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Toughest CBB Arena. ESPN Poll

Smashcat

Smashcat

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Mar 13, 2012
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Kentucky Basketball ‏@KentuckyMBB 11m11 minutes ago


ESPN is asking what's the toughest venue in CBK. We know you're going to vote @Rupp_Arena. http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/115786/vote-for-college-basketballs-most-difficult-venue…pic.twitter.com/NPfjpTSpEd

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Say what you will about the dead atmosphere/lack of crowd noise at times, but our record at Rupp under Cal sure seems to indicate that it's at worst, one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.
 
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Fawrules said:
Say what you will about the dead atmosphere/lack of crowd noise at time, but our record at Rupp under Cal sure seems to indicate that it's at worst, one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.
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I think that's mainly due to our talent/lack of competition. Just imagine if it was as loud as Allen fieldhouse on top of those factors. We'd never lose in there..
 
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Honestly, it's not Rupp. Won't be until you get students more around the floor of the court than just the one baseline. I love out NC St does it, putting students on the first 6-8 rows all the way around the court.
 
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I think on occasions Rupp is about as tough an environment as there is in college hoops. I've been there when it was so loud you couldn't hear the guy next to you, when ti was just crazy. Problem is that only happens every once in a while. I presume - only presume since I've not been at either place - that the Phog and Cameron Indoor are much more consistent, they are what they are in every game.....
 
Mojocat said:
I think on occasions Rupp is about as tough an environment as there is in college hoops. I've been there when it was so loud you couldn't hear the guy next to you, when ti was just crazy. Problem is that only happens every once in a while. I presume - only presume since I've not been at either place - that the Phog and Cameron Indoor are much more consistent, they are what they are in every game.....
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Do you think that maybe the reason they are more consistent is because they play upper level teams more often? I've been to Rupp, and it's big game atmosphere rivals any of the competition. The problem is that a big game is typically just 2-3 times a year, whereas Kansas and Duke play more like 6-7 of those games a year. I mean we can argue about set-up, and there are differences that could be determining factors for either of the other 2 teams, but we are typically down on Rupp, because we see every game, and compare it to the few big games we see elsewhere.
 
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I voted for Rupp, but honestly I think it's "The Phog". Rupp's biggest problem is it's so huge even when the crowd is noisy it's just not that loud. In terms of being a tough place to win for the other team though it's right there with any place, especially under Cal. Aren't we on something like a 34 game winning streak currently?
 
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We win there because we have had the more talented team 98.7% of the time. We probably have a team that's exponentially more talented, about 75% of the time. Has little to do with the fans. But I do give Rupp points for sheer size. Playing in front of 23k is definitely a factor.

I have to agree with others, Can't vote for Kentucky here.

Hey, it gives us something to work towards.. because I'm not even sure Rupp is in the top5.
 
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I've gotta say Rupp because I've never been anywhere else and the size of Rupp has to be intimidating, plus the teams we usually have are awesome:cool2:
 
drainthatub said:
I think that's mainly due to our talent/lack of competition. Just imagine if it was as loud as Allen fieldhouse on top of those factors. We'd never lose in there..
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Jayhawks suck, I don't care how loud they scream.
 
We win because of talent and despite a sub par crowd , it takes both to be the toughest . Kansas should probably win but they won't , Duke should be second followed by a smattering of places that may or may not be intimidating depending on the opponent .
 
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I love when fans point to W/L record under Cal. Has Kentucky even been an underdog at Rupp under Cal? 2013 Florida without Noel is the only time that I can recall; Kentucky was a slight favorite on the Gators in 14' (and the Gators won by 10). Given that random players play like Steph and get career highs, consistently in Rupp, I would not vote Rupp. Rupp has tradition, that's it. I've been to Gainesville, and it's much louder.
 
LineSkiCat14 said:
We win there because we have had the more talented team 98.7% of the time. We probably have a team that's exponentially more talented, about 75% of the time. Has little to do with the fans. But I do give Rupp points for sheer size. Playing in front of 23k is definitely a factor.

I have to agree with others, Can't vote for Kentucky here.

Hey, it gives us something to work towards.. because I'm not even sure Rupp is in the top5.
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I concur. The Phog, Cameron, Breslin, O-Dome, The Kennel, The Octagon of Doom, McKale? The Pit in New Mexico is a tough place to play, etc.
 
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The Zoo is up there.. I so badly wanna go to The Pit..isn't it closed tho? Or will be soon.

It's even sadder when you think about how some of these arena have a quarter of the talent and a 1/10th of the tradition kentucky has. BBN is #1.. But not when it comes to crowd support, energy and pandemonium.

They need to designate more sections for students. Rupp should be far and away the hardest place to play..
 
drainthatub said:
Not gonna waste my time voting, who cares? My favorite team will always be the wildcats, but rupp is not the toughest place to play. Just saying.

