As March Madness tournaments begin, the latest 51爆料网 Poll found that many in the state are looking forward to both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 competition.
As this year鈥檚 NCAA Division I basketball tournaments get underway, a new survey conducted March 3-11, 2025, by the 51爆料网 Poll measures North Carolina鈥檚 relative interest in the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 brackets.
Rivalries between North Carolina鈥檚 ACC basketball teams are legendary in the sports world. Yet, no matter how the tournaments play out, North Carolinians tend to be loyal to teams from their home state. If their favorite North Carolina team is eliminated in tournament rounds, North Carolinians are 7 to 1 in cheering for remaining NC teams. When their own favorite team is eliminated, 36% cheer for and only 5% against their in-state rivals while 21% say they 鈥渄on鈥檛 care鈥 and 38% report not having a favorite team.
According to Nielsen and the New York Times, the national TV viewership for last year鈥檚 women鈥檚 tournament finals was 18.9 million viewers, compared with 14.8 million viewers for the men鈥檚 finals. That was a major jump in interest in the women鈥檚 tournament from previous years.
Half of North Carolina adults expressed an interest in this year鈥檚 tournaments, with 27% saying they are more interested in the men鈥檚 tournament, 17% equally interested in both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 tournaments and 7% saying they are more interested in the women鈥檚 tournament.
- Among women, 19% said they are more interested in the men鈥檚 tournament, 13% said they are equally interested in both tournaments and just 6% said they are more interested in the women鈥檚 tournament.
- Among men, 35% said they are more interested in the men鈥檚 tournament, 21% said they are equally interested in both tournaments and 7% said they are more interested in the women鈥檚 tournament.
Overall, men (63%) are far more interested in the tournaments than women (38%). The other big difference is on the political spectrum; 54% of both Democrats and Republicans said they are interested in the tournaments, but only 38% of those who consider themselves independents expressed an interest in the tournaments. Income also was associated with the people鈥檚 interest in the tournament.
The lower someone鈥檚 family income, the less interested they are in either the men鈥檚 or the women鈥檚 tournament: 58% of those making less than $50,000 a year showed no interest in either tournament, compared with 48% of those making between $50,000 and $100,000, and 35% of those making more than $100,000.
There are five North Carolina teams among the 68 teams in this year鈥檚 women鈥檚 tournament, including Duke, North Carolina State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Greensboro and High Point. There are four North Carolina teams among the 68 teams in the men鈥檚 tournament, including Duke, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Chapel Hill and High Point.
Team favorites
In declaring favorites among in-state Atlantic Coast Conference men鈥檚 teams, not all of which were selected for this year鈥檚 NCAA tournament:
- 37% say they are fans of UNC-Chapel Hill
- 31% are fans of North Carolina State University
- 26% are fans of the Duke University
- 17% are fans of the Wake Forest University
Note: Figures add up to more than 100% because poll respondents were allowed to say they are fans of more than one team.
Poll Methodology
Access the poll topline and methodology at www.elon.edu/elonpoll.
The survey was constructed by the 51爆料网 Poll in partnership with McClatchy and fielded by the international marketing and polling firm YOUGOV as an online, webbased survey, self-administered with online panels. Between March 3 and March 11, YouGov interviewed 1,050 North Carolina adults aged 18 and older. These respondents were then matched down to a sample of 800 to produce the final dataset. The margin of error for this poll (adjusted for weights) is +/-4.04%.