Saket Vora

On Friday night, I got to see NC State play a tournament game in the venerable Reynolds Coliseum. It was the most exciting sporting event I’ve ever attended.

Despite ‘experts’ stating that NC State would finish last in the ACC in Mens Basketball this season, we were a 10th seed in the ACC tournament and took down #6 Duke, #3 Virginia Tech, and #2 Virginia en route to the ACC Championship game. There we lost in a close game to #1 Carolina, thus ending our hopes of making it to the NCAA tournament. The story of our brilliant run through the ACC tournament (a #10 seed had never won a game before) made national headlines. Instead, we became a #4 seed in the NIT, or the ‘National Invitational Tournament’, otherwise known as the ‘Not Invited Tournament’.

It’s alright. We won our first game, and soon word spread that if Marist beat Oklahoma State, the game would be played in Raleigh. But there was a Josh Groban concert already scheduled at the RBC Center, where NC State normally plays its home games. Enter Reynolds Coliseum, the historic home to NC State basketball, located right in the heart of campus. This is where Jimmy V coached. This is where Sidney Lowe, our current coach, played. This is the building that formed the blueprint for the other venerable stadiums in ACC country.

Marist won. 1600 student tickets would be given out at 10am Thursday morning. By 8 or 9pm Wednesday night students were setting up tents outside Reynolds. I left my apartment and got in line at 7:35am. People had snaked around the building, 150 people already in line. I read my book (see post below) and waited. My friend Win Bassett came soon after. At around 8:30 or 9am, Greg and Kelly arrived and joined me. I had to go to class, but I got a text message later saying that we had gotten tickets.

It was cold that evening, and it had been drizzling. As we drove to park the car, we saw lines forming at every entrance. We met up with Win and Lauren at the front entrance. Everyone was wearing red and buzzing with excitement. At 8pm the doors opened and we made it inside. Reynolds seats 12,000. It’s like a large den compared to the cavernous RBC center. The place was packed a full hour before the game started. A lone Marist came on the court to shoot some baskets and was booed by the whole crowd. Later, the four NC State players who sit at the end of the bench walked in to a thunderous cheer. The cheers continued as other players entered. At one point, some people spotted David Thomspon and a cheer just for him came forth by the appreciative crowd. But where was Sidney Lowe, our coach? Minutes before the tipoff, he emerged wearing his signature red blazer and the crowd leapt to its feat. I’ve never heard a crowd chant the name of the coach, but we did.

The game was great. It’s a different experience watching one in Reynolds. There is a new sense of intimacy to the action on the court. But the crowd made it simply incredible. When the band launches into our fight song, you look around and see everyone clapping and singing along, not just the few scattered student sections in the RBC center. Everyone is on their feet. Everyone is cheering. The officiating for the game was atrocious…absolutely atrocious. One memorable span came when a referee called a technical on Dennis Horner. The crowd was furious. As the lone Marist player takes the court to shoot his two free throws, the energy in Reynolds rose to a new level. People were yelling, screaming, stomping, shouting. It was the loudest moment of the night. The Marist player missed. Not 30 seconds later, the referee calls a dubious travel call on freshman Brandon Costner. As the ref walks to the far end of the court, Reynolds erupts in a ferocious “Ref You Suck” chant, everyone emphatically pointing their fingers at the most hated man of the hour. It echoed and amplified, rising in intensity. I half expected the ref to turn around and give the crowd a technical.

We held the lead for most of the game. Marist started to play dirty and the last 2 minutes of game clock took more than 30 minutes to play out, due to the numerous timeouts and dirty fouls on the part of Marist. After the teams shook hands, I saw senior point guard Engin Atsür stop his teammates and together they showed their appreciation of the crowd. Atsür started basketball when I entered State, and this was a wonderful last game for him to play at home.

What a memorable night. Every year, at least one game is played at Reynolds but it is before ACC play and against some cupcake team. After tonight, every year should have one big game scheduled at Reynolds, and they should pack it with 12,000 students. This was a fantastic event to experience as I’m near the end of my time at NC State.