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In moments here on Thursday night inside the old coliseum off of Gate City Boulevard, it felt like a great catharsis. A release. If walking into the Greensboro Coliseum during the first couple of days elicited anxiety-inducing memories of 2020, and the world shutting down, then Thursday felt like a renewal. A basketball cleansing. It felt a little like old times. Almost.

No, North Carolina didn’t play along. For that matter, neither did N.C. State.

The Wolfpack faltered late. The Tar Heels folded early.

Their 68-59 defeat against Virginia in the ACC tournament quarterfinals would never be mistaken for a work of art and, when it ended, UNC looked and sounded like a team that was ready for it all to be over. This tournament. This season. These long months burdened by the expectations the Tar Heels created with their magic March of a year ago.

“Really, the story of this year was just talking about last year,” Armando Bacot, the UNC senior forward, said inside of a somber locker room. “... I think it was just an overdue, long hangover.”

Bacot and his teammates didn’t say, explicitly, that they’d turn down the NIT invitation that’s likely coming after what was perhaps the most disappointing season in school history. They didn’t need to say it. Their body language spoke truths, and so did their non-committal answers about the postseason; nobody in UNC’s locker room was frothing at the mouth for another chance to play.

The word Bacot used to describe what plagued UNC throughout the past several months — a hangover — carried deeper meaning. It was applicable to this tournament, too, which for so long had been the ACC’s marquee event, and one of the most anticipated in North Carolina whenever one of its cities played host. It’d been years since we’d seen a tournament day like Thursday.

Maybe not so much for the quality of the games, or even the drama. But for the atmosphere. The noise. The anticipation. All those things that the ACC took for granted for so long whenever the tournament was played in the Greensboro Coliseum, and then missed when it moved the event to Atlanta or Brooklyn or somewhere else.

The 2022 ACC tournament, in Brooklyn, largely played out in anonymity in America’s largest city. Gone was the novelty factor that in some ways fueled the event’s success during its first two trips there; last year it felt like the majority of people walking outside the Barclays Center wouldn’t have known the ACC tournament was happening inside, or even what A-C-C stands for.

The two years before that, 2020 and 2021 in Greensboro, were largely lost tournaments. The arrival of the pandemic forced the cancellation of the first of those; the second played out to completion inside a largely empty arena, spectators spaced out in accordance with social distancing guidelines.

That’s why Thursday was special. It wasn’t the games themselves — only Miami’s victory against Wake Forest included any kind of drama in the final seconds, and the anticipated night session turned dreadful for both UNC and N.C. State — as the community they created. Walking around outside the coliseum Thursday afternoon, it felt a little like it must’ve felt back in the glory years.

There was, for a while, an unmistakable energy. People tailgated outside the arena, or packed the sidewalks wearing the colors of the ACC rainbow. The air filled with the scent of barbecue smoke. Soon enough there was a long line outside of Stamey’s, people in red, Duke blue, Clemson and Virginia orange (almost the same, but different) and light blue.

Undoubtedly, it helped the atmosphere that the quarterfinals included a majority of old-school ACC schools. Only Miami and Pittsburgh crashed the party, and the Panthers didn’t stick around all that long, anyway. The night session was supposed to be the one that delivered, what with a pair of games between longtime ACC foes, and the possibility of a Triangle-and-one semifinal Friday.

Well, didn’t turn out that way, did it?

UNC, outside of R.J. Davis, played about as poorly as it could play throughout the majority of a sleepy defeat against the Cavaliers -- and yet the Tar Heels hung around long enough to provide hope to their supporters. When the result was still in doubt — though one could argue it never really was — the Greensboro Coliseum rocked like it always does during the tournament; like it couldn’t do the last two times it was here.

It was a lovely sound, that noise, even if the game didn’t quite deserve it. The energy carried over, for a while, anyway, to the late game. That is, before the Wolfpack turned in an 18-point dud of a second half, one that turned a three-point game at halftime into a runaway Clemson victory. In the end, those wearing the competing shades of orange were happiest here. In another way, though, it was a victory for the city and even for the conference.

