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Talk about good seats.

Wilson Bruce, with his son Will and his buddy Tyler Kirk, happened to have good neighbors in the N.C. State section on Thursday night.

On Friday morning they sat outside of the coliseum, waiting to go into the arena while they polished off a beer and talked about whose knees were in Wilson Bruce's back.

N.C. State legend Tommy Burleson. And next to him, David Thompson.

"And then Lefty Driesell came over and said, 'I got to get a picture with you two,' " Bruce said. Driesell was talking about Thompson and Burleson, not Bruce and his son.

"It was a blast," Bruce said.

Bruce said that Driesell talked about the 1974 ACC championship game in which he coached Maryland and lost to the N.C. State team with Burleson and Thompson.

Driesell had time for a story on Thursday for Bruce.

"After the game, Lefty found the N.C. State bus, got on the bus and said that was the best game he ever had coached," Bruce said. "And then before he got off, Lefty turned around and told the team, 'Now, I want you to go all the way.' "

FIRST-TIMER: Way up in section 236, Pat Scheper of Durham sat with his father-in-law to see the Duke win over Virginia in the first game of the quarterfinals.

It's kind of dark in the nosebleed seats. But for $15 tickets just minutes before the game, one gets a good angle of on-the-court action from there.

"I took a half-day off work," Scheper said. "I've never been here before."

He wore a maroon shirt and a Virginia Tech wristband. A few sections over was a mass of Virginia Tech colors.

"The Hokies seem to have traveled well," he said.

FIERY FACE: Jim Webb (not the senator from Virginia) stood around the back of an SUV in the parking lot at the coliseum with a couple of friends and a cup full of Zing Zang.

"Did you see Roy Williams' face last night?" asked the Duke fan about the telecast of the UNC coach who watched his team lose to Georgia Tech. "They showed that face about twice."

Yeah, Williams was pretty upset. And for a Duke fan -- well, let's just say they aren't going to get upset about the situation.

KEEPING DRY: Denice Blaylock of Roxboro stood in the Greensboro Coliseum Pavilion, where most of the ACC FanFest activities had moved. She had a Duke blue umbrella tucked under her arm as she stood with her mother, who leaned on a blue anodized metal cane.

"My mom broke her hip four weeks ago," Blaylock said. "The first thing she said was 'I won't be able to make it to the tournament.' "

Well, they had, but were avoiding rain. And they snacked on some carrots and ranch dressing that someone had handed out among the gathered.

"That's a healthy snack," she said.

Basketball games, three-point contests, freebies and fun for kids were available inside.

Compiled by staff writers Gerald Witt, Jeff Mills and Don Patterson.