Arena #122: Vines Center - Liberty vs. Kentucky Christian

After a few weekends off from ticking new arenas off the list (but seeing the #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs in action in Omaha at the newly re-named CHI Health Center Omaha in between), it was off to the mid-south for a 2 state doubleheader starting with a visit to Lynchburg, VA and a visit to the Vines Center on the campus of Liberty University.  While the Vines Center itself seemed a little antiquated, the remainder of the Liberty campus seemed to be undergoing a building boom as there were new football and baseball stadiums neighboring to the arena as well as numerous roads under construction for future expansion opportunities.  I’m never a fan of checking out non-D1 matchups like this one was between the Flames and the Kentucky Christian Knights from the NAIA, but when it’s the only option on a given trip I feel like the visit has to be taken, especially to see a Liberty team that was expected to be a contender for an NCAA bid in their first year in the Atlantic Sun after having a strong campaign the prior year in the Big South.  While the game was never really in doubt, it was a reasonably entertaining matchup with both teams throwing in threes from all over the court in front of the sparse crowd at the Vines Center.

The Vines Center with its geodesic looking rooftop

Definitely a sparse crowd for this contest but the hanging banners were an interesting decoration

Liberty for one of their many triples on this afternoon

The Flames with a throwdown in the second half

Arena #119: NJIT Wellness & Events Center - New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) vs. Cornell

After a quick detour to the Big Apple for two days to watch my UConn Huskies in the 2k Empire Classic at the Garden, we headed across the river to Newark for a full day of sporting events.  We started at the Prudential Center in the early afternoon for some NHL action before making the mile walk or so from the Pru to the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology or NJIT for a contest between the NJIT Highlanders and the Cornell Big Red.  I’m sure there aren’t too many people that even realize NJIT is a Division 1 school (they transitioned a few years ago), but they had a quaint, but surprisingly modern, arena, including a fairly sizable team store located on the concourse.  For a fan like myself who likes to feel like I’m part of the action, I love these kind of arenas where I can sit in the first couple rows for cheap and hear shoes squeaking and coaches cussing out their players.  Having seen Cornell get handled pretty easily by Colgate a few days earlier in Ithaca, I wasn’t sure how competitive this game would be, but it turned out Cornell found their offense in a week’s time as they hung 86 on the Highlanders in this one.  The game was actually pretty competitive throughout with Cornell hitting their free throws late to ice the game and end up with a sizable win at the final horn.

Entrance to the NJIT Wellness and Events Center

Small, but appropriate arena size for a school like NJIT

Always a fan of the state outline silhouetted as part of the center court logo

Cornell taking the ball to the hoop against the Highlanders

Cornell for 3!

Arena #109: Allen Arena - Lipscomb vs. North Florida

Second time to Tennessee during this season, this time starting in Nashville to complete the triumvirate of schools in the city with a visit to Allen Arena on the campus of Lipscomb University.  Lipscomb hosted the fairly overmatched North Florida Ospreys in this Atlantic Sun contest.  Lipscomb, like it's Nashville rival Belmont, has a beautiful campus with lots of southern architecture and brick buildings that justify the $50k/yr or more students pay to attend.  Allen Arena fits well into the landscape of campus being fairly modern both inside and out, while having a capacity of a few thousand that seems a perfect size for the school.  The crowd wasn't full but any means for this one, but UNF brought more fans from Jacksonville than I expected and there were lots of students (many late-arriving...) helping to create a pretty solid atmosphere for this matchup.

Main entrance of Allen Arena

Impressively nice arena on the inside; just as nice as local rival Belmont

Opening tip between the Bisons and Ospreys

The Bisons love the 3 ball