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RULES OF BASKETBALL
KANSAN.COM
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Caroline Fiss/KANSAN Student Jayhawk fans cheer while watching the pre-game video before tip off of the game against Texas Tech in Allen Fieldhouse Feb. 27. Kansas won 67-58
SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3
SHANE JACKSON
Allen Fieldhouse was dedicated on March 1, 1955; the same day Kansas defeated Kansas State 77-66.
Kansas currently boasts the longest home winning streak in college basketball at 39 games. The Jayhawks are undefeated this season at home, largely thanks to the atmosphere in the building. Allen Fieldhouse is considered the mecca of college basketball.
It holds 16,300, making it the largest basketball arena in Kansas and the second largest in the Big 12.
Students camp for days to ensure a seat. When gates are opened two hours before tip, fans rush to their seats. Often times, the Fieldhouse is nearing capacity over an hour pregame.
The pregame atmosphere is filled with buzz and excitement. Fans watch the Kansas players in awe during shootaround, often highlighted by acrobatic dunks. Fans boo the opposing team with much vigor.
When the players run on the court, the band plays in unison, and the students are on their feet from then on. The sounds of the Rock Chalk Chant echo around after the alma mater, just moments before the player introductions.
The player introductions are preceded by a video, which makes the crowd erupt. Every player introduced is greeted with the roar of the crowd and students throwing shredded paper in the air. Following the introductions, another video is displayed on the big
screen to get the volume at maximum levels for tipoff
Although it is rarely as loud as it is for tipoff, many opposing teams admit the volume from the crowd is anything but quiet. 16,300 fans continue to live and die by every whistle; shouting chants on the defensive end, creating distractions during free throws and celebrating every big play throughout the game.
It's an atmosphere unlike any other, not only in the Big 12, but in all of college basketball. From the time the gates open until the final buzzer — that is often overshadowed by the chorus of another victorious rock chalk chant — the fans remain just as passionate about their team.
And that's why there's no place like Allen Fieldhouse.
Missy Minear/KANSAN A K-State students holds up a "Free Nathan Power" sign before the game begins on Feb. 20 at Bramlage Coliseum. Kansas won 72-63.
▶ SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
Kansas State doesn't have the history of the top schools in the Big 12. The pre-game video package at the Octagon of Doom boasts 16 Sweet 16 appearances for the program, a mark far less impressive than some other schools, but that's not what makes it special.
The arena was opened in 1988. The first game in the was an NBA game between the Spurs and Mavericks. Some 400-plus college games later, the arena is known as one of the less inviting Big 12 venues, especially with Kansas in town.
It's absolutely not for a younger crowd.
But that's also part of the fun.
The crowd is angry. Before the game against Kansas, the students booed Rock Chalk Video employee Tim Cornell, a junior from Riverside, Calif., as he walked on the court. One student from the section yelled out, "Go back to Overland Park."
Welcome to Manhattan.
The atmosphere as the day progressed was even better. Pregame, the students rocked to the Wabash Cannonball, only this time, there was a twist. The crowd chanted "F--- KU" to the beat, and proceeded to do so with every song that played later in the half.
At halftime, the administration sent out a text to the students asking them to tone it down. It didn't make a difference.
Then, later in the game, they finally embraced the atmosphere. With four minutes to play, the University played the song Sandstorm,
which had previously not been played in the arena The students had normally chanted "F--- KU" to its beat, although as this game showed, that can be chanctec with any song.
The noise from the song was ear-splitting. The second the first beat hit, there was a moment of realization. The student section was raucous, rabid and ravenous, all part of creating a single moment in time that was the loudest I'd ever heard. It was the most intense I'd ever seen a crowd.
It wasn't exactly PG, but it was fun.
The crowd was the perfect blend of electric and aggressive. It made for a college basketball environment that'd be nearly impossible to replicate, let alone one of the best college basketball games of that week.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Looking at the top venues in the Big 12
EVAN RIGGS
@EvanRiggsUDK
Lloyd Noble Center has been the home of the Sooners since 1975 and it has a capacity of 11,562.
