It's been said already, but I don't see how anyone can get upset by the crowds. Yes, we have die-hard fans, and that's why there are still a couple-thousand fans at most games. If I lived in Winston I would have been there last night. If I lived any farther away than maybe Greensboro I wouldn't have been. And if it had been anyone but Duke, Carolina, or maybe State, I probably wouldn't have been there even then.
For everyone else, there's no motivation to come. I don't owe these kids anything. I want to see them succeed, but if they aren't succeeding and aren't giving me something fun to watch, then I'm not going to make too much effort to be there, particularly for a late night weeknight game. Add in a small student base, a small alumni base, and a town that has as many if not more Carolina fans than Wake fans, and you're going to have consistently small crowds until the team improves significantly.
It's really the same thing you see happening to any smaller-market poorly performing NBA or MLB team. The crowds just aren't going to be there.