Stony Brook basketball coach Steve Pikiell remembers the days when being an opposing player in what now is called Carnesecca Arena felt like Russell Crowe did in the Roman Coliseum when he had to fight the gladiators and the released the tigers.
“It was a tough place to play,” Pikiell, a former Connecticut Husky player, recalled.
“Those were tough fans at Carnesecca. They knew basketball and they were right on top of you, telling you what they knew.”
The crowds at Carnesecca have been less tiger and more pussycat of late, largely because the team hasn’t given the fans much reason to get out the claws.
But tonight the Red Storm players, 5-0 after posting impressive wins over Siena and Temple in the Philly Hoop Group Classic, are hoping their fans will turn out in force. Game time is 7 p.m. (SNY, WBBR-1130 AM).
“I hope Carnesecca Arena is sold out,” said power forward Justin Burrell. “We need to take care of business. We want to focus on them and show we can be a good team and move forward from there.”
With games at Duke and against Georgia in the Garden upcoming, it might be hard for the Red Storm to focus on the Seawolves. But Pikiell’s squad is 5-1 and plays with no fear.