Will snow impact UNC-NC State basketball, or any other Triangle sports? What we know
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Winter storm in the Triangle
From the forecast and power outages to closings, road conditions and sporting events, here’s everything you need to know about the winter storm in the Triangle.
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With a winter storm warning already in effect as snow and icy weather descend on North Carolina, a full slate of sporting events could be jeopardized if travel becomes a major issue.
▪ Most notably, North Carolina and N.C State are scheduled to play in men’s basketball at 4 p.m. Saturday at Raleigh’s Lenovo Center in the first game between the rival teams since the Wolfpack beat the Tar Heels, 84-76, in the ACC tournament championship game last March.
▪ In Durham, Notre Dame and Duke are scheduled to play a men’s basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday at noon. ESPN will televise that game, with the NC State-UNC game slated to appear on ACC Network.
While the state of emergency issued Wednesday by Gov. Josh Stein could limit spectator attendance, the ACC has protocols in place that will determine whether the games are postponed. According to the ACC, every effort will be made to play if the teams, officials and essential game management personnel make it to the playing facility.
That appears likely to happen since Notre Dame’s team is already in the Triangle. The Fighting Irish played N.C. State on Wednesday night at Lenovo Center, with the Wolfpack winning, 66-65. With classes not being held at Notre Dame again until Monday, the team remained in N.C., bussing to Durham on Wednesday night to be in place for Saturday’s game at Duke.
With the bulk of the winter weather forecast to hit the Triangle on Friday night and early Saturday morning, it’s possible road conditions will be favorable for UNC’s team bus to travel to Raleigh early Saturday afternoon in advance of that 4 p.m. game with the Wolfpack.
▪ In professional sports, the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks are scheduled to play the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. Friday at Lenovo Center. The Canucks are already in N.C., with their charter flight arriving at Raleigh-Durham International Airport at 1:41 a.m. Thursday after they lost, 2-1 in overtime, to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night in Washington, D.C.
▪ ACC women’s basketball has no games scheduled for Friday or Saturday. Sunday’s slate shows Boston College playing at North Carolina at 2 p.m., provided Boston College is able to arrive. N.C. State and Duke both have road games on Sunday, with the Wolfpack already on an extended California trip to play Cal on Thursday night and Stanford on Sunday.
Duke is scheduled to travel to Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday and play the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday at noon.
This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Will snow impact UNC-NC State basketball, or any other Triangle sports? What we know."
