Indiana-Syracuse basketball draws just 5K fans. 'Depressing'
Indiana and Syracuse are brand names in men's college basketball — and a rematch of the 1987 national championship game. Both teams entered Monday's game in Indianapolis unbeaten, marking the first power conference game for each school in the early portion of the 2026-27 season. And it was in a nearly empty Gainbridge Fieldhouse. In-depth: Scrutinized Syracuse-Indiana attendance shows college sports misses most valuable point Week 1’s biggest winners, losers: College basketball wasted no time getting wild The home to the Indiana Pacers has a capacity of 17,274. Monday's attendance was listed at 5,047. And that may have even been generous. Indiana has more than 20 high school gyms that could have fit that many fans, with spare change . In 49 states it's just basketball... Crowd at tipoff here at Gainbridge Fieldhouse pic.twitter.com/5yJI3C1I0f — Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) November 9, 2026 There are plenty of reasons for the light crowd: Indiana has missed seven of the past nine NCAA tournaments. Syracuse has missed five straight. So it's not exactly a marquee product. Some will point to the 6:30 p.m. Monday tip time as a deterrent. Really the ticket prices were likely the main culprit with second level seats going for
