The bucket list for college hoops fans

OK, it is a bit of a misnomer now, but that doesn't take away from Midnight Madness being one of the best events to take in. A long time ago, teams would schedule their first practices of the new season at midnight of the first date allowed by the NCAA. They would be open to the students and fans but would grow into a night filled with lavish team introductions, dunk contests, skits, gags, contests and a thrown-together scrimmage. Over the last decade, it has become a key tool for coaches in recruiting, and the move to a prime-time event has made it more accessible to fans. If you are a fan of a certain school, it is an exciting way to welcome back the players from last year's team as well as to meet the new guys. It is a large pep rally that swells pride in both the university and the program. If you want to go to some of the bigger ones, head to Kentucky's "Big Blue Madness," North Carolina's "Late Night With Roy" or Kansas' "Late Night in the Phog," where you can see some of the best high school players taking in their recruiting visits. 

Any bucket list needs a trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium, and any list should contain a Duke-Carolina basketball game. Kill two birds with one stone by attending college basketball's greatest rivalry in Durham. The two schools are just 8 miles apart and separated by a shade of blue. You have two Hall of Fame coaches in Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams, nearly 4,400 combined victories and 11 national championships. At least one of these schools has been in 22 of the last 33 Final Fours (both were in the 1991 Final Four). When the Tar Heels and Blue Devils get together, there is usually a lot on the line. Catching the game in old but now more comfortable Cameron just ups the chill factor. The atmosphere is outstanding, and no matter who wins you can join the on-campus celebration. 

Like many things in sports, the genesis of the "Rock Chalk" chant comes from a...science club? Yes, "nerds" started one of the most chills-inducing rally cries in all of sports. To be in "Phog" Allen Fieldhouse (which is a bucket list item in and of itself) when the fans go into that eerie slow chant of "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KUUUUUUU" gives you all the feels even if you aren't a Kansas fan. 

The Palestra in Philadelphia is nicknamed "The Cathedral of College Basketball." Not only does this place ooze in hoops history but also, the seating gives it the feel of a high school gym with the bleachers reaching the floor. No arena has hosted more college basketball games or more NCAA Tournament games. Currently it is Penn's home floor, but it also hosts many of the Big Five games during the season. One of college hoops' best traditions is Philly's top five college programs facing off during the year. LaSalle, Penn, St. Joseph's, Temple and Villanova will play some of their round-robin matchups at the Palestra, and getting a seat to see it is magical. Even if you're not a Philly person, you'll get caught up in the city's pride.

Another Ivy League home court, but this one is different than pretty much every gym in the nation. The exterior is quite a designing marvel, as it looks like three separate buildings ran into each other with different roofing throughout. Where the basketball court is, in the multipurpose building, the roof curves down right to the floor behind the basket, giving it a unique view for players as they shoot. Meanwhile, the main seating is on one sideline with the other sideline consisting of an indoor track. Its odd setup makes crowd noise difficult to generate, but the Tigers seem to have a great home-court advantage. Plus you will get to sit among the smartest people you'll ever come across. 

There are many great holiday tournaments around Thanksgiving, but the Maui Invitational may be the best. It typically features one of the best lineups, and, hey, it's in Hawaii, man! As a fan, there are all kinds of events leading up to the tournament, and you are bound to bump into players and coaches of the schools involved. Even though the event features big schools, Lahaina Civic Center has only 2,400 seats. So if you are lucky enough to get into the Invitational, you will be up close to the action and able to see all those colors on the coaches' Hawaiian shirts pop. 

I get it: This isn't for everyone. There are fans out there who believe they are above doing this and, yes, there are programs that should never rush the floor. (Here's looking at the Kentuckys, Dukes, North Carolinas, UCLAs and more of the world.) There are also fans who do this when it isn't warranted. But there are times when it is the right thing to do. If Providence topples No. 1 Villanova? Go ahead and rush that court. Ole Miss hits a buzzer-beater to beat Kentucky? Rush the floor. The best ones happen organically when the magnitude of the moment causes the fans and the team to want to celebrate together. Don't go down there to confront the opponent, though. Just go there to celebrate one of the best moments in your school's history. 

New Mexico's Dreamstyle Arena...more affectionately called "The Pit"...is one of the loudest places in sports. The playing surface is nearly 40 feet below street level, giving it a unique atmosphere that is fun for the crowd and a huge advantage for the Lobos. The Pit has hosted the NCAA Tournament 10 separate times (including the 1983 Final Four), and you rarely see any empty seats when the Lobos play. New Mexico is a great college hoops state, and the fans make The Pit one of the loudest places to watch a sporting event. The arena is over 50 years old and has gone through a couple of renovations, but the style and atmosphere remain after all those years.

