There Was Basketball Last Night

[GameForAnyFuss]

Another game where Utah scored 90+ points.
Another game where Utah shot >50%.
Another game where Utah had 20+ assists on 35 field goals.
Another game where Utah outrebounded the opponent by 25+.
Another game where 10 players saw meaningful minutes.

Another game where Utah fans weren’t there.

On a related note, is it possible that all this football success is killing our basketball program? I’m not buying the notion that suddenly everybody just doesn’t like the sport of basketball.

[Whitty]

Football is king and will always be the priority for most fans imo. Basketball has had a couple of rough years – it will take more than a few wins to get fans back to games. It’s a process but moving in the right direction.

Admittedly, I haven’t been to a game in a couple of years but plan to attend the Utah/BYU game + a couple of conference games this season

[GameForAnyFuss]

Football is king and will always be the priority for most fans imo.

I get that, but how is priority relevant? There wasn’t a football game last night. There hasn’t been a schedule conflict between football and MBB all season. It’s possible to attend MBB without missing a football game. And it can’t be a money thing either – MBB tickets are basically free.

[Tony (admin)]

Comparatively there are a LOT of basketball games. That’s a lot of time to commit. They’re mostly in the evenings so a game like last night I can’t take my 9 year old to because of bedtime and school the next day. We used to attend back in the Big Rick days regardless of start times. Big Monday was a 10PM start and we had a bunch of them.  Those were the old days now. Not sure that dedication to MBB will return. Maybe it can, but only if the team is good. That’s the reality.  I’m rambling. Need some coffee. 

[chinngiskhaan]

but it’s also waaaay cheaper to attend the basketball games.

[ironman1315]

But I can’t buy any tickets because people buy the season tix but never show. 

[PlainsUte]

I buy basketball tickets from season ticket-holders for my local NCAA P5 school all the time using SeatGeek.   I buy a day or two before the games and rarely pay more than $20 (plus app fees) for a 3rd-12th row corner seat.

[Tony (admin)]

Which proves that price is not the only factor when choosing to attend a sporting event. People don’t want to attend a low quality product, even if it is super cheap or even free. 

[prestitute]

For a lot of people, it is money. Basketball is way cheaper, but going to a game isn’t free in terms of time/money. I think a lot of people choose, and with the high prices of football related stuff, they may not have the money to spend on BBall. Also, there are a lot of basketball games, so I think there is a mindset that you can just catch another one at another time, and that isn’t wrong. I would love to see the fans back as we used to have an electric atmosphere, but frankly with the prices of everything else and the time commitments, I can understand why people aren’t going as much. If we keep winning, more people will come though. The more casual fan will always be more likely to show up when there is a buzz and it becomes an event not just a game. Football now has that. BB and FB have flipped sine the late 90s.

[PlainsUte]

Plenty of fans show up for womens gym still, right.   Its all about a winning product.

[Utehoopsfan]

It isn’t money. Utah basketball games are literally one of the best sporting event deals in the country. You aren’t going to find many other P5 programs with tickets as cheap as Utah basketball. Even Utah State tickets are more expensive. The product has been mostly bad since Bogut left other than a few exceptions, that is the problem.

As for last night specifically, you do have to factor in a snowy night, a Jazz game going on at the same time and it being a nobody opponent. Hopefully it will change come conference season.

[pedro]

Coach Smith, is that you?

Keep selling it baby!  I love it.  I too am guilty of not attending.  But will work on getting up there coach!

[GameForAnyFuss]

That’s the spirit…now work on your defense and rebounding, son!

[Tony (admin)]

Making progress. First time that can be said for a rong time. 

[krindor]

I don’t think it’s football success so much as the very rough recent basketball years. A lot of traditional football powers have actually parlayed that success into better basketball, so I think they can reinforce one another.

But the last 4 years of basketball have been REALLY bad (really the last 17 years have had only a few bright spots) so I think fandom has waned and (more than that) people are also a little hesitant to trust again (especially considering expectations going into this year – we were predicted 10th in the conference).

Right now we’re doing great…but the malaise of the last few years is going to take a while to overcome unfortunately. That said, I’d love to see basketball become a big thing again and think football is more likely to help with that than to hinder it.

[utefansince79]

There was a Jazz game going on at the same time and it was a rather snowy night, but wish we could get more fans and in particular more students to show up.  This team is significantly better and a lot of fun to watch this year.

 

[snafu]

College basketball just isn’t what it used to be. I find it difficult to be that invested in it with the annual exodus of players. College basketball is largely ignored until January anyway. 

[GameForAnyFuss]

We have a massive annual exodus of players in football too but that doesn’t seem to be harming peoples’ enthusiasm for football.

Do you think the January phenomenon is due to basketball getting more interesting (conference play) or due to football being over, or some combination of the two?

