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I think the larger decrease in attendance is the reality that people's routines and preferences have changed during the last (almost) two years.

These aren't facts. You have no evidence that the vaccine mandate has had a significant negative impact on attendance. 3 people saying they don't like it doesn't prove anything. That's 3 out of 6,500 or so average who attended games pre-pandemic. You don't need a masters in statistics to understand that's not statistically significant. I don't need to present anything, I'm just calling you out on trying to pass BS as "facts". Other MBMs have provided evidence that attendance at most sporting events is down across the board regardless of COVID polices. Heck, attendance at SLU games was dismal before the vaccine mandate went into effect. You seem to be arguing that the University should have different policy than Enterprise Center (Blues), Peabody Opera House, The Pageant, Delmar Hall, Off Broadway, Powell Hall, The Fox Theatre, etc. How is Chaifetz Arena / SLU unique from these other venues / organizations that they should have a different policy?

You were also saying it at the end of last season. The simple truth is that many people could not get past Hasahn’s free throw shooting and because that many of his other contributions were a little overlooked. Big men who can defend multiple positions, block shots, pass/handle the ball and rebound like that do not come to SLU very often. It could be a long time until we get another Hasahn French. With that said, big men like Okoro also do not come to the A10 very often, and Linssen has shown an ability to be an elite finisher. I’m a huge fan of our big man tandem and think the fact that we haven’t been lamenting French’s loss more is a credit to Marten, Franco and the coaching staff.

@BIG BILL FAN i don't think anyone is disputing that vaccine mandates are one reason attendance is lower. It obviously is causing some fans not to attend who would've attended otherwise. People are just pointing out that the reverse is also true that there are some people who wouldn't attend before the vaccine/negative test requirement who now feel more comfortable. That's OK if you disagree with the second group but they certainly exist whether you agree or not. The point being it's more likely to be a combination of factors, many of which are related to COVID, than SOLELY the vaccine/negative test requirement leading to low attendance.

Attendance is down across the board. Every school, outside the perennial sell-out schools, is feeling this. I watched a great Big 12 game the other night, two well-above .500 schools, and there were about 2-4k people in the stands.

No one other than Yuri, passes the ball out to the three point line when they have the ball inside. Actually, Nesbit does on occasion, but not enough.

Long-time lurker, but just decided to make an account today on a whim, lol. I saw someone say something about some Brett Jolly level comedy and ran with that

