3. Chaiffetz Center (Saint Louis). Second only to UD in having the feel of an arena, and always on fire when the Flyers come to town.
4. Reilly Center (St. Bonaventure). Olean, N.Y. is hardly a garden spot, but the campus gym is a great college basketball venue, and tough for visitors. In 2014 in a tight game, Dyshawn Pierre had to inbound the ball in the student section, not near it, but IN it. A security guard tried to create some space, but he still had to pass the ball with hands waving all around him.
5. Belk Arena (Davidson). I have only been there once, and the Flyers ran into a buzz saw. The swim team showed up wearing just their Speedos in attempt to distract Dayton at the free throw line. Flyers are capable of missing foul shots on the road without any help.
6. Robbins Center (Richmond). When the Spiders play well, it can get loud. It loses points for the fan in their premium seating putting his soda next to my radio gear, making me nervous that he might spill it and knock us off the air.
7. Eagle Bank Arena (George Mason). A decent facility, although nothing special. It gets high marks for have the SECOND best pep band in the A-10.
8. Hagan Arena (Saint Joseph's). A remodel moves this from the bottom to the middle of the pack. Before the changes press row was so close to the court that an official once asked me to move my feet so a player could take the ball out of bounds. Rickety floor would vibrate when players ran by, knocking the power cord for our radio gear out of the outlet.
9. Ryan Center (Rhode Island). Nothing wrong with the building. I just don't like broadcasting Dayton losses.
10. Mullins Center (UMass). Dayton played its first A-10 game ever there, when the Minutemen were No. 1 in the nation. With 10,000 plus in the seats it was a big-time atmosphere. Now with around 2,500, not so much.
11. Smith Center (GW). Who needs a press row? Since joining the league, we have broadcast from seven different locations, including the spot where the infamous sixth man on the court tried to hide in 2009. I just hope next time we go there I have an unobstructed view of the floor.
12. Palumbo Center (Duquesne). Best asset is that Dayton fans usually outnumber those of the Dukes.
13. Rose Hill Gym (Fordham). It's the oldest facility in Division I basketball. It looks like it. It feels like it.
14. Tom Gola Arena (LaSalle). Beyond the fact that Dayton inexplicably has trouble winning there, most high schools in the Miami Valley have better gyms. Located on the third floor of a multi-purpose facility sometimes the chlorine smell from the pool and the second floor wafts through the gym, helping create that feeling you are at a rec league game at the YMCA.
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