As always, Kentucky fans turned out in large and loud numbers for the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
But Kentucky’s 61-58 loss to Kansas State at Philips Arena now costs the Atlanta event by far its biggest draw and figures to cut sharply into attendance, TV ratings and economic impact for the NCAA South Regional final.
Kansas State, a No. 9 seed, will meet Loyola Chicago, a No. 11 seed, at 6:09 p.m. Saturday at Philips.
Saturday’s game time was announced late Thursday night. If Kentucky had won, Saturday’s game likely would have drawn a later (prime time) start for TV.
Despite the strong turnout of Kentucky fans, the announced attendance for Thursday’s doubleheader was 15,616, slightly below Philips Arena’s diminished capacity during its ongoing renovation. The upper-deck seats behind one basket were noticeably under-populated. With the Kentucky contingent now headed home, there presumably will be more pockets of empty seats Saturday.
Thursday night’s game was a rare defeat for Kentucky in a city that the Wildcats have come to regard as “Catlanta” over the years because of the throngs of fans who follow them here and the wins that have resulted. Kentucky has won five SEC Tournament championships in Atlanta since 1995, and before Thursday UK had won its past four NCAA Tournament games here.
But this time, another group of Wildcats – Kansas State’s – celebrated in Atlanta.
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