30 toughest college basketball arenas to play in
18. Purcell Pavilion (Notre Dame Fighting Irish)
The Purcell Pavilion has been the home for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball team for almost 50 years at this point, which alone makes the arena seem like a tough place to play as it’s stood for so long. However, the reasons that Purcell Pavilion is in the top-20 of these rankings goes beyond the simple fact that it’s an old building that this team has been playing for quite a while.
Because the building has been around so long, some of college basketball’s greats have passed through those doors donning the Irish uniform. Most notably, there are guys like Austin Carr and Adrian Dantley who played for Notre Dame, but there are others like Troy Murphy and Luke Harangody who carry some weight in the college basketball world. Playing on the same court as some of those players isn’t something that escapes visiting players and is something that can add pressure.
Though their student section isn’t particularly famous, Fighting Irish fans have no problem filling the arena and making it a discombobulating environment with the type of noise that you’d expect from fans of a big program like Notre Dame. It’s not a perfect arena in South Bend and certainly doesn’t hold the weight of their football stadium, but don’t sleep on Purcell Pavilion and just how tough it is for teams who visit to play there.
Next: No. 17 Hinkle Fieldhouse