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Mackey Arena or Breslin Center? BTN analyst picks toughest B1G hoops venue
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The B1G is home to some of the most intimidating atmospheres and best home-court advantages in all of college basketball. Picking a favorite venue is almost impossible.
Big Ten Network basketball analyst Jess Settles tried to select the most difficult venue for opponents to try to steal a road win, and even that was too difficult. He couldn’t name just one.
Settles chose both Purdue’s Mackey Arena and Michigan State’s Breslin Center as the toughest venues in B1G basketball. And when you look at the home records over the last few years for the Boilermakers and Spartans, it’s hard to disagree with Settles’ decision.
“I give maybe a slight edge to Mackey, the Purdue fans have just been outstanding over the last four or five years,” Settles said. “They have been for decades, but they just don’t lose at home.
“And then, if you ask coaches around the league, Michigan State is the one win, on the road, that they want more than any other win.”
Since the 2015-16 season, Purdue is 58-4 in games at Mackey Arena and Michigan State is 54-5 in games at the Breslin Center. Again, those records speak for themselves.
Below, Settles explains why he can’t pick just one arena. If it were up to you, which arena would you name as the toughest in the B1G?
Toughest @B1GMBBall venue?
Hopefully, you're more decisive than @JessSettlesHoop, who went with Breslin *and* Mackey.
"You just can't pick one over the other." pic.twitter.com/fvhlTgiMO2
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 28, 2019
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB