On Sunday, March 25, Campus Rec’s Intramurals staff and a few lucky IM basketball teams attended the “Big 4” basketball tournament at Wake Forest University. Brandon Hyde, one of the interns, gave me his perspective on the day full of basketball.
How many UNC teams played in the tournament and how did you decide who to take?
UNC sent two teams to the tournament (one Men’s and one Women’s team). The only requirement was that these teams be comprised of only students (no faculty or staff). We asked for volunteers to represent UNC and took the first teams who responded.
How many schools were there? How many teams were there overall?
It was a basketball tournament between all of the ACC schools in the state of North Carolina so UNC, Duke, NC State and Wake Forest all participated – giving the tournament its name “The Big 4″. Each school brought one men’s and one women’s team for a total of eight teams at the event. In addition, each school also brought three of its best student sports officials to call the games.
How did our teams perform?
Men’s performance – The Men lost all three of their games. However, two were fought down to wire. We lost our first game to Duke 57-56 (we had a chance to win at the buzzer but the ball rimmed out). We lost to NC State by 9 (77-68). We lost to Wake Forest as they made a layup with 15 seconds left and our last- second shot failed to go through (68-66). The Men enjoyed the tournament and did well for being undermanned (most teams had 12+ players, while ours only had 6). They played valiantly and walked away from the experience with no regrets and knew they had played their hardest.
Women’s performance – Unfortunately, the lady Heels lost all three of their match-ups as well. We lost in convincing fashion to Duke (77-47). Duke’s perimeter offense was the best seen at the tournament, as they at one point converted six consecutive three-point field goals and led the lady Heels by 20 at the end of the first half. The women rebounded in their next two match-ups but fell short against NC State, losing 47-41, and ran out of gas against Wake Forest, losing by three.
What was did you enjoy about the tournament?
All the teams expressed exceptional sportsmanship and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Games were competitive and hard fought. The event was such a success that there are plans to expand The Big Four tournament to include more sports, like flag football and softball during the 2013-2014 school year.
For more information on intramural sports, visit campusrec.unc.edu/intramural-sports.
