814 East U

November 27th, 2012 at 10:15 PM ^

I know Assembly Hall is one of "the best places in CBB" but I was somewhat disappointed with the crowd at Crisler especially while watching the IU-UNC game.  I know UNC is a bigger name than NC State but if Michigan is going to compete for a BIG championship and more, Crisler needs to be rocking.

Indonacious

November 27th, 2012 at 10:29 PM ^

It's a combination of that along with success in the tourney last year leading to an entire offseason of optimism and hype, I think. If michigan has a deep tourney run this year, then I think we will see a more hostile environment. That being said, I was at the osu game last year and thought it was pretty crazy.

lhglrkwg

November 27th, 2012 at 10:25 PM ^

I wonder if it has to do more with the fact that Indiana is and always has been a basketball school.

I don't know how Michigan used to be, but even when basketball was good we were still big into football and somewhat hockey. You can tell that Indiana basketball is what gets everyone in Crimson pumped up

bo_lives

November 27th, 2012 at 10:35 PM ^

I remember two years ago against #2 Kansas all of the upper sections were completely empty. It was like that for all the preseason games. For Big 10 games, you could get there 2 minutes before game time and still get in the Maize Rage.

I was at the game today and I can tell you it was night and day from what I saw two seasons ago. That being said, it was a little disappointing to see so many empty seats in the lower courtside sections. But face it NC State does not garner much excitement.

ak47

November 27th, 2012 at 11:28 PM ^

How a #3 vs #18 matchup doesn't garner excitment is beyond me, we aren't going to be assembly hall but this was probably the worst big game atmosphere i have been a part of.  Hell 2 years ago we were playing a top 5 ohio st team and didn't even sell out.  Crisler is for sure dissapointing me this year. Team is awesome though.

bo_lives

November 28th, 2012 at 12:01 AM ^

Umm how exactly are you defining "big game?" How many Michigan games have you been to the past two years? Prior to last year none of the games sold out, no matter who we were playing. The only people who ever made any noise were the Maize Rage, and the upper sections were always completely empty. Contrast that to this year where the place was packed and loud.

If you're expecting it to be Duke North vs. UNC you are going to be disappointed. Even if they're the #18 team in the country (which honestly is not that high...) they're still the 4th most cared about school in North Carolina. Wait until the Ohio game or the MSU game if you want to judge the Crisler atmosphere.

 

stephenrjking

November 28th, 2012 at 12:04 AM ^

I was disappointed in the crowd too, but then, I'm in Minnesota and didn't go. However, are we really surprised? Most Michigan fans are still disheartened coming out of last week. Football matters, and this is football season. Michigan is #3 in basketball, but there's scarcely a fan of the team that wouldn't trade every one of the basketball team's victories this season for a touchdown at the end of the game three days ago. 

As a hockey fan I have noticed this phenomenon every year; games in the the fall, without the context of a conference race or a tournament seed staring at you, with football unquestionably king of the roost, just don't have the same significance. We're not programmed for it. Fans of Indiana, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and other basketball-first schools have barely ever seen a football game as significant or intense as an average Michigan football game. Of course basketball is more important to them in the fall.

But bring the chilly midwinter, with its long Tuesday nights filled only with college basketball and its tournament brackets and a healthy number of titanic conference showdowns, and the fans will be there. They will be loud. And it will be awesome.

 

 

ak47

November 28th, 2012 at 1:19 AM ^

Umm I have had student tickets for the last 4 years and yes the crowd was larger than for a lot of games but the crowd was dead tonight, there was no atmosphere, and I was also comparing it to games at umd growing up as well.  So I'm sorry if I have higher standards for our atmosphere than the shitty atmosphere we've had for the last decade.

kevin holt

November 28th, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^

I think Crisler actually has a really good way of making students show up on time, since showing up late relegates you to the upper deck, where showing up on time is pretty much a front row seat. I also think having a Yost-style student section along the whole side of the court is a lot better than some arenas where the students are in a corner or just one endzone. However, more sections need to be yellow at the bottom. Maybe a few behind the courtside students, I don't really know. It might be at the cost of the system getting students there on time, but I think as more and more people go to bball the sections will be able to expand and still have that incentive.

What do you guys think about the same system for football? Not necessarily a pure general admission, since then people will push to the front anyway, but a system where a certain section is closed off from students who don't show up on time? It's not as easy to partition as Crisler, obviously

mgobleu

November 27th, 2012 at 10:20 PM ^

Is this really just the, "I'm bored, have no friends but the dog and the blog, and don't feel like talking to my wife" open thread? Thats what I'm here for.

Blue boy johnson

November 27th, 2012 at 10:40 PM ^

Vitale is annoying, no doubt, but I did enjoy his tidbit of Al Eberhard being Cody Zeller's uncle. Al Eberhard was a decent NBA player on some fun Piston teams in the mid '70's.

I bet Al has some phenomenal stories he can tell from his days playing at Cobo Arena

lbpeley

November 27th, 2012 at 10:48 PM ^

Obviously. I believe he just said he doesn't care what happens here, IU is his number one until someone can beat them. Did I hear that right?

MGoRossGrad

November 27th, 2012 at 10:49 PM ^

This is getting ugly.  I know UNC isn't as dominant this year, but damn Indiana is good.

Michigan can challenge them (and anyone in the country, for that matter) on offense, but we have to pick it up on the defensive end and on the boards. 

ckersh74

November 27th, 2012 at 10:58 PM ^

I thought Indiana was in some trouble before this game started. Now I see Indiana up by 24. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised, since Butler had them down almost 30 at one point last week. 

FreddieMercuryHayes

November 27th, 2012 at 11:05 PM ^

So what is UNC shooting this half?  Like 0.1% from the field?  If there was a way to score negative points, I think they would find it.

But on a serious note, they're shooting 5%.  Not much better than 0.1%

piston honda

November 28th, 2012 at 9:30 AM ^

You may hate the guy but get your facts rights. Most starters were out by 6 minutes, and all were out before the 4 minute mark. And Indiana's whole game is predicated on pushing the ball, so they're not gonna stop, especially if UNC is playing no defense.

 

Hulls played the most with 32 minutes and CZ played 28 minutes, but after that, a bench player (Sheehey) tallied the most time with 26 minutes. I don't think Zeller played the last 7-8 minutes.

 

Indiana could've scored 100 if they wanted to. As it was, the bench players and walkons finished up without scoring at all, maybe once, in the final 4 minutes. Plus, two of their top frontcourt players are still out, one with injury (Elston), one under suspension (Perea). The other freshman (Peter Jurkin.....) will hardly if ever play.

Blue boy johnson

November 27th, 2012 at 11:05 PM ^

IU living up to the # 1 billing tonight. Winning the BIG this year is going to be quite an accomplishment.

Georgetown took IU to overtime and Pitt gave M a very stiff test. Big East is looking like a very strong conference as well this season

stephenrjking

November 28th, 2012 at 12:09 AM ^

Asterisk next to the NW loss since Maryland is a B1G team now, right?

We'll see how the Cartoon Mascots do in Durham and Miami tomorrow night, but good night the Big Ten looks incredible. Takes just a little bit of the sting out of being so awful in football. B1G basketball is going to be fun this year. And with Michigan and Indiana right up at the top, it's back to the heady days of my childhood, except without the flying chairs.