Five NC Schools Join The Madness

Five North Carolina teams made the NCAA men's basketball tournament, including the ACC's Big Three in the Triangle. 

Duke is a number 2 seed in the Midwest region and faces Albany Friday afternoon.

"We're excited with the position we're in," forward Ryan Kelly tells GoDuke.com.

"We've got some time to prepare and every team we face from this point on is capable of being us and we're certainly capable of beating them.  That's how we have to approach it.  A loss is the end of your season, so we just have to keep winning."

N.C. State earned a number 8 position in the East. Roy Williams' Tar Heels also have a number 8 seed in the South region after being runner-up in the ACC Tournament.

"In the preseason, I said our team was the kind of team that will get better and better and better as the season went along and I think we did that," Williams told GoHeels.com. 

"We had a very disappointing last home regular season loss to Duke, but then we bounce back and make it to the finals of the tournament and with five minutes to play it's a flip-the-coin kind of game against Miami, which eventually ended up being a number 2 seed, so I'm really proud of my team."

North Carolina has a date with Villanova Friday night. Two smaller schools made the dance thanks to conference tournament championships.  Davidson got a 14 seed, but is an underdog in Thursday's game against Marquette.  N.C. A&T will play in the tournament's opening round as a 16 seed. The Aggies will face No. 1 Louisville if they defeat Liberty Tuesday night.