If you’re reading this column, I assume that you follow the basketball team at least casually. So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past four weeks, you know that we haven’t lost a game for four weeks (knock on wood). In the basketball world, we call this a winning streak.
Most recently, we defeated Maryland, a Big Ten goliath which hasn’t lost on its home court since its inception in the conference two years ago. We played one of the most complete games of the season and defeated the No. 2 team in the country.
Anyone who has ever competed on a team knows that road trips are infinitely more awesome when leaving with a victory. This holds true to that statement. Putting the game aside, there are a number of other reasons why Maryland was the best away game yet.
First, the student section was absolutely bananas. Maryland students are the most dedicated bunch of sports fanatics I’ve ever seen. I’m being completely honest when I say that the student section was filled to capacity two whole hours before the game. The students practiced cheers together and it paid off. They executed a Star Wars “flash mob” which rivaled the lunchroom scene in High School Musical. Sharpay and Ryan would’ve been impressed. It was that good.
The crowd noise was deafening. At times I couldn’t hear myself think. Whenever Maryland made a somewhat decent play, the crowd seemed to collectively scream at the top of its lungs.
But for us, the best noise was the deafening silence which came when we consistently halted Maryland runs all night.
Another large plus for Maryland was something that I know all too well: the seats. All gyms have different seats, and Maryland’s were simply the best. Not only were they the perfect height and cushion amount, they were also positioned perfectly for my spot on the end. Some arenas push the end of the bench almost behind the backboard, but not Maryland. They had my seat positioned perfectly with the baseline, allowing me the perfect view the entire time. So for that, I thank you, Maryland.