For an evening, it was possible to forget the drama surrounding the ACC, the feeling that the league is under siege; the constant chatter in college athletics these days about revenue gaps and television ratings and “brand value,” whatever it is that phrase means. It was easy to forget about the many foibles of college athletics, the many failures of the NCAA; the many ways the entire enterprise often feels like an exercise in self-sabotage and stubbornness.

For an evening, it felt like a normal ACC tournament in Greensboro, and after the past few years the city and the conference needed it. Even if the games didn’t deliver, the environment did.

This story was originally published March 10, 2023, 12:06 AM.

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Violet Harrison brought her lucky ticket at the 7-Eleven on Burlington Road, after moving to Greensboro eight months ago.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Violet Harrison said she will stay in North Carolina after winning the $120,000 jackpot.

Harrison is new to the Triad after moving to Greensboro eight months ago.

The move turned out to be a step in the right direction after she bought a $1 Quick Pick ticket from the 7-Eleven on Burlington Road, winning Tuesday's drawing.

She is one of three Cash 5 jackpot winners within the last week.

“I tried to stay calm but, on the inside, I was doing cartwheels,” Harrison said.

Now, she can do cartwheels all the way to the bank!

Harrison took home $85,500 after taxes.

“This is definitely a blessing in more ways than one,” she said.

What will she do with her winnings?

Harrison said she plans on making donations, paying some of her bills, and putting the rest in savings.

Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play, either through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598.

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One of the blue bloods of college basketball and its rabid fans will be invading Greensboro as part of March Madness. It’s just not the blue bloods that locals are intimately familiar with.

Kentucky (21-11), of the Southeastern Conference, was placed in the East Regional as a sixth seed and will play Big East member and 11th seed Providence on Friday at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Wildcats finished third in the SEC in the regular season, while the Friars (21-11) finished tied with UConn for fourth place in their league.

On the other half of that bracket, Big 12 member Kansas State (23-9) is seeded third in the East after it was predicted to finish last in its conference and closed out in third place. These Wildcats will face Montana State (25-9) of the Big Sky Conference. The Bobcats are making consecutive NCAA tournament appearances for the first time in school history after beating Northern Arizona in the conference tournament.

The coliseum is also hosting the first and second rounds of the Midwest Regional, and Pitt has a chance to return to town after being pounded by Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

The Panthers are playing in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio, against Mississippi State. It’s the first time Pitt (22-11) has been in the NCAA tournament since the 2015-2016 season, and it’s the school’s 27 trip to the tournament. Mississippi State (21-12) is another SEC school, and the Bulldogs beat Florida in overtime before losing, 72-49, to Alabama, which is the No. 1 overall seed in field of 68. The winner goes to Greensboro as an 11 seed, and would face Iowa State (19-13), which lost to Kansas in the Big 12 tournament.

In the other game in that part of the bracket, third-seeded Xavier (25-9), also of the Big East, meets 14th-seeded Kennesaw State (26-8) of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Musketeers lost their conference title game to Marquette, while the Owls knocked off Liberty to win their tournament.

The winners will meet in the second round on Sunday, which will end three weeks of basketball in the city, a run that started with the ACC women’s tournament and continued with the men’s tournament which concluded on Saturday night with Duke winning the championship.

As for the local blue bloods, Duke (26-8) earned a five seed in the East Regional and faces Oral Roberts (30-4) on Thursday in Orlando. North Carolina failed to make the field, one year after reaching the 2022 national championship game, where it lost to Kansas, and after being ranked as a preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press college basketball poll.

College basketball fans look forward to the ACC tournament eventually making a return to Greensboro.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — There is plenty of rivalry when it comes to the ACC.

Regardless, Clemson, NC State and even UNC fans all swallowed their pride to attend tonight's championship game.

One thing everyone had in common, there's something about the ACC and Greensboro.

"Everybody comes to play, it's a good game no matter what," said Zachary Thompson.

Thousands of diehard fans poured into the Greensboro Coliseum for what could be the city's last championship game for a while.

Fans we spoke with say Greensboro always holds true to its name, "Tournament Town."

"It's nice to have it back in Greensboro. Some people don't like it here but we love it," said Thompson.

"Hoping they bring it back to Greensboro sooner than later. It's a great location," said Reade Allen.

A group of UVA fans who drove hours from Virginia said, "If I was Jim Phillips and I was commissioner of the ACC, it would be in Greensboro every year. Period. Period. Greensboro is the best. No Charlotte, no Raleigh, no DC."

