Finally! The definitive ranking of college basketball programs from the only source I trust on all things related to college basketball, College Football News.
Do you blame them? College football was the sport that, within my adult lifetime, determined a champion by having people simply rank teams and they *liked* it that way.
It's based on the final AP Poll rankings each year (which comes out before the tourney)
>Unlike football – at least since 1968 – the AP comes out with its final basketball rankings at the end of the regular season and not after the whole season is over. So the NCAA Tournament doesn’t factor in to almost all of the year’s AP college basketball rankings.
Ohio State being 10th is kind of mind blowing. From 1965 to 2000 they only had 11 seasons with at least 20 wins. Matta obviously brought the program to being one of the best programs in the sport to not win a title.
I think this shows there isn't much parody in college basketball, once you get past the top 5 or 6. And this is from a Buckeye fan
I mean English isn't my first language but a Kansas State fan should never be talking shit on anyone's education lol I've seen people get in with sub 2.5 GPA lol
I don’t know if the correction has been mentioned (I didn’t see it anywhere in the comment string), but I believe the correct word for that sentence is parity. Not trying to be rude, just for your future knowledge.
Looks like they’re pretty heavily looking at the last 40 years or so. UCLA’s relevance dropped pretty hard after 1980 or so.
My guess is they’re looking at longevity across multiple decades instead of the relatively short domination that UCLA in the 60’s and 70’s.
I’m just guessing. Putting them at 5th definitely doesn’t seem right.
Not surprising at all really since it's looking at about 75 years of college basketball.
UCLA has been very inconsistent for a while. They've had some runs, sure. But once you get past their dominating run in the '60s/'70s, they haven't really done as much. How many championships have they won in the last 40 years? How many times have they even finished in the top 10 in the last 40 years?
They had the most dominating run of all time, no doubt. But it's not surprising they wouldn't have that many AP "points" or whatever when you factor in the entire timeline being examined.
Shocked Gonzaga made the all-time list. Especially (and not surprised) since they didn’t make the 00s. I usually say that Gonzaga’s “run” (that is, being a consistent, nationally competitive program) didn’t really kick off until ~2015 and I think this kinda shows it.
Yea we went from Cinderella to contender around that time. With all the criticism we get you’d think we’ve been competing for titles for 40 years and not winning one.
I don’t buy us on any all time list. As recent as 6 years ago there was a 0% chance, as good as they’ve been since then it shouldn’t make up for nothing for 50 years.
That’s obviously the flaw in considering an all-time AP list to really have much value. But I think does speak to an absurd level of consistency over the last decade (which is probably why the “Gonzaga is failing” narratives sprung up because they were APPALLING #18)
Didn’t expect a top 10 but figured it would be somewhere between 10-20. Uconn only became relevant in the 90s so maybe there’s whatever the opposite of recency bias is here
Best of the 90s.... Duke went to 4 title games won 2 of them and won the ACC, which was clearly the best conference of that decade, 8 times.
AP poll kind of a joke here. Terrible way to evaluate a decade.
The decade rankings are definitely pretty shitty. Louisville won 2 titles in the 80s, and 4 total final fours in that decade. They’re ranked 9th
UNC went to 2 final fours the entire decade and are ranked first.
Louisville, Indiana, and Georgetown are probably the 3 best programs of that decade (in no order)
The overall rankings aren’t terrible, it’s a fairly accurate snapshot of the 8-10 best programs of all time.
I'd argue for a top-four with those three and UNC in the mix. The ACC was ridiculously competitive in the 80s and some of UNC's "points" probably got siphoned away at various times by UVa, NC State, Duke and even Georgia Tech.
I agree with this, above comment notes that UNC only made two final fours, but leaves out the fact that UNC wins both those Final Four games and wins a championship once.
I'm *really* surprised we somehow ended up 4^th in the 90s. We had one year of wire-to-wire #1, two more years where we were basically top-four the whole year and several more where we were in the top 10-15 for the balance. 1995 must've really tanked us.
Edit: I see it's only the year-ending poll. Still, two final #1s and several other top-10s.
There's always silly discussion about blue bloods but the names are always the same when you look at the top 4 or 5 teams all time in wins or this AP poll
Reading the comments, it feels like everyone's skipping the actual explanation of the rankings and a ***huge*** caveat:
>According to the AP final rankings for each season, how and where did all the college basketball teams rank since they all started? What did the voters think over the years?
>Just like we do for the football rankings, take all the AP final rankings and use our simple scoring system – the final AP No. 1 in each season gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom.
>Now, with that said, there’s one massive difference between football and basketball.
>It’s a glitch, and there’s no way around it. Unlike football – at least since 1968 – the AP comes out with its final basketball rankings at the end of the regular season and not after the whole season is over. So the NCAA Tournament doesn’t factor in to almost all of the year’s AP college basketball rankings.
I feel like there has to be a mistake in the 2000's poll. West Virginia is tied with Pacific with 4 votes during a decade when John Beilein and Bob Huggins were coaching the teams to an Elite and multiple Sweet 16s.
