On the Banks: Times the RAC rocked
- Thread starter dpwhite
- Start date
I was at all of them.... the loudest pre-game, Imo, was the Penn state A l0 game.. you could hear the crowd way outside the gym, half an hour before tipoff
.... the UNLV game was rocking
.....the georgetown comeback was unreal
....... the Indiana state game was memorable for the Bailey vs Bird duel down the stretch....will never forget the baseline jumper by bailey for the win
the agonizing loss to Uconn by not fouling with a few ticks on the clock
we also had a game vs temple with their all american guard, forgot the name.... our crowd got to him and he performed poorly..... that was intense, the details escape me.
.... the UNLV game was rocking
.....the georgetown comeback was unreal
....... the Indiana state game was memorable for the Bailey vs Bird duel down the stretch....will never forget the baseline jumper by bailey for the win
the agonizing loss to Uconn by not fouling with a few ticks on the clock
we also had a game vs temple with their all american guard, forgot the name.... our crowd got to him and he performed poorly..... that was intense, the details escape me.
Last edited:
Even worse than Marc Macon, I remember razzing another opposing big who left NJ to play somewhere else. I wanna say ND perhaps? This poor guy was booed mercilessly every time he touched the ball for what seemed like the entire game.
I covered the 1989 RU/PSU Atlantic-10 final for the Daily Targum, and I was sitting in the handicapped section behind Section 118 (this was the overflow section for the Press that night). The crowd was deafeningly loud 30 minutes before tipoff, and then continued to roar for the next two plus hours. I had a bird’s eye view when Tom Savage was cutting down the net right in front of us, with the entire crowd surrounding him on the floor. This was absolutely the loudest game I ever witnessed at the RAC.
But that 2004 UConn game was a close second. I had season tickets in Section 118 on the side near the Rutgers bench (in BK's "old" haunt LOL). Down there you really feel like you’re in a "pit" when the crowd is rocking. My god, you couldn’t hear yourself think, and you could see the angst on Jim Calhoun’s face during timeouts as the crowd rose to a crescendo during the RU-Rah chants. This is the game Calhoun points to now when he talks about how loud the RAC can get.
As David Kostus said in his comment to this article, the B1G really doesn’t know what they’re in for when the RAC gets rocking again. They will be shocked. Heck, I'm not sure PIKIELL really knows how loud the place will get!
But that 2004 UConn game was a close second. I had season tickets in Section 118 on the side near the Rutgers bench (in BK's "old" haunt LOL). Down there you really feel like you’re in a "pit" when the crowd is rocking. My god, you couldn’t hear yourself think, and you could see the angst on Jim Calhoun’s face during timeouts as the crowd rose to a crescendo during the RU-Rah chants. This is the game Calhoun points to now when he talks about how loud the RAC can get.
As David Kostus said in his comment to this article, the B1G really doesn’t know what they’re in for when the RAC gets rocking again. They will be shocked. Heck, I'm not sure PIKIELL really knows how loud the place will get!
Thanks, I couldn't place his name but that was definitely who I had in mind. Also not sure, but wan't that the Hodgson bloody shirt game too?
I have been at every game at The RAC since it opened in 1977 except for a few. I also feel that the 1989 win over Penn State in the A-10 championship game was the loudest the RAC has ever been. I will never forget Anthony Duckett and Tom Savage both taking turns sitting on the rim after the game. I really would love to see the RAC rock again like it did in those days. It was special with all the Bobsicles being waved in the student section. We need to get back to that atmosphere again.
The Troy Murphy game is referenced in the article. One of my standout memories of the RAC.
In 1978, Rutgers led by Jammin' James Bailey beat Larry Bird's Indiana State by one point in an NIT game at the RAC. The noise was deafening as Bailey scored the last 7 points for Rutgers. My memory is fuzzy but I believe with seconds remaining Steve Hefele stole the ball to set-up Bailey's winning basket.
Last edited:
The first half of that infamous UMass game was pretty raucous at the RAC.
I believe UMass was ranked #1 at the time, but were playing without their star center Marcus Camby.
If memory serves, RU was leading at halftime, and then...
...game was postponed due to a sit-in protest.
I believe UMass was ranked #1 at the time, but were playing without their star center Marcus Camby.
If memory serves, RU was leading at halftime, and then...
...game was postponed due to a sit-in protest.
Do I know you?
The RAC, will never quite be as loud as then through since they took 800 seats out since then and the students no longer occupy the seats behind the RU bench....
