The website WalletHub crunched the numbers and found no surprises at the top of the list of hoops hot spots: Lawrence, Kansas (Kansas University); Durham, NC (Duke University); and Los Angeles (UCLA). The city of Lexington cracks the top ten, putting the home of the Kentucky Wildcats at number 8, and Louisville comes in 37th,
One David among the Goliath basketball cities is Murray, Kentucky. The website vaults Murray (population 19,000) over cities like Nashville, Chicago and Memphis for its "most favorable conditions" for basketball fans. WalletHub ranks Murray at #42 among 289 basketball campuses nationwide.
Nine factors were considered in the study, including the performance level of teams in that city; number of championships; stadium capacity compared to the city population; and the fans' engagement via social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
Murray shines even more brightly in a list of college towns under 100,000 population. Lawrence is still the mecca for small-town fervor, but Murray climbs to 24th nationally, just behind Champaign, IL (University of Illinois.)
By comparison, other regional college basketball cities on the list include Carbondale (SIU) at 39; Bowling Green (WKU) at 73; Martin, TN (UTM) at 87; and Cape Girardeau (SEMO) at 103.
Clarksville (Austin Peay) was on a separate list, coming in 46th among mid-sized cities 100,000-300,000 population, and 186th overall.
The study noted some other findings, including the schools with the most expensive season tickets. They were, in order, The University of Kentucky; The University of North Carolina; and The University of Indiana.
See the study in its entirety at the link below.
On the Net:
WalletHub "Best College Basketball Cities"
