Wow!!! What a game last night between Texas and Oklahoma St. I am absolutely terrified of Kevin Durant. Terrified. He is the most amazing freshman I have ever seen, and I'm starting to wonder if he, not Oden, should be the #1 pick. Granted, Oden is playing left-handed, so maybe I should settle down a bit. But the direction the NBA is taking, maybe Durant is better-suited to be a stud. We'll see.
It's nice to see the Big 12 rebounding a bit after struggling the last couple years; they have left me a bystander when my buddies constantly argue about whose conference is better. Conferences have a tendency to cycle, though; just 5 years ago, the Big 12 was sending a couple teams to the Final 4 each year, and much was being made about how weak the ACC was. Then Carolina recovered, Duke continued being Duke, and Maryland, G. Tech, Wake Forest, Boston College, and now Clemson have all taken turns dominating. With Texas establishing themselves as a year-in, year-out powerhouse, KU being KU, Oklahoma St. and Oklahoma improving after a couple of off-years, Texas A&M making the leap, and Bob Huggins coming to K-State, the Big 12 is set to re-establish themselves as a true "power conference."
The one thing the last couple years have taught me, however, is that the Big 12 has the best collection of home crowds, as a conference, in the country. The mark of a good crowd is how loud and crazy they are, even when their team sucks. Iowa St. and Missouri are prime examples. Both teams have been brutal the last couple of years, but the crowds are still nuts. That is very rare in today's sports scene. I think Kansas and Ok. St. are among the scariest places in the country, and Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas Tech are all respectable.
The ACC has Duke, hands down the best crowd in the land, but it also has Carolina, which all things considered, could be the most disappointing crowd ever. For how good their team is, year-in, year-out, they should be on a level with Duke, but they're not even close. B.C. and Maryland are decent, but much of the rest of the conference is lackluster, even boring.
The Pac-10 is horrible aside from Oregon and Zona. UCLA fans should be ashamed, but I guess what do you want from Los Angeles fans? They are disappointing in every sport. Witness a city with 5 million people and zero NFL teams.
The SEC has some great arenas at the moment, namely Kentucky, Florida, and Alabama, but only Kentucky fans stay crazy in down years. Florida's crowd, when they are good, gives me nightmares.
The Big 10, since their downfall, has seen their crowds falter, as well. Only Illinois, Michigan St., and Indiana remain loyal when times are tough. Ohio St. is on its way to a top-tier crowd, however. We'll see if that continues once Oden leaves.
The best competition is from the Big East, as they have a large number of somewhat scary places to play: Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Louisville, but only one legitimate scary place: Villanova. Plus they have disappointments in UCONN and Georgetown.
I know I am omitting the smaller conferences, which is sure to draw the wrath of Jon-Jon, but I haven't watched enough games in those places to offer a fair opinion. Here, in my humble opinion, are the best crowds in college ball, based on being loud, knowledgable, and still crazy when the team struggles.
1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. Oklahoma St.
5. Villanova
Honorable mentions to Florida, Indiana, and Gonzaga. The floor is open for discussion.