Winning fixes everything I guess.

[snafu]

Losing a key player in basketball is much more impactful than football. Losing 5-6 players each year is nearly half the team. The best players in basketball are done after one season. No continuity and that affects the quality of the product. 

[Trailgoat]

IF, the BB keeps winning, let’s see how attendance looks after the New Year when the P12 conference starts, students are back from break, and football is over. Student/MUSS support right now is worse than most highschool BB games. IMO, students will come back if the team wins. The HC is a cold, dungeon when 5K fans are spread out even with the curtain coverage. If Utah can get wins against BYU and TCU, guessing we’ll turn the corner and get behind this team as a fan base. Craig Smith is a very good coach and has a good group of kids presenting match up problems for a lot of teams. I am optimistic BB will turn the corner. Go Utes!

[RedRocks]

I can’t speak for everyone, but I just have never really been interested in college basketball.

I have this perception (deserved or otherwise) that watching a college basketball game is like watching a very boring NBA game (minus the whining).

Are NFL players better than college football players? Of course! However, college football is fun and exciting in it’s own way. I don’t feel this way about college basketball.

At the end of the day, we watch sports for entertainment. If you are not entertained, why watch? Utah basketball has not been very entertaining for a long time. That is why there are few fans. Perhaps this will change if the team can manage sustained entertainment value.

[Trailgoat]

Was a fan during my school days at Utah. The Dick Vitale era and all of his elitist Duke/ESPN cronies made it easy to lose interest in college BB for me in the 2000s. Miss the Jimmy Dykes Monday night game calls back in the day. Jazz were fun during the 90s. The NBA now is unbearable to watch. I have forced myself to try and watch a couple Jazz games this season. A good glass of bourbon couldn’t make it tolerable to watch. I applaud those of you sticking it out supporting the Jazz. My interest does not go beyond our UofU men and women BB teams. Go Utes!

[Utegator]

I’m in the same boat here. Too many games and the games aren’t really that exciting. I feel the same about basketball in general. Who has the time to watch all the games. I love the jazz but NFL>NBA. 

[alexsmith]

If Utah can finish in the top half of the conference this year, you’ll see fans start coming out again. Basketball fans throughout the country struggle to support bad teams, so it takes some success over a span of time to get people there

[Minnesota Ute]

Its a bit of a haul for me to attend but I rarely miss a game. I’m excited by what I see. keita is the real deal. Quite possible the best player we’ve seem come through in some time. I bet we see him and BC on court together more and more as conf ramps. 

i am baffled by Exacte, as he is anything but 😛

i need to check his line and season stats but annedotally he is a liability. Cant shoot, turnover machine, defense is suspect, not in mix on most rebounds, just not sure why he is still seeing the court. 

bottom line, craig is delivering steady improvement which is all I ever wanted and never got out of larry. I think this team has a real shot at tourney.

to question of attendance, i remember vividly the 1990-91 season where Ricks first full season squad came out of nowhere. It took until halfway thru january before stands started filling. We got courtside seats in student lottery!!  

[CoyoteUte]

I know I’m part of the minority… but I’m a season ticket holder and attend almost every game. Unfortunately caught the rona last week, so had to watch from my couch last night. Anyways this team team is fun to watch compared to years past. They play tough D and rebound well. We should be in most games if they limit the turnovers. Go Utes!

[MacKidsAlumn]

The thing that has been so fun to watch with Utah football has been the development of players from one year to the next. Watching teams build into contenders over the course of several years made me a year-round fan. That has been missing from the basketball program for the last 15 years.  It felt like anytime a player improved, they hit the transfer portal, and there was never team continuity.

Craig kept most of last years team together, and you can see the improvement in individuals and in the team.  This is how you get real fan interest and passion.  I’ve already caught a few games and probably will be a season ticket holder next year. 

PS: If you like basketball the WBB team is so much fun to watch, with ball movement, shooting, an amazing inside game.  Give them a chance if you haven’t this year.     

[chinngiskhaan]

The longer the basketball team is good enough for this to be a discussion worth having, the more support they will get. If we can finish the season off strong, and bring in an exciting player or two, things will be back on track.

[Utehoopsfan]

Utah basketball has been down for a long time other than a few years here and there where unfortunately they went right back to being bad and couldn’t build off the success. Had Krysto kept it going after 2016 with regular tournament appearances, the Huntsman would continue to be a rocking place. I was at the Utah-Wichita State game in 2015 when the Utes beat a team with Ron Baker and Fred VanFleet. The place was full and extremely loud. It was awesome. It can get that way again. Just have to win and win consistently.

Hopefully with winning, it will lead to an upgrade in scheduling. Sorry, but outside of a few games the OOC is really bad. That is fine when you have a bad team, but people aren’t going to brave the snow for Jacksonville State and UTSA.

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