The most popular basketball teams are also the best basketball teams in college basketball, according to a Harris Interactive Poll conducted online during the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The University of North Carolina and Duke were chosen in an online poll as the most popular and second most popular college basketball teams, a flip flop of last year’s results when Duke was chosen as the most popular team and UNC came in second. The two neighbors are routinely some of the top programs in the country.
The Harris Interactive Poll was conducted between March 9, 2009 and March 16, 2009 online for respondents who agreed to an invitation to vote. A total of 2,355 people logged on and chose the most popular basketball teams, although only a quarter of those surveyed responded that they actively followed college hoops. It is no surprise then that the best basketball teams were chosen as the most popular–both Duke and UNC made it to the deep into the collegiate tournament while polling was still open. Filling out the top 10 most popular basketball teams we UCONN, Boston College, Florida State, UCLA, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio State and Texas.
The University of North Carolina did not need the Harris Interactive Poll to be chosen as the best or most popular program. UNC won their Final Four matchup against Villanova, which had just defeated Duke, a few days later on its way to meeting with Michigan State in the NCAA Finals. The number 1-seeded Tarheels ran away in the finals, building a 20-point lead over the Spartans. The final score was closer but coaching legend Roy Williams added a second championship to his storied career, outdoing another coaching Hall of Fame candidate Tom Izzo, who is also chasing his second title. UNC has been one of the dominant college basketball programs, winning 5 national titles and losing four times in the NCAA Finals. Their program was run by coaching legend Dean Smith, who memorably won one of his titles with a team that included both James Worth and Michael Jordan.
The Duke Blue Devils college program is also one of the most popular basketball teams. Under 29-year coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have appeared in the NCAA Tournament twenty times. Duke has won the tournament three times during that period and has been the runner up three times. Under Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils have made the Final Four ten different times. Duke’s chief rivals are the Tarheels, who have a campus just eight miles away in Durham and play in the vaunted NCAA Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Due to their proximity and success, their rivalry is considered one of the greatest and most heated in all of college sports. Duke ended the 2008-2009 season by losing to Villanova in the Elite Eight stage of the NCAA Tournament. The loss was a rare lopsided loss for the Blue Devils, who went down 77-54. Both the opposition’s high scoring and Duke’s low offensive outputs were rarities.
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