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The attraction of the Kohl Center as a premier college basketball venue is nothing new, and it might've been on greatest display this season as the Wisconsin Badgers reached their first Final Four since 2000. Wednesday, official 2013-14 attendance figures were released, and the Badgers' standing confirmed that homecourt advantage. Wisconsin 's average home-game attendance of 17,104 ranks second in the Big Ten and 7th throughout the NCAA.
That latter figure marks the 14th straight season in which Wisconsin has finished seventh or higher in national attendance. This season, the only teams ahead of it were Syracuse, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Creighton and Indiana.
Within the Big Ten, Wisconsin have ranked first or second in home attendance for 12 straight seasons. Indiana held the top spot this year at 17,359. For comparison's sake, the Kohl Center holds 17,230 while the Hoosiers' Assembly Hall has a capacity of 17,472.
In total, 2013-14 was also the 38th consecutive season in which the Big Ten led all conferences in average home attendance. This year's figure of 13,534 (counting all regular-season home games and Big Ten tournament games) also set the conference record. Nine conference schools also made the the top 25 nationally; behind Indiana and Wisconsin was No. 8 Ohio State (16,474), No. 13 Nebraska (15,419), No. 15 Illinois (15,246), No. 17 Iowa (14,976), No. 18 Michigan State (14,797), No. 23 Purdue (12,738) and No. 24 Michigan (12,698).