Arena #156: XFINITY Center - #15 Maryland vs. Indiana

After a couple days in Philly, it was back to Maryland for the first of two consecutive doubleheader days starting with a stop at the XFINITY Center in College Park, MD for a Big Ten?!?! Conference matchup between the Maryland Terrapins and the Indiana Hoosiers at Arena #156.  Being an alum of the University of Wisconsin and having lived in Wisconsin all my life, I still struggle to believe that Maryland is a member of the Big Ten making this the 13^th different Big Ten arena I’ve been to (only the even more hard to believe Rutgers remains).  I gotta say, I was highly impressed by the layout and atmosphere of the XFINITY Center, especially given it was winter break for the students, yet the end of the arena where the students sit was packed with regular patrons.  There were over 16,000 in attendance for the game, yet I never felt like I was in an arena that large when I was walking around nor when I was in my seat in the lower corner of the arena.

I especially liked the trophy cases that were set up on the concourse to display the accolades of all Terrapin sports, including the stand-alone trophy case to display the NABC national championship trophy the Terps won in 2002 over Indiana.  They also had the center court logo on display from Cole Field House, where the Terrapin basketball teams used to play and where one of the most historic national championship games in college basketball history was played, the 1966 championship between Texas Western and Kentucky.  That game, which was retold in the movie Glory Road, was historic as Texas Western became the first school to ever start 5 African-American players.  As for the Maryland vs. Indiana matchup on this day, the first ten or so minutes of the game were ugly as can be, with both teams struggling to put the ball in the basket.  Things got better for the Terrapins, but they certainly never improved for the Hoosiers, who ended up trailing by 8 at half, before getting pummeled for the majority of the second half in what ended up being a 16-point win for Maryland.

Outside the XFINITY Center on the campus of the University of Maryland

View from the front of the upper deck inside the arena

Opening tip between the Terrapins and Hoosiers

Indiana attempting to get to the basket through the tough Maryland defense

Center court from Cole Field House, the former home of Maryland basketball, and the site of the 1966 NCAA National Championship between Texas Western and Kentucky

Arena #148: Williams Arena - Minnesota vs. DePaul

Living in Wisconsin, it’s hard to believe it’s taken until Arena #148 to make a visit to Williams Arena (aka The Barn) in Minneapolis for a game, but given the University of Minnesota is the only Division 1 program in the state, I needed something more than just 1 game to make the drive up.  A top 12 rivalry matchup on the gridiron between the Golden Gophers and the Wisconsin Badgers for Paul Bunyan’s Axe and a spot in the B1G championship game seemed a great occasion for just such a trip when the schedule worked out perfectly by having a mid-afternoon Black Friday basketball game with the football game on Saturday afternoon.  Turns out the basketball game ended up being a much more exciting matchup than expected in the preseason as the DePaul Blue Demons headed up from Chicago to the Barn with an undefeated record.  Before talking about the game, let’s talk about the Barn and it’s “uniqueness.”  Given the arena was built in the 1920’s, it certainly has some interesting design features such as having to walk through the stands on the first level to reach the upper level seats, but it’s most well-known unique feature is obviously the elevated court.  The Final Four uses a similar layout now each year since it’s played in a football stadium, but seeing it in a much smaller venue like Williams Arena is even more interesting.  Onto the game, DePaul was extremely impressive throughout the contest led by Charlie Moore dropping dimes all over the court and Jalen Coleman-Lands making timely 3s to fend off a huge day in the paint from Minnesota’s center Daniel Oturu who put up 19 points and 18 boards in a losing effort.

