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Over a two-week span, were answering the following question for college basketballs 10 best conferences: Which venue in each conference is the toughest place to play? A number of factors, not just capacity and attendance, could affect a venues place in the order. Where does your school fall??Old versus new, NBA arena versus bandbox, the Big Easts arenas run the gamut. But as the conference proves, a building -- no matter how legendary -- is only as intimidating as the team on its court.10. DePaul Blue Demons: AllState Arena, opened in 1980Former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Mark Aguirre isnt walking through that door. And neither is anyone else. Back when DePaul played at Alumni Hall and Ray Meyer patrolled the sidelines, games against the Blue Demons were an event in Chicago. Now? Its like walking into a library. Heres all you need to know about playing at DePaul: In the last 10 years, the Blue Demons have drawn more than 8,000 fans (still 10,000 shy of capacity) only four times. DePaul will get a new arena, the McCormick Place Event Center in 2017, complete with an overhanging student section to be dubbed the Demon Deck. Well see if the place will be demonic or docile.Fun fact: The first WWE pay-per-view event was held at the arena (then called the Rosemont Horizon) in 1985. The Junkyard Dog topped Randy Savage to win the wrestling classic, and a fan won a contest to win a car -- a Rolls-Royce, to be exact.9. St. Johns Red Storm: Madison Square Garden, opened in 1968 This ranking ought to come with an asterisk because, needless to say, Madison Square Garden is the most famous arena in college hoops. What should be the biggest advantage in all of sports never really plays out that way for the Red Storm. In 37 Big East seasons, St. Johns has won only three Big East titles. Worse in recent seasons, the Red Storm have devolved into irrelevancy, and the New York market, dying for a good basketball team to root for, simply doesnt care much about the team. Visiting teams, especially those within a drive or train, are apt to find more of their own fans than the home teams.Fun fact: There have been three Madison Square Gardens. Before the Vanderbilt family reclaimed its property -- located near Madison Square Park -- and renamed it, the original Garden was the baby of promoter P.T. Barnum. It was called Barnums Monster Classical and Geological Hippodrome, which is kind of hard to fit on a marquee.8. Seton Hall Pirates: Prudential Center, opened in 2007Seton Halls arena is too nice. The Rock is easy to get to, right near the Newark Airport, and it has nice locker rooms and a pro-style look to it, all making it a nice place for opposing teams to visit. With an average of 7,000 fans filling the cavernous 18,000-seat arena, its not exactly a tough environment. Maybe as the Pirates, winners of the Big East tournament title this year, improve, that will change.Fun fact: City planners wanted the arena after fear arose that the New Jersey Devils would relocate to Nashville. Even as they won the Stanley Cup, the Devils failed to attract a crowd to the Continental Airlines Arena (now the Izod Center) in East Rutherford. When the Devils moved to the new building, so did Seton Hall.7. Georgetown Hoyas: Verizon Center, opened in 1997 Its tempting to rank the Verizon Center on what it was, and its potential, because when the Hoyas were really good, and when the place is full, its a really, really hard place to play. That just hasnt been the case lately, as Georgetown has lacked consistent success. In fact, fans of nearby opponents -- think Villanova -- can come up with tickets way too easily, their chants drowning out the home crowds.Fun fact: On March 26, 2006, playing in front of an extremely partisan crowd at the Verizon Center, George Mason upset UConn in the Elite Eight to become only the second double-digit seed to reach the Final Four.6. Marquette Golden Eagles: BMO Harris Bradley Center, opened in 1988 Frankly you could take Nos. 5-7, draw them out of a hat and any order would be fine. Marquette, like Seton Hall and Georgetown, is stuck in the same place, an NBA arena that can be a great place to play or it can be antiseptic depending on the quality of the team in any given season. The Bradley Center is fine for Marquettes purposes (though not for Adam Silvers. The NBA commissioner has deemed it unworthy of an NBA team, and the Bucks are financing a new spot) but nothing about it screams exceptional. Fans are generally devoted to the team, but aside from Milwaukee weather outside in the winter, its not exactly a scary place to visit.Fun fact: The Bradley Center was constructed in the hopes that the city could attract an NHL team. That never happened, largely because benefactors feared relying solely on an expansion draft would produce a lousy team.5. Villanova Wildcats: The Pavilion, opened in 1986 Accurately dubbed the Ski Lodge by Philadelphia Daily News columnist Dick Jerardi, the multipurpose Pavilion isnt much to look at and not exactly what pops in your mind when you think home of the national champions. The weird layout -- too high ceilings for good acoustics, (officially called a hyperbolic paraboloid roofline), an empty space used for indoor baseball training that sits behind the student section -- plus the wine-and-brie season ticket-holding fan base dont exactly