Top Places to Watch College Basketball

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Laley23's avatar

Laley23

GOAT

29,506 posts
Oct 27, 2010 1:12 PM
...according to Mens Health.

Decent list, but certainly some places that I would argue.

http://thebestlist.menshealth.com/node/2023
Oct 27, 2010 1:12pm
CinciX12's avatar

CinciX12

Senior Member

2,874 posts
Oct 27, 2010 7:59 PM
Yeah, as much as I despise Uk, you certainly have to put Rupp ahead of anything New Mexico State and Iowa State has.
Oct 27, 2010 7:59pm
Iliketurtles's avatar

Iliketurtles

Senior Member

8,191 posts
Oct 28, 2010 1:33 PM
My top 5 would have these 5 in it and you could put them in any order. Cameron, Rupp, Allen, Dean, and Assembly. Also sorry but Hinkle Fieldhouse and the Carrier Dome should be on this list somewhere.
Oct 28, 2010 1:33pm
reclegend22's avatar

reclegend22

Cool Hand Luke

8,772 posts
Oct 28, 2010 10:52 PM
Rupp (for tradition and the Blue Mist), Assembly Hall ("Welcome to Indiana basketball"), Allen Fieldhouse (because Rock Chalk Jayhawk couldn't sound any more epic if it were hymned in falsetto at Nou Camp), Hinkle (Jimmy Chitwood vs. Muncie Central) and Cameron Indoor (there's nothing like it. Truly).

And, though it's not on a college campus, MSG is the Mecca.

I've got no idea why Pauley is in the top hundred. The Pavilion might as well only seat baby epidermis. Soft.
Oct 28, 2010 10:52pm
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

GOAT

29,506 posts
Oct 28, 2010 11:18 PM
Pauley sucks. Ive never been there, but I know it sucks.

I am very biased (lol), but my top 5 is:

1. Assembly Hall (Indiana, not that dump in Illinois!)
2. Allen Fieldhouse
3. CIS
4. Hinkle
5. Rupp

For as great as their programs are...UNC and UCLA have some mediocre places to watch a game.
Oct 28, 2010 11:18pm
CinciX12's avatar

CinciX12

Senior Member

2,874 posts
Oct 28, 2010 11:19 PM
Lol Hinkle fieldhouse my ass!

And thats all I'll say about that:)
Oct 28, 2010 11:19pm
Iliketurtles's avatar

Iliketurtles

Senior Member

8,191 posts
Oct 28, 2010 11:27 PM
Another stadium I love is Vandy's I dont feel like looking up the name but I just love the setup for it.
Oct 28, 2010 11:27pm
killer_ewok's avatar

killer_ewok

iRep

11,379 posts
Oct 29, 2010 10:44 AM
Wha? No Carrier Dome?
Oct 29, 2010 10:44am
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

GOAT

29,506 posts
Oct 29, 2010 11:24 AM
CinciX12;536836 wrote:Lol Hinkle fieldhouse my ass!

And thats all I'll say about that:)

Im biased in Hinkle cause I watch a ton of HS games there. It is unreal for Indiana HS Hoops. Ive only seen 2 Butler games there and it is 10x as loud and crazy for HS. It is by FAR the best HS bball arena there is.
Oct 29, 2010 11:24am
Hb31187's avatar

Hb31187

Senior Member

8,534 posts
Oct 29, 2010 3:43 PM
Figured the Breslin Center would crack the top 10
Oct 29, 2010 3:43pm
OQB's avatar

OQB

Senior Member

6,679 posts
Oct 30, 2010 7:25 AM
My living room, in the comfort of my home!
Oct 30, 2010 7:25am
H

holdingout

Senior Member

585 posts
Oct 30, 2010 9:14 AM
killer_ewok;537113 wrote:Wha? No Carrier Dome?

I've been to the Carrier Dome to see some games. The place is a dump.
Oct 30, 2010 9:14am
Classyposter58's avatar

Classyposter58

Senior Member

6,321 posts
Oct 30, 2010 5:59 PM
Hb31187;537449 wrote:Figured the Breslin Center would crack the top 10