Chance to Dance SLU...52%...up Dav...53%...up VCU...50%...dn Day...49%....new No other A-10 teams that are at least 40% SLU and Dav up 1%...both did what they were supposed to do...VCU takes a hit after a pounding by the Bonnies ...down 7%. And Dayton's meaningful win over us pushes them into the picture....4 teams all around 50% ...Which means as of Jan 16 it looks like 2 teams will get in. This brings us to part 1 of a 2 game series with UMass...Thur is a key game, the more difficult of the 2 because we start there. A win at UMass probably means a sweep. But as you can see by the spread, this will by no means be an easy game. The theme for this game will be ....It's all about the 3s. UMass comes in as one of the top shooting teams ITN ...#3. They will be dropping bombs all night...They are 5th ITN in 3PM....45% of all their shots are 3s...they make only slightly more of their 2s than 3s...46%/41%. But there is good news too. UMass will be the worst team we face this year on defense. We will have plenty of open looks ..we just need to make shots ...btw, they don't rebound. Their philosophy will be ...we plan on winning by outscoring you in a high scoring game. Let's get to the report card and see what's happening... ...................SLU.....................Mass..........................SLU.........................Mass .................................OFF..........................................................DEF............. PPG...............A........................B+...........................B-..............................F- 17th WITN FG%...............B.......................C.............................B.................................F- 6th WITN 3Pt%.............A-.......................A+...3rd ITN...........B+..............................F FT%...............A.......................B................................................................. Reb...............A-......................D-..............................A-.............................C OFF Rebs = total rebs...DEF Rebs = opp reb UP....Off...Reb.....Def.....PPG...FG%...3P%...Reb...a clean sweep on D ..all categories up Down....Off...PPG.....Def...none Team FTs... Top 10 Teams ITN FTM/gm....The Bills...3rd...dn FTA/gm....The Bills....9th....dn FTM / 100 possessions...The Bills...4th...dn Top 100 ITN (In The Nation)/ gm SLU Assts...Collins... 2nd... unch Stls......Collins....33rd....up...big jump from 66th FT%...Jimerson...71st ...dn...22 place drop for missing only 1 FT...no mercy for FT shooters Blks...Okoro...82nd...dn Mass Assts...Fernandes...28th Injury/ Illness Linssen...Ques for Thur...Ankle and Protocols...1/15/22......If he has no symptoms and his ankle improves he may play...At this time it is undetermined whether he will face UMass Courtney...Out Indefinitely ...Illness...1/15/22...No date for return has been established. Mass CJ Kelly..Ques for Thur...Knee...1/ 15/22...has missed 2 games due to knee swelling...unknown at this time whether he will face us. Santos...Ques for Thur...undisclosed injury...1/15/22...has missed 4 games...undetermined whether he will face us. Walker...Out for season....Leg...1/6/22...Femur injury At this point , now that you have seen the report card , I would like to take a quick time out. The computer has asked me to do a short rant for it. There seems to be a discrepancy between what it is cranking out and what some board members perceive. Some here think we have a horrible team and we have no Chance to Dance..in fact we shouldn't even show up because we are an embarrassment. Meanwhile the computer pours over data and says ...WHAT?...The difference between the board member and the computer is that some board members are looking at only the Bills through a microscope...The computer pours through the data of 358 teams and says... Wow, this is a pretty good team... On offense we are only 1 letter grade away from the honor roll (Straight As)...We need 1 more basket every other game and we reach elite status (top 15% of all teams).... Meanwhile we have reached honorable mention on defense (Straight Bs) which puts us in the top 30% of all teams. In the A-10 , the computer doesn't see anybody that will dominate...our chances to Dance are as good as anybody. This rant doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement...There is ...especially on TOs ...The computer sees this as an area that can derails us...also inconsistency ..the inability to make our numbers all the time because of wild swings in different categories. Finally, the difference between me and the computer is I can take 1 paragraph to rant ...the computer would take 300 pages (all numbers) and if anyone disagreed with it it would crank out another 300. I just punch in Go Bills and it shuts down....Rant over ...we now return to the UMass report.... Keys to the game... The keys is the 3s....We will need to use all of that B+ 3P defense to contain them from the arc....If CJ Kelly (there are 2 Kellys) doesn't play it will be a minus for for Mass as he is one of their gunners. The bad news is even if he doesn't play they have 3 or 4 others that can pop from the arc....3 key players to watch ...Fernandes...leads the team in PPG...Assts...FG%...Stls... Buttrick...Reb and Blks ....R Kelly (no relation)...52% from 3....18th ITN WWN2D2W....Since we don't know if CJ Kelly will play let's do this...hold their top 3 scorers to 33 pts.......48/38/77...we will have some good looks...make the shots.......80 pts...this is doable against a bad D...the closer we get to 80 pts the better our chances will be to win....keep TO to 11...they will not force TOs . Fham was a B+ in forcing TOs ...UMass is a D+ ... if we have a high number of TOs then that is on us. ...Reb ...win the battle by 8+...this is an important stat...the last thing we want to do is give them extra chances. Bottom line...We are the better team ..on offense and defense. A win at Mass is worth 2 as we will be favored by much more than 5 coming back with a victory....Let's make short work of them...It should only take a Minute Man.

I think their is sizable percentage of fans across the country that got used to watching home games at their home. While they still might have season tickets, they might now only decide to go to select games and decide to save the money they would have spent on parking/concessions. Large screen HD TVs make watching at home much more attractive. It will be interesting how sports programs address this reality going forward. They are dependent on Media rights money more than ever, so they can’t just stop broadcasting home games. They are going to have to find a way to make games a more attractive event to attend in person. I think we will see smaller venues become more common.

You keep missing exactly what I’m saying, and I’m starting to believe it’s on purpose. If it was just a quarter you’d be right. It’s not, you’re missing the counter side of that which helps offset those numbers - which is my point. look you’re picking a fight with some who is not happy about the mandate and the protocols, I think it’s stupid. But it’s annoying hearing biased people from both sides on this issue.

bump with links.

If it doesn't strain his schedule too much, I'm in favor of Brian Kelly doing both the men's and women's games, thought he did a great job on Saturday.

None of that are facts lol. Those are called opinions.

I can’t believe this tweet hasn’t been discussed more. Sounds a bit discouraging to me, but maybe I’m reading too much into it.

Shhhh. You'll jinx it.

I am sure chaifetz employees don't get paid enough to tell folks to wear a mask

Too many people under appreciated Has. It was easy to pick on his atrocious free throw shooting and the fact that he couldn’t score away from the basket. He excelled in so many other aspects of the game though.

