NCAA Basketball: 30 best arena atmospheres in college hoops

CHAPEL HILL, NC - FEBRUARY 20: North Carolina Tar Heels fans storm the court after a win over the Duke Blue Devils during their game at the Dean Smith Center on February 20, 2014 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 74-66. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

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LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 09: A general view of the Louisville Cardinals game. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

13. Louisville Cardinals

Location: KFC Yum! Center (22,090) in Louisville, KY

Even the KFC Yum! Center only opened for NCAA basketball in 2010, it has quickly risen up the ranks of the best atmospheres in the country. This is mainly due to the fact that the Louisville fanbase is absolutely a tremendous. Even with one of the largest buildings nationwide (fourth largest by capacity in college basketball), seats are consistently filled regardless of opponent. Of course, Louisville has had the luxury of playing in two of the best conferences in the country (Big East and ACC) and high-quality opponents are coming to town seemingly every week.

Since the inception of Louisville taking the hardwood in this building, the program boasts a 131-21 (.862) record at home as well as a 19-13 record vs. the AP top-25 at home. With this kind of prolonged success, it is easy to continuously fill up the stadium. However, it not easy to generate a buzz for every single game. Louisville does just that, though.

Throughout the tenure of Rick Pitino as head coach of the Cardinals, the program was one of the most valuable in the country. Even though he is now gone, the expectation is that Chris Mack and Co. will carry on that legacy and keep the Cardinals near the top of the rankings for record and atmosphere moving forward.

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