I know that Army-Navy basketball is nowhere near the experience that their football counterpart is. But that doesn't mean some of the things that make the pigskin contest so special doesn't carry over to the hardwood — true student-athletes fiercely competing against their rivals even though they ultimately play for the same team. Navy hasn't had a player drafted since 1999 (Army's last one was in 1978) but what it lacks in next-level talent it makes up for in its love for the game.

Assembly Hall is one of the best venues to watch a college basketball game. The stands are steep, giving fans the feel of being right on top of you and making the atmosphere loud when the Hoosiers get rolling. But if you think it's loud during the game, add into the fact that at the under-eight minute timeout, the band rocks the "William Tell Overture" while cheerleaders haul out flags that spell INDIANA HOOSIERS. Then the Indiana fight song blares just before play resumes. 

College basketball is filled with great fans from coast to coast, but one of the most unique pieces of fandom is the "Curtain of Distraction" at Arizona State. It is a mobile curtain that opens during an opposing team's free throws to unleash a skit designed to distract the shooter. You could have clowns or aliens released from the curtain, a man having mayonnaise rubbed on his body or two gorillas fighting over a banana. Not only is it hilarious, but it also has become a celebrity itself. Michael Phelps, Charlie Day and Diamondbacks' pitcher Archie Bradley have been part of the fun. Not only is it a blast, but it also works. Statistics have shown that opponents have shot a poorer percentage from the line since the curtain made its debut a few years ago.  

Butler's home arena, Hinkle Fieldhouse, is 90 years old and may be best known as the court used in the movie "Hoosiers." But it still serves as one of the best venues to watch a college hoops game. Not only was the movie filmed there, but also the team it was loosely based on (Milan High School) actually won its state championship there in 1954. It is one of the few places that contains the charm of basketball's roots with the trappings of modern hoops. It helps that Butler has had on-court success over the last decade and is now a member of the Big East. That adds to the allure of watching a game there. 

This NAIA school has one of the most unique traditions in sports. For the first home game of every season, the fans throw rolls of toilet paper after the Golden Eagles score their first basket of the season. Not just a few rolls...but thousands of rolls of bathroom tissue. The practice earns the home team a technical foul every time, but it is a small price to pay for a great time and a legendary tradition. And the practice continues to be embraced by the school despite the technical foul and the fact that players, cheerleaders and fans will spend five to 10 minutes cleaning up the mess so the game can continue. 

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame doesn't just honor college players — it also honors professional and amateur hoopsters from all over the globe. Having said that, there are a lot of great college basketball exhibits, as well as players and coaches who have been inducted. Typically the credentials of the players in the Hall link their college and pro careers, but most of the coaches in there had success on only one of the levels. So you can see displays that celebrate coaches like Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, John Wooden, Henry Iba, Mike Krzyzewski and many more. The Hall also honors college players yearly for position awards (Cousy, West, Erving, Malone and Abdul-Jabbar). 

The architecture of Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium makes it a must for a die-hard college basketball fan to experience. As you may know, the court is above some of the seating, so the sight lines are different than in most arenas. So are the teams' benches, which are under the basket at either end of the court instead of on the sideline. (Coaches can go up the sideline now, though.) There are low ceilings in the second deck, and it isn't the typical bowl-shaped arena — it's almost like being in four different movie theaters, watching the same movie at different angles. Coaches hate it and it throws off players, so it gives the Commodores a home-court advantage unlike at any other school. It is a unique way to watch a hoops game. 

The CIAA is the oldest African-American conference in the United States, and its basketball tournament is one of the best events of the college hoops season. The tournament in Charlotte brings with it concerts, parties all week and lots of celebrities to rub elbows with. The city embraces the event, as it pumps millions of dollars into the local economy and Charlotte donates money toward scholarships for member universities. As a fan, it is a week chock full of fun and great basketball. It's such a spectacle that it's the only Division II conference to have its tournament televised during ESPN's Championship Week. 

Senior nights are always special no matter the sport, but basketball's version is the best. There are usually three to five players being honored, and with the close proximity that college hoops provides, it is a more intimate affair. There are tears shed, speeches made, jerseys hung and parents grinning. It is a special night no matter where it is and usually an emotional one for all involved. The pride that a student-athlete's parents and coaches have as they see them end their home college careers is palpable, and to be in an arena during that ceremony is touching and memorable.

No, the Big East tournament isn't what it once was, but it still is one of the best conference tournaments around, not least of all because of the setting. Madison Square Garden holds a special place in basketball lore, and when the lights are on for the Big East tournament you know anything can happen. Sure, gone are the 1980s when colorful coaches manned the sidelines, and a lot of the buzz left when the Big East broke up earlier this decade. But the tournament still holds an amazing history and an allure that most of the others just can't drum up. 

