Sunday games?

The Oregon State men's basketball team will host games against the University of Oregon and the University of Washington this month.

Without question, the two biggest home games of the season.

But neither will take place on a Thursday. Nor will they take place on a Saturday.

They're slated for Sundays.

WHY?

Sure, I get the whole television thing.

It just sucks for students.

I hope it goes without saying that this is a light-hearted column.

The final score of a game is not affected by the day of the week the game is played.

I'm sure Craig Robinson doesn't care what day of the week his team plays. Nor does Jared Cunningham or Roberto Nelson.

But the fans?

That's a different story entirely.

College basketball games — much like college football games — are campus-wide events.

Basically, you gather at a friend's house (or a bar) an hour or two before the game, you make the rather-enjoyable walk to Gill Coliseum (while making new friends), then claim your spot in the Beaver Dam, where you'll spend the next two hours either telling the official to "get off his knees" or trying to pick a fight with the player on the end of the opponent's bench.

The student section experience is one of the best parts of being a college student.

But it's not the same on Sundays.

Not even close.

Those "did you know (insert high number here) percent of college students have less than four drinks a week?" posters would say differently, but all it takes is one walk down Monroe Street on a Saturday night to know a fair amount of Oregon State students wake up feeling not-so-great each Sunday.

This creates an obvious problem.

If Oregon State plays at, say, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, students who went out on Saturday night may not make it out of bed in time for tip.

And if they do go to the game, they probably won't be bursting with energy like they would be on a Thursday or a Saturday.

So instead of a section full of students who are at the peak of their weekend, the section is full of students who are at the "why did I go out last night" or "crap, tomorrow is Monday" point of their weekend.

And Sunday games aren't just a nuisance to students who go out Saturday nights; they also pose a problem to another group of students.

Sunday is notoriously known as the day everyone suddenly remembers how many midterms they have to cram for, or how many papers they have to write.

That's why the library — and the M.U. parking lot — is so dang packed each Sunday.

A good amount of those students will turn down Sunday games, citing school-work as an excuse.

And if they do decide to trek to Gill, they certainly won't engage in typical pregame activities, due to the fact that they have to be productive afterwards.

With that said, this weekend's game against Washington is a Sunday game.

So get caught up in school this week. Go to bed a bit earlier than usual Saturday night. And don't flip your calendar from Saturday to Sunday when you wake up… that way, maybe it'll feel like a Saturday game.

Because that's how it should be.

Grady Garrett, sports editor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/gradygarrett

sports@dailybarometer.com