UK fans make a difference in Cancun

Even before tip-off Tuesday,  the influx of Kentucky fans made a big difference in the Cancun Challenge.
In last year’s inaugural tournament for men and in the six years of women’s games, the court set East-West or perpendicular — in the rectangular Galactic Ballroom. That meant little room beyond the end lines.
Tournament officials set bleachers along each sideline with plenty of empty space to the walls. The crowd for last year’s Wake Forest-Virginia Commonwealth final was no more than 300, said Robert Hoffmann, a facilities manager for the sponsoring Triple Crown Sports.
Because Kentucky fans bought almost 500 ticket packages, tournament officials moved the court to a North-South configuration.  The rectangular court sets in the middle of a rectangular ballroom. That provided room for seven rows of bleachers behind the benches, six rows behind the opposite sideline and seven more rows behind each end line.
Capacity is 1,300 this year, and could have gone up to as much as 2,000 had morer UK fans bought tickets.
UK fans will have to be rowdy to match fans for Connecticut’s women’s team. Facilities director Jeff Jamison said UConn brought about 450 fans when it played in the Cancun Challenge.
“And they were wild,” Jamison said. “Great fans.”