Illinois basketball attendance among highest in nation

Despite a 16-19 record overall, 7-8 at home, the Illinois men’s basketball season ranked among national attendance leaders, according to NCAA listings.

All 15 games at Assembly Hall during the 2007-08 season were played in front of sell-out crowds, a total of 249,270 fans. The average sell-out crowd of 16,618 per game ranks 11th on the NCAA list.

The ranking marks the ninth consecutive year the Illini have been in the nation’s top-15 teams for average home attendance and the 30th consecutive year reaching the top 25.

The Big Ten Conference led the NCAA rankings for the 32nd consecutive season with an average of 12,978 people attending each game. More than 2 million fans attended Big Ten games for the 16th consecutive year.