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Message: [QUOTE="storrsroars, post: 5048184, member: 2500"] So my final report on going to a TBT game is... do it. Even if it isn't UConn, although that's certainly a bonus. I was expecting a ton more ISO, but ball movement was actually pretty good for guys who'd only had 4 days of practice together - and that applied to three of the teams who played tonight (but not Herkimer). I don't know if I'd call it "pretty" - there seemed to be a ton more banging and contact that went uncalled than you'd see in an actual NCAA game, but that's part of the charm. My wife thinks there were more than 1,000 fans there. I say 400 for the UConn game and maybe 600 for Pitt. I counted the fans on the other side of the court from us: 100, give or take 5. There weren't many UConn fans there. We sat in 6th row right behind some folks wearing UConn gear, but none of them went to UConn. One was a longtime friend of Chris Smith, and a one-time neighbor of D'Amelio (who was on the sidelines, unrecognizable to me as he looked like part of the facility staff in jeans and a sweatshirt). Players were happy to sign stuff and take selfies if that's your thing. The quality/type of play lends itself to big men scoring inside as the threshold for having a foul called is pretty high . 3-pt shooting was atrocious in the UConn game, but much better in the nightcap, which was all offense, no defense. It was fun having two games to watch, and they move pretty quick with 9 minute quarters and nowhere near the number of TV timeouts as an NCAA game. With so few fans there, you could really hear fans who yelled crap as a player was shooting a FT, or the occasional barb addressed to the one and only Teddy Valentine, a la, "C'mon Teddy call that ish." It was fun watching guys from four different eras of UConn hoops playing together. My wife pointed out one player, saying "He looks old".s It was Dyson, who had spurts, but also rust. He's 37 now. I was hoping to see Adrien assert himself, and while he got five rebounds in 8 minutes, this game was really decided by the play of Thomas and Matson, who were beasts on D and got several second chances. Cole played exactly like we remember Cole. Everyone else was kinda making it up on the fly, but there were a few times when passing between the guards was crisp and effective, even if they ended up with a missed corner trey. One thing I didn't see all night was an alley oop. The "Elam Ending" thing is pretty cool. It really didn't matter in the UConn game, but it did in the Pitt game as it was 90-89 at the 4 minute mark. So first team to 98 would win. The lead went back and forth a couple times, then Pitt led 97-95. If the Philly team hit a three, game over. And they tried a couple times, but missed. Pitt won it on a free throw. Very exciting way to finish a game with the slog of constant fouling. If you are planning to go, you can probably wait until the last minute to get tix. I learned (to my chagrin), that this morning, ticket prices were reduced by 50%. But it was worth it even at full price. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach