Allen Fieldhouse keeps collecting proof that it sits alone at the top of college basketball’s home-court mountain.
Kansas has played in that building since March 1, 1955, and the place is closing in on 900 wins. Basket Under Review’s ranking of the nation’s 25 toughest places to play put Allen Fieldhouse at No. 1, which hardly feels like a surprise given how the numbers and the history line up.
The outlet’s formula breaks down into four parts: 40% atmosphere, defined as “attendance as a share of capacity, sized,” 30% home-court advantage, measured by “home-vs-road swing across ~16 seasons,” 20% mystique, reputation, history and intimidation factor, and the final 10% as “slate,” or “quality of opponents beaten at home.”
“...It leads or nears the top in every pillar we track: fill rate, mystique, home-court swing, and history, over as long a data set as you want. There's no debate at the top of this list that the model had to manufacture,” writes Brian Rauf.
The Jayhawks have continued to back that reputation up even during some of the less dominant years under Bill Self. Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Kansas is 86-9 at home.
Last season alone, the Jayhawks knocked off No. 2 Iowa State, No.
13 BYU, No. 1 Arizona and No.
5 Houston inside the Fieldhouse.
Darryn Peterson got a taste of that support after his breakout NBA Summer League debut against the Atlanta Hawks. Asked about the reaction from the home crowd, he said, “It was great.
It kind of takes me back to Kansas. Like, just reminded me of Kansas a little bit with a great fan base.
Like I said in the media before, when I put on the uniform, it's not just for myself; it's for the fans as well.”
And next season’s schedule should give Allen Fieldhouse plenty more chances to flex its muscle. Kansas’ home slate includes Fordham on Nov.
2, Middle Tennessee on Nov. 6, Denver on Nov.
23, Villanova on Nov. 27, Northern Iowa on Dec.
1, Indiana State on Dec. 22 and New Orleans on Dec. 29.
The Jayhawks will also host Arizona State, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, UCF and West Virginia, while home-and-home series are set with Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State.
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The early projections are still just that, early, but they are loud enough to matter for Kansas fans who have seen how quickly elite talent can reshape a season and a rosters long-term outlook. Stokes is expected to step into a major role in 2026-27, and if he lives up to the hype, the Jayhawks could be looking at another freshman with real stakes at the very top of the NBA draft. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Season May Come Down To One Unsettled Offensive Decision
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Leipolds sixth year in charge is set up to be defined in part by how that battle plays out, because the offense needs clarity before camp turns into the real sorting ground. The expectation is that the answer comes during training camp, and the early part of that process should tell Kansas plenty about how the depth chart is settling behind the two contenders. [Read more 🡒]