UK couldn’t pull off a successful defense of its eighth national championship in 2012, but it had no problems keeping the national attendance title in Lexington yet again.For the eighth straight season and 17th time in 18 years, Kentucky led the nation in home men’s basketball attendance. An average of 23,099 fans attended UK’s 18 home games, beating out Syracuse by a comfortable 660. Rupp Arena’s listed capacity is 23,000, meaning UK has filled the venerable venue past capacity in all four of John Calipari’s seasons at the school.Since Rupp Arena opened for the 1976-77 season, UK has ranked either first or second in attendance every season. Only Syracuse has ranked ahead of Kentucky during that time.To provide a little perspective on UK’s remarkable attendance, the Chicago Bulls led the NBA with an average attendance of 21,876 and were one of just three teams in the league to average more than 20,000 fans. To the Big Blue Nation, thank you.