Ready for March Madness? Half of NC residents aren’t that interested, poll finds
It’s peak time for college hoops — but half of North Carolinians just aren’t that interested, a new poll finds.
Forty-seven percent of residents say the March Madness men’s basketball tournament doesn’t really have their attention this year, according to a poll from High Point University and the News & Record.
And only 14% of people living in the state are following the games “extremely closely,” according to results released Thursday.
So in an area with passionate fans of Duke, N.C. State and UNC, what gives?
Though all three schools were powerhouses at one time or another, some of their teams didn’t dominate in 2019-20.
UNC is down 13-17 in a season plagued with injuries and nail-biting games that ended up going against their favor, The News & Observer reported.
N.C. State is faring better, with an overall record of 18-12.
Then there’s No. 12-ranked Duke, where freshmen helped secure a 24-6 record. But some of those losses were major upsets.
Despite this season’s trajectory, interest in March Madness is actually up this year.
High Point University conducted a similar poll in 2018 and found 56% of people weren’t following games closely at all.
That season, UNC and Duke teams made it into brackets for the Division 1 all-or-nothing tournament.
This year, regional teams will face off in Greensboro, which is hosting the ACC conference tournament games from March 10 to 14.
Apparently, that doesn’t faze many North Carolina residents.
In the poll, about two-thirds of respondents said having an in-state tournament “does not make much of a difference” in their decision to tune in.
Also in the results, 60% of North Carolinians say they think college players “should be able to sign deals to endorse particular products while they are in college,” according to a news release from High Point University.
And almost half of residents were in favor of paying student athletes for “use of their names, images or likenesses,” the release said.
Pollsters say they came up with the figures after surveying 1,216 adults from Feb. 21 to Feb. 28. The respondents, who gave answers online and via phone, were “from a sample of all North Carolina counties,” according to officials.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Ready for March Madness? Half of NC residents aren’t that interested, poll finds."