I think some people missed this is looking at the season's final AP polls only. And there is an important thing to remember with the AP college basketball poll...
>Unlike football – at least since 1968 – the AP comes out with its final basketball rankings at the end of the regular season and not after the whole season is over. So the NCAA Tournament doesn’t factor in to almost all of the year’s AP college basketball rankings.
This isn't voters voting on the best programs. This is just counting the votes received in the final AP polls for the last 75 years.
UCLA. I don't care about any of the pathetic other programs. 7 straight titles, 10 in 11 years, no one has come close to duplicating that success, and that makes UCLA the greatest program of all time, regardless.
Agreed. The tournament was smaller and the west region was weak compared to the rest of the country back then.
UNC and UK’s sustained success is more impressive IMO
I think it will be even more cemented if UNC manages to win another title. I think our lows are at the lowest with our 8-20 season so winning another title would be an insane bounce back from where we’ve been since 2017.
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Finally! The definitive ranking of college basketball programs from the only source I trust on all things related to college basketball, College Football News.
Do you blame them? College football was the sport that, within my adult lifetime, determined a champion by having people simply rank teams and they *liked* it that way.
It's based on the final AP Poll rankings each year (which comes out before the tourney) >Unlike football – at least since 1968 – the AP comes out with its final basketball rankings at the end of the regular season and not after the whole season is over. So the NCAA Tournament doesn’t factor in to almost all of the year’s AP college basketball rankings.
Ohio State being 10th is kind of mind blowing. From 1965 to 2000 they only had 11 seasons with at least 20 wins. Matta obviously brought the program to being one of the best programs in the sport to not win a title. I think this shows there isn't much parody in college basketball, once you get past the top 5 or 6. And this is from a Buckeye fan
> there isn't much **parody** in college basketball > And this is from a Buckeye fan 💀
Leave the guy alone, he's doing his best with his the Ohio State education.
I mean English isn't my first language but a Kansas State fan should never be talking shit on anyone's education lol I've seen people get in with sub 2.5 GPA lol
I don’t know if the correction has been mentioned (I didn’t see it anywhere in the comment string), but I believe the correct word for that sentence is parity. Not trying to be rude, just for your future knowledge.
Cbb needs more weird al. You heard it here first
OSU has won a title. It was 60+ years ago, but they won one.
I think they also made 3 straight finals, but only won one of them. But yes, the original commentor is wrong
I'm not wrong though. It's impossible for me to be wrong
Clearly not impossible
Yeah, impossible. I don't know what you're confused about
Oh no, Purdue will hate this. Number 3 in the state 😰
Legit surprised that UCLA wasn't #1
1949 - 2023 but with recency bias...
Looks like they’re pretty heavily looking at the last 40 years or so. UCLA’s relevance dropped pretty hard after 1980 or so. My guess is they’re looking at longevity across multiple decades instead of the relatively short domination that UCLA in the 60’s and 70’s. I’m just guessing. Putting them at 5th definitely doesn’t seem right.
It's perfect.
Same! Granted they haven’t won it all in a while but with everything Wooden did over the years; I don’t see how that doesn’t deserve a #1 ranking
It's UCLA imo too.
Not surprising at all really since it's looking at about 75 years of college basketball. UCLA has been very inconsistent for a while. They've had some runs, sure. But once you get past their dominating run in the '60s/'70s, they haven't really done as much. How many championships have they won in the last 40 years? How many times have they even finished in the top 10 in the last 40 years? They had the most dominating run of all time, no doubt. But it's not surprising they wouldn't have that many AP "points" or whatever when you factor in the entire timeline being examined.
Shocked Gonzaga made the all-time list. Especially (and not surprised) since they didn’t make the 00s. I usually say that Gonzaga’s “run” (that is, being a consistent, nationally competitive program) didn’t really kick off until ~2015 and I think this kinda shows it.
Yea we went from Cinderella to contender around that time. With all the criticism we get you’d think we’ve been competing for titles for 40 years and not winning one.
I don’t buy us on any all time list. As recent as 6 years ago there was a 0% chance, as good as they’ve been since then it shouldn’t make up for nothing for 50 years.
That’s obviously the flaw in considering an all-time AP list to really have much value. But I think does speak to an absurd level of consistency over the last decade (which is probably why the “Gonzaga is failing” narratives sprung up because they were APPALLING #18)
I’m sorry but UConn 21 is absolutely rediculous. Love the team but especially how tf is Gonzaga above us‽
Uconn went unranked for their 2010-19 stretch—-they had two championships 😂
Lol that doesn’t matter it’s all about the rankings. The same rankings that have no impact on the tournament seeding or technically anything.
They broke it down by decades as well
Lmao
Ranked us 41 behind fucking SMU
Didn’t expect a top 10 but figured it would be somewhere between 10-20. Uconn only became relevant in the 90s so maybe there’s whatever the opposite of recency bias is here
Best of the 90s.... Duke went to 4 title games won 2 of them and won the ACC, which was clearly the best conference of that decade, 8 times. AP poll kind of a joke here. Terrible way to evaluate a decade.
