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UNC Basketball: Andy Katz Top Places for Games

By Aaron Conrad

April 4, 2022; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; UNC Chapel Hill fans cheer and raise their hands during the first half at the National Championship watch party in the Dean E. Smith Center. The eight seeded Tarheels shoot a free throw against the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game. Luke Johnson Ð USA Today Sports
April 4, 2022; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; UNC Chapel Hill fans cheer and raise their hands during the first half at the National Championship watch party in the Dean E. Smith Center. The eight seeded Tarheels shoot a free throw against the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game. Luke Johnson Ð USA Today Sports /
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NCAA Analyst Andy Katz recently ranked the Top Places in College Basketball to play. Where does the UNC basketball program rank?

As we get closer to the beginning of the 2022-2023 NCAA basketball season, there are a number of polls coming out for a variety of topics. Andy Katz of NCAA.COM recently released an article ranking the top places to play college basketball games.

The rankings obviously caused plenty of conversation on Twitter as most fans believe that their arena should be included. The good news is that The Dean E. Smith Center ranks number 9 in Katz’s poll.

"The Smith Center has been consistently elite since it opened. It is and will be a top-10 venue."

Fellow Blue Bloods arenas ranked higher than the UNC basketball program, with Kansas (1) and Duke (2) in the top two spots and Kentucky coming in at number five. A few surprises on the list were Arkansas at number 8 and Texas Tech at number 10.

Katz listed the following as his honorable mentions: Iowa State, Michigan State, Illinois, Providence, Creighton, San Diego State, BYU, and Saint Mary’s.

One thing of note is the capacity of the various arenas. Let’s take a quick look.

Allen Fieldhouse -16,300

Cameron Indoor Stadium – 9,314

Mackey Arena – 14,123

McCarthey Athletic Center – 6,000

Rupp Arena – 23, 500

McKale Center – 14,655

Assembly Hall – 17,222

Bud Walton Arena – 19,200

Dean E. Smith Center – 21,750

United Supermarkets Arena – 15,300

Gonzaga comes in with the smallest arena at a capacity of 6000 and Kentucky has the highest with 23,500. The Smith Center ranks just below Rupp Arena.

In terms of ranking Kansas number one, Katz believes the noise and atmosphere make it “second to none.”

Katz also said that Cameron Indoor was “rocking like no other venue last season for Coach K’s last season.”

We all know it got pretty quiet for his last home game though.

Next. UNC Basketball: Womens Basketball Game Times Released. dark

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