Arena #154: Tom Gola Arena - La Salle vs. #20 Dayton

For Arena #154, I scheduled probably one of my more aggressive drives in going from Greensboro, NC to Philadelphia, PA for a visit to Tom Gola Arena on the campus of La Salle University.  I originally was planning to stop in Annapolis on this day for a game at the US Naval Academy, but when I saw that La Salle was hosting a top 20 ranked Dayton Flyers team, with one of the more electrifying players in the country in Obi Toppin, I had to call an audible.  La Salle is one of the Philly Big 5 schools and is the fourth of the five schools I’ve now visited (only Temple left).  Gola Arena was certainly one of the stranger venues that I’ve been to in that the arena itself was on a completely different level than the concourse and concessions.  Additionally, I was disappointed to find out that my ticket at center court in like the 16^th row was only a bleacher seat with no chairbacks (chairbacks ended the row in front of me…sigh).  Thankfully, they had a holiday promo with $10 tickets so I didn’t feel quite so disappointed in the value.  The on-court action certainly left a little to be desired, however, as La Salle was wholly dominated from tip to horn by the Flyers, though I certainly did enjoy the athleticism and skills that Toppin displayed during the game.  I look forward to seeing what this Flyers team does in March, especially given their performance in the Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving week.

Outside of the Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia

A+ creativity in painting the bleachers to spell out La Salle

Opening tip between the Flyers and Explorers

La Salle with the floater early in the contest

Arena #118: Finneran Pavilion - #8 Villanova vs. #18 Michigan

Sixth game in as many days took us to the Northwest suburbs of Philly this time and the campus of Villanova University for a highly anticipated National Championship rematch between the defending national champion Villanova Wildcats and the Michigan Wolverines from the newly refurbished Finneran Pavilion.  While this was technically the second game at The Finn as the locals call it now, it was the first big game and the fact that it was a national championship game rematch increased the excitement that much more.  I don’t know too well what Finneran Pavilion looked like before the refurbishment and before GQ Jay brought home two national titles in three years, but the entrance and concourse was a great display of Villanova’s basketball prowess over time and especially over these last 3 years with their trophies and championship banners on display.  The game however, was much more of a disappointment for both myself and all the Villanova fans in the building as the Wildcats were thoroughly pounded by the Wolverines from the opening tip.  The capacity crowd of 7000 or so was fully engaged at tip and the student section was going crazy, but all that ended quickly as Michigan jumped to an early lead and Villanova couldn’t buy a bucket.  I knew Villanova lost a lot over the summer, but Michigan was utterly impressive on the road in a very hostile environment for this one.

Main entrance to the newly refurbished Finneran Pavilion

Numerous banners honoring Villanova men's and women's Big East Championships hanging on the concourse 

Ribbon cutting ceremony pregame (naming donor Bill Finneran holding the scissors next to Jay Wright)

Capacity crowd hyped before the tip for this 2018 National Championship rematch

Scrum for the ball during the second half of action

Arena #117: The Palestra - Pennsylvania vs. Lafayette

Fifth game in five days brought me to one of my remaining two bucket list venues; the Palestra in Philly for a matchup between the Pennsylvania Quakers and the Lafayette Leopards.  When one thinks of college basketball history, three venues probably come to mind immediately: Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas, Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke, and the Palestra.  I myself would add Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler to that list as well.  Anyhow, since this was my first visit to Philly, a visit to the Palestra was a must, even if the game being attended was likely going to be subpar.  It’s amazing the feeling you get walking into such a venue with so much history and that was before checking out all the history displayed on the walls and in cases throughout the concourse!  As for the game itself, it wasn’t one of the more competitive affairs I’ve ever seen, but was fun to see the Quakers lighting it up from 3 early and often throughout the contest.  It was also awesome to have scored some pretty affordable second row seats at such an historic venue, but wasn’t too surprising when the crowd probably numbered in the hundreds on a Tuesday night for this contest... 

Outside the historic Palestra

Decades of history captured on the walls throughout the concourse

Spacious, but cozy seating bowl with banners honoring all the Philly Big 5 schools

Pregame introductions inside the historic Palestra

Lafayette taking it to the hoop and getting rejected!

Arena #116: Hagan Arena - St. Joseph's vs. Monmouth

Game 4 of our trip took us back to Pennsylvania, but this time to Philadelphia, for my first Philly Big 5 school in St. Joseph's.  On this night in Hagan Arena, the Hawks were taking on fellow Hawks from Monmouth University.  Hagan Arena is an old school venue with an old school layout that gives it some unique charm that I imagine creates a heck of an atmosphere during Atlantic 10 play when St. Joe's is good.  I can only imagine how this place rocked back in the day when Jameer Nelson and Delonte West were leading the Hawks to an undefeated regular season in 2003-04.  On this night, the student section was definitely into the game, but the rest of the crowd was a little more sparse than I expected in an arena that holds less than 5,000 folks.  Ultimately, St. Joe's ended up with a solid 15-point win over a Monmouth squad that you could tell was overmatched in this contest.

Main entrance to Hagan Arena, one of the Philly Big 5 schools

The motto of the St. Joe's Hawks..."The Hawk Will Never Die"

Inside Hagan Arena a few minutes prior to tipoff

Phil Martelli, head coach of St. Joe's, was not pleased with some of the officiating in the contest

 

The hawk mascot has to continuously flap its wings throughout the ENTIRE game.  Simply insane!