Michigan State’s Breslin Center ranked the 7th-best venue in college basketball

Michigan State basketball fans, it’s almost that time again.

Big Ten Media Days is just a week away, the first week of practice is in the books, and Tom Izzo is looking young and vibrant before the season officially tips off with a couple of exhibition games in October, headlined by a road game against UConn.

Oh, and Midnight Madness is this weekend, which also happens to be a huge recruiting weekend for Izzo and the Spartans.

Breslin Center will be packed on Friday night as the Spartans host their annual Midnight Madness, and Izzo will have a different costume to dress up in, along with his team. It’s one of the more fun family events that Michigan State puts on, and it happens at one of the best venues in the nation.

Just how good of a venue is the Breslin Center? According to Andy Katz, it the second-best venue in the Big Ten and seventh-best in the nation.

It’s tough to argue with his list. Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse is an easy choice for No. 1, with Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium right there are No. 2. Every single Spartan fan in American would probably put Mackey Arena at No. 1 just based on the lack of success Michigan State and Tom Izzo have had there over the years — they haven’t won there since Gary Harris was still around.

Madison Square Garden, the home of St. John’s, is fourth, but that’s more of a professional venue than a college atmosphere, so that feels like a cop-out pick.

I’d still put the Breslin Center in the top five, take out Madison Square garden, and jump Arkansas’ Bud Walton Arena. Not a bad list, but I think Breslin is a little more intimidating than No. 7.

Not many teams have silenced the Breslin Center crowd and the Izzone over the years.