because Duke basketball has kind of evolved to Dallas Cowboys or NY Yankee status among the the fan bases. My point though is perceptually most people see it as a neutral site game because both teams have to travel a great distance to play the game. Also, people may assume because Durham is a lot closer than Spokane, then more Duke fans are willing to travel to see the game in person. Instead of thinking a large percentage of the fan base already lives in the area.