I resisted the temptation to wear a Duke T-shirt. The hatred here may not be as intense as in Lexington or Chapel Hill, but 1991 doesn't seem that long ago to some.
While Kruger and Fisher had past glory in Florida and Michigan, respectively, they've created a decent rivalry. The Aztecs made the NCAA tournament last year, and the Rebels are getting some votes in the Top 25 poll. A good crowd was on hand for the game.
Okay, there were a lot of empty seats during the pregame, but most fans filed in once the game started. The student section was behind the basket on the left side of Tarkanian Court; the rest of the arena was filled by local fans.The fans cheer heartily for their team, but they lack craziness. If anything, they're a little passive-aggressive: the main cheer is a slow "Reh-bulls, Reh-bulls" with each syllable drawn out. It sounds like a taunt, specifically "airball."
Then there were fans behind me who kept criticizing Aztec stud Brandon Heath with "N-B-A" and "You the man, Heath!" Did they want him to have a bad game or sign an autograph?
Overall, I liked the experience. I'll try to get tickets to the Air Force game, and possibly the Mountain West Conference tournament.
UNLV won, by the way. Then yesterday they beat New Mexico, so they could crack the rankings soon.
This week's seeds. Out: Clemson, Indiana, and Washington State. In: Virginia Tech, Duke, and Vanderbilt.
San Jose Regional
1. Kansas: Must beat Aggies this Saturday for first place in Big 12.
2. UCLA: Stumbled at Stanford; the start of a losing streak?
3. Nevada: The mid-major no one wants to face.
4. Marquette: Has to avoid unlikely sweep by Providence.
St. Louis Regional
1. Wisconsin: Will they go undefeated in the Big Ten?
2. Memphis: Will they ever lose in Conference USA?
3. Butler: I'm not sure I'd seed them any higher.
4. Duke: Can finally claim they belong in ACC's top tier.
East Rutherford Regional
1. North Carolina: "Scary good" seems to be the consensus.
2. Pittsburgh: Now get a pair of difficult road games (Nova, WV).
3. Oregon: May have to sweep UCLA to stay atop Pac-10.
4. Vanderbilt: Not bad for a team that started 1-3.
San Antonio Regional
1. Florida: Guess who Vanderbilt plays next?
2. Ohio State: Have to win out just to keep up with Badgers.
3. Texas A&M: Can't overlook ISU prior to Kansas showdown.
4. Virginia Tech: Hokies are now 6-1 in ACC play.
4 comments:
I so very much don't care about college basketball, but I AM going to see Penn State verses somebody this Saturday. It's my husband's birthday and I must indulge him. If Penn State didn't suck so bad, I would recommend you check out his PSU sportsblog, www.BlackShoeDiaries.com. But they suck, so who cares.
Have fun at the game. Here are some talking points.
First, you have to point out that the number 11 is embedded in the "Big Ten" logo on the court. Make a reference to Spinal Tap. ("But this league goes up to 11.") He will probably appreciate it.
Let's see... they're playing Purdue. I don't anything about either team. So I looked 'em up.
Purdue: Generally, if they don't look very focused, you can say, "Gee, you think they're missing Gene Keady right about now?" (Keady is pronounced like Katie. He was their former coach, who retired.)
Carl Landry (#14) is their leading scorer. If he's having a bad game, you can exclaim, "I can't believe this is the same guy who scored 30 points at Oklahoma!" If he's doing well, say "What'd you expect? He scored 30 at Oklahoma!"
Finally, you can't go wrong with "What's a Boilermaker?"
Penn State: Geary Claxton (#5) is their leading scorer, and is among the top 5 rebounders in the Big Ten/11.
Then you have two guys named David Jackson on your team. #32 goes by Mooch, #15 goes by DJ. So: "I wonder if DJ didn't bother thinking up a good nickname because he couldn't top Mooch."
Wow, thanks for the talking points! I'll be sure to use them. I didn't know that bit about the David Jacksons. It's funny, because I have a friend of the same name who lives in Dallas and when to A&M. Hmmmm...
"I resisted the temptation to wear a Duke T-shirt."
HOW???!!!!
"The hatred here may not be as intense as in Lexington or Chapel Hill, but 1991 doesn't seem that long ago to some."
AMEN!!
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