Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Ranking the nation’s 25 best home-court advantages

By Brian Rauf

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 09: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks pumps up the crowd prior to the start of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Allen Fieldhouse on January 09, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 09: Lagerald Vick #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks pumps up the crowd prior to the start of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Allen Fieldhouse on January 09, 2019 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JANUARY 04: Butler Bulldogs fans celebrate as they storm the floor after the game against the Villanova Wildcats at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 4, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Butler defeated the No. 1 ranked Wildcats 66-58. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JANUARY 04: Butler Bulldogs fans celebrate as they storm the floor after the game against the Villanova Wildcats at Hinkle Fieldhouse on January 4, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Butler defeated the No. 1 ranked Wildcats 66-58. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

15) Butler – Hinkle Fieldhouse

Speaking of feared, it’s simply impossible to explain the magic of Hinkle Fieldhouse. Every year, some of the country’s top teams enter and, every year, some of them leave with a loss.

Nicknamed “Indiana’s Basketball Cathedral” and built in 1928, Hinkle Fieldhouse is the sixth-oldest college basketball arena still in use and is a national historic landmark. In fact, Butler still plays on the court’s original floor, making it the oldest hardwood currently in use – the same hardwood the real team from the movie Hoosiers won the Indiana state championship on.

Once the country’s biggest arena (until 1950), the most recent round of renovation in 2011 actually cut the capacity from 10,000 to 9,100 – but that has done nothing to diminish the atmosphere or Butler’s home-court advantage.

Their fans are as knowledgeable and passionate as you’ll find in the country. Butler also hasn’t lost more than four home games in a single season over the past five years and upset several ranked teams in that time frame, including Villanova on multiple occasions.

With its history adding to an electric atmosphere, Butler finds themselves inside the top 15 on this list.

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