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.

Duke v Syracuse
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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)

1Durham, NC55.37
2Lawrence, KS55.23
3Storrs, CT54.93
4Lexington, KY54.26
5Los Angeles, CA53.19
6East Lansing, MI51.54
7Philadelphia, PA50.12
8Chapel Hill, NC49.81
9Fayette, MS45.77
10Loretto, PA43.86
11Morgantown, WV42.89
12West Point, NY42.2
13Kingston, RI42.15
14Bloomington, IN40.9
15Boston, MA40.87
16College Park, MD40.41
17Washington, DC40.18
18Lewiston, NY40.11
19Fayetteville, AR39.39
20New York, NY39.34
21Ann Arbor, MI37.37
22Charlottesville, VA37.34
23Hamilton, NY36.81
24Norman, OK36.05
25Iowa City, IA35.98
26Murray, KY35.64
27Stillwater, OK35
28Grambling, LA34.35
29Champaign, IL33.69
30Louisville, KY33.49
31Tulsa, OK33.4
32South Bend, IN33.38
33Itta Bena, MS32.97
34Buies Creek, NC32.95
35Houston, TX32.48
36Starkville, MS32.11
37Jacksonville, AL32.11
38West Lafayette, IN31.64
39Provo, UT31.39
40Cincinnati, OH31.29
41Emmitsburg, MD31.25
42Princeton, NJ30.67
43Boiling Springs, NC30.43
44Prairie View, TX30.3
45Troy, AL30.07
46Nacogdoches, TX30.02
47Dayton, OH29.9
48Omaha, NE29.79
49Clemson, SC29.71
50Athens, OH29.66
51Ames, IA29.56
52Syracuse, NY29.47
53Thibodaux, LA29.46
54Morehead, KY29.44
55Providence, RI29.39
56Spartanburg, SC29.27
57Olean, NY29.23
58Farmville, VA29.22
59Akron, OH29.04
60Spokane, WA28.94
61Conway, SC28.66
62Pullman, WA28.59
63Salt Lake City, UT28.4
64Waco, TX28.38
65Kent, OH28.3
66Highland Heights, KY28.13
67Huntsville, TX28.11
68Eugene, OR28.08
69Cheney, WA28.03
69Cullowhee, NC28.03
71Long Beach, CA27.96
72Carbondale, IL27.96
73Nashville, TN27.92
74Ruston, LA27.88
75Baton Rouge, LA27.76
76Baltimore, MD27.39
77Stanford, CA27.13
78Columbia, SC27.12
79Chicago, IL27.1
80Toledo, OH26.9
81Miami, FL26.7
82Laramie, WY26.56
83Lewisburg, PA26.56
84Durham, NH26.5
85Bowling Green, KY26.37
86Dallas, TX26.36
86Annapolis, MD26.36
88Lynchburg, VA26.31
89Brookings, SD26.15
90Rock Hill, SC26.04
91Richmond, KY25.97
92Hanover, NH25.91
93Tuscaloosa, AL25.85
94Manhattan, KS25.85
95Hempstead, NY25.69
96Tallahassee, FL25.64
97San Diego, CA25.48
98Cedar Falls, IA25.45
99Albany, NY25.44
100Lexington, VA25.42
101Easton, PA25.42
102Mobile, AL25.23
103San Marcos, TX25.19
104Davidson, NC25.12
105Radford, VA25.09
106Columbus, OH24.91
107Norfolk, VA24.91
108Lubbock, TX24.87
109Lafayette, LA24.81
110New Haven, CT24.81
111Burlington, VT24.81
112Ithaca, NY24.78
113College Station, TX24.74
114San Francisco, CA24.67
115Denton, TX24.64
116New Rochelle, NY24.6
117St. Louis, MO24.56
118Amherst, MA24.52
119Memphis, TN24.49
120Boone, NC24.38
121New Orleans, LA24.24
122Ogden, UT24.1
123Cedar City, UT24.1
124Terre Haute, IN24.07
125Oxford, MS23.96
126Princess Anne, MD23.92
127Greenville, SC23.82
128Boise, ID23.78
129Pittsburgh, PA23.75
130Fairfield, CT23.65
131North Andover, MA23.65
132Boulder, CO23.63
133Davis, CA23.61
134Corvallis, OR23.59
135Greensboro, NC23.56
136Abilene, TX23.52
137Long Branch, NJ23.48
138Santa Barbara, CA23.4
139Chattanooga, TN23.35
140Tempe, AZ23.32
141Orangeburg, SC23.26
142Phoenix, AZ23.17
143Fort Collins, CO23.17
144Mount Pleasant, MI23.02
145Jackson, MS22.99
146Charlotte, NC22.99
147Williamsburg, VA22.98
