Memphis Men's Basketball Ranked in Top 10 Nationally in Attendance

For a second straight season, the University of Memphis ranked among the NCAA's top 10 in basketball attendance as the Tigers' total paid attendance topped the 300,000 mark for the first time in school history.

Memphis drew a record 340,723 in paid attendance over 21 games during the 2001-02 season. The Tigers averaged 16,225 per game to rank 10th nationally.

Kentucky led the nation in attendance, averaging 21,014. U of M rival Louisville averaged 18,929 to rank second while Indiana ranked third with a 17,183 average.

The U of M averaged 17,740 through 18 regular-season games before playing host to three games in the Owens Corning NIT. The Tigers drew sellout crowds of 20,004 for its games against Arkansas and Louisville.

With the addition of East Carolina and TCU, Conference USA drew a record 1,920,276 to games this season and ranked sixth nationally in conference attendance averaging 8,679 per game. C-USA members Marquette (12,680) and Cincinnati (12,058) also ranked among the top 25 in attendance average.

Memphis's all-game attendance (home, road and neutral sites) was 465,533 which ranked 14th nationally.

The U of M drew record crowds on the road all season. The Tigers played in front of season-high crowds in seven venues and top three crowds against its three other opponents on the road.

For the year, Memphis drew 85 percent capacity for its 10 road games. The U of M played in front of sellout crowds at Temple (10,206), Tulane (3,600) and Cincinnati (13,206).

Last year Memphis averaged a then-record 17,110 (290,864 total) to rank sixth nationally in home attendance. In 11 seasons in The Pyramid, Memphis has totaled 2,250,975 in paid attendance.