Agree, but phog allen is still louder than rupp by far.
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The phog being loud is irrelevant. KU wins there for the same reason UK wins in Rupp- better talent. Same with Duke. The talent is the reason they are tough places to play.
 
Rupp is mean when we need it most against great competition. The time of the game and the opponent matters quite a bit. When UNC and Louisville are in town the crowd is electric. For a big game only the Phog rivals Rupp. Cameron is loud too but what do you expect for a 60 by 60 pole barn.
 
JonathanW said:
Honestly, it's not Rupp. Won't be until you get students more around the floor of the court than just the one baseline. I love out NC St does it, putting students on the first 6-8 rows all the way around the court.
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Don't think honesty factors in here lol
 
I like to consider myself a man of nuance and even-handedness when discussing religion and politics. But sports?

I see literally no downside to homerizing the hell out of this poll. You and I both know that Rupp isn't #1, but all this poll can really demonstrate is which online fanbase is #1. And that would be UK in a landslide.
 
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I get people saying Rupp is tough due to our talent, but how is that different than Phog or Cameron? It's not like Duke and KU are rolling out a team of scrubs and their rowdy crowds leads them to victory.

I do think Rupp is more of a big game atmosphere. I know sometimes I watch a game at home and think, man that crowd is dead. However, any game I've been to at Rupp I've never walked away thinking the crowd was horrible, and I've been to mostly lower end SEC games like Bama and Auburn.

To me, the most important thing is that the arena is always packed. If you put some of these other teams in a larger arena would their fanbase still be considered rowdy?
 
The vast majority of you are missing the question.

It's not "loudest places to play", it's "toughest places to play".

Is Rupp the loudest arena in the country? No. Absolutely not. It has it's moments, especially during big games, but consistently it's not top tier. Just taking design into effect, Rupp does not have the sound elements in it's physical design to produce a high degree of decibels.

However, you would be foolish to say that Rupp is not one of the TOUGHEST places to play. The place is always packed, and is massive. Both of which lead to an intimidation factor that not all arenas have. Aside from that, our players always tend to relish that atmosphere and play well at home. Combine all of that with our high talent level, and you have a very tough venue.
 
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One thing that's overlooked about the toughness of Rupp is that it goes from 0-100 in a hurry.

There's a degree to which sudden, overwhelming noise is more daunting than a perpetual roar.

It's like riding the Beast at Kings Island. As soon as you get settled down a bit, here comes another dark tunnel.
 
BoulderCat said:
I voted for Rupp, but honestly I think it's "The Phog".
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Lol, what? Are you scared some big blue meanie will murder you in your sleep if you don't pick Rupp Arena even though you don't believe it's the toughest arena? C'mon dude.
 
502 Wildcat said:
The vast majority of you are missing the question.

It's not "loudest places to play", it's "toughest places to play".

Is Rupp the loudest arena in the country? No. Absolutely not. It has it's moments, especially during big games, but consistently it's not top tier. Just taking design into effect, Rupp does not have the sound elements in it's physical design to produce a high degree of decibels.

However, you would be foolish to say that Rupp is not one of the TOUGHEST places to play. The place is always packed, and is massive. Both of which lead to an intimidation factor that not all arenas have. Aside from that, our players always tend to relish that atmosphere and play well at home. Combine all of that with our high talent level, and you have a very tough venue.
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But at what point is being tough based on the team on the floor?

It's obviously a tough environment.. but a big reason why it's hard for opposing teams to come away with a win is because our team is just that good. And we aren't talking Kansas or UCLA or UNC.. we are talking 7 years of NBA laden teams.. It could be a practice gym or Dallas Stadium.. Kentucky is winning 99% of the time.

Rupp's strength is the sheer size and the historic past.
 
Regardless if the atmosphere....the record says it's TOUGH for opponents to come here & win. UndER Cal it's downright NOT happening much at all.
 
Having seen a few at the Phog and at Rupp, Rupp can be the tougher place to play if the team we're playing against gets people excited enough to ignore the blue hairs yelling at people for standing. Think about those games we played in Memorial a few years and how loud the crowd got; if Rupp were like that consistently, no one would want to play there. As much as I hate to admit it, Phog Allen always is like that, regardless of who they're playing.
 
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Every quality team has a tough home arena because every home team gets home-cooking. Anyone who doesn't see that is either lying or just plain dim.
 
CatFromDaHood said:
Every quality team has a tough home arena because every home team gets home-cooking. Anyone who doesn't see that is either lying or just plain dim.
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[laughing]

There's home cooking and then there's what Duke gets. Home officiating is not even across the board.

Cameron is the correct answer, in case anyone is still unsure.
 
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