Although I could not fully tell from the television set, there seemed to be a nice sized basketball crowd out for the barnburner versus Rice on Saturday. It got noticeably louder in the USA than the other games I have watched this season. I chalked it up to the back-and-forth battle on the court that was taking place. But, after the game I noticed this post from the official men’s basketball twitter account…
HUGE thank you to our fans for coming out today! Home court advantage was in full effect! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/PNmv8dg1CH
— TexasTech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) December 3, 2016
I went back to research the stats from last year, and it looks like we never came close to getting 10,000+ during our non-conference schedule. It must be some of the carryover from the excitement of making the NCAA tournament and recharging our fan base to cheer on our players. Also, it might be some credit to the energized students and fans coming out to watch Chris Beard and staff get off to a great start early in the season. Whatever it is, it is awesome that we are getting butts in the seats!
Home court advantage is a huge thing in college basketball, just like any sport. The cool thing is that Coach Beard and the players did not let that go unsaid on Saturday after our thrilling victory. Here is Coach Beard after the game…
“First of all, I was really appreciative of the crowd. That’s the best crowd we’ve had this season. Somebody told me we had close to 10,000 people. It was just awesome. In college basketball, there’s a relationship between attendance and winning. I really don’t think we pull this out tonight if we have 2,000 or 3,000 people at the game. I’m very thankful to everybody who came tonight. It starts with our students. From where I was sitting, it looked like maybe our best student of the year so far. A lot of work went into that by Robert (Giovannetti) and everybody at Texas Tech. We had some people in the community step up this week with some group sales, and our students came. I’m very, very appreciative of the home court advantage.”
Here is what some of the players and staff put up on twitter after the game…
Great win tonight against a tough talented team. Was a rocky game & I’m glad we pulled it out. Thanks to the best fans ever!! #GunsUp 🏀🔫
— Anthony Livingston (@Ant_Tw0F0ur) December 3, 2016
Thank you to the BEST fans in the country for coming out to support us today, definitely needed you all! #GunsUp
— Keenan Evans (@K3VANS12) December 3, 2016
Big thanks to the crowd today! We appreciate the support! #WreckEm
— Thomas Brandsma (@BigTom44) December 3, 2016
The fans was great today! Thanks raider nation!! #wreckem
— Darryl Dora (@darryl_dora) December 3, 2016
What a game! It wouldn’t have been possible without the Red Raider fans! Thank you to everyone who came to the game today! #WreckEm
— Casey Perrin (@godovercasey) December 3, 2016
Great crowd tonight! Love seeing a red raider win! #wreckem
— Grant Coffman (@GrantCoffmanTTU) December 3, 2016
Great win! HUGE thank you to the best crowd ever Red Raider Nation! Your presence is a difference maker! #4:1 pic.twitter.com/7G2pZh0JEy
— フu丂イノ刀 g尺ムリ ✞ (@Justin_Gray11) December 3, 2016
Great Win Today! Thank you to all the fans that came out to support us! Y’all made the difference! We Love Y’all! #WreckEm #GunsUp 🔴⚫️
— Shadell Millinghaus (@Millinghaus_) December 3, 2016
Thanks to all the people that came out today! We needed you! Livingston for the WIN!!!!
— Chris Ogden (@CoachOG) December 3, 2016
Gotta give all thanks to the fans today at the game vs Rice. Hell of a crowd! Thank you all 🤘🏽😤 #TTUMB
— Calvin Cambridge (@UpTop_Dev) December 3, 2016
Thanks to the biggest crowd of the year for helping us get this one. #wreckem https://t.co/zhF85f36wX
— Max Lefevre (@CoachLefevre) December 3, 2016
Thanks to the Tech fans….we needed you for this one #GunsUp https://t.co/k6OKcFQ0Dq
— Chris Williams (@TexasTechATC) December 3, 2016