…is that it’s relatively close to our opponent (Vermont), and very, very far for our fan base.
So I would expect the crowd to be pro-Vermont, and if it’s a close game for long that could become a factor. And if we win, UConn is much closer to Buffalo as well.
I’m not so worried about the teams we drew - at this time of year, ALL the teams are pretty good and/or “hot”. But it is unusual for the higher seeded team to be so far away in comparison to it’s first and - likely - second opponent’s campus.
This team has been a good road team. I am not worried about any of our opponents fan base. We just have play good on defense, limit turnovers, rebound and shoot decently, especially on 3’s.
At this stage, we just need to play our normal game and that should good enough to win the opening round. Then we are on to the next opponent.
It’s 388 miles from the UVM (that’s how they abbreviate it apparently) gym to the arena in Buffalo, 7:37 drive according to Google Maps. You can fly there from NWA faster than that. I found an American connection through Chicago on Thursday that gets there in just over 4 hours.
Oh yeah and their gym is 3200 seats. They’re planning a new one but COVID got in the way. The new one will only have about 5000 seats though. In other words, not a huge fan base.
I’m just proud our hogs are in the dance back to back years! We didn’t have to sweat the bubble either!
I hope our guards realize Umude is on the floor and get him the ball when he is hitting shots. Win the first game and see who is next.
Local fans typically pull for the underdog in these first/second round games.if hog fans don’t travel because it’s too far away then that’s what we have to expect. It won’t be huge crowds though by any means. The hog fans that do show up should be able to make some noise. It’s up to the team to give us something to cheer for and not let the underdog get any momentum to get the neutral fans into the game
Oh trust me, I was in Austin in '90 and '95 listening to the Texass fans boo us mercilessly for four games. I know exactly what a road game atmosphere the NCAA can be.
UConn will have some folks there so they and the Vermont people plus any locals that wonder in will all be rooting for Vermont. So that’s probably less than 2,000 people in what you would expect is an arena that holds five figures. It will sound a little loud at times but it should not be that big a deal.