The Best NCAA Tournament Fan Bases: West 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 finishing things up by tackling the West region. See previous rankings here, here, and here, and let the arguments commence!
1. North Carolina
A day after Duke fans took top honors in the South region, it’s only fitting that their biggest rival earn the same ranking for the West. UNC’s long been a national powerhouse, resulting in a massive fan base that shows up to the Smith Center in huge numbers every year. How many fans would get this excited for a layup line?
2. Wisconsin
The Badgers have an excellent chance to make a second straight Final Four run, but Wisconsin fans filled the Kohl Center long before this latest run. With crowds that big cheering them on, it’s no wonder Wisconsin has only lost at home four times in the last two seasons.
3. Arkansas
Arkansas was famous for giving opponents 40 Minutes of Hell in its heyday. Although that referred to the team’s playing style, Razorback fans, who routinely post some of the top attendance figures nationally, are what make playing at Bud Walton Arena an infernal experience for visitors.
4. Arizona
Arizona is currently the best program in the Pac-12, and in turn their fans regularly pack the McKale Center, where the Wildcats didn’t lose this season. What might be most impressive is how well ‘Zona fans can make themselves heard even when they take their show on the road:
5. Xavier
Before Arizona coach Sean Miller headed out for the desert, he piloted Xavier to great success … and coached in front of just about as many sellout crowds as he does now. Miller’s gone, but the Musketeers still usually make the NCAAs, and empty seats at the Cintas Center are still hard to find. A small private school with no football team, basketball rules the athletic scene at Xavier.
6. VCU
Another case of a football-less school rallying around basketball, VCU’s attendance went from pretty good to outstanding once coach Shaka Smart turbo-charged the program with an out-of-nowhere Final Four run in 2011. And those crowds sell their act so well, they even fool the referees sometimes:
7. Ohio State
Buckeye fans turn out to Value City Arena in impressive numbers. Coach Thad Matta just became the winningest in program history, and fans are still demanding more.
8. Oklahoma State
The Cowboys’ attendance was better a decade ago … but so was the team, which went to a Final Four in 2004, so it’s hard to fault them. The Spirit Run tradition, in which a member of the school Spirit Squad fires up the Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd during the waning minutes of games, is very college-y.
9. Oregon
It would be unfair to expect basketball crowds in Eugene to match the football crowds given the latter program’s runaway success, but the Ducks have what must be the fanciest student section website in the country. Still, overall attendance at Matthew Knight arena (7,783 average in 2013-14) is underwhelming for a 12,000-plus-seat venue.
10. Baylor
Baylor’s attendance is okay but unspectacular, and as has been the case for several Texas schools, most of their prominent school spirit fan traditions are more closely associated with football. They have some of the most passionate young fans in the country, though:
11. Harvard
Harvard plays in a tiny arena (capacity: 2,195), but what’s important is that it’s often full. Crimson fans must get credit for loyalty, too: Before the program’s recent run of huge success, Harvard hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1946.
12. Ole Miss
The Rebels are yet another instance of a program with steady attendance, solid support, lots of 20-win seasons … and fans who will always be more excited for football.
13. Georgia State
The Panthers play in a small conference and usually in front of small crowds. If they keep winning as they have in recent years, though, those crowds will get bigger. Plus, the fan base’s support for coach Ron Hunter’s charity work gets some bonus points.
T-14. Wofford and Coastal Carolina
These two programs from smaller conferences in South Carolina both have had significant success in recent years. It didn’t seem fair to put one fan base ahead of the other, even if Coastal, thanks in part to a new arena, has the edge in attendance. And look how far Wofford basketball has come:
16. Texas Southern
Although the Tigers’ attendance is still low, it’s gotten better in recent seasons. Of course, when a team from a “lowly conference” gets a former Indiana coach, goes to two straight NCAA Tournaments, and beats Michigan State, isn’t that exactly what attendance should do?
Honorable Mention: BYU
The Cougars are dearly departed from the tournament, having lost a heartbreaker to Ole Miss on Tuesday. But their fan base is big and loud enough that they still deserve a mention here. They show up in big numbers to home games … and many of the faithful even show up when there’s no game at all.