Top 10 Arena's In College Basketball

Basketball is the sport where the fans’ proximity to the court is the closest. And that is exactly why college basketball is so much fun for fans. Their energy and noise can directly impact games, some stadiums just do it better than others.

Most diehard sport’s fans have a bucket list for the stadiums they would visit one day. For professional sports, those lists are much shorter due to only having around 30 teams per league. However, college athletics, basketball in particular, have an abundance of arenas that provide a great viewing platform. The reason college basketball does it better, is the fact that there are over 300 Division I men’s college basketball programs, which is 200 more than football. But that does make it somewhat difficult to limit a list to just 10. Some of the arenas on this list you may easily recognize, hopefully even more are pleasant surprises.

10. BYU, Marriott Center

Seating over 22,000 fans is just remarkable when it comes right down to it. Which is exactly why any college basketball fan must try and visit this arena. The stadium rocks and players feed off of the immense crowd.

9. University of Florida, Stephen C. O’Connell Center

This entry into the list may surprise some people, because it is not one of the most recognizable at first glance. However, make no mistake about it, the O’Connell Center has a great shape to it. The student section wraps around the bottom of the bowl, which gives the whole place a great look.

8. University of Pittsburgh, Peterson Events Center

The “Pete” as Pittsburgh fans affectionately refer to it has been a real house of horrors for opposing teams since it opened in 2002. Top 10 teams have regularly been vanquished here, and most impressively the stadium has witnessed less than 50 Pitt losses. The student section named the “ZOO” is driving force behind that.

7. University of North Carolina, Dean Smith Center

Named after legendary coach, Dean Smith, this arena has a real feel of history. The stadium has witnessed plenty of all-time great teams, while still producing some impressive ones recently. If you can go, the game against Duke is always an easy choice.

6. Syracuse, Carrier Dome

When you use a football stadium to house a basketball court, the results are going to be pretty cool. The Orange have utilized their dome football stadium to seat over 34,000 fans. It has to be a crazy experience for opposing players to venture into.

5. Butler, Hinkle Fieldhouse

Any true basketball fan has seen the movie “Hosiers.” Well, the iconic stadium from the movies’ final scenes still has games played in it. The Bulldog’s stadium has a certain old-timey feel that just cannot be duplicated and is the only one on this list to be a National Landmark.

4. University of Kentucky, Rupp Arena

This arena mixes some of the best characteristics of two stadiums already named on this list, North Carolina and BYU. It has the history of UNC and the massive seating capacity of BYU. It truly is a spectacle if you ever get a chance to witness it.

3. Indiana University, Assembly Hall

Like Butler, Indiana provides a nice feel of an old time arena. Since opening in 1972, the arena has housed arguably the most dedicated fan base in all of the college basketball. The “Fandamonuem” if you will reach high levels here.

2. Duke, Cameron Indoor Stadium

If you hate Duke, that is completely understandable. But their stadium is one every fan must see. Starting with possibly the best student section, “The Cameron Crazies,” it is a fan base of nonstop pride. Sometimes it looks as if the fans might run onto the court to try and win the game themselves.

1. Kansas, Allen Fieldhouse

This is it, the place in all of the college basketball a fan must see. The court is even named after the guy who invented basketball itself, James Naismith. When you visit this arena it is like you are walking with all the legends of basketball past.

That concludes the list of the best arenas in all of the college basketball. Every fan should have at least watched a game on TV featured on of these arenas, but going and witnessing the real thing takes it to a whole new level.