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The Chicago State basketball team took down conference rival St. Francis on Monday night. The home crowd was non-existent.
Only a few members of the fanbase showed up to support the Cougars in their attempts to avenge a previous loss. The stands were literally as empty as could be.
Chicago State is not a good basketball team. They entered the most recent contest at 4-20 on the year with a 2-9 mark in NEC play.
That put the Cougars in last place in the league standings. On Monday, they looked to better that position.
Chicago State hosted St. Francis, a six-win team it had already been beaten by 81-60 in late January. They’d succeed in getting a win.
Chicago State won the basketball game.
The two schools, with a combined record of 10-37, battled across 40 minutes of action. The Cougars built a double-digit second half lead before holding off a furious comeback attack late.
The Red Flash trailed by 20 with less than eight minutes left to play. They used a 28-9 run to get the score to 76-75 with 15 seconds on the clock.
Chicago State would eventually put the game away at the free throw line to win, 80-75.
The victory was the Cougars’ third in the last four tries. They’ve now found success following a 2-19 start to the year.
Despite the momentum, fan support is at an all-time low. No one chose to brave notoriously awful midweek traffic to see the Cougars in person.
No one showed up for the home team.
Chicago State competes at the Division I level in the Northeast Conference. They’ve struggled to find success.
Last year’s team was 4-28. It continued a streak of 16 consecutive losing seasons. This year, the program is on track to grow that number to 17.
The Cougars have had just one winning season since 1986. For that reason, you could imagine fan support is minimal. On Monday, that fact was on full display. There were more players bench than spectators in the stands.
A recorded attendance of just 27 people was announced. Fans were outnumbered by the 34 combined roster members.
Players on Saint Francis & Chicago St: 34
Fans in attendance at their game: 27 pic.twitter.com/TedoLLIAj3
— Mostly Hoops With Mark Titus & Co. (@MostlyHoopsShow) February 10, 2026
Each squad boasts 17 players. That number does not include the coaching staffs.
The two bad basketball teams played in a near-empty 6,000-seat arena. At least they provided the dozens of spectators an exciting finish.