Drew Timme throws jab at Kentucky: "I'd be scared to play here as well."
Gonzaga star forward Drew Timme says Kentucky is scared to play at the Bulldogs’ on-campus arena, “The Kennel.” In his mind, it’s why the Wildcats instead pushed to play at Spokane Arena — a venue two miles down the road.
“I’d be scared to play here as well, have to play down the road,” Timme told Gonzaga fans at Kraziness in the Kennel this weekend.
At the time of the announcement, Kentucky head coach John Calipari made it clear the venue choice was due to seating capacity, with Spokane Arena holding over twice as many fans — 12,210 total — as The Kennel.
“I’m excited about playing Gonzaga. I’m disappointed that we have to go there first, but to make it happen I was willing to do that,” Calipari said back in August. “Playing in front of 13K crazy fans in Spokane Arena will be exciting just like it will be in front of 22K fans in Rupp next year. I imagine there will be some #BBN and some Gonzaga fans too who will sneak in the game this year because there’s more seats!”
In his end, a game of this magnitude deserves more than a 6,000-seat venue — initially, at least.
“Anybody that wants us to play in a 6,000-seat facility, wants us to lose! And I get that,” Calipari added. “I tried to look back and find the last time UK played in a true regular-season road game with 6,000 or fewer fans. I stopped looking after the 70s.”
Thing is, a game at The Kennel was later confirmed when the series was extended to six years last week. Now, the six-game series includes two home matchups each, along with another pair of neutral-site games. Spokane Arena first, then McCarthey Athletic Center (The Kennel) in 2027, with two matchups at Rupp Arena, one in Seattle and one in Nashville.
Six years, five different venues.
- 2022 – Spokane Arena
- 2023 – Rupp Arena
- 2024 – Seattle
- 2025 – Nashville
- 2026 – Rupp Arena
- 2027 – McCarthey Athletic Center
Timme, a two-time All-American, feels a true home-and-home series would’ve resulted in a game at The Kennel to get things rolling in 2022. After all, you wouldn’t play at a random convention center in Lexington, you’d always play at Rupp Arena — as the two schools will be in 2023 and 2026.
“The thing I don’t get is, why would you go to Kentucky to go play at the Kentucky convention center rather than Rupp? That’s my only thing,” Timme said. “… You’re not going to the convention center to play Kentucky, you’re going to Rupp. I feel like it’s the same thing here.
“… (Calipari) said what he had to say about it, so yeah.”
The argument doesn’t necessarily add up, considering Rupp Arena is a 20,500-seat venue and any other nearby location would result in a major decrease in capacity — the whole point of playing at Spokane Arena. Would Timme prefer a game at the Yum! Center — a 22,100-seat venue — in Louisville?
Either way, it’s a game he’s excited to play in, regardless of the location. It’s a head-to-head battle that could go either way.
“Kentucky’s a great team, they’re an all-time program,” Timme added. “It’s going to be a battle, a game that can go either way. They’re a good team, the game is up in the air, 50/50 either way.”
And so it begins.
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