Calipari wants average fans to pack Freedom Hall

Kentucky coach John Calipari would love to continue playing games at Freedom Hall, but also wants fans to embrace the opportunity.
“People have to come to it and make it something they want us to do,” he said Monday. “It’s hard to say, ‘get us UCLA in there,’ you just can’t. I know this, (if we were playing) Little Rock at home (we) would have (had) 24,000 if it’s here in Lexington. We want to continue to do it and reach out to our fans. This is an opportunity for people that aren’t season ticket holders. A great thing about our fans is that they come to see us play, not the other team.”
Kentucky has won nine of its past 11 games at Freedom Hall, including a 72-58 victory over Notre Dame in the SEC-Big East Challenge last season. The second-ranked Wildcats have played a game in the building every season since it opened in 1958. Kentucky owns an all-time record of 59-18 in its annual “home” game at Freedom Hall.