Central New York Town (Not Syracuse) Is #1 in Hoops

Syracuse University basketball is getting better. Not necessarily ON the court, but from the perspective of fans--at least according to a new study. As we follow the Orange through their 2019 postseason and formulate our bracket picks in office pools, we noticed that Syracuse has climbed from 39th to 38th in WalletHub's post of 2019's Best Cities for College Basketball Fans.

The Carrier Dome set another attendance record this season during the recent SU-Duke matchup in the Cuse. And, while loyalty at the gate isn't everything, it IS one of the factors that earns Syracuse elite status among college hoops towns.

Fans also continue to flock to Hamilton, home of the Colgate Red Raiders, who just qualified for the NCAA Tournament for only the THIRD time in the school's history. Their cozy Cotterell Court has a capacity of just 1,750. Colgate season tickets start at $45, which is 24.4 times less than a season of hoops in Lexington, where the University of Kentucky's Rupp Arena holds 23,000 and charges $1,100.

WalletHub's annual study takes into account the winning percentages of each town's college team(s), stadium seating capacities, and fan social-media engagement.

The worst college basketball town (ranking dead-last again among 289 cities measured) is New Britain, Connecticut, home of "those other Blue Devils" from Central Connecticut State University.