add up to an intimidating atmosphere. To their credit, the Villanova students who fill the seats behind one basket do their best to make it noisy. The intimate atmosphere, it holds only 6,500, can make it a tough place to play.Fun fact: Maybe fun isnt the right word here, but the building was originally called du Pont Pavilion, named after John du Pont, a wealthy philanthropist and heir to the du Pont family fortune. His name was removed in 1997 after du Pont was convicted of murdering Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz.4. Creighton Bluejays: CenturyLink Center, opened in 2003Lets start with travel. Omaha is not exactly in the traditional Big East footprint, and getting there isnt easy for anybody. The travel alone can put opponents at a disadvantage. Add to it the Creighton faithful, who helped the Bluejays rank 10th nationally in attendance last season. The only disadvantage? Nebraskans arent mean like East Coasters. Creightons most famous fan was the late Mary Ann Filippi, known as The Dancing Grandma. Doesnt exactly inject terror, does it?Fun fact: The arena hosted the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in 2008, 2012 and 2016 despite not having a pool. Pool specialists converted the space into a temporary pool, and the Omaha Fire Department did the rest, spending upwards of 12 hours to fill the 1.7 million gallon pools using a nozzle attached to ladder trucks and nearby fire hydrants.3. Providence Friars: Dunkin Donuts Center, opened in 1972 The Dunk is not going to win any awards for aesthetics. Even with its 2008 renovations, it remains something of a dump, a bare-bones venue of 1970s origins. But Providence fans are not only faithful; they are pretty creative. In the 1990s, two fans dressed up for each game as The Blues Brothers (one eventually married the sister of the other, making them brothers-in-law). Theyre also pretty rough, spewing some creative things at opposing players. Playing up there is one of the roughest environments in our conference, Villanova coach Jay Wright has said. If thats not enough, the shiver-inducing, haunting Friar mascot is always looming on the sidelines.Fun fact: In 1979, mayor Buddy Cianci canceled a scheduled concert featuring The Who after 11 fans were trampled to death at an earlier Who concert in Cincinnati. I got plenty of hate mail over it, Cianci later said of the decision. But do I regret it? Not at all. For 33 years, the band never performed in Rhode Island until finally agreeing to appear at The Dunk in 2013. Anyone holding a ticket from the canceled show in 79 was allowed to attend. Thirty-two people, holding tickets at the 1979 price of $11.50, were given seats priced at $129.50.2. Butler Bulldogs: Hinkle Fieldhouse, opened in 1928 One of the cathedrals of the game, Hinkle remains one of the toughest places to play because of the one-two punch of history and present day relevance. You can practically feel the history of the place when you walk in, or at least see Gene Hackman measuring the hoop from Hoosiers. Plenty of old buildings lose both their charm and their intimidation as the home team loses its oomph (see St. Johns above). Thats not the case at Butler. The Bulldogs are still really good, their fans are still really smart and dedicated, and Hinkle is still really awesome.Fun fact: When Hinkle first opened, the court ran east to west but architects quickly changed the direction, realizing they could add more seats with a north-south configuration.1. Xavier Musketeers: Cintas Center, opened in 2000 One of the nicer and newer facilities in the league, Cintas Center somehow incorporates all of the trappings for todays fans -- luxury boxes, a VIP bar -- without sacrificing atmosphere. Xavier home games are always rocking and almost always full. This year, in fact, Musketeers fans quite literally overfilled the venue, averaging 10,281 fans or 100.3 percent of the places capacity. No surprise, Xavier was 15-1 at home this past season and is 43-6 in the past three years. Its also worth noting that the Crosstown Shootout brawl between Cincinnati and Xavier happened at the Cintas Center.Fun fact: Technically the Cleveland Cavaliers began their march to the NBA championship, and eradicating the citys sports misery, at Cintas Center. Thats where, after all, the Cavs played their first preseason game of last season, on Oct. 7. Balenciaga Wholesale . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. Balenciaga Shoes Discount . 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Nine-hundred-and-fifty people walked through the Gabba gates before the first over was bowled.There wasnt the swimming pool, bikini, Hawaiian-shirted, beery-party atmosphere that had set the scene for the first three days of the Test. The eye-watering confetti pattern of the seats, meant to give the illusion of greater numbers but hidden by actual people from day one to three, was now revealed.The fans hadnt paid to enter: why would anyone pay to see a few overs, a couple of Pakistan wickets and a quick victory for the home side?A hundred and eight runs to win. Surely it may as well have been 1008. 100,008. A million and eight.