Basketball fans fill AAC for Sweet 16 games

Friday night at the American Airlines Center saw a unique scene as basketball enthusiasts from four colleges filled the arena, shifting the usual Mavs mania to showcase support for NC State, Marquette, Duke, and Houston, creating a house divided for the Carter family.

Lawrence Carter, expressing the excitement, shared, “Originally I was going to buy her a ticket just to see Duke but when Houston showed up I said we fixin’ to get three tickets now.”

Ahead of tip-off, thousands queued up eagerly, eager to enter the arena and grab merchandise before witnessing two teams advance to the Elite Eight.

Among the fervent attendees were fans from distant places like Wisconsin, where Alex Liss and her friends graduated from Marquette. Liss promised, “I will be here Sunday if they make it. You’ll see the cow hat again — dairyland.”

Dereck Whittenburg, a former NC State player who won a national championship in 1983, expressed his desire for the current players to savor the experience, saying, “I want them to experience it in the worst way. We’re on our way, got a lot of confidence and I’m in the great city of Dallas.”

With a Final Four game slated for the AAC on Sunday, the three games are expected to inject at least $14 million into local businesses.