Yes, Indiana is really playing college basketball in a Las Vegas hotel
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By now you may have seen the photo making the rounds on Twitter: a college basketball court set off to the side of what appears to be a hotel ballroom in Las Vegas.
And, well, that’s right. Indiana is playing an actual, real college basketball game that counts at the events center of the The Mirage Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After a quick Google search, we’ve discovered that this is in fact one of the many event spaces offered by The Mirage.
The Mirage, an MGM resort, is a 4-star casino hotel located on the Las Vegas strip adjacent to Caesar’s Palace and just across the street from Madame Tussauds. The resort boasts an outdoor pool, saltwater aquarium, a casino, a dolphin habitat (what) and now... the No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers.
The hotel’s official website refers to this space as simply “Mirage Event Center” with “90,000 square feet of pillar-less space” that can accommodate “the most complex shows and events.”
And... I guess that means college basketball counts? Sure?
It’s also worth noting that every image I could find of this place through USA Today or Getty was of what appears to be a Beatles-themed event, a boxing match from the early 90’s or uhhhhh this guy playing a pinball machine:
Sure!
Indiana is currently taking on Auburn on FloHoops in the event center as part of the Las Vegas Invitational, a tournament that I was unable to locate an official website for.
Aside from Auburn, Indiana will face Memphis on Saturday night.
