Sports in general are riddled with cliches. Each sport has its own, but some have more than others.

With basketball, one of the most common cliches is “basketball is a game of matchups.” And when a team is starting from scratch or trying to make a name for itself, this cliche becomes much more evident because, quite simply, rebuilding teams are often overmatched.

The men’s basketball team could be considered to be in the rebuilding stage.

Last season, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for the young Horned Frog hoopers. At the season’s halfway point, the team’s record was 13-6 and first place in the conference heading into a home game versus New Mexico.

The conference season featured a storm of inconsistency, accented by a six-game losing streak.

According to GoFrogs.com, home attendance was about half that of away games.

Students were used to watching their team win, as the 2008 football team had just finished an 11-2 season with a bowl win, and the volleyball team narrowly missed an NCAA bid.

This season, the Frogs are a year older, but not necessarily a year wiser. The issues the team faced last season are creeping up again, mostly due to mediocre shooting and lack of size in the post.

The team is at .500 once again with a 10-9 record, and there is little to no buzz around campus about the next basketball game.

One might see this situation and blame the decrease in wins and fan support on the team’s lack of skill.

That cannot be the case.

Elite college basketball programs have a fan base. In fact, every great athletic program has solid support.

Looking back on the football season, one can easily see that the Frogs played better when the stadium was full and the fans were involved.

The same applies to basketball, except for one clear discrepancy. Not every college has an arena like Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

When full, the dome-shaped venue concentrates noise and showers the court with a wave of cheers. And as there isn’t a bad seat in the whole place, it is almost as if the fans are on the court with the players.

When it is quiet in the arena, every conversation is audible. Every random “Go Frogs” and “C’mon, defense” can be heard perfectly.

All of these features make for a potentially special home court advantage. But there are still too many empty seats for home games.

While there are factors keeping many students from attending (class, homework, and the like), the majority of students decide not to attend the games because they do not want to see another loss.

However, if the Horned Frog faithful are going to establish themselves as a formidable fan base, they must support their team in the midst of a rebuilding campaign.

Sure, TCU is a relatively small school, but a sold-out Daniel-Meyer Coliseum would still only represent about four-fifths of the student population.

The more games the basketball team wins, the more attention the program will get from top recruits in the area, and believe me, there are plenty in Texas.

If more fans show up to games, the Horned Frogs could be the ones causing mistmatches in the future.

Staff Reporter Wyatt Kanyer is a news- editorial journalism major from Yakima, Wash.