When Kansas traveled to Norman, thousands of students and alumni showed up to partake in the College Gameday Festivities.
During just about every commercial break, the arena was engulfed with either an 'OU' chant, or an Oklahoma classic accompanied by the Oklahoma pep band, 'Boomer Sooner.'
One group of students had an approximately
Like every Kansas road game this year, there were dozens of signs making fun of Ellis, who is believed to be much older than a 22-year old college senior by the rest of the country.
10-foot-tall cutout of Buddy Hield, which was strategically placed right behind the basket where Kansas shot free throws in the second half.
As the National Anthem came to a close, the Oklahoma student section substituted the word 'brave' for 'Sooners' to end the song. The video board showed highlights from the first Oklahoma-Kansas game and highlights from Oklahoma's season. But it certainly wasn't the same kind of ear-piercing video that every Kansas fan has come to know and love at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Sooners pregame ritual definitely had a much more modern, NBA feel than what the Jayhawks do. Before player introductions, both of their mascots, 'Boomer' and 'Sooner' were lowered from the ceiling
while the lights were turned off. Male members of the Oklahoma cheer squad ran flags that spelled out 'Sooners' as the team ran out from the tunnel.
With the lights off, fire shot from the back of the basket closest to the Oklahoma bench after each player was introduced. It was much safer than it sounds, but the heat of the fire was enough to make you squint, even sitting 30 feet away.
Once the game actually started, the crowd didn't do much. There were a few 'Perry sucks' chants directed at Ellis, and a few 'Boomer Sooner' chants broke out.
The student section is only on one side, which takes away from the atmosphere a bit. All in all, the Lloyd Noble Center is still an enjoyable atmosphere for a college basketball game.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Missy Minear/KANSAN The crowd inside Lloyd Noble Center gets ready for the rematch between Kansas and Oklahoma on Feb. 13. The Jayhawks beat the Sooners 76-72.
SKYLAR ROLSTAD @SkyRolSports
Hilton Coliseum was constructed in 1971 and has been the home of Iowa State basketball ever since. The arena holds 17,384 fans and holds an attendance record of 15,000.
While basketball was all but invented in Lawrence, Iowa State basketball had to have been created entirely by the atmosphere within Hilton Coliseum. The term "Hilton Magic" might be used sarcastically more than seriously, but something changed the game in the last eight minutes of Kansas' eventual 85-72 loss. From the eight-minute mark in the second half, the Jayhawks fell apart and allowed a 15-point lead going into halftime slip away for a decisive Cyclone win.
In the last four years, Iowa State has only lost five games at home.
The environment is inescapable. Allen Fieldhouse is a small venue, but it's still complete with a museum, the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, and plenty of other commemoration from years past, such as the timeline of Kansas basketball between the men's and women's locker rooms. And these locker room doors can be seen by fans walking in the doors at Allen.
"Hostile environment" is one of many clichés heard on TV when a pundit previews a big game, but Hilton Coliseum personifies hostility. To be blunt, you don't know the meaning of "hostile environment" until you've been in one.
Locker rooms are nestled under the stands at
Hilton. As the Jayhawks took the floor, insults hailed from the student sections on either end, which are conveniently located directly above the exits to the locker rooms. A rousing and profane chant burst from the cascade of the student section when Kansas came out for warmups, and the stray insult to Perry Ellis never failed to jump out once the game had started.
In the Hilton Coliseum, walking into any of the entrances puts you just steps away from the concessions and the seats to watch the game. Nothing else. For an outsider to Iowa State basketball, the atmosphere is in your face. Hilton is by no means luxurious, but it does what it's there to do: provide a home-court advantage.
Paige Stingley/KANSAN
The crowd cheers at Hilton Coliseum Jan. 25. Iowa State defeated Kansas 85-72.
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