I think we all have our books, our headphones, our phones and a good attitude. – BYU student Brendon Cochran
PROVO — Basketball-crazed BYU students braved the elements this week to help themselves get a good seat for the Cougars' matchup against No. 1 Gonzaga tonight.
Beginning at midnight Monday, students began camping out around the Marriott Center, lining up to earn seats in the student section, The ROC, for the program's first time hosting the country's top-ranked team in Provo.
It created a temporary tent city surrounding the Cougars' basketball arena.
Five hours before tip-off Thursday (9 p.m. MST, ESPN2), 59 tents surrounded the Marriott Center, though a handful had already been torn down. The tents began at the northwest corner of the Marriott Center and extended beyond the bridge south of the arena. Following them, students, sans tents, lined the walkway that goes over Campus Drive.
"They've got a basketball hoops out here, that's what I've been doing most of the time," said Brendon Cochran, who is part of one of three groups associated with the first tent in line. "I've been doing homework, writing essays. I think we all have our books, our headphones, our phones and a good attitude."
Cochran said that, according to ROC rules, one person representing each group had to be at the tent at all times, in case card checks were made. It required a bit of coordination to get details ironed out and ensure spots in line stayed secure.
"I think we all started organizing it around church, that got the conversation going, then we started prepping Sunday night and got out here Monday," Cochran said.
It wasn't just tents that had been brought, though. There was a couch in line and, further back, a love seat. Many students were using the time to catch up on studies while others are hanging out and enjoying other activities, from talking to friends to playing a little hoops.
There was more than just the best seats on the line. Starting around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, students were divided into six groups and played rounds of lightning, with the top two advancing to a championship round.
Dallin Biorn won the event and will shoot a half-court shot for the chance to win $15,000 during halftime of tonight's game.
As for the game itself, BYU sophomore guard Nick Emery has been sick and didn't practice Wednesday, which could complicate the Cougars' hopes of an upset.
"It's definitely a little bit of a worry, right?" Cochran said. "But if we look at some of the best players, they perform some of their best games during bad conditions, so we're hoping for the best for him."
Cochran, an optimist, also predicted a Cougar upset by two points.
"I think Eric Mika's going to take the game-winner," he said.