![Jan 13, 2018; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks students and fans hold \"Pay Heed\" signs during the Sunflower Showdown](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_139,w_5160,h_2902/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/169/01hk9q9hr2cafj500s81.jpg "Jan 13, 2018; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks students and fans hold \\"Pay Heed\\" signs during the Sunflower Showdown")
Allen Fieldhouse is often referred to as the "cathedral of college basketball." Not only was the creator of hoops the Jayhawks' first head coach, but the Kansas basketball program is one of the most storied in the sport with four NCAA Tournament championships and two Helms National Championships.
The Fieldhouse is renowned for its "magic" and eerie feel with all the basketball history that is inside of it. Kansas rarely loses when they play on their home court, and Bill Self has a 314-17 record since he arrived in 2003. Many regard it as the top venue in the NCAA. However, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas doesn't believe it is a clear-cut No. 1.
Fifth on Bilas' list was Assembly Hall (Indiana), followed by Breslin Center (Michigan State) and Rupp Arena (Kentucky). Rather than give Allen Fieldhouse the leading spot, he opted for a two-way tie with Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke). You can watch the video for yourself.
My top 5 college basketball venues are… pic.twitter.com/Q1xNSdYWjv
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) January 3, 2024
Bilas, 60, attended Duke from 1982-1986 and scored over 1,000 points as a student-athlete with the university. He played for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski and went to the national championship game in his senior year. Does he have a biased opinion? The decision is yours to make, but I would vote yes.
Then again, we can view him not putting Cameron Indoor at No. 1 as a testament to how great Allen Fieldhouse truly is. He called his experiences there 'soulful' and said, 'it's got a feeling you can't describe,' so he wasn't diminishing the Fieldhouse by any means.
All in all, these two arenas are unquestionably among the best in college basketball history. Scheduling a home-and-home in the near future would be iconic for the game. Duke fans will call theirs better, while us Kansas basketball fans will call ours better. We can agree to disagree.
Kansas basketball is 11-1 at home this season and you can cash in on their next home game vs. TCU with no sweat thanks to FanDuel! All you have to do is sign up, deposit $10 or more and then bet $5 or more on Kansas vs. TCU. You'll win $150 in bonus bets no matter what happens! Sign up with FanDuel today.