Fansided - Assembly Hall Named (one of) Top Home-court Environment in College Hoops

[rikki-tikka-tava]

Indiana basketball: Assembly Hall named top home-court environment in college hoops

In a survey conducted by Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander from CBSSports, roughly 100 coaches named Indiana basketball's home, Assembly Hall, one of th...

hoosierstateofmind.com

Whatever.

 

[Al Bino]

Indiana basketball: Assembly Hall named top home-court environment in college hoops

In a survey conducted by Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander from CBSSports, roughly 100 coaches named Indiana basketball's home, Assembly Hall, one of th...

hoosierstateofmind.com

Whatever.

That other school at 4 and IU at 6??? Whatever indeed!

 

[Torbin.Bequette]

I’m shocked.

 

[.Gerdis]

That other school at 4 and IU at 6??? Whatever indeed!

Gonzaga in the top tier (may have more to do with the conference they are in). No UNC?

 

[DCDAVID]

Gonzaga in the top tier (may have more to do with the conference they are in). No UNC?

As far as UNC….the Dean Dome is known to be surprisingly quiet fairly often.

 

[kkott]

That other school at 4 and IU at 6??? Whatever indeed!

I think AH has been living off it's rep for far too long. Lots of blue hairs and faculty that will ask you to sit down and not enough students close to the floor. Couple that with the fact that it has some of the worst sight lines and views for a pretty large percentage of the seats. It sure looks cool on TV with that severe steep pitch, but it's not a great place to watch a game for many/most attending.

i haven't lived in IN for 30+ years so haven't been to a game in Mackey in that time, but I think they've steadily improved the aesthetics and it looks like a pretty good environment. Also, doesn't hurt that they've had better teams and I think if they'd had the on court product IU fans have had to put up with for much of the last 25 years, they'd have far fewer butts in the seats, no doubt.

 

[13thman]

I think AH has been living off it's rep for far too long. Lots of blue hairs and faculty that will ask you to sit down and not enough students close to the floor. Couple that with the fact that it has some of the worst sight lines and views for a pretty large percentage of the seats. It sure looks cool on TV with that severe steep pitch, but it's not a great place to watch a game for many/most attending.

i haven't lived in IN for 30+ years so haven't been to a game in Mackey in that time, but I think they've steadily improved the aesthetics and it looks like a pretty good environment. Also, doesn't hurt that they've had better teams and I think if they'd had the on court product IU fans have had to put up with for much of the last 25 years, they'd have far fewer butts in the seats, no doubt.

That's pretty much what it boils down to. That school up north has had more success.

 

[SouthBendJim]

I think AH has been living off it's rep for far too long. Lots of blue hairs and faculty that will ask you to sit down and not enough students close to the floor. Couple that with the fact that it has some of the worst sight lines and views for a pretty large percentage of the seats. It sure looks cool on TV with that severe steep pitch, but it's not a great place to watch a game for many/most attending.

i haven't lived in IN for 30+ years so haven't been to a game in Mackey in that time, but I think they've steadily improved the aesthetics and it looks like a pretty good environment. Also, doesn't hurt that they've had better teams and I think if they'd had the on court product IU fans have had to put up with for much of the last 25 years, they'd have far fewer butts in the seats, no doubt.

I agree. If you aren't row 25 or lower on either sideline, you might as well watch the game at home on your TV. Crappy sight lines indeed. About 6-8 sections I would pay to sit in. Wouldn't sit in either balcony if the tickets were free. Students should have better seating than they have for sure.

 

[B1G_Fan]

I’m all for a new arena. So many bad seats at AH.

 

[82hoosier]

Anybody who voted for that had to be at least 55 years old and probably older. We're talking about the same Assembly Hall where Bobby Knight came back after his long exile and then the Hoosiers got their ass kicked by Purdue in the second half right?

 

[kkott]

Anybody who voted for that had to be at least 55 years old and probably older. We're talking about the same Assembly Hall where Bobby Knight came back after his long exile and then the Hoosiers got their ass kicked by Purdue in the second half right?

