Even empty seats in Logan

With a victory tonight, Utah State would set the WAC record for consecutive regular season wins (20).

That’s not surprising. What’s a little surprising is that USU has failed to sell out a game this year.

Attendance stinks at Utah, but that’s understandable. The Utes have had a terrible year, excepting their modest two-game win streak. But the Aggies are 16-2, their only losses coming to Georgetown and BYU, a pair of currently ranked teams.

The crowd in Logan is still impressive, thanks to the rowdy student section, but there are usually one or two thousand empty seats in the Smith Spectrum. That’s too bad. It’s not the Aggies’ fault. Heaven knows, they win enough to pack ‘em in. But it’s not just an Aggie worry. These days, most schools would love to have the arena 80-90 percent full. But college hoops aren’t as popular as they once were. I’ve written this before, but here are some reasons:

Television: Why go out into the cold when you can see almost any game you’d like on cable TV.

Inattention: Students raised in the computer age don’t find basketball as interesting as their parents. Video games, social media, etc. all conspire to make instant response a must. Basketball, at many schools, just doesn’t have the juice.

Boring games: Coaches have slowed down the game, preaching rebounding, defense and patience. It’s all good when it comes to winning, but run-and-gun basketball is virtually dead. Watching a team dribble around for 30 or 35 seconds before taking a shot just isn’t exciting.

Lack of talent: Yeah, sure, they’re good. But if they’re really good, they’re in the NBA after one or two seasons. What’s left is, well, mostly leftovers.

Social media/web sites: I touched on this before, but the you can follow games on line, in real time, play-by-play. That way, you can keep up while you’re eating dinner or watching a movie. Why fight the crowds?

Scheduling: TV has dictated that teams play almost all across the calendar. Used to be that teams played conference games on Thursday and Saturday. It was easy to track. Now games slip by on days you aren’t expecting.

If I were in charge, I’d have fewer timeouts in college hoops, a shorter shot clock and encourage up-tempo basketball. I’d make college players stay three years, minimum, to keep the good players around. I’d avoid charging ticket holders a fee for the opportunity to buy your season tickets. (I know, easier said than done, considering economics.) I’d have conference games on Thursdays and Saturdays, every week.

Then I’d roll out the ball and let ‘em play.