Uh, I know whether I went to a game and why I didn’t, so that’s a fact. I’ve had season tickets for 36 years, and have given them up because of the insane mandate, which is protecting no one... we normally would spend on average about $160 per game with tickets, parking and concessions. I would have respect for the decision makers if there was even an ounce of common sense and integrity with their reasoning... an 11 year old can attend, but a 12 year old can’t without proof of vaccination. The same, safety first clowns, will tell you that you have to wear a mask unless you have an overpriced beverage in your hand. If it’s truly dangerous then don’t sell concessions and enforce the mask requirements, but they’re not going to do that, because they really don’t give a damn... let’s just make sure we go after those evil unvaccinated people....I also had to laugh at how these compassionate, caring people encouraged and promoted unvaccinated babies to come to their building for the annual race....yeah, they are really concerned....

It is only a suggestion then and not a rule, enforce it or dont have it. dont need to go to a bb game to get "peer" pressure

I estimate 50% of the fans in attendance either have no mask or wear said mask around their throats. And, as someone stated earlier, there is no way the Chaifetz employees are paid enough to challenge the mask violators. Would make more sense to me to maintain the vaccine policy (at least this can be effectively monitored) and void the mask mandate - the latter is certainly folly at this point….

THIS. My big talking point lately is that the pandemic was a forced opportunity for a lot of people to consider what their priorities were. There were probably some people who had season tickets for a number of years and did so as a routine, and some sort of pause in that routine might have caused some people to decide that they like the ability to not plan their schedules in the winter around 1-2 basketball games per week. Not directly related to SLU basketball, but I know people who started spending much more of their time at their vacation homes in another state when they realized that they could do that. Those people are going to fewer games, and maybe dropped their season tickets.

From conversations I’ve had with WBB alumni there’s a mixed bag on her, but that’s every coach. You also have to frame her overall tenure based on the dumpster fire she inherited.

This year has really been unfortunate for both programs in a lot of ways. The next two seasons(hopefully played under normalcy) are pivotal for Stone IMO. She has to show flashes of breaking through the plateau she’s seemed to hit.

I kept trying to say this when some were saying Okoro was already better than French at the beginning of the season. It was assumed also by many that he would end up better. The 1st one is certainly wrong and I'n not 100% sure the latter will end up true

This is a great thread - no political stuff & great discussion - hope Ford is lurking

Not sure what UK's policies are, but their attendance was down 28% at one point earlier this year. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2021/12/09/kentucky-basketball-attendance-rupp-arena-down-28-homestand/6445649001/ Sports attendance is also down nationally this past year and many sports fans say they aren't comfortable attending. Secondary ticket sales for NHL and NBA also dropped more for teams with vaccine/negative test mandates. https://morningconsult.com/2021/12/21/nba-nhl-attendance-down/ Some of it could be the COVID policies, but some of it is also just people being cautious/scared.

Don't worry. Win or lose I'll be posting a very detailed recap.

The computer does not have eyes ...... As Confucius once said .... "if you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bull****. If all else fails, use statistics."

We need to crush UMass twice. They are the bottom dweller in the conference.

that too

And here I thought Guy Philips was the sole reason for the dip in attendance.

every game televised, various mandates, enforced not enforced, high priced low quality concessions, all this leaves little incentive to attend, i dont see attendance coming back much this year

denial? What? Lol. You sorta just answered this convo for me. You’re saying 1/4 is not vaxxed, so only a quarter of ppl are not going to be happy with the requirements to watch SLU. Are you aware that’s there’s also a large bunch( SLUs crowd as an older crowd) who don’t want to be around ppl who are not vaxxed?

Not that it would have changed the result, but this whole season all I can think of is how much the team missing MST, especially in games like this.

SLU lost their A10 opener to Dayton 77-59. Ciaja led the Bills with 24 points on 10-18 shooting. Flowers had 10 points and 9 boards. Warren had 11 points and 4 assists. Bills were nearly doubled up on the boards 49-25. Dayton had 15 Off Boards.

Thank you @The Wizfor the rant and the spread. I see 2 trends happening good and bad. The good is Okoro, slow start but came on and is reliable with rebounding, scoring and staying out of foul trouble. The bad trend continues to be Yuri being pressured causing turnovers and the coaches not finding a way to make teams pay for the pressure with an easy score. As a fan I have to do a better job of not getting down on Yuri so much. The players are a good bunch of young people that make the majority of the games fun and exciting while losing their best player for the season.

I wonder if the problem is our bigs do not handle the ball well.

Our bigs don't kick out this season. Hasahn was pretty good at kicking out for open 3 pointers.

If SLU games were antidotal everyone would want in and the hospitals would be empty.

I have been a season ticket holder for 30 years, for most of that time with 5 tickets. It was really tough decision to make. Aside from the rampant, illogical hypocrisy, when we have spent the past 2 years terrorizing people, is it any wonder attendance is way down? We are reaping what we sowed.

I guess it depends on what you mean by "obnoxious." We were sitting two rows in front of them - directly in front of them. Yes, we got an earful. But it was pretty obvious from early on that they are current students at Fordham. They actually go to class with the players and know them on a first name basis. When we finally turned around after the game and met them, it wasn't surprising that they were all decked out in Fordham clothing. Isn't that what every school wants from their "student section" - loud, enthusiastic, non-stop support? They never made a critical or inappropriate comment about the Billikens or any Billiken player. We had a great conversation with them after the game. As we guessed, one of them is from St. Louis (Nerinx High - the one in the middle). She brought her two roommates to St. Louis for the game and to show them around town (took them to the Hill to compare St. Louis' best Italian restaurants to New York's). Dad (a U High graduate) got them the tickets and was there with them. I was impressed with their enthusiasm. There were 3 young boys sitting in front of us. We told them it was their job as Billiken fans to "out-cheer" the Fordham fans. It really got the boys into the game (for a while). At one point one the boys turned around and "booed" the Fordham fans. The dad did a great job of using it as a teaching moment and talked to the boys about the difference between negative fans and positive fans, and a good fan is only a positive fan who cheers positively for his or her team. Without those three young ladies those boys would not have learned that lesson. The three young ladies were only positive fans. Let the kids be kids, they were just having fun and being supportive of their team.

They are not showing up because of the mandate... many, even if they are vaccinated, are not comfortable having their young children and teens vaccinated.... it’s that simple....

Goodwin had a great game in a win over Greensboro. 22 points on 9-12 shooting, 2-3 from 3 and FT, 8 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals and 0 TOs. Multiple highlight plays

I agree to some extent, but you have to look at games as whole. On here if you have a bad 10 minutes you're probably not good enough to play Jr High ball and if you have a great 10 minutes, ehhh you're ok. Some of the things said about Okoro in the 1st half were silly. You'd have thought he was 1-10 not 1-4. He had 4 rebounds also in 13 minutes. Ahhh but maybe we spoke too soon. He was 4-5 with 6 boards in 10 minutes in the 2nd half for a double/double in 23 minutes. Games are rarely great for 40 minutes. Good streaks and bad streaks in every game for every team. We also played this game missing our co #1 big, and probably our 7th man in Thatch. Also as far as the season goes, name me the SLU team that could lose their best player ( a player that was rated as a top 20 wing in the country by some ) and still be a tourney team. I can help if anyone is unsure. The answer is none in the last 60 years.

KenPom disagrees with everyone who thinks this was a bad game. Moved up 12 spots from 81 to 69

Strickland’s D on that one possession where he made the Fordham player look like Iverson made me finally realize why he doesn’t play. He doesn’t even bend down on defense, it was very weird.

I just read the long discussion about regulations and attendance levels at the Chaifetz. In reality, it does not matter what the reason for the low attendance is (I assume there are multiple reasons), what really matters is the level of revenue generated by the Chaifetz. I have no idea if the Chaifetz has a full schedule of non sports performances this year or not, nor the level of attendance to these other events. Prior to Covid the Chaifetz had a much higher attendance levels for basketball games, and a reasonably full schedule of non sports performances and events. I believe it generated significant level of yearly profits. After Covid hit, this does not appear to be the case. From a numbers point of view, the Chaifetz needs to be paid for a certain % of the seats available for any event they hold (whether the seats are occupied or not, like it happens when someone with paid season tickets does not show up) in order to cover the fixed costs associated with holding an event and maintaining the arena. Again, I have no idea what this % may be but suspect that an average attendance level of 4000 to 5000 people does not cover expenses. This is both bad and not sustainable in a long term basis.

As per the Team Rankings current stats based upon games played this season, SLU's defense stats are way better than Umass', SLU's offensive stats are even with Umass'. Agree this will not be an easy game to win at Umass.

BAHAHAHAHA! AWESOME COMEBACK! So original! No one could've ever thought of that one! You are slow AF, go back and finish middle school. Must be from Saint Louis. It must really suck for you to be living such a hate-filled life. You, @CBFan, and @billiken_roy are wastes of society, your moms should be ashamed for not swallowing you.