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NCAA Basketball: Ranking the nation’s 25 best home-court advantages

By Brian Rauf

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 09: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks pumps up the crowd prior to the start of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Allen Fieldhouse on January 09, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 09: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks pumps up the crowd prior to the start of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Allen Fieldhouse on January 09, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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SPOKANE, WA – JANUARY 17: Fans for the Gonzaga Bulldogs cheer for their team in the game against the Loyola Marymount Lions at McCarthey Athletic Center on January 17, 2019 in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga defeated Loyola Marymount 73-55. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WA – JANUARY 17: Fans for the Gonzaga Bulldogs cheer for their team in the game against the Loyola Marymount Lions at McCarthey Athletic Center on January 17, 2019 in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga defeated Loyola Marymount 73-55. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

4) Gonzaga – McCarthey Athletic Center

Nothing about Gonzaga feels like a mid-major outside of the fact that they play in the West Coast Conference, and the atmosphere in the McCarthey Athletic Center – more commonly called “The Kennel” – is as big time as it gets.

Despite only having a capacity of 6,000 people, The Kennel is one of the loudest arenas in the country, largely thanks to a raucous student section that runs the length of the entire court – and they’re jumping around virtually the entire game. Their pre-game rendition of Zombie Nation is also one of the best student section traditions.

The Zags have only lost 16 times at The Kennel since it opened in 2004, putting the average at just about one loss per season. However, they have gone undefeated at home four times, including this past season. In fact, BYU is the only team that found any kind of consistent success there, as the beat Gonzaga three straight times at The Kennel from 2015-2017.

As impressive as all of those stats are, Gonzaga’s home winning percentage is only about 15 percent higher than their winning percentage everywhere else, which is among the lowest in the country. That is largely caused by the conference they play in and the major talent advantage they have over everyone else in it. They shouldn’t be penalized for that but, at the same time, it also gives those home-court numbers a boost.

The McCarthey Athletic Center deserves a spot among the elite tier of college basketball home-court advantages, yet that low difference in winning percentage keeps them out of the top three (Sorry, Gonzaga fans, you’ll have to stick with knowing you win games everywhere too much).

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