Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium, UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, University of Pennsylvania's Palestra. These are what most college basketball fanatics think about when they think of home court advantage, the arenas that bring up images of half-naked, painted-chest, jumping and clapping students willing their teams to victory.
Here's another venue to consider, one that might not have the prestige or legacy as all the others: AU's own Bender Arena.
Bender Arena you say? You mean that multi-purpose place connected to the Mary Graydon Center that has as much atmosphere and charisma as Dick Cheney at Christmas?
Yes, that Bender Arena, the one where the Eagles have enjoyed one of the best winning percentages in college basketball over the past couple of seasons.
This year, the Eagles went 9-1 on their home court, with the only blemish being a five-point loss to Mount St. Mary's back on Dec. 1.
In fact, AU has won 16 of their last 18 games at Bender since last January, including a perfect 3-0 during the Patriot League tournament en route to the first NCAA Division I tournament appearance in school history.
The other supposed "powerhouse schools"? Duke has gone 18-1 at home this year, UCLA is 14-1 and the University of Kansas, the defending National Champion, is only 17-2. That's right, our AU Eagles have a .900 winning percentage at home, better than last year's winner of the Big Dance, despite fewer games in front of their own fans.
And yet, speaking of fans, this is where the comparisons between the major powers and our little engine that could ends.
The three aforementioned schools routinely sellout every home game, with fans camping outside the night before to claim their prime seats. AU's Blue Crew? We are lucky if the entire student section is filled by tip-off.
Attendance at most AU games this year has been far from impressive, with even "Phil Bender" failing to literally fill the arena, drawing only 2,876 or 63 percent of capacity. Other schools don't need to have special promotions or gimmick nights to get fans to come out to games, they have students that are behind their players through thick and thin.
So what is the problem AU? Why can we have a team that is just as good at home as the big boys yet our attendance reminds us that we are still far behind the top echelon in the sport?
Is it because we are still not a true sports school? That can't be the case, considering two of our other teams this fall, field hockey and volleyball each won Patriot League titles and went to the NCAA tournament.
Is it because we have too many home games? Clearly this is not the case, as we only have 10 home dates, one of the fewest amounts in Division I basketball.
What is it then? What will it take for our students to come out to support a first-class team, something that they have been clamoring for at this school for years?
By clinching our second straight Patriot League championship last night, the Eagles earned the right to home court advantage throughout the tourney, with another birth in the NCAA tournament on the line.
So AU fans, lets give our Eagles a true home-court advantage this year, packing Bender Arena to the rafters in support of our squad. It's going to be tough, with two of the potential games taking place during spring break, but these players deserve the best support they can get.
When you play like the best teams in the country, you deserve to have your fans act the same.
You can reach this columnist at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
