After the 2023-24 basketball season, the landscape of the Big Ten Conference changed overnight. With USC, UCLA, Oregon State, and Washington State joining the Big Ten, the conference takes another step toward establishing itself as the nation's basketball powerhouse.
The debate surrounding the college basketball season is different than the debate surrounding football. In football, the regular season rules everything. Winning a regular season game and earning a bowl berth would be enough to satisfy the fan base. Basketball, on the other hand, is all about the postseason.
related: Rankings of Big Ten head basketball coaches after the 2023-24 season.
The program could end up like Wisconsin. He won 20 or more games in five of the past six seasons, and he won two Big Ten regular season titles during that span. But sometimes the success of March Madness is missing. The basketball fan base tends to look past the regular season and only focus on March performance, whether that approach is correct or not.
That said, the addition of USC, UCLA, Oregon State and Washington State to the Big Ten probably won't change much in the way we discuss Wisconsin and its place in the conference. There are a few more tough games each season, but almost every Big Ten conference game is a battle. A win against a rookie doesn't mean the majority of the program won't win in March.
Related: Power rankings of all 18 Big Ten basketball programs after the 2023-24 season.
While this is a Wisconsin-centric perspective on the new situation, the ideas apply to any program in the conference. Get ready for a quirky road trip to the West Coast on a Tuesday or Wednesday in February, and a few more big-name games throughout the week.
As the offseason progresses and we head into the 2024-25 season, here are the latest rankings for these games. All 18 Big Ten basketball venues ranked from worst to worst:
capacity: 8,000
Jersey Mike's Arena is an impossible place to play as an opposing team, and that's a testament to that environment, so this ranking should differentiate the criteria. However, its layout makes it a difficult place to go to watch a basketball game as a fan.
capacity: 10,258
All signs point to this being a largely nondescript arena. Traveling to the West Coast and escaping the Midwestern climate during the winter is appealing. You'll probably never visit the most famous arena in sports.
capacity: 12,364
Matthew Knight seems like a great place to watch a basketball game. It's just difficult for courts to see past. Therefore, it drops to 16th place on the list.
capacity: 15,261
The arena opened in 1996, but didn't have much history within it. It is very similar to the professional model, with seating set well back from the court and emphasizing the “multi-purpose” part of the facility. Not a great basketball field.
capacity: 14,625
Williams Arena earned points for its great architecture and old-school feel. That's what a great college basketball arena should be. The problem is Minnesota. The state has not ranked in an Associated Press poll since 1997.
capacity: 18,809
Value City Arena, or Schottenstein Center, is the largest in the Big Ten. I would argue that the arena is too large for college basketball, so this is not useful for these purposes. There's a sweet spot between being too small and cramped (Rutgers) and being too big. Ohio State University doesn't fall into that range.
capacity: 7,039
Welsh Ryan Arena, on the other hand, is the smallest in the Big Ten. This works for Northwestern's fan base, but not for other Big Ten alumni in the Chicago area who want to watch the game.
I actually enjoyed my time here, but it's not one of the best arenas in the conference.
capacity: 15,500
Pinnacle Bank Arena is one of the most underrated venues in the conference. It's a brand new building and has a professional feel, but it makes this a surprisingly tough place for Cornhusker fans to play.
The only problem is that there are too many fancy boxes.
capacity: 10,000
Alaska Airlines Arena was one of the better venues in the Pac 12 and could quickly climb up the Big Ten rankings. The overall size is appropriate and provides a sense of intimacy between the fan and the court. Pay attention when Washington is doing well.
capacity: 17,950
Maryland is a good hybrid of university and major. The student section is loud and obvious and is a tough place to play when Maryland is doing well.
capacity: 15,500
Note that the entire Best 8 is a great college basketball venue. But if many of the top programs in the country are confined to the same conference, some venues will end up finishing lower than others.
Iowa may have the most underrated football/basketball stadium/arena combination: Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This arena has the perfect atmosphere for big-time basketball, with fans right above the action.
capacity: 13,800
Given the building's rich history, it's hard not to put Pauley Pavilion at the top of the list. It opened in 1965 and quickly attracted numerous championship winning teams and future NBA Hall of Famers. It's a great hybrid of an old school arena with new renovations to keep it up to date.
capacity: 13,609
Crisler Center is one of the Big Ten arenas that has a student section surrounding part of the court. It feels very new, but it's also a good environment for basketball. It also helps that Michigan State is a great program.
capacity: 15,500
State Farm Center may look like a spaceship on the outside, but inside it's one of the best arenas in the country. The student section surrounds the court, with perfect television reflections. This created a great environment for basketball and gave the Illini the best home court advantage in the conference.
capacity: 17,287
Call centers are a bit too large and professional to rank this highly. But that doesn't seem to matter much if the company ranks among the top 10 in the country in terms of number of people working from home every year. There aren't many better venues for the big game. The quality of Wisconsin's program also helps.
capacity: 14,240
Mackey Arena is a little ugly and not exactly modern, but it creates arguably the best home environment in college basketball. Especially in this case, more points are given to the environment than the architecture. This place gets very lively every time Purdue home games are held.
capacity: 15,000
Thanks to the Breslin Center, Michigan State has one of the best student sections in the country and one of the best home court advantages in the sport. Nowhere is 70% of the court directly surrounded by the student section.
This building also has the necessary history to rank high on the list. Thank you, Tom Izzo.
capacity: 17,220
There is no better basketball arena than Congress Hall. An ideal combination of unique atmosphere, great atmosphere and rich history. There won't be any arena that will take over the number one spot for a while.
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