Greatest Basketball State

not sure where the pennsylvania comes from ... indiana probable right near the top .

Yeah not sure how you put Pennsylvania in there and not Indiana.  I think Indiana is probably the best basketball state right now.  IU, Indiana St, Butler being the most prominent teams right now.

When I think of basketball states I think of Indiana, but that probably because of Hoosiers. If I had to make a list it would be something like this.

Indiana
Kentucky
North Carolina
Kansas
And I'm sure I'm missing some

When I think of basketball, I think of the Ohio Valley.  You look at Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and Ohio... and in those four states, you've got:  Indiana, Indiana St, Butler, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Akron, Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati, Notre Dame... all viable candidates to go dancing this year, with a few powerhouses sprinkled in there.

What all levels are we considering?  Do we include Div II & Div III in this equation?  If we are including all levels of college play, I would go with Kentucky.  Yeah, I am a homer but look at the past successes of the smaller schools in KY and I don't think there is any question.

If we are including all levels of college play, I would go with Kentucky.  Yeah, I am a homer but look at the past successes of the smaller schools in KY and I don't think there is any question.

I agree with this.  Bellarmine comes to mind.

Pikeville won D3 last year.  Bellarmine , Transy, KY Wesleyan, and Georgetown come to mind as did Bellarmine.  Then there is The College of the Cumberlands,  Centre, Morehead St.  and Northern KY U.   Lot of good basketball in the Bluegrass state.  Also, do we include women's basketball in this?"

^^ Add Purdue in there, too.  Sorry Boilers, no offense meant.

And if you really wanted to, you could add Western Kentucky (remember them in the tournament against... Drake I believe it was?  Last second deep three?  Good stuff.), Murray State, Ohio...

Drake is in Iowa, I believe

Yup, I'm voting for that there State of Ohio Valley.

Not sure what the qurstion actually is but Indiana has 19 of the 20 largest high school gymnasiums in the country and before they split the state into classes for the state championship, the scetional, regional, semi state, and state finals were a sacred event.
I know, it is because no one in Indiana has anything else better to do during the Winter. Kinda like Hockey in the states further North.

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Don't forget Valpo, maybe 5 tournament teams from Indiana. And Purdue isn't one of them, go figure.

Is there a reason you mentioned Pennsylvania? Great state. Had a great battle in history. But I don't think of basketball when you mention Pennsylvania.

Maybe not "great" this season, but think about Philly's "Big 5" of LaSalle (16-6), St. Joseph (13-9), Temple (16-7), Villanova (15-10) and Penn (ouch - 5-17).  Most of them are having at least decent seasons.  I know all those teams have been in the tourney in recent seasons.  And don't forget about Pitt at 20-5.

Maybe not "great" this season, but think about Philly's "Big 5" of LaSalle (16-6), St. Joseph (13-9), Temple (16-7), Villanova (15-10) and Penn (ouch - 5-17).  Most of them are having at least decent seasons.  I know all those teams have been in the tourney in recent seasons.  And don't forget about Pitt at 20-5.

What about Duke's favorite team.............Lehigh?

Indiana is probably first and I'll be the first to admit basketball wise, probably my least favorite state.  Four teams possibly in the tournament and the one with the weakest resume, Indiana St, beat Miami. 

North Carolina is the first that came to my mind. 

NC State, Duke, and North Carolina.  

Isn't philadelphia in Pennsylvania? 

Which state has the best basketball this year?

This year?  That's actually a pretty good question.

Florida, Michigan and Indiana are the first that come to mind.

Florida is kinda top heavy with Florida and Miami (both could be #1 seeds)
Michigan and MSU are both looking good.
IU is playing great right now, and Notre Dame is climbing the charts.  Throw in Butler on top of that and they seem to have the depth.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those three.

The state of Syracuse is all you need to know. 

Which state has the best basketball this year?

Some states to consider:

Florida
Kentucky
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Kansas

Just to name a few. I know there are a couple more out there. 

Just curious as too what others think. Personally I think it is a tie between Michigan and Florida this year. MSU and Michigan are both top 10 and so are Florida and Miami(FL).

What the real question should be where basketball talent comes from PER CAPITA (forget looking at schools).  Florida, California, Texas, etc. all have the advantage due to high population if you don't look at it from a per capita perspective.

I think smaller states in the North, Nothern midwest, and possibly Northwest would shock in a per capita study.  Maybe I am wrong.... who knows

 

I think California is always in the discussion just because of the sheer number of colleges/universities.  They may not have much in the top ten this year, but they'll put their fair share in the tourney.

I think California, Texas, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are the Top 5 states with the most Division 1 schools in them.  To prevent the on-set of Alzheimer's and dementia, I try to name all the schools in each state in my mind, to see if I can place all 347 of them!  For this year, Indiana, Kansas, and Kentucky are doing very well.  California is hit-and-miss with their teams, and Pennsylvania runs hot and cold too (Bucknell, Lehigh, Pittsburgh are very good).  St. Francis, Drexel, Penn State, and Pennsylvania are dragging the Keystone State down a bit though.  Normally, Utah does quite well as a state, at least in attendance.  Texas is surprisingly down this year as far as highly competitive teams go (only Stephen F. Austin has hit the 20-win plateau so far).

I think California, Texas, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania are the Top 5 states with the most Division 1 schools in them.

Ohio has to be in there somewhere too...

Ohio State, Ohio, Cincinnati, Dayton, Xavier, Kent State, Akron, Miami, Toledo, Bowling Green, Cleveland State - pretty sure all of them have had success in the tourney at one time or another.  We also have Wright State and Youngstown State as D-I teams.  Of all those teams, only Miami, Cleveland State and BG are sub .500 so far this season.  At least half these teams still have a shot at making the dance if they're not already locks.

If you're just talking basketball in general, it has to be Indiana. Look how many high school stars come out of Indiana. Then you have Indiana, Notre Dame, Butler, and let's not forget about the Indiana Pacers. The fans in Indiana love their basketball. There are no more passionate basketball fans than those in Indiana. And I'm not just talking about the Hoosiers I'm talking about all of them. Basketball is a way of life, and it means a lot to those here. In 49 states it's just basketball.. but THIS is Indiana!

Illinois and Ohio each have 13 D-1 programs.  Indiana has 10.  Louisiana has a relatively high number at 12.  California has 22.  Texas has 20.  New York has 22.  Pennsylvania has 14.  North Carolina has 18.  Florida has 13.  South Carolina has 11.  Virginia has 14.  Tennessee has 11.  I've probably missed a school here or there, but as far as I remember (for now), these are the only states with double-digit Division 1 basketball programs.  Alabama is next on the list with 9.  Maryland has 8.  Alaska is the only state with none, and there are five states with only one Division 1 program in their borders that play college hoops (Maine, Vermont, Minnesota, Wyoming, Hawaii).  The District of Columbia is home to four D-1 programs (Georgetown, American, George Washington, Howard). 

the case can be made for Indiana
the case can be made for Kentucky
the case can be made for North Carolina
the case can be made for Kansas
hell...
even California loves basketball.....

I will say this...I think red states love college athletics
and blue states love pro athletics...

chew on that for a while. 

I will say this...I think red states love college athletics
and blue states love pro athletics...

chew on that for a while. 

Now that's interesting.  I'm gonna have to think about this one for a while.

I will say this...I think red states love college athletics
and blue states love pro athletics...

Nice! Also very interesting...what "color" do you consider Kansas?