The Best NCAA Tournament Fan Bases: East Region Edition
By Glenn Davis
We all love filling out brackets, watching hours upon hours of hoops on the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament, hoping for huge upsets. But none of it matters without the key factor: the passion of the fans. In recognition of their devotion, we’re ranking the best fan bases in each region of the 68-team field. Today, we’re tackling the East region. Let the arguments commence!
1. Louisville
Cardinals faithful have everything you’d want in an elite fan base. They’re loyal (they consistently pack the KFC Yum! Center); they make that home arena an unpleasant place to play (Louisville’s lost just seven home games in the last three seasons); and above all, they’re passionate. (For proof, ask any Louisville die-hard about John Calipari.)
2. Michigan State
Replace “Louisville” with “Michigan State,” “KFC Yum! Center” with “Breslin Center” and “John Calipari” with “The Victors,” and the previous paragraph accurately reflects Spartans fans, too.
3. Dayton
Never mind that Dayton doesn’t have the national pedigree of the previous two schools. Flyer fans are some of the best in the game. Attendance at UD Arena is consistently excellent; Dayton’s student supporters have a terrific nickname (Red Scare); and they’ll show their stuff when the hometown Flyers play a First Four game in Dayton on Wednesday night. If you doubt this ranking now, you won’t when that game’s over.
4. Villanova
The Wildcats boast a fan base so big it’s too much for their own arena. Although college hoops purists might prefer when Nova plays at the 6,500-seat on-campus Pavilion, sheer demand forces most games over to Wells Fargo Center, home of the NBA’s 76ers.
5. North Carolina State
In the North Carolina college basketball hierarchy, N.C. State places a distant third behind UNC and Duke. But you’d never know it attending a Wolfpack game at the PNC Center. The crowds are big, and emotions run high … especially when one of the in-state rivals comes to town. Don’t believe us?
6. Northern Iowa
Every team on this list has devoted fans. Only one team started a dance craze so widespread that even Michelle Obama did it.
7. Virginia
Virginia is in the midst of its best run in three decades, and fans are responding in kind. Not only did the Cavaliers post their best overall attendance figures in years last season, but their student section was literally award-winning.
8. Oklahoma
Football rules at Oklahoma but don’t sell the basketball program’s support short. A look at year-by-year attendance figures shows what Sooner fans already know: they pack the Lloyd Noble Center year in, year out for one of the most quietly consistent programs in the country.
9. Providence
Basketball is the undisputed king on campus here. Although the Friars don’t sell out the Dunkin’ Donuts Center consistently, it would be unfair to expect that from a school with an enrollment of less than 4,000.
10. LSU
LSU is another school known primarily for football, though the basketball program produced both Pete Maravich and Shaquille O’Neal. If you dare suggest the Tiger fan base lacks passion for basketball, they’ll surely set you straight.
T-11. Georgia and Boise State
Lots of football schools in this region, from blue bloods such as Georgia to relative upstarts such as the Broncos. Although Georgia basketball has had success over the years and Boise is in the midst of its fourth 20-win season in five years, basketball is unlikely to eclipse football in students’ imaginations at either school. Barring a blue home court for Boise that is.
13. UC-Irvine
You might be thinking, “I bet UC-Irvine got some bonus points for weird traditions like their war cry of “Zot!” and the way student fans call themselves the CIA, Completely Insane Anteaters. I bet they even got some bonus points for being called the Anteaters to begin with.” You’d be wrong … because they got a ton of bonus points for all that.
14. Belmont
Belmont’s student fan organization is known as the MOB or Motivational Organization of Belmont, which cannot match the Anteaters. What can stand up to anyone, though, is the Bruins’ home record over the last decade-plus: 123-21. That’s the MOB doing its job and then some.
15. Wyoming
Cowboy student fans call themselves the Wild Bunch. Hopefully you won’t see any of them robbing a train anytime soon, but they still know how to make their presence felt.
16. Albany
Albany normally plays in front of small crowds, but that crowd rises to the occasion in big moments. Check out the scene when the Great Danes clinched an NCAA bid on their home floor:
17. Lafayette
The Leopards’ attendance figures (they routinely average less than 2,000 fans per game) might look spotty at first, but consider this: 1) the official capacity of their arena is less than 2,700, and 2) Lafayette’s total enrollment is about 2,500.