Historic Williams Arena aka "The Barn"

Pregame view of the elevated court from the upper level

Gophers attacking the basket in the first half

Jalen Coleman-Lands from DePaul for 3 late in the contest

Arena #133: E.A. Diddle Arena - Western Kentucky vs. #15 Wisconsin

After a break for the Christmas holiday, it was back on the road for a trip to Bowling Green, KY to see my alma mater, the #15 Wisconsin Badgers play a true road game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.  It’s pretty rare that you see a power 5 school playing a true road game against a mid-major with no real affiliation between the programs, but a basketball home-and-home was negotiated as part of a combined football and basketball contract between the schools so I had to have this game on my calendar even if I’m not really a fan of Wisconsin basketball due to its style of play.  The E.A. Diddle Arena on the campus of WKU is another well designed and right sized arena for a mid-major school like WKU.  It’s a bit older than other places I’ve been recently like the Siegel Center or the Schar Center so the concourses and amenities aren’t quite as nice as some newer facilities, but I love a circular arena designed for basketball only where all the seats are well angled towards the playing surface.  The only bad part about this game was the obnoxious nature of some of the kids in the crowd sitting behind me who were borderline offensive to the opposing team and fans throughout the game.  I’m all for cheering your team on, but it shouldn’t be in a way that’s inappropriate, especially coming from kids of a middle school age.  Guess that’s what happens when they’re allowed to be left unsupervised for the entire game though too.  Since I have no real interest in WKU basketball, I was actually rooting for the Badgers in this one, but Wisconsin struggled way too much on the defensive end in this contest.  Wisconsin gave up numerous uncontested drives through the lane to the Hilltoppers to where WKU was able to pull out the upset in front of a near capacity crowd.  Biggest disappointment other than the decorum of the crowd though was that they beat a top 15 ranked team and didn’t even storm the court! Boo…

Outside the E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY

Near capacity crowd for this one, even during holiday break

Opening tip between the Hilltoppers and Badgers

Ethan Happ with one of his numerous point blank misses in this 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 #113: Bryce Jordan Center - Penn St. vs. North Florida

Not only do I hope to visit everyone DI men's basketball arena, but I'm also trying to see the Wisconsin Badgers football team play in every Big Ten stadium and the schedule makers created a perfect doubleheader for me in having Badger football play on Saturday, November 10 with the Penn St. men's basketball team opening the 2018-19 season the day before at the Bryce Jordan Center.  Obviously being a season opener, Penn St. didn't exactly schedule a top tier opponent for the contest, which led to a relatively sparse and unengaged crowd for the game.  The building itself isn't anything unique and has obviously been around for a number of years, which isn't too surprising given the focus on football and the 103,000+ seat football stadium located across the parking lot from the arena.  I imagine the crowd gets a little more engaged come B1G play, but definitely wouldn't rank the Bryce Jordan Center in the top half of the conference.

Outside the Bryce Jordan Center on a rainy Friday evening

Not exactly a full house 15 minutes before tip... 

It was banner raising night honoring the school's NIT Championship back in 2018

 

North Florida attempting to get back into the game

2017 PK80 - Phil Knight Invitational

When a one-off, 16 team college basketball extravaganza was announced back in 2015 for Thanksgiving weekend 2017, I knew right then what my holiday plans would be for this year.  Having the opportunity to see both of my teams (UConn and Gonzaga) in the same "tournament" for the 2nd time in 3 years was definitely going to be a can't miss event.

The ability to have 2 tournaments running simultaneously in buildings a few hundred yards from each other was a perfect setup for the event in that it allowed me to catch 15 games over the course of the 3 days(including 7 of the 8 games on Day 1).  ESPN did manage to botch scheduling on Day 2 making the semifinal matchups overlap with each other (when both my teams were playing in them no less!), but other than that the coordination of the event was pretty strong.

Can't say I was thrilled having to watch Duke and Michigan St. win their respective brackets, but it was definitely a memorable event over a memorable weekend honoring the man behind Nike, Mr. Phil Knight.

Moda Center glowing in a clear Portland evening

The man being honored with PK80 - Mr. Phil Knight

Outside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum - the 2nd building hosting PK80 games all weekend long

Jalen Adams (UConn) with the jumper in a PK80 quarterfinal matchup with Oregon

Upstairs vantage point inside the Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the PK80

Josh Perkins (Gonzaga) pulls up for 3 against Ohio St. in a PK80 quarterfinal