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The San Jose State basketball team hosted No. 25 Utah State on Tuesday in Mountain West Conference action. Although the game represented the Spartans’ first home contest against a ranked foe, no one showed up to watch.
The arena was empty ahead of tip off, presenting an embarrassing scene for the biggest conference matchup of the young season. Those who chose not to attend missed a great game.
San Jose State entered the contest at 7-9, riding a three-game losing streak. Despite the recent struggles, the Spartans kept things competitive on the court.
The visiting Aggies, who’d won 14 of their first 15 games, jumped out to a nine-point first half lead, but San Jose State was able to close the gap after halftime. A late 8-1 run by the home team tied the game at 69-69.
Unfortunately, the Spartans would be unable to keep that momentum going as they eventually fell, 85-78. Still, the effort was visible to those who saw the game firsthand.
The same can’t be said about the home crowd, which was non-existent throughout the night. Pregame scenes of the empty arena surfaced online Tuesday. There was no support from the San Jose State faithful.
View of the crowd here at San Jose State during starting lineups introductions. pic.twitter.com/b9CzZwseGl
— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) January 8, 2025
Last year, the university unveiled a new court design in hopes of boosting excitement for the 2023 season. That reveal was met with more criticism than positive response.
A good look at our new court! 👀 pic.twitter.com/zsFi2PVori
— Dac “SJSU Duck” (@SJSUDuck) November 2, 2023
It’s worth noting that the university is still on winter break. Students are away for the holidays with the spring semester not slated to start until January 23rd according to the school schedule.
Still, others around the country have seen droves of students return early for high-powered basketball matchups while enduring the same scheduling difficulties.
The closing attendance totaled 1,668 people. Provident Credit Union Event Center seats 5,000 fans for sporting events. Only about 1/3 of the venue was full, and it looked much lower from the images online.
The Mountain West Conference has been one of the nation’s best at the mid-major level of late. The league sent six teams to the Big Dance last year. Fans of MWC programs are known to be a proud bunch. That certainly wasn’t the case for San Jose State on Tuesday.
With the loss, the Spartans fell to 7-10. The team is still winless in conference play. Attendance likely won’t see much of an uptick if performance doesn’t improve.