Great place to watch a game
Oct 30, 2010 5:59pm
Azubuike24's avatar

Azubuike24

Senior Member

15,933 posts
Oct 31, 2010 12:33 AM
Rupp is very overrated unless it's a huge game. If it's a huge game, there isn't a better atmosphere. Memorial Gym in Nashville is very good. Bud-Walton Arena can absolutely rock during a huge game as well. The same can be said for The Pit in New Mexico.
Oct 31, 2010 12:33am
hoops23's avatar

hoops23

Senior Member

15,696 posts
Oct 31, 2010 2:19 AM
The Dean Dome deserves to be there just because of the facility and banners. When you walk into the Dean Dome, you feel like a champion. It's probably the feeling the dead get out of going to heaven, imho.
Oct 31, 2010 2:19am
reclegend22's avatar

reclegend22

Cool Hand Luke

8,772 posts
Oct 31, 2010 3:43 AM
I've been in the DES Center and the most distant thing I felt like was a champion. :D But it is an impressive gymnasium to walk into as a fan of college basketball. There's tons of history there, many involving my team and the greatest rivalry in our sport. So it was pretty cool from that standpoint. I'd like to see a game there. I just don't think the atmosphere on game day (at least from word of mouth and from my television) is worthy of a top five "greatest place to watch a game." DES Center is notoriously mausoleum-like. It's a tomb.

But I agree with the point made above by hoops.
Oct 31, 2010 3:43am
swamisez's avatar

swamisez

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1,990 posts
Oct 31, 2010 9:29 AM
Went to Duke Carolina last year at the Dean Dome, and despite Carolina having a lackluster season, the atmosphere was great.

Very loud, at tip off probably the loudest I have heard an indoor sporting venue (second only to a carolina hurricanes playoff game).

The only knock I have on the Smith Center is that it hasn't aged well. The Omni in Atlanta looked a lot like the Smith center, and if memory serves the Omni was torn down after being open for less than 30 years
Oct 31, 2010 9:29am
reclegend22's avatar

reclegend22

Cool Hand Luke

8,772 posts
Oct 31, 2010 11:11 AM
^^Well, then there you go. A perspective from someone who has been there.

However, there must be a reason many of college basketball commentators and personalities over the years have labeled Carolina as a cavern. And it's more than visible at home from your sofa. My guess is that the emphatic atmosphere you witnessed during your Dean Dome visit was more a result of arch-rival Duke being in town than the building's commonplace volume level.
Oct 31, 2010 11:11am
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

GOAT

29,506 posts
Oct 31, 2010 2:00 PM
You cant judge places when you talk about the big game, nor for the bottom feeder games. The best indication is for a conference foe who is below average. The top places are rocking during any conference home game.
Oct 31, 2010 2:00pm
CinciX12's avatar

CinciX12

Senior Member

2,874 posts
Oct 31, 2010 11:47 PM
Conference home games are for sure the best way to evaluate.

Like for Xavier for instance just because I am most familiar with us, the level of noise for the Butler and Florida game is not what should be evaluated because its a few standard deviations away from the mean (guess what I'm studying for). So it makes sense for us to look at a game like against a Dayton, St. Louis, or Richmond.
Oct 31, 2010 11:47pm
swamisez's avatar

swamisez

Senior Member

1,990 posts
Nov 1, 2010 12:02 AM
If Laley's opinion is the judge,
then Carolina must be put on the bottom rung. The issue with the Dean Smith Center most nights is that there are so many blue blood Carolina alums in their 80's still hauling their oxygen tanks into the building on gameday that it can't really be considered a raucous venue.

However, consider the fact so many die hard Heel fans in their 80's still make all efforts to go and support their Tar Heels. Some of those fans were around in 57 when they beat Wilt. Respect due in that case.
Nov 1, 2010 12:02am
killer_ewok's avatar

killer_ewok

iRep

11,379 posts
Nov 6, 2010 6:34 AM
holdingout;538303 wrote:I've been to the Carrier Dome to see some games. The place is a dump.

Well, that settles it then....
Nov 6, 2010 6:34am
reclegend22's avatar

reclegend22

Cool Hand Luke

8,772 posts
Nov 6, 2010 1:31 PM
Lol.

I always enjoy watching games (from home; I've never been) that are played in the Carrier Dome. There's usually a very good atmosphere there, and it's a historic pillar of college basketball. There are few things that are more representative of college hoops than the sea of orange that swallows your television on Big Mondays throughout the winter.

Another place that is underrated is the Greensboro Coliseum, the home of the Grand Daddy of all conference basketball tournaments. If not for its beauty, the history, tradition and unmatchable resume of classic battles elevates the Coliseum to mythic status among basketball holy places.
Nov 6, 2010 1:31pm
C

cats gone wild

Senior Member

2,651 posts
Nov 8, 2010 1:01 AM
Azubuike24;539276 wrote:Rupp is very overrated unless it's a huge game. If it's a huge game, there isn't a better atmosphere.
Truth. That's what you get when the fanbase is a bunch of older people/alum.
Nov 8, 2010 1:01am