Month: November 2024

University of California at Berkeley (65) vs. Vanderbilt (85) 11/13/2024

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Game #132 of 364 36% complete

This was my first visit to a suspended court. In other words, the court was raised about three feet. The two teams sat under the baskets as opposed on the sides. The coach stood on the sidelines during play but did not have the opportunity to talk to (or yell) at his players during the game unless he walked back to the bench under the basket.

This game was never close even though California pulled within 9 points at one point. The Commodores forced 20 turnovers against the Bears who lacked a true point guard. Despite shooting 7 for 30 from the three point line, Vanderbilt’s defense was overwhelming. I still can’t over the fact that California is now a member of the ACC. Those travel costs will sure pile up for the Bears.

California player Lee Dort was booed every time he touched the ball. I finally figured out and confirmed that he was an ex-Vanderbilt player. In Nashville on November 2023, he was arrested for strangling an ex-girlfriend in a dorm room. He obviously transferred to get a fresh start 2000 miles away.

California guard Andrej Stojakovic is the son of Peta who played 14 seasons in the NBA. Andrej played his first year at Stanford and transferred to the California Bears choosing over Kentucky and North Carolina. A former McDonald’s all- American, he clearly was the best player on the Bear’s squad leading his team with 17 points.

Vanderbilt freshmen Tyler Tanner drew oohs and applause from the crowd with some fast break dunks and three pointers. The two time Tennessee Gatorade player of the year finished with 14 points and three steals.

The student section below was grouped in one corner on the side. In my opinion, it was a small contingent for a P5 school plus there were many empty seats around the arena.

I was very impressed by the huge TVs at each corner of the arena. You could easily see the game better watching the screen than the live play from my seat.

The concourse had a big exhibit of Vanderbilt sports including the uniform of NBA star Jan Van Breda Kolff .

What trip to Nashville would not be complete without a trip to Martin’s BBQ and Hattie’s Hot Chicken.

If you a follower of my blog, you can always expect pictures from the local zoo. Here are some from the famous Nashville Zoo.

On to Virginia in December for a three game set.

Belmont (79) vs. Lipscomb (80) 11/12/2024

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Game #131 of 364 36% complete

I started my tenth year of traveling for Operation 351 with a 2 game trip to the Music City – Nashville. So where does a parrot head stay when visiting Nashville? Why the Margaritaville Hotel, of course! To hear the sounds of Jimmy Buffet as I check in is a perfect way to start the trip.

I did not rent a car this time since the hotel was charging $57 a day to park. UBER worked just fine for this trip. I find that when I am the airport, it is easier to get a taxi as there usually no lines, instead of dealing with the crowds around the UBER wait areas. However, using UBER is easier when traversing the city from the hotel and other tourist spots.

This game features two schools from Nashville (Belmont & Liscomb) and is appropriately title the “Battle of the Boulevard”. The schools have met for the 151st time with Belmont winning 19 of the last 22 games. The schools are literally 5 minutes apart from each other. Fans from both teams were numerous and loud. I was fortunate to grab a courtside seat which can happen occasionally for a mid-major game but impossible for a high major game. I was sitting right in front of the Lipscomb student section. Unfortunately, there was one guy who annoyingly kept pounding a flagpole in the stand which reverberated in my head thorough out the game.

Belmont and Lipscomb teams were evenly matched. Lipscomb held the lead for most of the game until the final two minutes. Belmont came back and won the game on a three point play with 3 seconds left. Isiah Walker of Belmont grabbed a missed three point attempt and was fouled as he put in the tying basket. To add to the drama, Walker’s foul shot rolled around the rim a couple of times before falling in.

An alley-oop dunk attempt from Lipscomb’s Will Pruitt to Dylan Faulkner sailed over the rim and out of bounds at the buzzer.

Belmont scored on each of its final seven possessions, made eight consecutive shots before the final miss with eight seconds to go, and erased a 12-point deficit with 3:19 minutes left, all with Lipscomb not committing a turnover nor missing a free throw.

Kudos to Belmont forward Jacob Ognacevic who scored 28 points and missed the entire last season with an injury.

The Liscomb cheerleader (picture below) had to perform 50 pushups at some point during the game. Not quite sure what the trigger was for this!

On to Vanderbilt tomorrow night after a couple of margaritas in Margarativille.