By Alex Faust, News Staff
There may be over 350 Northeastern students in attendance at tomorrow’s men’s basketball season opener. If the game was scheduled to be at Matthews Arena, it would hardly be an impressive number. But it’s being held on the road, across town at Boston University’s (BU) Case Gymnasium, and that group figures to be as loud and rowdy as ever.
If last year’s opening round of the season was any indication, tomorrow should be a fun night of basketball. When the two teams met on a similar Friday night at Matthews Arena one year ago, the Huskies came away with a tight 66-64 victory. But last year’s event was just the first year of what has quickly become a welcome tradition for fans from both sides — facing off against a bitter local rival to begin the season.
In the last game of this arrangement (2009), the game took place on the Wednesday afternoon prior to Thanksgiving, at 4:00 p.m. There were a paltry 575 fans in attendance at Case Gym. It was not an enjoyable experience (especially since the Huskies lost the game in overtime).
It was after that game that both programs knew something had to be done.
“It didn’t do the rivalry justice,” Huskies coach Bill Coen told The News earlier this week. “To have it on a date where everyone could anticipate it, to have it marked on the calendar annually … serves the rivalry in the best way.”
When Coen talked during the 2010 offseason with Pat Chambers (BU’s head coach at the time, now at Penn State), the Friday night season opener was conceived, and the results after the first year were clear: attendance ballooned to 3,045 at Matthews Arena – a 20% increase over a similar home game 2008, 81% higher than the home game in 2006, and nearly 70% larger than the entire seating capacity at tomorrow’s venue (Case Gym’s listed capacity is listed at 1,800). It’s safe to say that the new arrangement has become a hit with fans and teams alike.
“We’ve seen huge requests for tickets,” said Darren Costa, head of the Northeastern student supporters group The N-Zone. “We don’t have that many local rivals, so it’s great to have that game on the schedule that you know is going to get students hyped up … we’re going to see the biggest road crowd outside the Beanpot.”
Despite a disappointing season for Northeastern men’s basketball last year (the team finished 11-20 overall, just 6-12 in the CAA), the season kickoff was an instant classic, and the game now ranks as the most anticipated event on the basketball schedule.
Even on the BU side, there’s been a sizable amount of buzz for the game, especially because the team will raise its America East championship banner.
“We’ve been getting lots of support from the deans, on down through ResLife and the fraternities in anticipation of the game,” BU Terriers coach Joe Jones said.
Though the Friday night kickoff concept was only a two-year commitment – admittedly only a “handshake deal” between the two teams – let’s hope that the date is a staple of the basketball calendar for years to come.
“It’s great for our students; it’s great for our fans,” Coen said.
