Crowd energy will pick up Friday

I’m not suggesting that the Thursday afternoon action at the ACC tournament was anything short of spectacular – perhaps the best that can be said is that everyone made it through those two games – but the tournament won’t gather its emotional energy until Friday.

That’s when Duke and North Carolina arrive.
That may not be what the other 10 teams want to hear but it’s true, at least right now when they’re clearly the best teams in the conference. The seats were mostly filled in both sessions Thursday but the juice hadn’t been turned on.

It gets turned on when the Tar Heels play the first game and it will go from there. It’s not just about Duke and North Carolina but a four-day tournament is a grind. Like a 747, it takes a while to get airborne.

Plus, when Duke and North Carolina are playing, most of the tournament house is pulling for them to lose. That’s the nature of the ACC tournament beast.

Hopefully, the roar arrives on Friday. -- Ron Green Jr.