Having said that ...it is still quite loud
And...I still maintain the loudest the RAC has ever been was during the second half run against UNLV ...after the three turnovers for baskets. Legit so loud you could not hear the band play the fight song during time out from the lower part of the 200 level where I sat at the time
Correct
I was there
Abdel Anderson did a great job defending Larry bird that night
And, the story goes that Larry bird punched out a fan after the game ....
What can’t be underestimated is how special that year was. It was completely unexpected. That first year of a rebuild is always incredible because you’re watching these young men come together for the first time and it’s a joy to see. The had won a combined 23 games the 3 seasons prior. The competition was less but what occurred would be analogous to the football team winning out or basketball going to the dance last year. Those specific circumstances will be nearly impossible to replicate
It's missing Tuesday, Feb 23, 1999 vs Georgetown.
That was the loudest I could remember the RAC. I started school in 1994. We all thought we were dancing. The RAC was bezerk...
and then it wasn't.
On the same day it was the loudest, it was also the quietest.
That was the loudest I could remember the RAC. I started school in 1994. We all thought we were dancing. The RAC was bezerk...
and then it wasn't.
On the same day it was the loudest, it was also the quietest.
Good recap. Not sure how the editor could come away thinking Bird was not that good. RU own 57-56, and Bird scored 33 points in that game with Abdel Anderson covering him. Tom Young decided to cover Bird straight up with his best defensive player, Anderson - knowing Bird would score a lot without giving Anderson much help - and rely on the other RU players to completely smother all the other ISU players ... which is exactly how it played out. That was the last time Indiana State lost until they lost to Magic Johnson and Michigan State in the NCAA championship game the next season.
Another useless trivia data point from that NIT. RU lost in the NIT semis, and played Georgetown in the NIT consolation game - back when there were consolation games. RU then beat Georgetown in the NCAA tourney the next season. And RU ended up being the last team in something like 25 or 30 years to beat Georgetown in back to back times facing Georgetown.
I briefly mentioned that game. That was the one when I got off the L bus coming back from class and could hear the crowd outside the building. Before smartphones, I thought for sure we were winning only find to out later... sigh.
I was at every one of those games including the 1st college game at the RAC. (I think the Nets played the first game)
I know that my hearing loss was caused by those games and many more at the RAC over the years.
---
we got faked out because we beat the earlier at their place, and our center had a really good game in that one..... Georgetown must have schemed much better at the RAC
----
I was late getting to the Garden Georgetown game...... as I was entering the corridors, the announcer said something like, "RU leads 16 to....... and I said 16 to what?.....but then I saw the scoreboard and it was 16-2....
I don't know, Shack, depends on who you are LOL. Did you write for the Targum in the 1987-1990 time period? (that's when I was a sportswriter, during the time that Tom Rysinksi and then Kelly Whiteside were the Sports Editors)
I think the UNLV game, as well as that WVU game(last time standing room tickets sold?) were just as loud if not louder then PSU as some tickets were reserved for PSU fans. Never understood the shrinking of the RAC. RU always goes overboard for no reason like our self imposed punishments.
Was at the aforementioned Temple game in the early 90's...Duncan, Hughes vs. Macon........both "top 30" teams......Wentzel vs. Chaney. One of the few times Rutgers beat Temple in that era...with '89 A-10 semi-final at the Palestra being another time.
I was at the game also. I recall Temple had a spurt and all the momentum going their way. Then inexplicably Chaney calls a timeout. after the timeout Rutgers got composed and turned the game around. I always thought that Chaney blew that game.
Simple, the replaced the bench side bleachers with the cushy seats. Less seats, but more $ for the seats.
Shack, I was in 8th grade when the ISU/RU game was played. I know you're younger. What grade were you in?
When Earl Johnson slammed home a breakaway dunk with about four minutes left in the game, the RAC went apeshi+. IMHO, the loudest moment in RAC history! UNLV and Penn State had much longer extended periods of loudness, but that single Johnson moment was one for the record books.
We need to get as many of these games as possible uploaded to YouTube. I know I have some cool things I recorded back in the day and I’m sure others have done the same. Don’t have a clue how to do this but I need to figure it out.
That I kinda get although Duke wouldn't do that. I don't understand shrinking behind both baskets and especially the Student section.
I was in 4th or 5th grade at the time....my dad and I had seasons since RAC opened in November 1977...
---
as I recall Bailey hit a short baseline jumper with a couple of seconds left.....Indiana state inbounded the ball and Bird launched a near half court shot that hit the rim, just about at the buzzer....scared the daylights out of me that it might go in..... we actually might have fouled him on the shot but I guess you don't call that from that far away....
Thanks Shack. The 1975-76 undefeated team made me a lifetime RU fan when I was in 6th grade. I remember listening to games on WCTC and watching games on NJPTV. Never got to see a game at The Barn. :(
