Kennel clubbin'
Before the 2014-15 season, NCAA.com declared Gonzaga’s “Kennel Club” the fifth-best student section in the country, behind only Illinois (4), Utah State (3), Michigan State (2) and Duke (1).
They lived up to the billing Saturday.
As soon as doors opened well before Saturday’s game, students poured into more than 1,500 seats that stretched from beyond one baseline to the other on the side of the McCarthey Athletic Center across from the team benches.
Four students wore Santa suits. Three were Robin Hood. There was A Superman. A banana. A carrot. A ketchup bottle. A couple of dogs. And, thanks possibly to the early start, also some students wearing random sets of pajamas.
Even as the Wildcats took the momentum away in the second half, Gonzaga’s students remained consistently rambunctious. They stayed on their feet for more than three hours, counting the pregame, jumping up and down constantly and singing along loudly to their band’s rendition of “Living on a Prayer" as well as adding to rock classics such as "Carry on Wayward Son" and "Don't Fear The Reaper."
Essentially, for Arizona, the students were a living definition of what a true road game is all about.
“Their crowd came today and hyped them up as much as possible,” UA guard Gabe York said. “I’m just glad we were able to get a win.”
