The final batch of games in the Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament is underway, but from the look of the crowd you’d think it hadn’t even started yet.
Today’s game between 11-seeded Pitt and 3-seeded Xavier is underway at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, which has a capacity of around 20,000 seats. But judging by the crowd at the game, fans weren’t exactly racing to get the prime seats.
A photo taken during the middle of the game shows that some of the middle sections on the lower level are practically empty. Whole rows of seats are empty or sparsely filled in the second-to-last game being played there in this tournament.
Many fans are speculating as to why the seats are so sparsely filled. Some believe that the stadium will fill up later for Kentucky vs. Kansas State and that the tickets have already been sold. That hasn’t stopped others from ripping it though:
Plenty of good seats available for Pitt-Xavier. pic.twitter.com/6lpRzJMjkF
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) March 19, 2023
“The optics are also real bad because the top seeds in each site have their allotments behind the benches – X’s section looks more full. But Pitt probably has the other side, while KSU and UK fans are likely the reason why this looks bare…also because UK fans probably have most,” one user replied.
“Please return the playing of basketball games to basketball arenas. Football stadiums are awful for basketball games,” wrote another.
“I thought this was BC-UMass in Springfield for a minute,” a third user joked.
Hopefully this rough attendance is an exception and not a sign that the NCAA needs to change anything about the tournament in order to avoid sights like this in the future.