Syracuse Basketball Attendance Hits Seven-Year Low as Crowd Crown Surrendered

The Syracuse Orange have played in front of the biggest crowd in NCAA basketball for two-consecutive years. That streak ends this season as the Carrier Dome's attendance dips down to it's lowest number since 2008-2009.

Through its first 16 home games, Syracuse is averaging 21,245 fans at the Carrier Dome. That will mark SU's lowest average for attendance since the 2008-09 season when it drew 21,044 fans per game.

Kentucky has averaged 23,296 fans for its first 16 games at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats have just one more home game. Kentucky will host LSU on Saturday, March 5.

This shouldn'e be a surprise to anyone as attendance saw a nose-dive in December when the program slid. In previous seasons, attendance for the North Carolina game would have crossed the 30,000 mark, but Orange fans scaled it back despite the return of Jim Boeheim following a rough patch under Mike Hopkins.

To show just how much things fell back this season, unless the team draws 30,000 this Saturday for the N.C. State Wolfpack, which is unlikely, it will be the first season since 2001-02 season that there wasn't at least one game with 30,000 butts in seats.

Of course the home game slate wasn't as strong as years past either. There was no Duke game in the Dome, Georgetown was a road game, and new ACC teams not from North Carolina have yet to create a real spark.

Still, i's like I said when discussing Dino Babers wanting "faith" from Orange fans. We don't do faith. We do results. We do evidence. And the evidence wasn't there for SU in December and early January, so attendance dipped.

Such is Syracuse. If the Orange continue to progress headed into next season, the attendance numbers will climb again and all will be right with the world.