolis on Sunday at approximately 9:30 p.m. The teams are remarkably similar in that both have first-year coaches, both reached their conference tournament championship games before losing and both put together a nice string of victories to close out their regular seasons.
NOTES -- McCallie will host her final radio show of the season from Satisfaction in Brightleaf Square tonight from 6-7 p.m. She will talk about the upcoming NCAA Tournament with Blue Devils radio color analyst Morgan Patrick on 620-AM The Buzz. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as space is limited.