148Des Moines, IA22.88
149Birmingham, AL22.86
150Seattle, WA22.82
151Ypsilanti, MI22.72
152Bakersfield, CA22.7
153Moraga, CA22.68
154Logan, UT22.67
155Bowling Green, OH22.55
156Lowell, MA22.47
157Trenton, NJ22.39
158Tucson, AZ22.39
159Newark, DE22.36
160Stony Brook, NY22.35
161Peoria, IL22.34
162Towson, MD22.25
163Florence, AL22.19
164Knoxville, TN22.16
165Orlando, FL22.15
166DeLand, FL22.13
167Muncie, IN22.09
168San Antonio, TX22.07
169Buffalo, NY22.01
170Jacksonville, FL22
171Fullerton, CA21.91
172Springfield, MO21.91
173Hammond, LA21.85
174Riverside, CA21.77
175Stephenville, TX21.76
176Charleston, SC21.66
177Gainesville, FL21.64
178Fargo, ND21.59
179Clinton, SC21.54
180Natchitoches, LA21.54
181Madison, WI21.52
182Orem, UT21.5
183Irvine, CA21.4
184Milwaukee, WI21.38
185El Paso, TX21.26
186Santa Clara, CA21.23
187Atlanta, GA21.09
188North Charleston, SC21.06
189Greeley, CO21.02
190Normal, IL21.01
190Monroe, LA21.01
192Bozeman, MT20.99
193Youngstown, OH20.98
193Statesboro, GA20.98
195High Point, NC20.96
196Huntington, WV20.93
197Raleigh, NC20.92
198Detroit, MI20.89
199Cleveland, OH20.89
200Little Rock, AR20.81
201Johnson City, TN20.79
202Harrisonburg, VA20.78
203Auburn, AL20.78
204Newark, NJ20.74
205Flagstaff, AZ20.68
206Rochester Hills, MI20.66
207Elon, NC20.58
208Macon, GA20.54
209Hartford, CT20.52
210Jonesboro, AR20.5
211Fort Wayne, IN20.47
212Reno, NV20.44
213Las Cruces, NM20.4
214St. Charles, MO20.35
215Cape Girardeau, MO20.3
216Fresno, CA20.26
217Vermillion, SD20.21
218Charleston, IL20.2
219Blacksburg, VA20.09
220DeKalb, IL20.09
221Edwardsville, IL19.88
222Asheville, NC19.8
223Hampton, VA19.75
224Boca Raton, FL19.69
225Las Vegas, NV19.67
226Clarksville, TN19.66
226Cookeville, TN19.66
228Cambridge, MA19.61
229State College, PA19.59
230Macomb, IL19.5
231Lake Charles, LA19.41
232Portland, OR19.4
233New Brunswick, NJ19.36
234Montgomery, AL19.31
235Murfreesboro, TN19.3
236Kansas City, MO19.22
237Fort Myers, FL19.19
238Orono, ME19.12
239Arlington, TX19.1
240Poughkeepsie, NY19
241Valparaiso, IN18.91
242Colorado Springs, CO18.9
243Martin, TN18.82
244Kennesaw, GA18.81
245Pine Bluff, AR18.64
246Corpus Christi, TX18.64
247Greenville, NC18.61
248San Luis Obispo, CA18.6
249Winston-Salem, NC18.54
250St. George, UT18.4
251Oxford, OH18.37
252Albuquerque, NM18.34
253Binghamton, NY18.24
254St. Paul, MN18.22
255Beaumont, TX18.18
256Richmond, VA18.16
257Tampa, FL18.16
258Hattiesburg, MS18.12
259Malibu, CA18.04
260Conway, AR18.01
261Missoula, MT17.8
262Grand Forks, ND17.69
263Lincoln, NE17.57
264Moscow, ID17.43
265Worcester, MA17.32
266Evanston, IL17.21
267Sacramento, CA17.06
268Indianapolis, IN16.93
269Minneapolis, MN16.86
270Jersey City, NJ16.8
271Fort Worth, TX16.72
272Evansville, IN16.55
273Huntsville, AL16.41
274Hackensack, NJ16.38
275Denver, CO16.23
276Wilmington, NC16.22
277Green Bay, WI16.15
278Kalamazoo, MI16.12
279Honolulu, HI15.96
280Fairfax, VA15.91
281San Jose, CA15.9
282Columbia, MO15.67
283Stockton, CA15.39
284Edinburg, TX15.02
285Athens, GA14.9
286Wichita, KS14.8
287Austin, TX14.12
288Commerce, TX13.51
289Bethlehem, PA13.38
290Dover, DE12.64
291Berkeley, CA12.04
292Pocatello, ID11.55
293Daytona Beach, FL10.81
294Easton, MA9.16
295New Britain, CT7.53

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