olddog71

WHOA. Does the home team host for women's? Too bad SBU-UA LAX is on the road. Dane96, Sorry, I apologize for being previous. Albany has to win the game versus UMBC first.

I didn't want to play UNH a third time this season. Glad we were able to survive this last match. Looks like an all-Albany basketball weekend coming up. Maine lost to Hartford this afternoon.

I hope the game versus UNH will draw a lot more. It's on the weekend at least. I know that Leissner might be out of the next game, but otherwise UA will need every advantage it can get.

Wow! That's all? With all the advertising that was done in the area for this game? What is wrong with the people in the Capital District? Many of them must have a screw loose. Why does that loser LCC team manage to draw more?

Fair enough! I'm really glad Coach Brown got the award this year. Anything else really would be a travesty. Glad Hooley was recognized. Everything else is good.

". . . we finally played their way and proved we have much better options than their big 3 of O'day and the two guards...," I think it's great that we scored nearly 80 points against UVM. What a different game from that in Burlington!

UAalum, Thanks for your most recent post. I'm sorry that your wife's endocrinologist did not attend the game. I'm quite sure he missed a great event. Of course, SEFCU could always assign nearby parking spots to top medical personnel. Maybe other fans wouldn't like it so much. Thanks for putting a face on the sequence of events for SEFCU's improvements. Do you have an idea when the field house will be constructed? Have you heard anything specific about the renovation design? The idea of an atrium or entry on the parking lot side would certainly be more welcoming. You have good questions as to whether a parking garage is even possible for the space allowed.

I remember a lot about those Potsdam games. During the stretch you mention they were the most intense games for those years. Another heated rivalry was against Oneonta. We almost never won there, and some of the games at University Gym were very hard-fought. If I recall correctly, many UA fans intensely disliked Potsdam's coach, Jerry Welsh. It seemed to many of us that he engaged in unfair recruiting. I think some former Division I players were on Potsdam's teams of that era. A second intense SUNYAC rivalry was against Oneonta. In another sellout game at University Gym, Oneonta's point guard Kevin Croutier killed us in a very tight contest which we lost. It was said that in one year some of Albany's frat members and other fans had gone down to Oneonta and were disappointed in a loss to them, so, according to Oneonta fans (and maybe the police) they busted up some of the bars. After that incident it was very difficult to beat Oneonta in an away game. Yet another heated league rivalry was against Buffalo State. I think UA had just rejoined the SUNYAC, which Buff State had thoroughly dominated for many years. Then they came to play against us in University Gym. We ended their conference win streak at 50 games. If I recall correctly it was also the 24th or 25th home game that Albany won in a row. Rejoining SUNYAC created a lot of instant, intense rivalries. I wasn't sure whether joining the New England conference during our Division II days or America East would continue the same level of intensity.

I agree substantially with UAalum on his assessment of attendance and school spirit. I hope I can add a few more details. During most of the DIII days we played our games in University Gym. The attendance was up and down. One aspect of the down years was a poll taken among US colleges that showed UA ranking dead or nearly dead last in school spirit. The other side was high attendance for the game of the year. Siena was a prime opponent until the mid 1970's. Quite often when playing them the gym was full. If I recall correctly, the official seating capacity was 2800. But often during the early years of the gym the capacity was ignored, and the place had well over 3,000 fans. The place was so packed that the aisles disappeared, and the corners of the gym that were standing room only were also filled. During some games, if you came late, you were shut out. Perhaps for those special games a mystique grew around the campus that you had better get to the gym, or you wouldn't get in to see the game. Another advantage of University Gym was the hard wood for the walkways between seating. The hard surface created a huge noise when fans were stomping their feet. I have remarked before on this forum about how the gym was so loud that even the officials couldn't hear each other blow their whistles. Someone 90 miles away from Albany reported this fact to me from other officials who had heard about the game. University Gym could be legendary among NY colleges for being a tough place for opposing teams to play. I don't know whether the student newspaper is still relevant on campus today, but I do know that it played a major role in motivating students to get to the games in the late 60's and early 70's. Sometimes before important games or after successful big games the edition would sell out early. I also liked the competitions among student groups, particularly frats, before big games. A prize would go to the best sheet poster that a club or group would create and hand in the gym before the game. I believe this advantage has disappeared from SEFCU, but it could be partially restored if the corners could somehow be filled in with additional seating. I would really like to see SEFCU become a place where only far superior opposing teams could win. At one point in University Gym's history UA had a 25-game winning streak. The streak began when UA, then only DIII, beat UBuffalo for the first time in modern history. As the streak grew, the gym was often packed. The streak ironically came to an end when we played UB two years later. Then the fan attendance dramatically decreased, and it was never the same again while in University Gym. I loved many of the games that were played in that gym. It was truly a "golden age" of men's basketball. I'm really happy to hear about the increased attendance at SEFCU over the last few years. Despite the fact that I now live far from Albany, I couldn't be happier than to hear about increased fan support for men's basketball and other teams. I hope it continues to grow. I want the event to become the "place to be" on campus in the future. The conference final against Vermont about ten years ago shows that it can become that again. Eight hundred student fans camping out to wait for tickets is evidence that it can happen again, maybe in just two weeks!

Yes, great win. I haven't seen the foul statistics for the second half. Maybe all of the UVM complaining had results. Yes, Sam had his career high this afternoon. According to the Times Union, he exceeded his previous high total by 2 at Hartford on January 15. Great time for such a performance!

The official attendance was listed over 4200. How was the atmosphere today?

I agree, I am worried about the tournament. Stony Brook is perhaps the most athletic team, and I could see the ironic scenario where they finally punch their ticket when not winning the AE. I could also see UVM beating us on our court like we have done to them twice. Let's hope it doesn't happen, but we have a huge task ahead of us with a team that let's off the gas for stretches in each game. That won't work come tournament time. Thanks, everyone, for responding to my pessimism. I do realize that we will have the home court advantage as we haven't in years. I do realize that this team has guts like few other teams with a strong will to win, and I also know that Coach Brown is a big-game strategist. If I were any other team in the conference, I wouldn't want to go up against such strong odds.

I can always decide not to look at this thread, but I think we're being a little premature on this discussion. Don't jinx us! Many teams find it difficult to three-peat (winning the conference tournament).

Time to uncork!

Maine is not even on the list.

There are other countries in Europe that still don't have the Euro. Some of the countries, like Hungary and Poland, are in Central or Eastern Europe. Britain and Sweden still have their own currencies. Norway doesn't even belong to the European Union. Norway is a very expensive country. I believe its cost of living is higher than Switzerland's.

I'm very happy to beat Drexel.

We own them... Good move on the part of the administration. Just in time for the conference tournament.

If I recall correctly, the awards, including Coach of the Year, are made before the conference tournament. So without waiting for the end of the year for every school, I would say Coach Brown should win that award based on his total record. Forget about all the huge accomplishments in this season. For someone who has taken a team to the NCAA four times in his career and not yet win that award, it would be a grave injustice to him not to receive the award this year.

Good to hear that there was no appreciable dropoff in attendance after the Stony Brook loss.

Regarding bad calls, I thought when UA got called for a blocking foul with about five minutes left in the second half that was wrong. Our defender seemed to have position for about two seconds and was knocked over. I was amazed with the ref's call. I was expecting to see the replay, but the broadcast moved on. Anyone have thoughts about that play?

Is that partially because SBU hasn't won anything.

Bad rebounding in the second half did us in.

96 , when I went to UA late 60's, early 70's this extension from the Podium to the Gym was only a rumor? Believe me I lived in the tunnels and only came out to get to the dorms [also rumored to have connectors]. It was also rumored that these connectors did exist, but they were NOT open to students. Believe me I searched every time the wind blew across the podium {which was pretty much every winter day}. Out of pure curiosity, do they really exist (if so, which ones) and are they widely used today??? I heard about those connecting tunnels too when I was in school. I have been told that they are used today mostly for storage. Dane, I like your concept of "inside help." Cute!

Did he make the same comment when LCC played them twice?