The strength of a college hoops facility is in its diversity, as different but as functional as the 319 teams that make up Division I basketball.

There are Pits, Domes and Cages. Seating that runs from the quaint 1,700-seats of LIU-Brooklyn's Schwartz Center to Syracuse's massive 33,000-seat Carrier Dome. Each place has its traditions, its plusses, its minuses, its history and its memories.

College basketball is a sport played everywhere and played inside everything.

Coach K Court at Cameron Indoor Stadium might be the most recognizable in college basketball.(AP)

Which makes naming the best arena, gym or stadium a nearly impossible task. But in our second installment of this summer's "Best Of," we are willing to attempt a task as difficult as hitting free throws inside Cameron, avoiding a headache on Hawk Hill or catching your breath at Wyoming's Auditorium, which is only 7,165 feet above sea level. And thus a long way from Kimbel Gym in Coastal Carolina.

There are great fans -- like the ultra loyal Dayton Flyer fanatics. Wonderful scenes -- the near all-red crowd in Indiana. And there are terrific out-of-the-way spots that rock when the home school is winning such as Western Kentucky, Marshall and Bradley.

Despite the recent facility boom that shuttered the doors on great arenas such as Wisconsin's Field House, Ohio State's St. John's Arena and North Carolina State's Reynolds Coliseum, college basketball is still blessed with a rich group of fantastic facilities. It would be preferable if more schools renovate and enlarge, like in football, rather than abandon the past, but even the worst college arena is better than all but a couple of pro facilities.

By my count, I have been in 113 NCAA Division I arenas. Which is barely a third of the existing structures. But I'm tackling the task anyway, relying on an informal blue ribbon panel of experts consisting of coaches, media and super fans. Along with adding the necessary arrogance to make grand proclamations and enough humility to not take it too seriously.

My criteria for best arena are a combination of many factors. History, uniqueness, game atmosphere, passion of fans through thick and thin and overall aura of a structure. This is not just about which appears on television the most; not about who has the most fans. This is about where, if you picked one place to watch a game, you would pick.

For the record, the greatest game atmosphere I have ever been a part of took place at the junior-college level. On a cold night inside the 1,600-seat Hellyer Student Life Center on the campus of Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, a throng of at least 3,000 -- many standing seven deep along baselines and in corners -- created a near riot as Southeastern Iowa upset the three-time defending national champion hometown team. No way that atmosphere could ever be duplicated at the more civilized D-I level.

But the list is D-I only, so Indian Hills is out. In its place is ...

10. Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State (14,092) -- Many point to Krzyzewskiville in Durham -- where Duke students live in tents for the opportunity to attend games -- as the ultimate sign of devotion, but 14,000 showing up no matter how much snow or how low the Central Iowa wind chill, is far more impressive. And there they are, night after night, making a largely unremarkable architectural structure one of college basketball's best environs. A few years back, the Raleigh News & Observer statistically proved "Hilton Magic" provided the best home-court advantage in the country. One time I was there the Cyclones fans were so excited to beat Oklahoma, the floor shook from all the noise. Made you forget about the cold wind outside.

9. Freedom Hall, Louisville (18,865) -- At the end of last year some U of L fans were down on coach Denny Crum because attendance had slipped during the 12-17 season. Yep, all the way down to 17,443, which ranked fifth nationally. For decades a throng of nearly 20,000 has packed this wonderful facility, with great sight lines and a historic feel. It has still hosted more NCAA championships than any other facility, not to mention the long run of high-flying Cardinal teams Crum put together. It is also one of the homes of the annual Kentucky-Indiana game that is perhaps the best spectacle in college basketball. Expect things to get even rowdier with Rick Pitino in town.

8. Maples Pavilion, Stanford (7,800) -- This smallish, center-of-campus, multipurpose facility was a fun, unique place to experience a game even before Mike Montgomery made the Cardinal a national power. Now it is among the nation's best. The crowds are rowdy, smart and extremely loud. The building layout is a little unusual but without a bad seat. Knowing its place within the broad spectrum of life at Stanford, the gym floor still has volleyball lines on it, a nice touch in a world where basketball is often segregated and taken too seriously. And, as an added bonus, when the game is over you are in the Bay Area.

