Columnists, NCAA, Sports

Playoff weekend broken up by spring break

This is the most important sports weekend at Boston University that I have ever experienced. After Saturday, all four of BU’s major men’s and women’s winter sports teams could be competing in postseason play.

Or, all their seasons could be over.

Starting tonight, the men’s hockey team begins a best-of-three quarterfinal series with rival Northeastern University. The emotions in this matchup always run high, but this series is especially important for the No. 13 Terriers, who have a chance to play themselves off of the tournament bubble by advancing to the Hockey East semifinals.

Meanwhile, the women’s hockey team will look for their first ever NCAA Tournament victory Saturday at Walter Brown Arena against Mercyhurst College – the team that eliminated them in the first round of the tournament last season.

On the same day, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will host the final of the America East tournament. The women hope junior Alex Young can continue her hot shooting to propel them past Hartford University. She had 37 points on seven 3-pointers in the semifinal. The men take on Stony Brook University in an attempt to reach their first NCAA Tournament in nearly a decade.

If you read this paper or have followed BU sports this year, you know this. Even those fans with just a casual interest in sports recognize that something special is going on this season. But because of the timing of BU’s spring break, that elevated interest will likely not translate to more fans in the seats.

This is nothing new for hockey. Almost every year the break falls during the beginning of postseason play. But the unfortunate timing is heartbreaking for a basketball program that is working to gain a foothold at the school.

To his credit, men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers is not letting that deter him. Chambers walked into the back court of the George Sherman Union on Tuesday and delivered a speech encouraging students to come out and support his team this weekend in the most important game they’ve ever played at Agganis Arena.

The fact that his speech mostly fell on the deaf ears of students absorbed in conversations, listening to their iPods or stressing about midterms didn’t seem to faze Chambers. And it shouldn’t. His team is fully capable of getting to the tournament with or without a strong cheering section.

But even if students did want to attend, what options would they have?

On-campus dorms close at noon and BU’s housing office is not offering any contingency plans to let fans see the games. So unless you live off-campus, in an on-campus apartment, or want to stash all your bags at Agganis, you’re out of luck.

Meanwhile, Northeastern students are back from their spring break, and Stony Brook’s week off isn’t until mid-April (just a month before their commencement), meaning fans from both schools have the opportunity to hit the road and out-cheer BU’s home crowd.

There’s nothing to be done to change the situation. And to be fair, no one saw this weekend coming. A top four finish for men’s hockey is not out of the ordinary. But this is just the women’s hockey team’s second tournament appearance. They’ve only been a team for six seasons and the growth of the program has happened faster than anyone expected.

Neither of the basketball teams finished as the regular season America East champions, so both needed help from lower seeds to knock off the number one team and bring the tournament championship games to Boston.

When the university registrar set the academic calendar, the odds of a sports weekend like this coming together were almost nonexistent.

Still, I can’t help but think that even the slightest chance that this perfect storm of a weekend would come together would weigh more heavily on the mind of administrators at a school where athletics were more of a priority. All four winter sports teams have put together incredible seasons, and it is deeply troubling to me that they will not be rewarded with the support they deserve – even if the reason for that is unavoidable.

Two years ago, BU and Stony Brook played a four-overtime epic that no BU hoops fans will ever forget. Sophomore John Holland put up 29 points in that game and, along with junior Corey Lowe, led BU to a 99-97 win in one of the most hard-fought victories the team has ever earned. The battle caught the attention of Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan, but just 518 people attended at Case Gym.

As Holland ends his BU career, his team will face another tough challenge from Stony Brook on Saturday, as will every BU sports team over the course of the weekend.  I’d like to say that there is enough fan interest to blow that figure of 518 out of the water, but because of the spring break schedule, I think BU is in for another weekend of quiet arenas and empty seats. I hope BU fans prove me wrong.

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