****Asad Shafiq and Yasir Shah start quietly and solidly, Shafiq trying to keep the strike when Mitchell Starc, in particular, is bowling. The countdown is on.A hundred runs to win.A trickle of Pakistan fans, clad in green and bearing flags, have started to arrive. Some are families, cousins passing children around and chattering in Urdu. Others are on their own, or with a mate or two. But they all come to the same place.There is Rohan, from Lahore. He only arrived in Australia a few weeks earlier, here to study in Brisbane. The last time he saw Pakistan play was nine years ago in Karachi, when he was 14 years old.The chanting starts in earnest: Pakistan zindabad! For the players, this must be like playing in the UAE, their home that isnt a home: a huge stadium, virtually empty, echoing with the cries from a small pocket of noisy green loyalty.Yasir, with a top Test score of 30 to his name, crouches and waits as Starc steams in and spears a yorker at his toes. Yasir jams his bat down just in time. Another yorker, another jam.The fans know this is about survival; Bear Grylls should probably be out in the middle. They know Yasir needs all the help he can get. They scream at Starc as he runs in, No ball! No ball! As if they can, by shouting, force his foot to overstep.Josh Hazlewood is next. He bowls wide to Shafiq, who slashes through the covers for four.They jump to their feet. Maybe they dont all really believe yet, truly believe that their team can pull off the most preposterous chase in all of Test history. But they are starting to.Drinks are called. Eight-four runs to win.A family sits in the middle of the small crowd, all in green shirts with their names printed across the back. The father, Faisal. Next to him a young girl picks up a flag. Shes wearing green sunglasses with the Pakistan moon. As she stands on the chair her name becomes visible. Hidayah. Her tiny Mini-Me sister, Mahdiyya, smiles and claps as Hidayah starts the chanting, her young, clear voice ringing around the stands and out to the players in the middle. Pakistan zindabad!Nathan Lyon comes on to bowl. Come on Garry, they cry. Then laugh.Across the ground, a single Australian attempts the Aussie, Aussie, Aussie call. It sounds lonely and a little pathetic, so the Pakistan fans take it up. Theyll cheer for both sets of fans.Yasir almost edges Lyon to Peter Handscomb at short leg. Theres a collective intake of breath so sharp it seems all the air has been sucked out of the Gabba. Yasir safely sweeps the next ball for a single and the air is released. The countdown now comes afterr every run.dddddddddddd Only 73! Only 73!Smith sends Hansdcomb to field at third man, directly in front of Little Pakistan. It almost seems like a punishment for not taking the catch. Handscomb is greeted with a rousing rendition of Dil Dil Pakistan. Its a song thats ubiquitous at any cricket match involving Pakistan. Now, just weeks after the death of the iconic pop singer Junaid Jamshed, who made it famous, it evokes an added poignancy.Mani is singing along. Hes originally from Multan but has lived in the Australian capital, Canberra, where he umpires in a local competition, for five years. Hes never seen Pakistan play and he is beyond nervous.The fans have now become celebrities. The television crews arrive. Ian Healy, zindabad! The radio crews and photographers follow. There are jeers for Starc when he shapes to throw the ball back at Yasir. There are cheers when Yasir responds by nudging another single. Jeers and cheers all round. Mani and Rohan shake hands. Theyve never met but they share a bond and could be about to share in history.Fifty-three runs to win.Omair has been standing on his seat, leading the singing. He was born in Australia and lives in Sydney but his parents hail from Karachi. Lyon leaps full stretch in an attempt to take a ball that flies past him, and lands face-down. He stays there. Omair also goes down. He drums the seat with jittery hands. Every exhale is a gust of pure tension. I cant do this. I cant do this.Yasir is rapped on the pads and Hazlewood appeals. The the umpires finger rises and so do the hands of the fans as they clutch their heads. Mani turns away and mutters, He didnt offer a shot. He didnt offer a shot. He cant look at the big screen as Yasir calls for the DRS, but his neighbours do, all on their feet, all on edge. When the cheers go up for the not-out call, Mani shakes his head. Hes too anxious to celebrate.But the calls for a no-ball have disappeared. Theres no need for them. Shafiq and Shah have got this. Now they all believe.Forty-one runs to win.Starc. A bouncer. Shafiq. Warner.It happens so quickly and this time there is no review, no chance, no reprieve. There isnt even time to inhale. A few seconds of disbelief and then they are on their feet again. Shafiq removes his helmet and looks to the sky in despair and then raises his bat to Little Pakistan. Youre a hero. Youre a hero, they reply.They rouse once more for Rahat Ali. He squirts out a single. Rahat for president!Forty runs to win.And then its over. Quickly and inexplicably. As the bails flash in the sunlight and Yasir is caught flailing out of his crease, no one seems to believe it could end this way. Even though they started the day barely believing it could be this close.Two thousand five hundred and ninety-three people are now in the Gabba. They havent paid of course. Why would anyone pay to see a few overs, a couple of Pakistan wickets and a quick victory for the home side?The fans in Little Pakistan combine their chants. Aussie Aussie Aussie! Pakistan zindabad!So close, says Mani, as he leaves his new friends. Maybe… in Melbourne. ' ' '