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I’ve got to admit, I thought it was cool seeing Ohio State playing back in St. John Arena tonight against Cal in the NIT. OSU had a scheduling conflict with Value City Arena (Bruce Springsteen concert) and moved the game to St. John Arena and they sold the place out with over 13,000 on hand. It was the second time they played there this year. The court was a little weird looking with the painted volleyball boundaries, but it was cool to see a game in there. I still remember being there back in 1994 when BG beat OSU there. What a great game! Were any of you there too? There seemed to have been a few thousand BG fans scattered around the place that night.

I think it’s cool to see teams playing a game here and there back in their old arenas for some games after they build new venues. It made me think how cool it would be to see BG play a game every year back in Anderson Arena once the Stroh Center is built.

A school that has done this over the past five years or so has been NC State. I’m not sure if they did it this year, but prior to this year, evey year since they moved out of Reynolds Coliseum to the new RBC Center, they’ve played a non-conference game back there. I love Reynolds Coliseum, it’s very, very similar to Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium but with more seats that extend upward and further away from the floor behind the baskets. The actual playing arena is in the top of the building as it is build into a slight hillside. You can enter the back sides of the arena from the ground but from the front side you have to take stairs. It’s one of those old places I love like McArthur Court at Oregon, Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas, the old Cole Fieldhouse a Maryland, etc. They don’t have all the bells and whistles of the new places, but they certainly have character.

BGSU33 wrote:I still remember being there back in 1994 when BG beat OSU there. What a great game! Were any of you there too?

Yep. Did that game for 88.1... best seat in the house that day!

That place was rocking tonight. Way louder than Value City Arena. The old, intimate, less corporate gyms are what makes college basketball special. OSU lost a huge home court advantage when they built the new arena.

BGSU Crazy Fan 58 wrote: The old, intimate, less corporate gyms are what makes college basketball special.

A handful of Big East teams (St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown) play a few games every year in their on-campus bandboxes instead of the NBA arenas they usually rent out and the atmosphere is a thousand times better.

TG1996 wrote:

BGSU33 wrote:I still remember being there back in 1994 when BG beat OSU there. What a great game! Were any of you there too?

Yep. Did that game for 88.1... best seat in the house that day!

I was there as well, down in the OSU student section courtside-ish. I have a video tape of the game and I can see myself quite clearly when they are showing Randy Ayers on the sideline. Still think the Tech against Shane Kline-Ruminski was garbage. I remember an article in the Dispatch the next day questioning how OSU let AD get away. . .

Watching the highlights during sportscenter was pretty sweet...I think that's one of the reasons I love AA so much...it's intimate, high school style gym...I hope that the Stroh Center keeps that atmosphere and has the fans on the court like AA...not holding my breath though...but even something like Cameron Indoor would be sweet.

VDub26Falcon wrote:Watching the highlights during sportscenter was pretty sweet...I think that's one of the reasons I love AA so much...it's intimate, high school style gym...I hope that the Stroh Center keeps that atmosphere and has the fans on the court like AA...not holding my breath though...but even something like Cameron Indoor would be sweet.

The Students must be on the court!

If it is anything like the schot we are shooting ourselves in the foot by changing.

Globetrotter wrote:

VDub26Falcon wrote:Watching the highlights during sportscenter was pretty sweet...I think that's one of the reasons I love AA so much...it's intimate, high school style gym...I hope that the Stroh Center keeps that atmosphere and has the fans on the court like AA...not holding my breath though...but even something like Cameron Indoor would be sweet.

The Students must be on the court!

If it is anything like the schot we are shooting ourselves in the foot by changing.

Agreed. There also has to be a way to build a fine upscale arena with students on the floor that doesn't make it look like a HS gym.

Dayons_Den wrote:

TG1996 wrote:

BGSU33 wrote:I still remember being there back in 1994 when BG beat OSU there. What a great game! Were any of you there too?

Yep. Did that game for 88.1... best seat in the house that day!

I was there as well, down in the OSU student section courtside-ish. I have a video tape of the game and I can see myself quite clearly when they are showing Randy Ayers on the sideline. Still think the Tech against Shane Kline-Ruminski was garbage. I remember an article in the Dispatch the next day questioning how OSU let AD get away. . .

Wow, I remember that game. Me and a couple of my roommates made the trip down. We were stuck way up in the rafters for that game, but a BG win more than made up for our seats.

I think what's really cool is how St. John's fills up before gamedays every weekend for Skull Session...say what you want about OSU but their marching band is the shiznit...nothing against BG's...it's a completely different marching style...but they really are TBDBITL.

I have to add UD Arena on that list. I think it is one of the best basketball buildings in the country. Can you believe that the lowest attendance they had for a game is a little over 7,000. It was crazy in there when they killed Pitt early this year.

zeket10 wrote:I have to add UD Arena on that list. I think it is one of the best basketball buildings in the country. Can you believe that the lowest attendance they had for a game is a little over 7,000. It was crazy in there when they killed Pitt early this year.

7,000 was the lowest attended game ever at UD. It was against Cleveland St. in the NIT. I don't think they've ever averaged less than 10,000 while at UD Arena.

I would love to see BG go play there....maybe a 2 for 1 deal or something.

BGSU Crazy Fan 58 wrote:That place was rocking tonight. Way louder than Value City Arena. The old, intimate, less corporate gyms are what makes college basketball special. OSU lost a huge home court advantage when they built the new arena.

Being at a basketball game at Ohio State is almost as bad as an NBA game. Any rowdy students just get swallowed up. It's just as stuffy and commercial as an NBA game, nothing unique about it. I hate that place.