The highlight of our trip- Cameron Indoor Stadium. We got to see Duke face Pittsburgh on the Duke campus. This is the first time I've ever seen Duke play and it was pretty amazing just being in the gym. The game ended up being somewhat close but Duke never really gave up control. Earlier in the day we stopped by the NC State campus to visit the Reynolds Coliseum where the Wolfpack won 2 NCAA championships before moving to the PNC Arena. They have a pretty athletics museum there with a focus on basketball but also including several other sports and famous alumni.

Tonight's game featured NC State vs. North Carolina. The Wolfpack play at the PNC Arena, a more modern arena they share with the NHL's Carolina Hurricane's. It was built in 1999 and holds 19,000 fans for basketball games. I would have guessed it was newer and according to Wikipedia, Roy Williams of UNC is the owner. The fans were great though!

Day 2 started with a bit of a drive to Winston-Salem, NC to see Wake Forest play Virginia. And in case you were thinking Wake Forest University is in Wake Forest, NC; it's not. We got there plenty early for the noon tip off and made our routine trip around the arena to take it all in. The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is turning 30 years old this year but was a pretty nice building as far as I could tell. The concourse had banners for famous basketball alumni, both women and men. Tim Duncan was my favorite, as a Spurs fan. But I also didn't realize Muggsy Bogues went to WFU. 

On my list of 7 historic college gyms, Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium is at the top. I've always been a Duke basketball fan but have never seen them play in person. Even though I've been to 8 Final Fours, still no Duke. But this year is the year. When the ACC conference schedule came out last year we began looking at potential options for a trip to see Duke play and add on any other games that we could. Apparently the ACC schedule makers knew and put together quite a 4 day stretch- North Carolina, Wake Forest, NC State, and Duke. 5 days and 5 games (we added on Texas at TCU when we return to Texas).

This past weekend I got to combine my love of basketball and international travel with a weekend trip to Mexico City for two NBA games. Thursday night the Dallas Mavericks played the Detroit Pistons and Saturday the San Antonio Spurs played the Phoenix Suns. ​