https://www.kwtx.com/2023/12/22/how-foster-pavilion-will-help-baylor-basketball/

If a tiny, steeply built arena helps you win games, why didn't they build this years ago?

historian said:

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$$$$$$

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Yep. Same reason we played in Floyd Casey for so long. Someone's got to fund the thing.

Remains to be seen if we win at a higher percentage in Foster than in Ferrell. That is the theory. Time will tell. OSU has an arena much like this and we have a very long winning streak there. Is the KU record in Phogg Allen because of the field house or because of the players and coaches.

It would be interesting to see a serious statistical analysis. Is Michigan Football what it is because of the Big House, or is the Big House what it is because of Michigan Football? And others.

CorsicanaBear said:

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Remains to be seen if we win at a high percentage in Foster than in Ferrell. That is the theory. Time will tell. OSU has an arena much like this and we have a very long winning streak there. Is the KU record in Phogg Allen because of the field house or because of the players and coaches.

It would be interesting to see a serious statistical analysis. Is Michigan Football what it is because of the Big House, or is the Big House what it is because of Michigan Football? And others.

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It's always about the players and coaches IMO. If Scott Drew left tomorrow, we'd have a very hard time maintaining our current level of talent and play.

Oklahoma State, for example, was great until Eddie Sutton left (or more accurately, got himself forced out). It's been a steady fall to mediocrity since.

I'm not one who thinks a new, shiny arena will help us win games by itself. But if you have all the other ingredients, it can certainly help you maximize your potential. We'll see what impact it really has over the next few years.

KU's home winning streak is probably for all those reasons and their home crowds. I've never watched a game there that did not have a large crowd that was not very loud.

I think one of the main priorities when designing and building Foster was to make it loud. It's up to the fans to fill it up for every game and to hear loud. If I could afford the tickets, I would be there repeatedly. Now, MBB games are not for poor people like me! I'll go to WBB games instead.

historian said:

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KU's home winning streak is probably for all those reasons and their home crowds. I've never watched a game there that did not have a large crowd that was not very loud.

I think one of the main priorities when designing and building Foster was to make it loud. It's up to the fans to fill it up for every game and to hear loud. If I could afford the tickets, I would be there repeatedly. Now, MBB games are not for poor people like me! I'll go to WBB games instead.

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Like football in Texas, basketball is a religion in the Midwest. It would be cool if Baylor could achieve that level of support, even if just temporarily, but we just don't value our basketball to the level that folks in that region do.

In fairness, the converse is true about football. I'm sure they wish they could match the atmospheres they play in in the South on fall Saturdays.

All true. All things considered, however, we do pretty good with MBB & sometimes with WBB.

historian said:

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All true. All things considered, however, we do pretty good with MBB & sometimes with WBB.

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As Texas programs go, I'd agree. We've gotten much better at supporting our programs since I graduated in 2007. The women's support was already excellent at that point. But the men's has improved dramatically.

bear2be2 said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Remains to be seen if we win at a high percentage in Foster than in Ferrell. That is the theory. Time will tell. OSU has an arena much like this and we have a very long winning streak there. Is the KU record in Phogg Allen because of the field house or because of the players and coaches.

It would be interesting to see a serious statistical analysis. Is Michigan Football what it is because of the Big House, or is the Big House what it is because of Michigan Football? And others.

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It's always about the players and coaches IMO. If Scott Drew left tomorrow, we'd have a very hard time maintaining our current level of talent and play.

Oklahoma State, for example, was great until Eddie Sutton left (or more accurately, got himself forced out). It's been a steady fall to mediocrity since.

I'm not one who thinks a new, shiny arena will help us win games by itself. But if you have all the other ingredients, it can certainly help you maximize your potential. We'll see what impact it really has over the next few years.

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Yep. Similar to McLane and football. Our performance tracks the quality of our coaches. But nice facilities are a wind at your back. Or, rather, are required to keep from fighting uphill.

MrGolfguy said:

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If a tiny, steeply built arena helps you win games, why didn't they build this years ago?

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Wow, you really hate this. Sorry for the next 30 years of your life.

bear2be2 said:

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historian said:

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All true. All things considered, however, we do pretty good with MBB & sometimes with WBB.

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As Texas programs go, I'd agree. We've gotten much better at supporting our programs since I graduated in 2007. The women's support was already excellent at that point. But the men's has improved dramatically.

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That is primarily because of the record. Drew has a winning program over the past several years, even before the natty. We are probably the one MBB program in the state most people can believe in the possibility of winning another. Houston probably has that possibility as well, but that remains to be seen as they have never done it before.

I don't know what it is, but something about Oklahoma State just doesn't seem appealing to me. It's like NC State vs Duke and we're a Duke. Maybe it's as simple as private school, one word name? But Baylor to me seems like it has untapped potential. I'm not sure the same can be said about Oklahoma State.