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Coaches on Best CBB Environments

Herklejerk

All-Conference
Jul 10, 2022
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Purdue, IU, MSU tops in B1G

Some funny quotes...

On Mackey: "When Mackey Arena is rocking, I think it is the best atmosphere in the country. Freshmen basically piss down their leg in that place when it is rocking."

On the RAC: "It's a s---hole but there's 8,500 people and it's a vertical wall. We walked in there, 10th in the country, and I've never been in an arena like that. We were getting our ass kicked and I was like, 'Get me the F--- OUT OF HERE."

I‘ve been to the RAC twice. It really is a true pit. Easily one of the best basketball environments in the B1G.
 
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Purdue, IU, MSU tops in B1G

Some funny quotes...

On Mackey: "When Mackey Arena is rocking, I think it is the best atmosphere in the country. Freshmen basically piss down their leg in that place when it is rocking."

On the RAC: "It's a s---hole but there's 8,500 people and it's a vertical wall. We walked in there, 10th in the country, and I've never been in an arena like that. We were getting our ass kicked and I was like, 'Get me the F--- OUT OF HERE."

I‘ve been to the RAC twice. It really is a true pit. Easily one of the best basketball environments in the B1G.
Carver is basically the flip side of the RAC. Comfortable place to sit and watch a game, but very little intimidation of the opponents. Not sure why Iowa hasn't made some changes to the seating nearer the court to give Iowa a little of both comfort and intimidation.
 
Carver is basically the flip side of the RAC. Comfortable place to sit and watch a game, but very little intimidation of the opponents. Not sure why Iowa hasn't made some changes to the seating nearer the court to give Iowa a little of both comfort and intimidation.

It's loud for wrestling. It's about the type of fan we get for hoops that have the good seats- ex the OLD people.

I don't get Indiana's intimidation factor. Arena isn't that cool, they haven't been good in awhile. I just don't see it. Purdue and MSU seem to be better than everyone.
 
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Carver is basically the flip side of the RAC. Comfortable place to sit and watch a game, but very little intimidation of the opponents. Not sure why Iowa hasn't made some changes to the seating nearer the court to give Iowa a little of both comfort and intimidation.

The excuse or reasoning I always hear is fire code.
 
The excuse or reasoning I always hear is fire code.
I am not an expert, but the aisle width is the same from the top rows to the bottom, although the bottom rows have a fraction of the number in a row. They could figure out a way to have the rows near the court to feed into the existing aisles above without using up as much of the space. Loud venues tend to have student sections near the court, and those seats don't need to be the comfy chairs in the higher rows for the avid, but usually less energetic fans.
 
I am not an expert, but the aisle width is the same from the top rows to the bottom, although the bottom rows have a fraction of the number in a row. They could figure out a way to have the rows near the court to feed into the existing aisles above without using up as much of the space. Loud venues tend to have student sections near the court, and those seats don't need to be the comfy chairs in the higher rows for the avid, but usually less energetic fans.

the reason all those aisle's exist is due to fire code. Because CHA is below ground there are not exit points like most Arenas at ground level (other than the tunnel). That means more stairs/exit ways via the many aisles that CHA has.
 
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the reason all those aisle's exist is due to fire code. Because CHA is below ground there are not exit points like most Arenas at ground level (other than the tunnel). That means more stairs/exit ways via the many aisles that CHA has.
I am sure the aisles leaving CHA would need to stay the same, but near the court, the aisles take almost as much space as the seating area. I am pretty sure that a knowledgeable expert could figure out a way to reconfigure the area near the court, and still have it feed into the aisles a few rows up.
 
It's loud for wrestling. It's about the type of fan we get for hoops that have the good seats- ex the OLD people.

I don't get Indiana's intimidation factor. Arena isn't that cool, they haven't been good in awhile. I just don't see it. Purdue and MSU seem to be better than everyone.
Bad take. IU's arena is the coolest place I've seen a game. Better than Phog Allen.
 
You think that old barn would be attractive to today's recruits? I loved watching games there back in the day, but I would surely hate trying to sell it to a top recruit.
But you're ok with selling CHA?

I've been to every arena in the B1G except for Penn State and Maryland. Here's how I would rank them in terms of atmosphere:

1) IU
2) PU
3) MSU
4) Illinois
5) Rutgers
6) Wisconsin
7) Minnesota
8) Iowa
9) Ohio State
10) Michigan
11) Nebraska
12) Northwestern

From TV, I would guess Maryland is about 5 or 6 and Penn State 13 or 14.
 
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