Month: December 2024

Bucknell (70) vs. Radford (74) OT 12/08/2024

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Game #135 of 364 37% complete

The Dedmon Center at Radford University has a free parking lot in front with a short walk to the arena. This is always a plus to me having spent many hours looking for a free parking lot on campuses on my trips. I was greeted by this huge inflatable mascot representing a highlander.

Fortunately, I was sitting in a bucket seat not on the bleachers on the other side. One good thing about small arenas and small schools is that you can usually get a good seat at a great price. I was at dead center court about 4 rows up.

I was impressed with Bucknell coach John Griffin. This man was into the game yelling out instructions out to his players throughout the game and wearing his emotions on his sleeve. I won’t name other coaches but the majority stand there with their arms crossed and make an obligatory argument to the referee occasionally. Griffin helped lead Bucknell to four NCAA Tournament appearances, two as a player (2005, 2006) and two as an assistant coach (2017, 2018). You can tell that he loves coaching at Bucknell.

A teddy bear toss was performed at halftime. The stuffed animals were to be donated to a children’s hospital. I did not bring one with me obviously but fortunately there was a table of stuffed animals in the concourse. I grabbed the last one and threw my bunny (not a bear) onto the court almost hitting the photographer seen in the photo.

I was very impressed with Bucknell guard Achile Spadone scoring 24 points in a losing effort. He captained the U16 and U18 Switzerland national teams. He attended the private school St. Thomas More in my home state of Connecticut. His stellar ball handling, defensive guarding and shooting ability made him standout from all the other players on the floor.

This was an exciting game with Radford pulling it out into overtime. Given that I had a plane to catch after the game, I was glad that there was not a second overtime.

But what made this visit special was a showing in the concourse of the school therapy dogs. They provide comfort and stress relief to Radford students. Anyone who knows me is that I am an animal lover and could not pass up a chance to have my picture taken with one of the dogs.

If you ever in the Roanoke area, a visit to the Virginia Museum of Transportation is a must. Cars from every decade were displayed there along with a cool assortment of trains and passenger cars.

Happy Holidays to my fellow college basketball fans!

Mississippi Valley State (52) vs. Liberty (89) 12/7/2024

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Game #134 of 364 37% complete

Liberty University was founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell. Liberty is one of the world’s largest Christian universities as evidenced by the huge campus buildings I saw on the way to the arena. It is also one of the largest private non-profit universities in the United States by total student enrollment. Jerry Falwell Jr. took over after his father died in 2007 but disagreements over compensation and accusations of wrong doing forced Falwell out. The university has had its fair share of lawsuits with its adherence to a fundamentalist Christian approach to education that invoked challenges from the far left. No judgements here but the university is thriving along with its basketball team.

Liberty University is currently in first place in Conference USA with a 9-1 record. When the team’s starting lineup was introduced, I was shocked at how short the starting guards were. Colin Parker is 5’10” tall. Kaden Metheny is 5’11”. I was not surprised that both these individuals made up for their lack of height with quickness and outstanding shooting. They were very pesty on defense making the MSU guards work for every shot.

Mississippi Valley State is currently last in the Kenpom ratings meaning they are the worst D1 team out of 364 teams. I am sure they fund their athletic program by becoming fodder for P5 teams to fill their non- conference schedule. I guarantee that you will never see a P5 school play a game on MSU’s home court. I do remember visiting their school to see a game a few years ago. Their campus is buried deep in the Mississippi’s bayou and not in an an affluent area.

I vote Liberty University as the most friendly campus I have visited. I was greeted with hellos and Happy Holidays from every employee in the arena. Everyone had a smile on their face, even the concession crew. As you can see, I had first row seats behind the courtside seats. One of the benefits of going to a small arena with an unimportant game is the availability of good seats.

Check out the flames show during the pre-game introductions. This was very cool to see in the darkened arena.

Every game I have been to on this trip has been televised by ESPN+. Here is their reporter interviewing Liberty coach Ritchie McKay at half time. I actually saw myself on TV once viewing the game on my phone.

Liberty never was behind the whole game and was led by Metheny with 22 points. He will be a handful for teams to guard down the road. Liberty was upset by UTEP last year in the Conference USA tournament. I can see them being a Cinderella team this year in the March Madness tournament.

Finally, let me introduce you to the Appomattox Court House. This is a national park where General Lee surrendered to General Grant to end the civil war. Below is the house and the room where the surrender took place.

General Lee sat on the left and General Grant sat on the right.

On to Radford University tomorrow!

Pittsburgh (64) vs. Virginia Tech (59) 12/07/2024

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Game #133 of 364 37% complete

I missed my usual picture of the opening tip because I was looking for an open seat at a lower level. More on that later. I was surprised to see so many open seats for an intra league battle between two P5 teams.

I was sitting in the upper level next to a Pitt fan. He asked me who was I rooting for. I gave him my usual spiel about my Operation 351 mission and that although I love seeing college basketball, I don’t go crazy cheering like I would at a UConn game. He probably noticed that I was not cheering for either team prompting his question. He was in an interesting dilemma being a die hard Pitt fan and having a daughter who was attending Virginia Tech. Who do you root for? In my opinion, I would always root for UConn regardless if my child was attending the opposing school.

I asked the Pitt fan what did he think of Pitt coach Jeff Capel. Pittsburgh seemed to be improving over the years but still not quite achieving heights during the Jamie Dixon years. He said that there was a call to fire Capel last year early in the season but then they changed their tune when he led Pitt on a late season surge.

When I am in a large venue sitting up high and there are plenty of open seats below, I begin scouting for a move down to a better seat. There are certain rules to follow when performing this rebellious act without pissing off a season ticket holder:

  1. Look for an area where there are multiple open seats. You don’t want to attract attention climbing over folks while getting to your new seat. Always try for a seat on the end of the aisle.
  2. Look for a young girl as an usher. Most times, they will not question an old guy like me. Move down at half time and they will never notice you.
  3. Don’t get greedy. Don’t take a seat in the first row on center court. You will be sure to attract attention from those around you.

As you can see from the photos below, I moved down to a lower level behind the basket.

The Pittsburgh Panthers came into the game ranked 18th in the AP poll. The Hokies kept it tight the entire game. Down by eight at the half, Pitt came back in the second half, led by Jaland Rose who scored 13 of his game-high 19 points in the final 8:02 of action. Pitt was aided from the foul line going 12 for 12 from the stripe. Pitt has a player with one of the great names in college basketball – Guillermo Diaz Graham. He was an abysmal shooter during the game but had a key block and a three pointer under the two minute mark to help the Panthers to victory.

You must be asking – What is a Hokie? Here is an explanation from AI:

“The term “Hokie” originated in 1896 when Virginia Tech adopted a new cheer that used the word “hokey” to grab attention. The word “hokey poky” was common in the late 1800s, which may have inspired the choice.”

I was late coming back to my seat at half time to catch a Corgi dog race on the court. I did notice that one contestant left his “mark” on the court.

On to Liberty University for the night game!