Arena #132: Stuart C. Siegel Center - Virginia Commonwealth vs. Wichita St.

For the 11^th and final game of this trip, we drove another couple hours east in the state of Virginia to Richmond for a non-conference matchup between 2 of the premier mid-major programs of the last decade, the Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) Rams and the Wichita St. Shockers at the Siegel Center on the VCU campus.  Now I’ve been a fan of both of these programs for years due to their coaches (Gregg Marshall at Wichita St. due to his time at Winthrop as discussed a few games back) and former VCU coach Shaka Smart having attended the same high school as I did in Oregon, Wisconsin a couple years earlier than me.  Based on the other experiences on this trip, I didn’t have much of an expectation for an atmosphere at this game either given it was scheduled three days before Christmas with students on break, but the locals definitely filled up the building for this one, which was great to see.  The Siegel Center is a perfectly sized venue for a school like VCU holding 7-8,000 people so there were few bad seats in the house (though the corner we were stuck in seemed to be one of those few bad seats…).  The school prominently displays its NCAA participation and championship banners on the walls throughout the arena and has its 2011 improbable Final Four appearance banner hanging right at midcourt.  For the game itself, this was certainly not one of the finest displays of basketball I’ve seen on either end of the court.  The first half was competitive, but the offenses both struggled at times to find the basket, though the Rams were a little better in the half to take a 3 point lead to the break.  After the half, however, VCU exerted more of its will on the Shockers and the Shockers couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean for numerous stretches in the half, scoring only 20 points for the entire 20 minute period, leading to a comfortable win for the Rams in the end.

Impressive facade of the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA

Love the creativity with VCU spelled out in yellow seats on one side and Rams on the other

Getting this matchup between the Rams and the Shockers underway

VCU looking to score in the post over the interior presence of the Shockers

Arena #130: Holmes Convocation Center - Appalachian St. vs. Milligan

To complete the doubleheader for the day, we drove back to North Carolina and up through the Appalachians to Appalachian St. University for a matchup with NAIA school Milligan College.  I guess from the name of the school, I should have expected it might be a little cold outside at Appalachian St., but I certainly didn’t expect sub 40 degree temperatures on a cold, rainy night in Boone, NC.  Plus the half mile walk up and down a few hundred feet from the parking lot to the arena certainly didn’t help the enjoyment factor either  Given the weather and the fact this game was played a few days before the Christmas holiday with no students on campus, the attendance for this matchup was quite sparse creating very little atmosphere for this contest.  Even as a severely outmatched team, Milligan managed to keep the game close and relatively exciting up until halftime.  After the break, the Mountaineers imposed their will on both ends of the court scoring nearly 60 points after the break in a dominant half of basketball!

Sparse crowd on hand in the mountains of Boone, NC for this pre-holiday contest

"APP" flags leading the players out onto the court

Opening tip of the matchup between Appalachian St. and Milligan

App St. with a second half throwdown!

Arena #129: Winthrop Coliseum - Winthrop vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore

After splitting time between North Carolina and South Carolina the previous day, it was time to do the same thing the following day starting with an early morning drive to Rock Hill, SC for an 11 am tip at one of my favorite low-major basketball schools, Winthrop University.  I’ve been a fan of their program ever since the Gregg Marshall days and their upset of Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament so it was cool to finally get to check out a bit of their campus and catch a game at the Winthrop Coliseum.  While I expected the 11 am Friday afternoon tip to bring with it a sparse crowd, it turns out it was some elementary school kids day so there were thousands of kids in the stands that helped create an atmosphere that was better than expected, if not a bit terrifying at the same time 😊.  The Winthrop Coliseum is a pretty old building with pretty limited concessions and space on the concourses.  However, there’s definitely not a bad seat in the building and I especially loved the backboards that hang from the ceiling rather than being on movable stanchions like most places these days.  The action on the court was reasonably entertaining as well, even if the Maryland-Eastern Shore Eagles were pretty much outmatched from tip to buzzer in this one.  Winthrop led a three-point barrage throughout the first half that got the crowd going and they maintained a comfortable lead from halftime all the way to the end of the contest.

The walk up to the main entrance to the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, SC

Inside the old confines of the Winthrop Coliseum - note all the NCAA appearance banners hanging from the rafters

Opening tip between the Eagles and the Hawks

Winthrop for one of their numerous threes during the contest

Arena #127: G.B. Hodge Center - USC Upstate vs. Truett-McConnell

Now I thought Gore Arena was relatively small at a capacity of around 5,000, but I was in for treat heading to the G.B. Hodge Center on the campus of USC Upstate, which boasts the smallest D1 arena in the country with a listed capacity of a whopping 878 folks!  I think my high school gym held about as many, if not more, than the Hodge Center and my HS wasn’t even in the top division of enrollment in the state of Wisconsin!  There were no seats behind the baskets and only 7 rows of seats from baseline to baseline along the sidelines.  I mean the joint is so small, I couldn’t even find a ticket window, but there was a concession stand in the hallway at least.  I figured the crowd would be pretty sparse for this one being it was an 11 am tip on a pre-holiday Thursday against an NAIA school, but there were some local children’s organization in the crowd that at least provided some sound and atmosphere to the contest.  I must say my favorite part though was the personal touch of the team at the end of the game going over to the sideline and shaking hands with patrons as they exited the stands and thanking them for attending the game.  That kind of touch is how you build a small program with, I imagine a very small fanbase, into a memorable one.  As for the game itself, it was reasonably close early on, but the lower division kids from Truett-McConnell just couldn’t sustain any momentum against the Spartans, who ultimately won the matchup comfortably. 

