Hottest Ticket in Town - NOT

[WSUwatcher]

My wife and I watched from home even though we really wanted to go. Had her two bothers and one of their wives in from out of town to watch the game as well. The Shocker fans at IBA did Shocker Nation proud today on national tv. You were loud and proud and came out with a big Assist on the victory. My hat is off to each and every one of you wonderful fans.

Due to family activities, I also watched from home -- well, the second half, anyway, which turned out to be the good one as it often does -- and was very impressed. The court looked great, Cotton was amazing, Baker was implausibly solid -- how does he do that on a bad ankle? -- and the ESPN announcers were impressed and very respectful. Would have been fun to be there, but great viewing anyway.

Speaking of Baker, he just looks different from the other guys, with that football neck of his. The roster says he weighs 213 vs. 209 for Cotton and is an inch taller, but Cotton looks like a regular person, although an extremely strong one -- a (hard hitting) strong safety, maybe, in football terms. From the neck up, Baker looks like an offensive lineman. No wonder he's so tough, along with his remarkable basketball skills and IQ.

Also, pogo, about those brothers-in-law of yours: how many wives do they have?

[pogo]

I see what you mean but they aren't Mormon. Only one has a wife. Thats something I would have picked up on if I were reading it. Nice job.

[Aargh]

I was mid-court a little over half-way up in the upper bowl. Pretty fair $22 seat.

the steps up there aare steep and the view to the court is a bit disconcerting right at first. The angle to the court is surprisingly steep.

If you've never watched a game from that angle, you need to. The ability to see the spacing so clearly really helps understand what's going on on the court. If you're watching games from close seats, you may be able to recognize the players by their faces instead of their numbers.

If you want to see how the game is played get an upper bowl ticket at IBA - even a $12 end zone view is going to let you see exactly when someone fought through a screen and denied spacing, or when someone got 2 or 3 feet of space off a screen, or when someone maintained an angle for help defense and still stayed in contact with his main defenseive target.

I had never seen basketball from that angle. I enjoyed the experience and saw the game in a different way.

[1972Shocker]

I was mid-court a little over half-way up in the upper bowl. Pretty fair $22 seat.

the steps up there aare steep and the view to the court is a bit disconcerting right at first. The angle to the court is surprisingly steep.

If you've never watched a game from that angle, you need to. The ability to see the spacing so clearly really helps understand what's going on on the court. If you're watching games from close seats, you may be able to recognize the players by their faces instead of their numbers.

If you want to see how the game is played get an upper bowl ticket at IBA - even a $12 end zone view is going to let you see exactly when someone fought through a screen and denied spacing, or when someone got 2 or 3 feet of space off a screen, or when someone maintained an angle for help defense and still stayed in contact with his main defenseive target.

I had never seen basketball from that angle. I enjoyed the experience and saw the game in a different way.

I did that last year and had the same experience. While I still prefer to sit in the lower bowl I would have no qualms about sitting in the upper bowl and may do so again in the future just for the different perspective and experience. It is much steeper. IIRC correctly your knees are at about the level of the head of the person in front of you up there vs mid-back in the lower bowl. I have no doubt some folks simply would not be able to tolerate that steepness.

[pogo]

I did that last year and had the same experience. While I still prefer to sit in the lower bowl I would have no qualms about sitting in the upper bowl and may do so again in the future just for the different perspective and experience. It is much steeper. IIRC correctly your knees are at about the level of the head of the person in front of you up there vs mid-back in the lower bowl. I have no doubt some folks simply would not be able to tolerate that steepness.

My wife could never sit in the upper bowl due to her fear of heights. Never could figure that part out because she has a private pilots license. Go figger.

[1972Shocker]

This is one big reason why I support the Shocker's games at IBA and will continue to do so if I am able to:

When Wichita State men’s basketball coaches pick up recruits at the airport, their first stop is often Intrust Bank Arena, where they can show off their one-two punch of facilities versatility.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/12/14/317...#storylink=cpy

Hopefully, we can continue to attract big names for games at IBA as it's obviously easier to get a big crowd with a BCS-type opponent than it is with a Tulsa, UAB or Southern Miss even if those teams are pretty good.

The game against Tulsa was probably the best played game of the 4 and played at a very high level by both teams.

UAB was not a good opponent for IBA. Southern Miss was a very good opponent but simply doesn't have the cache to catch the attention of the average fan.

[rjl]

Remember when people thought there wasn't enough parking for this place? Wonder how many of those people are in this thread complaining the game wasn't a sellout?

[WstateU]

Remember when people thought there wasn't enough parking for this place? Wonder how many of those people are in this thread complaining the game wasn't a sellout?

Yes, God is GREAT, BEER is GOOD, and people are friggin' CrAZy!!

[shox1989]

I had recorded the game and just watched it on TV. The crowd looked great on TV and the announcers called it a sell out. Good enough for me (it is the 600 shocker fans who could have been there that missed out).

[SpanglerFan316]

Didn't read the entire thread but have a question. I usually get an email with the Papa Johns code for half price pizza. Either I accidentally deleted it or did not get it. Does anyone know what it is? (Usually the characters at the end vary.) I have some hungry (younger) Shocker fans to feed.

[SpanglerFan316]

I had recorded the game and just watched it on TV. The crowd looked great on TV and the announcers called it a sell out. Good enough for me (it is the 600 shocker fans who could have been there that missed out).

Section 209 was not full. Otherwise it looked pretty full to me.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Didn't read the entire thread but have a question. I usually get an email with the Papa Johns code for half price pizza. Either I accidentally deleted it or did not get it. Does anyone know what it is? (Usually the characters at the end vary.) I have some hungry (younger) Shocker fans to feed.

Shocker70

[ShockerFever]

Remember when people thought there wasn't enough parking for this place? Wonder how many of those people are in this thread complaining the game wasn't a sellout?

I guess finally have adjusted to moving their legs and walking, or taking a free trolley from LDS.

That was, by far, the worst argument the CAVe crowd ever threw out there.

[ShockBand]

A sweet parking spot is the gravel lot behind Bite Me BBQ. It's between Douglas and 1st, just east of St. Francis, making it an easy walk to the north side entrance at IBA. Cost? $0. Just don't be a d-bag and box someone in! Go early and enjoy the 'cue at Bite Me or enjoy it afterward. The ShockBand family had a GREAT day downtown!

[proshox]

Free parking was easy to find and it was closer to the stadium than what my SASO donation gets me to Koch...