No Nuts in the Crowd, reviewing Buckeyes Basketball Game day experience

Penn State Basketball fell to Ohio State on Sunday afternoon, but the Buckeyes’ faithful in attendance did little to boost the game-day atmosphere 

COLUMBUS, OH — Victory Bell Rings traveled to Value City Arena, the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes to witness the Columbus basketball gameday experience. much like our trip to Jump Around in Madison this fall.

Value City Arena, the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s and women’s basketball teams (along with their hockey teams) holds almost 19,000 spectators (18,809).  Much like the Bryce Jordan Center, it’s likely bigger than needed for basketball purposes.

Ohio State listed the attendance for Sunday’s game against Penn State Basketball at 13,565 (which, again like the BJC, is probably a little exaggerated).

What we really enjoyed about the arena was the different concourses, including an entire club level.

Although no concessions were served due to increased COVID-19 protocols, there were numerous options on all levels. The entire gymnasium was clean, organized, and impressive looking … so much so we’ll even ignore the $15 parking (you thought the $5.50 for BJC parking was bad)!

What was most confusing, however, was how QUIET the crowd was.

The ‘Buckeye Nut House’ student section was packed, covering both the entire sideline behind the benches and a section behind the basket. The general admission fans, while plentiful, were similarly quiet.

Now, this was an ugly game yesterday. There wasn’t much excitement for anyone to cheer about as Penn State Basketball went with their usual ‘muck it up’ strategy. But, only a few students were yelling when the Buckeyes were on defense, a standard student section strategy to make it hard for opposing offenses to communicate.

It’s also important to note, however, that Penn State isn’t exactly known for their passionate basketball fan base, either.

Ohio State has the bigger gym, so probably 50% more people at each game. And, they have the better team, as evidenced by their national ranking and sweep of the Nittany Lions this year.

Outside of the random and wildly unnecessary ‘f*** Penn State’ directed at us as we exited post-game from some students, there were no issues being an opposing fan in their gym.

Since it’s one of the closest trips for Nittany Lion hoops fans, we enjoyed our experience (even considering the snowy weather) and would call this a worthy trip.

Maybe wait until Penn State Basketball has an offense that can score more than 56 points before making the trek, though.