College Basketball During a Pandemic

Sports bring people together, whether it’s friends, family, or even complete strangers, people have bonded (and clashed) over sports, on and off of the field or court.

When the coronavirus hit last March, it shut down sports that were currently in season and postponed other sports until better weather. One sport was basketball, as March Madness was happening when the shutdown happened.

Yesterday, on March 3rd, 2021, a friend and I went to the Prudential Center in Newark to attend the Seton Hall vs UConn basketball game.

Masks were mandatory at all times, there were only certain food stalls open, 1,000 people were allowed in the place, no gear was to buy, no purses, and temperature checks took place at the door.

The game started off with Seton Hall taking the lead with 15 points until UConn started to get points and by the second half, there was a 26-27 lead with UConn in the lead. There was plenty of fouls, missed shots, and even tackling from the other players. One thing that surprised me was the amount of touching in the game, from fake falls to near punches, it was a game that was packed full of action.

In the second half, the lead started to slip further and further from Seton Halls grasp and there was always a point difference by 8 points or more. UConn started to really use their offense while Seton Hall could barely keep up their defense. In the end, Seton Hall lost to UConn 58-69.

My thoughts: The game was overall very slow with points but what lacked in points made up for action. The amount of instances where there was a moment that could keep you off of your seat were bountiful. I learned a lot about basketball from that game, and I would go to another basketball game in the future.