7. The Pit, New Mexico (18,100) -- In large lettering at the beginning of the tunnel that visiting players must run down to get to the playing surface of what is officially called University Arena, is a reminder that you are a mile above sea level and that if the Lobos don't get you, the thin air probably will. That sprint onto the floor, with a delirious wall of noise and Lobo howls awaiting you might be the most intimidating in the sport. The arena's interior is steep, jammed with seats and provides a tremendous theater where just watching the game is impossible. Fans are just sucked into cheering, hollering and damn-near participating.

6. Williams Arena, Minnesota (14,395) -- In contrast to New Mexico, where players run down to the floor, at Williams teams must sprint up a small staircase and then onto a raised court, with three decks of Gophers fanatics slowly appearing around you. To get in the game from the bench, you have to literally climb onto the stage. This is a classic Midwest basketball barn if there ever was one; big but intimate. It's loud and quirky, with fans seemingly hanging from the rafters all around you. Just in case you need any added intimidation -- or the snow drifts outside don't chill your jumper -- there are 20-plus foot pictures of Gophers greats such as Kevin McHale and Mychal Thompson staring down at you.

5. Rupp Arena, Kentucky (23,000) -- If this is where Adolph himself actually coached, it might be No. 1. But hoops is so big at UK that the 11,500-seat Memorial Coliseum is basically a practice gym for the Wildcats. Rupp isn't all that plush, not that interesting and isn't even on campus, although it is close by in downtown Lexington. But when the Wildcats take the floor and 23,000 stand to cheer, the power of this immense program simply roars down on you. You needn't be from the Commonwealth to get goose bumps because this is big-time college hoops.

4. The Palestra, Pennsylvania (8,700) -- In the hearts of generations of Philadelphians, the Palestra has a magical spot ranking right up there with the smell of mom's apple pie and their first kiss. It is the official home court of Penn, but it is the city's building, home to so many Big Five double headers that everyone feels comfortable in this wonderful gymnasium. Its wooden bleachers and compact construction makes even small crowds deafening and the place is so old (constructed in 1927) it not only displays a 1908 Ivy League championship banner, but the game clock actually ticks. We've only heard one complaint ever about this creaky gym: "They built it on the wrong campus," said an admittedly jealous John Chaney of Temple.

3. Phog Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas (16,300) -- A huge stadium that somehow retains the feel of a high school gym, Allen Fieldhouse is a remarkable achievement in architecture. There are windows in the end zones that let the weak winter sun in and a huge gathering of throaty Jayhawk fans to keep the noise coming. The place is so packed the only way to tell the players from the fans is with uniforms. And when the traditional chant of "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk," comes bellowing down from the rafters, you know you are in college basketball heaven.

2. Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke (9,314) -- Television has made this college basketball's most recognizable arena, and the Cameron Crazies student section has created a level of enthusiasm and organized cheering that has been copied throughout the nation. It is a completely fun, hot, loud and wonderful place to watch a game, or, most likely, a Duke victory. The classic, classy 61-year-old stone building, nestled in the middle of campus, is smallish and quaint, with a cool lobby filled with memorabilia. If the wealthy Iron Dukes, who sit above the Crazies, showed more passion, or fewer of the students spent halftime talking on their cell phones, you wouldn't be able to find any fault with the Cameron Experience.

1. Gallagher-Iba Arena, Oklahoma State (13,611) -- The ultimate combination of history, uniqueness, location and excitement, Gallagher-Iba has even survived a recent expansion to remain the nation's best facility to catch a game. How much tradition does the old barn out where the wind comes sweeping down the plains have? The first game, in 1938, featured Henry Iba's Cowboys besting Phog Allen's Kansas Jayhawks 21-15. The maple playing surface is the building's original and it has not only seen countless great games, it has seen practice sessions where Iba literally invented concepts such as motion offense and man-to-man defense.

Renovated Gallagher-Iba Arena seats 13,611, but the history and ambiance remain.

Iba also encouraged the creation of one of the first student sections, where everyone wore identical orange suit coats and rang cowbells. It is truly college hoops hallowed ground. Before expansion, when Gallagher-Iba held just 6,381 fans, this was easily the loudest arena in the nation. A well-planned expansion called "Raise the Roof" changed none of the ambiance, kept all the original seats and sight lines and somehow increased the noise. The renovation of the building, once called the "Madison Square Garden of the Plains," has opened up the experience to even more of the passionate, loyal and down-to-earth Cowboys fans that have made this college basketball's best for 63 years.