With March Madness just a week away, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best Cities for College Basketball Fans, to help get hoops lovers psyched for this magical time of year.
To find 2023’s top spots for NCAA hoops, the site crunched the numbers on more than 290 cities using nine key metrics. They range from the number of teams per city and the winning percentage of each to stadium capacity and social-media engagement.
Durham, NC came out on top with a total score of 55.37. Chapel Hill was also ranked among the top 10 in America with a total score of 49.81.
Best College Basketball Cities
| Overall Rank (1=Best) | City | Total Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durham, NC | 55.37 |
| 2 | Lawrence, KS | 55.23 |
| 3 | Storrs, CT | 54.93 |
| 4 | Lexington, KY | 54.26 |
| 5 | Los Angeles, CA | 53.19 |
| 6 | East Lansing, MI | 51.54 |
| 7 | Philadelphia, PA | 50.12 |
| 8 | Chapel Hill, NC | 49.81 |
| 9 | Fayette, MS | 45.77 |
| 10 | Loretto, PA | 43.86 |
| 11 | Morgantown, WV | 42.89 |
| 12 | West Point, NY | 42.2 |
| 13 | Kingston, RI | 42.15 |
| 14 | Bloomington, IN | 40.9 |
| 15 | Boston, MA | 40.87 |
| 16 | College Park, MD | 40.41 |
| 17 | Washington, DC | 40.18 |
| 18 | Lewiston, NY | 40.11 |
| 19 | Fayetteville, AR | 39.39 |
| 20 | New York, NY | 39.34 |
| 21 | Ann Arbor, MI | 37.37 |
| 22 | Charlottesville, VA | 37.34 |
| 23 | Hamilton, NY | 36.81 |
| 24 | Norman, OK | 36.05 |
| 25 | Iowa City, IA | 35.98 |
| 26 | Murray, KY | 35.64 |
| 27 | Stillwater, OK | 35 |
| 28 | Grambling, LA | 34.35 |
| 29 | Champaign, IL | 33.69 |
| 30 | Louisville, KY | 33.49 |