Fansided

15 best home-court advantages in college basketball

By Mike Phillips

EAST LANSING, MI - MARCH 09: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans kisses the logo after defeating the Michigan Wolverines 75-63 at Breslin Center on March 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - MARCH 09: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans kisses the logo after defeating the Michigan Wolverines 75-63 at Breslin Center on March 9, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
13 of 16
Next
LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 23: University of Kentucky cheerleaders are seen during the game against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 23, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 23: University of Kentucky cheerleaders are seen during the game against the Auburn Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 23, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

4. Kentucky

  • Venue: Rupp Arena
  • Location: Lexington, KY
  • Opened: 11/28/76
  • Capacity: 23,500
  • Home Record Since 2000: 261-33 (.888 Winning Percentage)

Now we’ve hit another historic venue on our list of great home court advantages. When you think of great college basketball venues across America, Rupp Arena in Kentucky is always a place diehard hoops fans want to visit.

Rupp Arena, which was named for legendary Wildcats’ coach Adolph Rupp, and opened just over a year before his death. The NCAA has made use of Rupp Arena for many an NCAA Tournament over the years, including the historic 1985 Final Four, where 8-seed Villanova pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college hoops history by toppling Georgetown in the title game.

The arena is the largest basketball specific facility built in the United States, and it needed to be that big to accommodate the swarms of Wildcats fans who want to support Kentucky basketball. One area of note in the facility is the eRUPPtion Zone, a standing room student section behind one of the baskets.

Over the past decade, Kentucky has become absolutely dominant at Rupp Arena. Since John Calipari took over as the head coach in 2009, the Wildcats have gone undefeated at home in five separate seasons, making Rupp an extremely hostile environment for opposing schools.