Outside of the G.B. Hodge Center on the campus of USC Upstate

Opening tip between USC Upstate and Truett-McConnell

Inside the seating bowl of the smallest arena in NCAA D1 men's basketball - 878 patrons

USC Upstate attacking the basket in the first half

Arena #107: Vadalabene Center - SIU-Edwardsville vs. UT-Martin

Decent weather on a mid-January weekend where 2 teams in southern and western Illinois had home games means you take advantage of the opportunity to check both off the list.  The Vadalabene Center on the campus of fairly new to DI SIU-Edwardsville, was also fairly new and a good size for a school and fanbase up and coming in DI.  The crowd wasn't big, but the Cougars were on fire early and often from 3 in the contest leading to lots of "3 for the E" calls from the announcer...

Outside of the Vadalabene Center, including a rather interesting sculpture

Opening tip between the Cougars and Skyhawks

One of the plentiful 3 point attempts for SIUE in the first half

Final chance for SIUE to win the game (the shot did not go in)

2017 NCAA Final Four - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ

April 1 & 3, 2017: 8 years ago I went to the Final Four for the first time thinking it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch my UConn Huskies in person in Detroit.  Fast forward to 2017 and I had the opportunity to go to my 4th Final Four, but for the first time it wasn't in support of UConn.  Instead, I got to cheer for my other favorite team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who finally busted through their proverbial NCAA ceiling to reach the Final Four for the first time.  After 2 exciting semifinal games between Gonzaga and fellow first time Final Four participant South Carolina as well as Oregon and North Carolina on Saturday evening, the stage was set for a Monday night showdown between one of the bluest of college basketball's bluebloods in North Carolina and a Gonzaga program that very few knew even played D1 basketball less than 20 years ago.  While the outcome of the game didn't turn out as I hoped since the refs utterly mucked the game up after halftime, it was still another memorable visit to one of the greatest annual sporting events in the country!

Sunny and 80 degrees outside U PHX Stadium on Championship Day!

Court looks pretty small in a cavernous stadium doesn't it?

Glad my seats weren't up there!

Coach Few and Coach Williams with a pregame greeting

Opening tip of the National Championship!

Nigel Williams-Goss from Gonzaga with the baseline jumper

Williams-Goss pulls up over UNC's Theo Pinson

The confetti flies for the 2017 National Champions - North Carolina

Arena #86: Gentry Center - Tennessee St. vs. Eastern Kentucky

February 18, 2017: Back half of a Nashville OVC doubleheader to catch the TSU Tigers and the EKU Colonels on Senior Night.  Can't say this was one of the better facilities along the journey given that basketball is being played in a multi-purpose sports venue...and the fact that there was about 750 people in the building.  Highlight of the game though was definitely the TSU Band...they were crazily into the game and saved the atmosphere of the venue for sure!

Upper deck view of the court

Pregame baseline view

Opening tip between the Tigers and Colonels

Fastbreak slam by the Tigers

Arena #85: Curb Event Center - Belmont vs. Morehead St.

February 18: 2017: Final regular season college basketball travel weekend of the season for me took me on a 9 hour trip to Nashville for a doubleheader commencing with a visit to the Curb Event Center for an Ohio Valley Conference matchup between the league-leading Belmont Bruins and the Morehead St. Eagles.  What a beautiful campus at Belmont...so much traditional southern architecture and charm that clearly carried over to the Curb Event Center as well.  What a uniquely styled and perfectly sized venue for a team like Belmont.

Best architectural design for a college basketball venue of my 85 visits so far

Perfect size - not a bad seat in the house for the best team in the OVC

Leading scorer Evan Bradds takes it to the rack

One of the plethora of Belmont's 3 point attempts (and makes) in the game

Arena #82: Coors Events Center - Colorado vs. #10 Oregon

January 28, 2017: Saturday evening in Boulder, CO to visit my 7th Pac-12 arena.  Even though I'm a fan of Dana Altman, I do always enjoy a good court storming, especially after the PA announcer told the students to stay off the court.  Plus who doesn't love a game with Bill Walton in the house!

Love the mountains painted on this court

Dillon Brooks with the attempted flush

Storming the court!!

Arena #81: Arena-Auditorium - Wyoming vs. Boise St.

January 28, 2017: Nothing I like more than being able to check off all the D1 arenas in an entire state in 1 visit!  Thanks Frontier for the super cheap weekend flight to Denver so I could drive the 2.5 hours up to Laramie for some Mountain West action between the Broncos and Cowboys at the highest arena in the nation!

Side view of the Arena-Auditorium built into the side of a snow-covered hill

Interior of the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie

Located at 7,220 ft above sea level, the highest venue in D1 basketball

Game action between Boise St. and Wyoming