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SD rated as one of least-mad roundball cities

By Don Bauder, March 17, 2015

What are the maddest of the mad American basketball-mad cities?

WalletHub, which compiles statistics on United States metropolitan areas and states, has used several metrics to measure the craziest basketball cities. Among those metrics: number and performance of National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 teams; average ticket prices; stadium accessibility (stadium capacity divided by city population); number of sports bars per capita; number of those following basketball on Twitter; attendance; and TV viewership of local teams.

The craziest: Storrs, Connecticut, home of last year's NCAA champs, the University of Connecticut; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home of perennial power University of North Carolina, and San Antonio, home of last year's NBA champs.

San Diego State has had a powerhouse in recent years, but the city has no NBA team. So San Diego dribbles in at 177th of 300 cities. But that's better than nearby Riverside (299th) and Jersey City (300th).

swell March 17, 2015 @ 9:51 a.m.

It's interesting that the faces you see at a basketball game can never be seen at San Diego cultural attractions.

Don Bauder March 17, 2015 @ 10:08 a.m.

UCONN'S WOMEN'S TEAM FAVORED TO REPEAT AS NCAA CHAMPION. I inadvertently left out another reason why Storrs, Connecticut is the most loony basketball town. UConn's women's team is favored to win a third consecutive NCAA title this year. If the Huskies' women's team triumphs this year (it is the number one seed), its coach would tie UCLA's John Wooden for most NCAA titles -- ten. Best, Don Bauder