With March Madness just over a week away, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best Cities for College Basketball Fans to help get hoops lovers psyched for this magical time of year.

New York as a College Hoops Haven (1=Best, 145=Avg.):

  • 1st – Number of Division 1 Teams
  • 185th – Winning Percentage
  • 4th – Conference Championships

New York ranks 13th overall and 5th among large cities.

March Madness Stats & Facts

  • $8.98 Million: 2018 salary for college basketball’s highest paid coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (vs. $1.4M combined for Duke’s president and the state’s governor)
  • $6.3 Billion: Corporate losses due to unproductive workers during March Madness
  • $10.4 Billion: Amount wagered on the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball tournament ($10.1B illegally)
  • 18X: Difference between the average NBA rookie’s salary ($2.36M) and a D1 men’s basketball scholarship for a year ($130K)