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Ranking Big Ten basketball arenas

Thinking about taking in a Big Ten hoops game this season? Here's my belated Christmas present to you:

All 14 Big Ten basketball arenas, ranked from best to worst.

One of the perks of my job is getting to travel to see hoops games across the counference. I've seen the old school barns, the new-school multipurpose arenas, and everything in between.

And because Michigan State has often been a top-10 team in recent years, I've typically seen the arenas at their best: full of boisterous fans there for a marquee game.

Before the rankings, a note on methodology. To me, there are two ways to judge an arena: on the building itself, and on its environment during games. I incorporated both in my rankings.

From Pinnacle Arena in Lincoln to the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, here's the Big Ten arenas, ranked:

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1. Assembly Hall, Indiana

Simply put there's no better place in the Big Ten to watch a game.

The architecture is unique, with a curved railing separating the lower and upper sections of bleachers. Both sides have huge sections of bleachers that are usually full and that look like they're on top of you. And while the school has spruced up the entrances, the inside is still old school, with some wooden bleachers on both ends and fans close to the court. And it's undeniably built for hoops.

The atmosphere is great, with a large, vocal and engaged crowd night-in and night-out. Make a point to make a trip here.

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Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

2. Breslin Center, Michigan State

Yes, I've seen 10 times more games here than any other arena on this list. But I don't think it's a hometown bias to put Breslin at No. 2 on the list.

Built in 1989, Breslin Center is kind of in-between in terms of age. It doesn't have the mystique that older buildings like Assembly Hall and Williams Arena have, but it isn't the antiseptic multi-purpose space that several newer Big Ten arenas are, either. It's built for hoops, with fans cut close to the court on all sides.

That helps make the atmosphere among the best in the Big Ten. What else helps is that Michigan State puts its student section around three quarters of the lower bowl, something no other Big Ten schools do. The Izzone gets on opposing players and coaches better than most places.

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3. Williams Arena, Minnesota

The oldest arena in the Big Ten, Williams Arena gets the best marks in the Big Ten for architecture.

The epitome of the "old barn" style of arena, Williams has an incredibly high ceiling in a rectangle-shaped building. Its raised floor is one of the most unique basketball arena atmospheres in the Big Ten, and the building as a whole has an old school feel without being dumpy.

Now if the Gophers could just win a few more games and draw a bit more interest in a town with plenty of other entertainment options, the old barn could rival Assembly Hall in terms of atmosphere. As of right now, that isn't happening. But if we were judging arenas based on just the buildings, Williams would be at the top.

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4. Xfinity Center, Maryland

I probably have this one higher than most, but when I've been there the Xfinity Center has been rocking and a tough place to play.

The Terrapins might have the best student section in the Big Ten. They're big, loud and creative, and many of them they sit in a massive, very vertical seating block behind one baseline that's pretty intimidating to see from the floor.

Other than that, Xfinity is a fairly standard newer arena without much for unique elements. But its cut for basketball, with seats near the court on all sides and fans that seem more on top of you than in many buildings. If you're a Big Ten fan on the east coast, it's worth a trip when your team is there.

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Photo credit: Netbymatt at the English language Wikipedia

5. Mackey Arena, Purdue

Mackey Arena is built largely below ground, and with only one entrance to the court it has the true snake pit feel to it. Purdue fans are among the best in the Big Ten (and seem to particularly dislike Michigan State), typically combining for a great atmosphere.

If there's a downside, it's that those fans aren't that close to the court. The circular design means lot of dead space behind benches and the scorers table (filled on one side with large, spaced-out cushioned chairs for high-rollers). Behind the baselines is a large wall that the seating is over.

But its footprint is relatively compact and it gets loud in there. And the amount of black that's typically worn usually adds to the effect.

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6. Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa

Like Mackey, Carver-Hawkeye is built into the ground. You enter at street level and then walk down to your seat. There's only one level of seating, but the fans feel more on top of the action here than in similar bowl-style arenas. And Iowa has strong fan support, typically ranking in the top 20 of attendance rankings.

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7. State Farm Center, Illinois

The State Farm Center -- often jokingly called a spaceship for its appearance from the outside -- got a major facelift last year that has it feeling new inside. And Illinois' student section is one of the better ones in the Big Ten, Illinois gives them good seats around much of the lower section. In some spots, their seats are courtside, making for a particularly intimate experience for opposing players.

While the environment and the student section in particular are above average, the design of the building itself isn't great for basketball. Like Mackey Arena, a circular design means acres of empty space around the court and many fans too far away from the action.

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8. Pinnacle Bank Arena, Nebraska

Pinnacle Bank Arena, opened in 2013, is the Big Ten's newest building. It's big, off campus (but in a nice area of downtown Lincoln) and has more luxury boxes than most Big Ten arenas.

But despite some up-and-down performances from the Cornhuskers in the Big Ten, Nebraska fans have regularly packed it and made it one of the tougher places to play in the Big Ten.

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9. Kohl Center, Wisconsin

Wisconsin is regularly among the top programs in the NCAA in home attendance. The Badgers won 38 straight games here not too long ago, so it's obviously an advantage for them. Their student section is big and among the better ones in the Big Ten.

So the Kohl Center goes on the upper half of this list, even if the building itself isn't all that memorable. Most notably, it's a hockey and basketball combo building, which makes the seating close to the court not ideal.

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10. Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern

This one's hard to judge, because Welsh-Ryan underwent a major renovation that closed the building all of last season. I haven't been there since it reopened, but I know the old gym often seemed like a nice high school facility.

But sources who have tell me that it feels like it's a totally different arena and up to Big Ten standards. The problem is Northwestern has always struggled with having a small fan base and from always having large numbers of fans who live in the Chicago area come to cheer on the opposing team.

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Mike Mulholland | MLive.com

11. Crisler Center, Michigan

Crisler Center has been around since 1967, but after some recent upgrades, it feels new inside.

While it's a basketball arena with the seats close to the floor, those seats also rise at a pretty shallow angle, with no balcony level like most Big Ten arenas have. It makes for a large footprint and the upper rows pretty far away from the action.

Students also mostly aren't near the floor, which hurts the environment. And it's not known for its raucous environment from the rest of the fans, either. We'll see if that changes now that the Wolverines enter Big Ten play as a top-five team.

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12. Rutgers Athletic Center

Rutgers' arena is half the size of some other Big Ten arenas. And for this program, that's the way it should be.

Rutgers isn't going to start drawing huge crowds any time soon, so it's better off in a building where the crowds it does draw fills more of a smaller space. And when you put a marquee opponent in there and Rutgers holds its own, it can be a better environment than you would think.

The arena itself could use a freshening up, to be sure. But the largest block of seats is cut close to the benches and rises high vertical.

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13. Value City Arena, Ohio State

Simply put, it's too big. The arena has the largest capacity in the Big Ten, at 18,809 seats for men's basketball. It's cavernous, and therefore not particularly loud. The fact that it doubles as an ice hockey arena also means its footprint is big.

Even for marquee games, it's typically not close to filled and not a particularly intimidating place to play. That's a shame for a program that's been one of the best in the Big Ten in recent years.

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Tony Kurdzuk, NJ.com

14. Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State

Basketball has never been a huge draw at Penn State, and the arena the school opened in 1995 is a reflection of that. It's a multi-purpose facility in every sense of the word, built to accommodate large wrestling meets and concerts. That means the arena floor is enormous and the seats are set far back from a basketball setup.

Add to that a program that's historically struggled and received little support -- its 15,000 seats are rarely close to full for basketball games -- and the Bryce Jordan Center comes in last on this list.

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