Fan's aren't the only ones who hope to see the ACC Tournament's return to Greensboro.

Businesses like Stamey's Barbeque cash in when fans show up to pig out on the North Carolina staple.

"We get some people that have never experienced the southern BBQ and the Stamey's experience. A lot of people enjoy it and we like that too," said Stamey's Manager, Desmond Gatson.

For decades ACC basketball has remained an intricate part of their business.

Not only does the iconic restaurant offer the local staples like Cheerwine, Barebeque and sweet tea, they're also able to profit from event parking.

"It's been good and like I said, we love it. We try to get people to come. Sad part is we don't know the next time we get one but we're going to take advantage of it while we can," said Gatson.

As the sun sets on another ACC tournament, fans wait and watch for it's return to Tournament Town.

"At the end of the day when you come to Greensboro, it's tournament town and you are not going to root for your rival you know, it's just the best of the best."

Every year that Greensboro, North Carolina hosted ACC basketball tournaments, it gave a substantial economic boost to the city’s businesses near the Greensboro Coliseum.

But with the ACC’s announcement in September that its headquarters will be moving from Greensboro to Charlotte in 2023, there’s a feeling in the area that ACC Tournament may soon follow.

“Maybe not in the short-term future, but yes, I do feel that (the ACC will move the tournaments),”Lewis Money, manager of Tailgators, a local sports shop in Greensboro near the coliseum, said. “Not to mention, local politicians are going to definitely be in the (ACC’s) ear (to move the tournaments).”

Greensboro has hosted 29 of the past 70 ACC men’s basketball tournaments, 15 more than the next closest cities. On top of that, the city has hosted numerous women’s basketball tournaments and swimming and diving championships.

These sporting events filled hotels and brought higher demand to local sports shops, restaurants and bars, especially when in-state teams had strong seasons. The businesses in the coliseum area became accustomed to the increased demand and revenue that came with hosting.

If the ACC’s tournaments are gradually hosted elsewhere, Money and many Greensboro citizens believe it will have a negative impact on the businesses.

“Whenever we found out that (the ACC) was relocating its headquarters, obviously it was kind of a blow to Greensboro,” Emily Purcell, co-owner of Freeman’s Grub and Pub near the Greensboro Coliseum, said. “Having that taken away from us was a huge thing financially, so that was the biggest thing is just thinking about the finance of all of Greensboro.”

The ACC’s contract to hold the women’s tournament in Greensboro is expiring after this season’s tournament.

Despite the general skepticism surrounding the future of ACC Tournaments, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Duke President Vincent Price were insistent that the ACC would maintain a connection with Greensboro, given the conference’s deep roots in the city.

“We’re going to stay close,” Phillips said in September. “The operation obviously leaves Greensboro, but our history and legacy do not, and future championships do not.”

Greensboro’s citizens also view the change in headquarters as a hit to their city’s pride and legacy. Over the past 70 years, Greensboro developed a sense of pride in being home to one of the NCAA’s premier conferences, and it became an integral part of Greensboro’s identity. The ACC was founded in Greensboro in 1953 at the Sedgefield Inn, and its headquarters have been there since its creation.

As an original member, UNC’s ties to the conference date back to its inception and the legacy of both are tightly linked. This history isn’t overlooked by many in UNC athletics.

“I love Greensboro,” Roy Williams, former UNC men’s basketball coach, said in 2018. “Don’t ever forget your roots. One of my big goals is to never forget where I came from.”

After a loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, UNC women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart echoed Williams when reflecting on the Tar Heels’ tournament experience in the city.

“I want to thank Greensboro,” Banghart said. “You guys really run a first-class event (and) our athletes feel welcomed and supported. And obviously the crowd is ignited by getting to see these teams (UNC and Duke).”

Greensboro hosted the 2023 ACC’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments this season. But this won’t be enough to make up for what many ultimately believe to be the gradual loss of hosting the tournaments, nor will it ease the pain of losing such an integral part of the city’s identity.

“I think any time you lose a piece of your local history, it hurts,” Money said. “Every sports fan knows that the ACC started in Greensboro, and for that to not be in Greensboro, it just stings.”

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com