The ACC tournament has been around since 1954 and is the only tournament that names its winner as the conference champion. That has led to some outstanding tournaments and games over the years. It is also unique in that the event is usually held in a smaller town like Greensboro instead of a major city — though it has moved to Washington, D.C. and Brooklyn in recent years. With the current alignment, the ACC is packed with major programs, great coaches and top-level talent. With schools like Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame and NC State, some of the biggest programs of all time are competing at the same place over a five-day span. 

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is one of the best times in sports. Everyone's brackets are turned in, and the hopes of 64 teams (by then) are at their highest. If you are into putting a little money on the games, there's nowhere better to be than Las Vegas. There, brackets are replaced by individual bets and a swell of people taking in all the games for all kinds of monetary reasons. Even if you don't like to bet on sports, just being in those sports-books while all this action is going on is surreal. Until last year, we all knew that the No. 1 seed was going to beat the No. 16 seed. But in Vegas, it matters by how much. Sure, Saturdays and Sundays during football season can feel similar, but in this massive tournament there is a quick turnaround with 18- to 22-year-olds. Plus, in Vegas you have games from 9 a.m. until about 10 p.m. so it's an all-day thing with plenty of time to have some late-night fun.

Sure, the First Four may not seem like the best part of the NCAA Tournament, but it is extremely underrated. The two-night event has four total games with all evenly matched contests. There is one game featuring two No. 16 seeds, which means you have feisty squads that are on a bit of a roll to get into the tournament. With Virginia's embarrassing loss in last year's tournament, you can no longer feel that the winners of those 16-seeded games will be fodder for some major program in two days. Then you get four bubble teams that are capable of beating (or losing) to anyone. It isn't just the games that make the event, though, as the University of Dayton Arena is one of the best venues to watch a college hoops game. Add in the host city's support and love for the First Four, and you have not only a great place to watch a game but also a nice, friendly town to stay in for a couple of nights.

Hitting up a Final Four is a must for college basketball fans. We'll get to the games in a second. But first, the host city has many events held either downtown or near the arena. There are exhibits and parties, and everyone who is anyone in college basketball is there.  (Personal story: I ran into Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Maryland's Gary Williams eating in a Subway restaurant when the Final Four was held in my hometown of Charlotte in 1994.) Plus there is the electricity of the four schools' fan bases at one site celebrating their teams. Sure, getting great tickets to the Final Four is harder since the event is played in football stadiums with 70,000 seats. But it's an event that is larger than the actual games being played. It is so fun just being part of the spectacle.

If you decide to attend the First Four, Final Four or any of the 67 NCAA Tournament games, what better way to remember your experience than by somehow making it on CBS' "One Shining Moment" montage. I know that what happens on the floor with the players takes precedence, and the band and cheerleaders get a good amount of run during the video. But fans can make it with a little luck and a whole lot of cheering. Maybe a great sign, an awesome war face or a comical expression could do the trick and get you included. If you do the impossible and become part of the video, you can YouTube that year's song whenever you want to. 

The women's game is more popular than ever even despite the perception that UConn's dominance has been bad for the sport. Even though the Huskies rarely lose, that hasn't meant a thing once we get to the Final Four. For the last two years, UConn went undefeated during the regular season but went down in thrilling fashion in the national semifinals. Last year's Final Four saw both semis go to overtime and the national championship won on Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale hitting a three with less than a second remaining. The previous year, Mississippi State beat UConn at the buzzer to end the Huskies' 111-game winning streak. But this event is more than a UConn thing — there is great basketball being played. Last year, all No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four, and those teams didn't disappoint. The crowds are raucous, and the players give championship efforts.

We've mentioned several arenas on this list that are "must see" due to architectural designs, age or fan excitement. The truth is there are dozens of arenas that any college hoops fan needs to hit up to experience the roots of the sport. Aside from the eight we've listed thus far, you should sit among the frenzied fans at Kentucky's Rupp Arena. Go sit in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill and marvel at all the banners hanging in the rafters. Gallagher-Iba Arena, the Carrier Dome, Pauley Pavilion, Crisler Center, Bud Walton Arena and BYU's Marriott Center are among the heavyweight venues one must see in person. However, don't forget those smaller conference sites that have interesting quirks (like the Cal State Northridge Matadome, which is in a kinesiology building and has a gray court.) There are all kinds of reasons to make an effort to watch games in various buildings throughout the season, and it can be really entertaining even if you don't have a rooting interest.