I always went to northern schools so my perception is probably skewed. Played intramurals in grad school with someone who went to Minnesota. I've just never gone anywhere that basketball was a particularly big deal (and was never into it myself). Hockey was the thing for my grad school crowds. But obviously college basketball is a big deal more broadly. Final four and all that.
6 of the 64 schools with Div I NCAA hockey teams are located in my state, and 5 of them are small state or private schools. Massachusetts has 10, New York has 11, Michigan has 7.
Over half of the Div I hockey teams are in the four states mentioned above.