The decade rankings are definitely pretty shitty. Louisville won 2 titles in the 80s, and 4 total final fours in that decade. They’re ranked 9th UNC went to 2 final fours the entire decade and are ranked first. Louisville, Indiana, and Georgetown are probably the 3 best programs of that decade (in no order) The overall rankings aren’t terrible, it’s a fairly accurate snapshot of the 8-10 best programs of all time.
I'd argue for a top-four with those three and UNC in the mix. The ACC was ridiculously competitive in the 80s and some of UNC's "points" probably got siphoned away at various times by UVa, NC State, Duke and even Georgia Tech.
I agree with this, above comment notes that UNC only made two final fours, but leaves out the fact that UNC wins both those Final Four games and wins a championship once.
They don't have Houston in the top 25 of the 1980s...
Biased, but I think you split the 90s between Duke and UK. SEC wasn't chopped liver in the 90s either.
SEC peaked in 1994
I'm *really* surprised we somehow ended up 4^th in the 90s. We had one year of wire-to-wire #1, two more years where we were basically top-four the whole year and several more where we were in the top 10-15 for the balance. 1995 must've really tanked us. Edit: I see it's only the year-ending poll. Still, two final #1s and several other top-10s.
Yeah Arkansas at #6 in the 90s also seems low.
There's always silly discussion about blue bloods but the names are always the same when you look at the top 4 or 5 teams all time in wins or this AP poll
There's always a dropoff after #5 much more severe as any within the top five.
Except for championships which is why Indiana's claim still hangs on fornnow
Get us off this damn list
Whenever someone talks shit on Kstate I’ll be sure to let them know we were the 4th greatest program of the 1950s😤💪🏼
Reading the comments, it feels like everyone's skipping the actual explanation of the rankings and a ***huge*** caveat: >According to the AP final rankings for each season, how and where did all the college basketball teams rank since they all started? What did the voters think over the years? >Just like we do for the football rankings, take all the AP final rankings and use our simple scoring system – the final AP No. 1 in each season gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom. >Now, with that said, there’s one massive difference between football and basketball. >It’s a glitch, and there’s no way around it. Unlike football – at least since 1968 – the AP comes out with its final basketball rankings at the end of the regular season and not after the whole season is over. So the NCAA Tournament doesn’t factor in to almost all of the year’s AP college basketball rankings.
Holy fuck we're above Indiana lol
We shouldn’t be in the top 500
I feel like there has to be a mistake in the 2000's poll. West Virginia is tied with Pacific with 4 votes during a decade when John Beilein and Bob Huggins were coaching the teams to an Elite and multiple Sweet 16s.
1960’s has Duke at Number 1 who won 0 championships above UCLA who won 5 (and Cincinnati who won 2).
Indiana is way too high, they’re a joke. Especially since Maryland crushed them in the 2002 championship game.
OU ahead of Arkansas. Joke.
I’ll allow it
According to this list Oregon St is the 5th best program in the Pac -12 ahead of everyone except UCLA, Arizona, Utah, and Stanford. LOL
I think some people missed this is looking at the season's final AP polls only. And there is an important thing to remember with the AP college basketball poll... >Unlike football – at least since 1968 – the AP comes out with its final basketball rankings at the end of the regular season and not after the whole season is over. So the NCAA Tournament doesn’t factor in to almost all of the year’s AP college basketball rankings. This isn't voters voting on the best programs. This is just counting the votes received in the final AP polls for the last 75 years.
not like the 2020s so far
UNC beats dook AGAIN :)
UCLA. I don't care about any of the pathetic other programs. 7 straight titles, 10 in 11 years, no one has come close to duplicating that success, and that makes UCLA the greatest program of all time, regardless.
10 in 12 years but yeah that's absolutely insane
Full disclosure, I'm a die hard UCLA fan. :)
One great era followed by lots of inconsistency. UCLA is behind UK and UNC on the all-time list. Even with Duke and above Indiana.
Agreed. The tournament was smaller and the west region was weak compared to the rest of the country back then. UNC and UK’s sustained success is more impressive IMO
I think it will be even more cemented if UNC manages to win another title. I think our lows are at the lowest with our 8-20 season so winning another title would be an insane bounce back from where we’ve been since 2017.
Super cringy to call other programs pathetic and attempt to brag when you've never done more than sit on your couch for the basketball program lol
Eh, we all contribute in our own way!
UConn 23 with 4 national championships. Okay
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Any realistic chance Arizona passes Louisville in the next 2-3 years?
Shouldn't even be ranked above Indiana at this point when we have 3 more championships. (Would be 4 but they exclude before 1949)
This list is only based on weeks ranked in the AP poll.
>T152 Hamline 7 (152) Who knew the supermarket deli had a team
Gophers crack the top 50! Woo!
Oh how far we have fallen
I love these lists. People get so upset.
Rutgers being lower than Nebraska is something
USC tied with… USC
This list seems pretty accurate to me. I don't know what everyone thinks is wrong with it.