Ranking The SEC’s Toughest Arenas

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Veteran sportswriter Wally Hall of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has today posted his rankings of the SEC’s toughest arenas.

He ranks the homecourt advantage by arena size and fan enthusiasm.  He lists the arenas by division.

Personally, I think Vanderbilt deserves some sort of bonus points for playing in that Wrigley Field-like oddball they call Memorial Gymnasium.  Sight lines are screwy, the shooting backdrops are weird and players are thrown by having their coaches located under the baskets… not on the sidelines.

But I digress.

Here’s how Mr. Hall ranks ‘em… and you can click right here to read his rationale:



SEC East

1.  Tennessee and Thompson-Boling Arena (Before Bruce Pearl TB Arena might have ranked dead last in the conference)

2.  Florida and The O’Connell Center

3.  Kentucky and Rupp Arena (UK fans won’t like this one… and it’s those “diamond and mink” fans that Mr. Hall blames for the ranking)

4.  South Carolina and The Colonial Life Arena

5.  Georgia and Stegeman Coliseum

6.  Vanderbilt and Memorial Gymnasium (Could they have found a more generic name?)



SEC West

1.  Arkansas and Bud Walton Arena (No homer vote here, the place might be the best homecourt advantage in the whole conference.)

2.  Mississippi State and Humphrey Coliseum

3.  LSU and The Pete Maravich Assembley Center

4.  Alabama and Coleman Coliseum

5.  Ole Miss and Tad Smith Coliseum

6.  Auburn and Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (Hey, maybe their new arena won’t feel like “an airplane hangar.”)