Umm, fans can only do so much! I forget, how many did they score that game?

That game, had nothing to do with the fans. In fact, I think that's exactly why AH is ranked as highly as it is: I think other coaches think "Man, if they turn out like this, imagine what this place could be if they had a good team!"

Hopefully we find that out this year!

 

[Cavanagh]

I have been to a lot of games at AH in the last 10 years. Not the same as when I was 10-15. That being said, we have sucked most of those last 10 years.

When Cody and Vic took us to #1 we were the best arena in college bball. The hall comes alive with expectations, you can literally feel it.

I told Tamar's dad PU last year was an 8/10 for the hall. UNC this year? Wont be a better environment all year. Bet on that!

 

[.Gerdis]

Umm, fans can only do so much! I forget, how many did they score that game?

That game, had nothing to do with the fans. In fact, I think that's exactly why AH is ranked as highly as it is: I think other coaches think "Man, if they turn out like this, imagine what this place could be if they had a good team!"

Hopefully we find that out this year!

Yeah, there’s a number of things to consider. You can have venues that are noted to be tough to play at (off the top of my head “the pit” in New Mexico comes to mind), but how do you measure home court advantage? Does a lousy team that does significantly better at home earn a badge? How about a team that wins everywhere they play?

Officiating is something to consider. The crowd obviously is what people focus on , but the two can also tie together in ways that affect the flow of the game. Think a pressing team that likes to be really, really physical. At home they maybe get away with more, allowing them to stay aggressive. On the road, if that team gets rung up for a few quick fouls, do they then counter by laying off of their aggressive play?

So many factors to consider…..dukes fans right up to the sidelines jumping in an annoying fashion, an arena with a below grade bench seating area (aka MN), poor lighting, an annoying color to a playing surface , the balls, the rims , the sight lines…..or how about the reputation that the Boston Garden had for the visiting teams locker room?

we have had a terrible stretch in IU basketball, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had a very strong home court advantage.

 

[steelyvan]

As far as UNC….the Dean Dome is known to be surprisingly quiet fairly often.

Rupp Arena gets quiet down the stretch too when the home team struggles and the refs don't bail them out.

 

[kkott]

I have been to a lot of games at AH in the last 10 years. Not the same as when I was 10-15. That being said, we have sucked most of those last 10 years.

When Cody and Vic took us to #1 we were the best arena in college bball. The hall comes alive with expectations, you can literally feel it.

I told Tamar's dad PU last year was an 8/10 for the hall. UNC this year? Wont be a better environment all year. Bet on that!

Best arena and environment? I don't think so. Never been because it's such a hard ticket to get, but have you ever been to Cameron... for a UNC game?

I've been to Cameron 4-5 times and it's all it's reputation says it is. It's not just the crazies... but the fact they arrive en force, about 40 minutes before the game. During shootarounds, if the other team tries to huddle, they reach out and vibrate their hands and buzz like bees... and it's distracting and loud enough the other team has trouble hearing... which only makes them louder. During introductions they always have funny little chants (" Starting for Indiana at forward, 5'9" Junior, Sean Cavanaugh...") and their fans shout, "Hi Ya Sean!". So many organized chants during the game... student surfing by the mascot, crazy towel guy, and all of it orchestrated by the Devils mascot. It's loud, hot, fun and definitely intimidates the other team and refs. I'd say a 10pt difference minimum. I've seen IU twice there, and the first time (think it was Marco and Co, and then the following year was at AH), we weren't ready for the environment and they got off to a quick 10 pt lead. We played them pretty even after that, but never could cut into that lead and most of it was us being off our game at the start. Romeo's year? Totally had us off our game from the tip. I'd love to go to Allen, but imo, Cameron > AH, all the time.

 

[kkott]

Rupp Arena gets quiet down the stretch too when the home team struggles and the refs don't bail them out.

Those huge venues are just hard to fill up with sound. Cameron? The roof's basically sitting on fan's heads. Everything that can be a seat, is a seat. You could never generate that hot, close, claustrophobic feel in a big arena like Dean Dome or Rupp.

 

[Victorbmyboy]