March Madness is reaching its climax! The Final Four is here. Just two wins away from the national title. Each of the four teams left? They’ve lost no more than three games this season. Pure dominance. First up at Amalie Arena, it’s a heavyweight clash. The defending champs, Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks, take on the red-hot Texas Longhorns. But despite the high stakes, the hype for this SEC showdown? It’s just not there.

This is the fourth time these two teams are meeting. Right now, Dawn Staley holds the edge–2-1 over Vic Schaefer, which includes an SEC tournament win as well. With history, star power, and a trip to the championship game on the line, this one had all the ingredients for a sellout. But it didn’t look like it.

This is Texas’ first Final Four appearance since 2003. Back then? It was a Diana Taurasi show that ended their dance. Now, the spotlight’s back on the Longhorns–and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Fresh off their first SEC regular season title, Texas came into the tournament riding a wave of optimism. They showed grit. They showed class. And they earned their Final Four spot the hard way. But something feels off. Despite the high stakes, the energy inside Amalie Arena doesn’t quite match the moment. It doesn’t feel like a clash between the top two teams in the SEC.

Fans were stunned to see rows of empty seats at Amalie Arena as the highly anticipated Final Four clash between Dawn Staley’s South Carolina and Vic Schaefer’s Texas tipped off. Many couldn’t believe that such a high-stakes matchup between two SEC powerhouses failed to attract a full house. Disappointed and frustrated, fans quickly turned to social media to share their reactions. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Fans fume as Dawn Staley vs Vic Schaefer battle sees a low turnout

Fans were naturally frustrated to see such a low turnout and they let their voice known “Empty seats everywhere and we got 200 tickets through the Gamecock Club. Pathetic @NCAA,” one fan wrote on X. Another fan added, “Alot of empty seats in Tampa.” The frustration? Loud and clear. Especially for a game of this magnitude.

This isn’t the first time the NCAA has faced criticism for low attendance. The 21,500-seat Amalie Arena currently feels more like a ghost town than the epicenter of a Final Four showdown. “Why is this game not sold out???” remarked a fan. It’s not an isolated case either. When the Florida Gators took on UConn at the Lenovo Center during their second-round matchup, the scene was similar–hundreds of empty seats and a lackluster crowd.

There’s a specific reason for it. A fan explains it in detail, they say, “are you talking about the empty seats behind the texas bench? i suspect that’s the UCLA or UCONN section and they all haven’t arrived yet (probably UCLA based off the colors i’m seeing)”

For those who don’t know. The Amalie Arena will be hosting both the Final Four games tonight. That means one ticket covers entry to both games. So, if you’re here for UConn vs. UCLA–the second game of the night–you technically already have a seat for South Carolina vs. Texas too. That helps explain the empty seats. It’s not that tickets didn’t sell. In fact, according to the NCAA website, the event is sold out, with only a few resale tickets still floating around. The issue isn’t demand, it’s attendance. Fans of the later game simply haven’t shown up yet.

But that shouldn’t have been the case! Andy Froemel reiterates exactly that and says, “Texas vs. South Carolina Final Four is about to tip off and there are a bunch of empty seats. It is a majority UConn crowd in Tampa. They must be waiting to show up until later. Still disappointing, because if you pay for elite basketball, you should show up and watch.”

When you drop nearly $200 on a ticket, you’d expect fans to show up, right? But that wasn’t the case tonight. Maybe some just aren’t interested in watching elite basketball unless their team is on the floor. If so, honestly, that’s their loss! The Longhorns vs. Gamecocks clash is a basketball fan’s dream. A high-stakes, tactical chess match between two of the best in the business–Dawn Staley and Vic Schaefer. If I had a seat in that arena, there’s no way I’d miss a second of it.