Another good thing about the Richmond game

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GameFAQSAggie
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Another good thing about the Richmond game

Post by GameFAQSAggie » July 21st, 2021, 9:04 pm

I have been thinking, another good thing about the neutral site Richmond game is that will prepare us for playing in front of literally a crowd somewhat comparable to what we may have in an NCAA game.

The players can get comfortable playing in front of the home crowds, and there's always the talk about hostile away game crowds, having them all against you. But there's also the unique nature of NCAA Tournament crowds that take some adjusting. The setup of the one section of your fans, the one section of your opponent's fans, and the two sections of fans of the two schools in the other game, and the rest of the arena being somewhat impartial and just liking basketball. And the two other fan sections being relatively empty at tipoff(if you are the first game) having only a few fans, and gradually filling in more and more as our game goes on(and their game gets closer). Like in Columbus, though I wasn't there and may be wrong, there likely would have been fewer UNC fans there at tipoff of our game, but the arena gradually filled with more and more of them as our game went on and their game was closer.

It will be good playing in front of a crowd that has the mix of Richmond fans, our few local fans(and hardcore ones that travel), and a few Virginia Tech and Navy fans at tipoff, and gradually more and more of those fans as our game goes on and theirs get closer, the setup similar to the NCAAs. Even though there are some differences, it's at least a more comparable atmosphere than a 100 for us Spectrum crowd or a 100 percent against us Nevada crowd.

Also, another good thing about a tournament like Myrtle Beach is that it prepares them for playing games at odd times like in the morning or afternoon when you sometimes have to play NCAA games, though that didn't apply to the Washington and Kansas State losses, but did with Texas A&M and Marquette, along with the routine you have to go through if you have the later game, having to watch part of a game in the stands while mentally preparing, and your game having a start time of 30 minutes after the first game, not having the whole hour on the court(that applied to the Kansas State and Texas A&M losses, but Marquette was the first game. And I know we still came out flat in the Columbus hockey arena after playing in the Vegas hockey arena, but playing in hockey arenas similar to the ones NCAA games are held in can be good prep as well.
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