Bob Knight is definitely a character. I watched Texas Tech’s game last night hoping to see Knight pull off his 900th, and I wasn’t disappointed. Going into the game it didn’t look good for Texas Tech as it was playing Texas A&M, the No. 10 ranked team in the country.
However, Tech took control of the game from the start and defeated the Aggies, 68-53. The gym was packed, there were signs being held up everywhere. Fans wanted to witness history as Knight became the first Division I men’s coach to 900 wins.
Afterward, he address the crowd on a microphone.
“You folks being here — seats being full for a change — really made a difference tonight,” he said.
The crowd roared, but I think Knight was taking a dig at the fans. Before I watched the game, I was actually in attendance for the Temple vs. No. 20 Xavier game last night. Temple pulled off the upset (hitting 13 3-pointers helped), but I couldn’t help but notice how the crowd was sparse. The Liacouras Center is in the middle of Philadelphia with a train and bus stops in the vicinity, yet the school can’t pack the gym for a ranked team. I guess it’s been that way since John Chaney left.
So when Knight made his remark, I thought about the Temple game and how 50 fans rushed the floor after Temple won 78-59.
People just don’t seem to get excited over college basketball until March. By then, with all the tournaments and brackets being handed out, it’s all anyone can talk about. It’s hard to get into NCAA basketball this early in the season. Plus, there are other sports going on that still have huge implications such football, hockey and the NBA.
However, if you decide to skip out on college basketball until March Madness arrives, you could miss out on a few great games. By then, you won’t remember why everyone spoke about Knight with a smile on their face or how North Carolina narrowly escaped defeat twice in the early going to lesser teams. You won’t know what the analysts are talking about when they say the Atlantic 10 had a heck of a non-conference season or why Memphis would defeat UNC, but not Kansas.
Just because it’s January doesn’t mean college basketball doesn’t mean anything.
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Written by Susan Lulgjuraj - Visit Website
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