March Madness, the most thrilling time of the year for college basketball, has fans all over the U.S. glued to their TVs and their office brackets. Here in the states, college basketball is exceedingly popular, and depending on where you live, it might be even more popular than pro ball.

Speaking from experience, when I went to Syracuse University for graduate school, I didn't much care for basketball. But it's incredibly easy to get swept up in it. The whole city breathes the Orange, and the energy at the Dome is palpable. Although I don't follow the team as much as I should these days, for the brief time I was there, I was a fan.

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That's why it's so shocking that Syracuse isn't higher on this list. WalletHub recently released a ranking of the Best College Basketball Cities:

To find 2023’s top spots for NCAA hoops, WalletHub crunched the numbers on more than 290 U.S. 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.

Well, according to the study, Syracuse ranked #52 out of 295. You might think that's pretty good, being in the upper 80% percentile, but I don't think it's good enough. I think Syracuse deserves to be in the Top 25, at least.

Check out the complete rankings below:

BEST COLLEGE BASKETBALL CITIES (WALLETHUB)

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
31	Tulsa, OK	33.4
32	South Bend, IN	33.38
33	Itta Bena, MS	32.97
34	Buies Creek, NC	32.95
35	Houston, TX	32.48
36	Starkville, MS	32.11
37	Jacksonville, AL	32.11
38	West Lafayette, IN	31.64
39	Provo, UT	31.39
40	Cincinnati, OH	31.29
41	Emmitsburg, MD	31.25
42	Princeton, NJ	30.67
43	Boiling Springs, NC	30.43
44	Prairie View, TX	30.3
45	Troy, AL	30.07
46	Nacogdoches, TX	30.02
47	Dayton, OH	29.9
48	Omaha, NE	29.79
49	Clemson, SC	29.71
50	Athens, OH	29.66
51	Ames, IA	29.56
52	Syracuse, NY	29.47
53	Thibodaux, LA	29.46
54	Morehead, KY	29.44
55	Providence, RI	29.39
56	Spartanburg, SC	29.27
57	Olean, NY	29.23
58	Farmville, VA	29.22
59	Akron, OH	29.04
60	Spokane, WA	28.94
61	Conway, SC	28.66
62	Pullman, WA	28.59
63	Salt Lake City, UT	28.4
64	Waco, TX	28.38
65	Kent, OH	28.3
66	Highland Heights, KY	28.13
67	Huntsville, TX	28.11
68	Eugene, OR	28.08
69	Cheney, WA	28.03
69	Cullowhee, NC	28.03
71	Long Beach, CA	27.96
72	Carbondale, IL	27.96
73	Nashville, TN	27.92
74	Ruston, LA	27.88
75	Baton Rouge, LA	27.76
76	Baltimore, MD	27.39
77	Stanford, CA	27.13
78	Columbia, SC	27.12
79	Chicago, IL	27.1
80	Toledo, OH	26.9
81	Miami, FL	26.7
82	Laramie, WY	26.56
83	Lewisburg, PA	26.56
84	Durham, NH	26.5
85	Bowling Green, KY	26.37
86	Dallas, TX	26.36
86	Annapolis, MD	26.36
88	Lynchburg, VA	26.31
89	Brookings, SD	26.15
90	Rock Hill, SC	26.04
91	Richmond, KY	25.97
92	Hanover, NH	25.91
93	Tuscaloosa, AL	25.85
94	Manhattan, KS	25.85
95	Hempstead, NY	25.69
96	Tallahassee, FL	25.64
97	San Diego, CA	25.48
98	Cedar Falls, IA	25.45
99	Albany, NY	25.44
100	Lexington, VA	25.42
101	Easton, PA	25.42
102	Mobile, AL	25.23
103	San Marcos, TX	25.19
104	Davidson, NC	25.12
105	Radford, VA	25.09
106	Columbus, OH	24.91
107	Norfolk, VA	24.91
108	Lubbock, TX	24.87
109	Lafayette, LA	24.81
110	New Haven, CT	24.81
111	Burlington, VT	24.81
112	Ithaca, NY	24.78
113	College Station, TX	24.74
114	San Francisco, CA	24.67
115	Denton, TX	24.64
116	New Rochelle, NY	24.6
117	St. Louis, MO	24.56
118	Amherst, MA	24.52
119	Memphis, TN	24.49
120	Boone, NC	24.38
121	New Orleans, LA	24.24
122	Ogden, UT	24.1
123	Cedar City, UT	24.1
124	Terre Haute, IN	24.07
125	Oxford, MS	23.96
126	Princess Anne, MD	23.92
127	Greenville, SC	23.82
128	Boise, ID	23.78
129	Pittsburgh, PA	23.75
130	Fairfield, CT	23.65
131	North Andover, MA	23.65
132	Boulder, CO	23.63
133	Davis, CA	23.61
134	Corvallis, OR	23.59
135	Greensboro, NC	23.56
136	Abilene, TX	23.52
137	Long Branch, NJ	23.48
138	Santa Barbara, CA	23.4
139	Chattanooga, TN	23.35
140	Tempe, AZ	23.32
141	Orangeburg, SC	23.26
142	Phoenix, AZ	23.17
143	Fort Collins, CO	23.17
144	Mount Pleasant, MI	23.02
145	Jackson, MS	22.99
146	Charlotte, NC	22.99
147	Williamsburg, VA	22.98
148	Des Moines, IA	22.88
149	Birmingham, AL	22.86
150	Seattle, WA	22.82
151	Ypsilanti, MI	22.72
152	Bakersfield, CA	22.7
153	Moraga, CA	22.68
154	Logan, UT	22.67
155	Bowling Green, OH	22.55
156	Lowell, MA	22.47
157	Trenton, NJ	22.39
158	Tucson, AZ	22.39
159	Newark, DE	22.36
160	Stony Brook, NY	22.35
161	Peoria, IL	22.34
162	Towson, MD	22.25
163	Florence, AL	22.19
164	Knoxville, TN	22.16
165	Orlando, FL	22.15
166	DeLand, FL	22.13
167	Muncie, IN	22.09
168	San Antonio, TX	22.07
169	Buffalo, NY	22.01
170	Jacksonville, FL	22
171	Fullerton, CA	21.91
172	Springfield, MO	21.91
173	Hammond, LA	21.85
174	Riverside, CA	21.77
175	Stephenville, TX	21.76
176	Charleston, SC	21.66
177	Gainesville, FL	21.64
178	Fargo, ND	21.59
179	Clinton, SC	21.54
180	Natchitoches, LA	21.54
181	Madison, WI	21.52
182	Orem, UT	21.5
183	Irvine, CA	21.4
184	Milwaukee, WI	21.38
185	El Paso, TX	21.26
186	Santa Clara, CA	21.23
187	Atlanta, GA	21.09
188	North Charleston, SC	21.06
189	Greeley, CO	21.02
190	Normal, IL	21.01
190	Monroe, LA	21.01
192	Bozeman, MT	20.99
193	Youngstown, OH	20.98
193	Statesboro, GA	20.98
195	High Point, NC	20.96
196	Huntington, WV	20.93
197	Raleigh, NC	20.92
198	Detroit, MI	20.89
199	Cleveland, OH	20.89
200	Little Rock, AR	20.81
201	Johnson City, TN	20.79
202	Harrisonburg, VA	20.78
203	Auburn, AL	20.78
204	Newark, NJ	20.74
205	Flagstaff, AZ	20.68
206	Rochester Hills, MI	20.66
207	Elon, NC	20.58
208	Macon, GA	20.54
209	Hartford, CT	20.52
210	Jonesboro, AR	20.5
211	Fort Wayne, IN	20.47
212	Reno, NV	20.44
213	Las Cruces, NM	20.4
214	St. Charles, MO	20.35
215	Cape Girardeau, MO	20.3
216	Fresno, CA	20.26
217	Vermillion, SD	20.21
218	Charleston, IL	20.2
219	Blacksburg, VA	20.09
220	DeKalb, IL	20.09
221	Edwardsville, IL	19.88
222	Asheville, NC	19.8
223	Hampton, VA	19.75
224	Boca Raton, FL	19.69
225	Las Vegas, NV	19.67
226	Clarksville, TN	19.66
226	Cookeville, TN	19.66
228	Cambridge, MA	19.61
229	State College, PA	19.59
230	Macomb, IL	19.5
231	Lake Charles, LA	19.41
232	Portland, OR	19.4
233	New Brunswick, NJ	19.36
234	Montgomery, AL	19.31
235	Murfreesboro, TN	19.3
236	Kansas City, MO	19.22
237	Fort Myers, FL	19.19
238	Orono, ME	19.12
239	Arlington, TX	19.1
240	Poughkeepsie, NY	19
241	Valparaiso, IN	18.91
242	Colorado Springs, CO	18.9
243	Martin, TN	18.82
244	Kennesaw, GA	18.81
245	Pine Bluff, AR	18.64
246	Corpus Christi, TX	18.64
247	Greenville, NC	18.61
248	San Luis Obispo, CA	18.6
249	Winston-Salem, NC	18.54
250	St. George, UT	18.4
251	Oxford, OH	18.37
252	Albuquerque, NM	18.34
253	Binghamton, NY	18.24
254	St. Paul, MN	18.22
255	Beaumont, TX	18.18
256	Richmond, VA	18.16
257	Tampa, FL	18.16
258	Hattiesburg, MS	18.12
259	Malibu, CA	18.04
260	Conway, AR	18.01
261	Missoula, MT	17.8
262	Grand Forks, ND	17.69
263	Lincoln, NE	17.57
264	Moscow, ID	17.43
265	Worcester, MA	17.32
266	Evanston, IL	17.21
267	Sacramento, CA	17.06
268	Indianapolis, IN	16.93
269	Minneapolis, MN	16.86
270	Jersey City, NJ	16.8
271	Fort Worth, TX	16.72
272	Evansville, IN	16.55
273	Huntsville, AL	16.41
274	Hackensack, NJ	16.38
275	Denver, CO	16.23
276	Wilmington, NC	16.22
277	Green Bay, WI	16.15
278	Kalamazoo, MI	16.12
279	Honolulu, HI	15.96
280	Fairfax, VA	15.91
281	San Jose, CA	15.9
282	Columbia, MO	15.67
283	Stockton, CA	15.39
284	Edinburg, TX	15.02
285	Athens, GA	14.9
286	Wichita, KS	14.8
287	Austin, TX	14.12
288	Commerce, TX	13.51
289	Bethlehem, PA	13.38
290	Dover, DE	12.64
291	Berkeley, CA	12.04
292	Pocatello, ID	11.55
293	Daytona Beach, FL	10.81
294	Easton, MA	9.16
295	New Britain, CT	7.53

Where Are They Now?: The Syracuse 2003 National Championship Team

Remember when the Syracuse Orange won it all in March Madness? Where are all those players now? Take a look at every player on the roster and what they're doing today!

Look Inside Joe Biden's Former Syracuse Home

A lot has happened since the house last sold in 2005 for $68,000. Between the previous occupant becoming Vice-President and then the 46th President over the past 17 years, along with the current housing market, the property is now on the market at a substantial uptick of $334,900.

The house is at 608 and 610 Stinard Avenue, and was originally built in 1925. It’s a two-family duplex with 3,364 square feet of space, plus a two-car garage. The first unit is two bed/two bath. The second unit is roomier with four bedrooms and two baths. The house has lots of original wood paneling, which feels very presidential. Could sleeping here lead to a long and successful political career? It certainly couldn’t hurt.

Photo credit: Eric F Metz II, Independent Realty Group via Zillow.

Inside the Abandoned Great Northern Mall in Syracuse

As of now, the plan is still to transform the Great Northern Mall into a "lifestyle center," but before that happens, we're able to take a virtual walk through its empty halls.

Source: How?! Central New York City Ranks Shocking Low on National List

Filed Under: syracuse orange, jim boeheim, syracuse basketball, jma dome

Categories: Sports