Top Five College Basketball Programs

I like Duke. Coach K has been running Duke Basketball flawlessly for more than thirty years and has been personally selected to defend the honor of United States Basketball in more than one occasion. He conducts interviews, after a win or a lost, with the same gentleman's dignity.

Personally, I feel that his greatest accomplishment to date is the fact that he has been able to remain friends with that sociopath, Bobby Knight for all these years.

KENTUCKY HAS SHOWN THAT THEY ARE ALWAYS A NATIONAL POWERHOUSE , EVERY YEAR. THEY DESERVE NO.1

let me correct myself. i meant unc is the only program to play for a ncca title in every decade since the 1940's.no other program can hang their hat on that consistency.they also have 4 coaches in the naismith hall of fame based on what they accomplished at unc. kentucky has some shortcomings to be #1 on this list which include: having a dreadful head to head record vs dean smith and a losing record to unc. 1 f4 in the 1980s and 1 in the 2000s.kentucky was #1 around the new century but lost that to unc since williams established unc again.

i disagree with you on kansas.

MY TOP 5

1 UNC

2 KENTUCKY

3 DUKE

4 KANSAS

5 UCLA

6 INDIANA

unc only team toappear in ncaa title game since there even was an ncaa tourney. 18 f4s and no academic problems t all their hall of fame coaches and players. nuff said

Sorry, but UK is the obvious choice for best all time program.

1. Most all time victories

2. 2nd most championships

3. Most tourney appearences

4. More coaches with a championship than any other school (shows how good the program as a whole is rather than the dominance of one coach *cough* UCLA *cough*)

5. Best win to loss ratio than any other school

6. More sweet sixteens and elite eights than any other school

'Nuff Said

Awesome basketball analysis as usual Mike. As a diehard Heels fan, let me just say I couldn't agree more with your list. HA!! I wish Puke wasn't on that list. Don't get me wrong, I know they belong. I just wish they didn't. Keep up the great work.

Great hub and yeah unfortunately Georgetown fell apart by the end of the season with the loss of Chris Wright and he wasn't enough when they went up against VCU in the first round.

Georgetown amd Connecticut are certainly making uup ground.

Just a quick question about Indiana, do you believe Indiana is on their way back under Tom Crean?

UNLV!!!! My Runnin Rebs!!! good article Mike, to bad the rebels didn't make your top ten though

Not even a blip in passing about Maryland?

Duke may be moving up the list. They are 12-0, ranked #1, Coach K passed Dean Smith tonight and is now 2nd in all time wins with 880. He may catch Bob Knight this year if the Blue Devils have an amazing season. You can tell by my hubs that I am a big Duke fan so I do appreciate everyone else's passion for all of these great programs.

What about Texas?

I voted for the Tarheels because of their successes in my "watching" lifetime. I hated hem when McQuire coached the Gamecocks. The Cocks were the best but Roche went down with injuries. NC had the "four corners" mess that was designed by lawyers I think!

I voted for Duke!

Where is St. Johns University. They were at one time fourth in all-time victories. Then they got placed on probatiion for recruiting violations and the program has since badly deteriorated. Where do they now rank among the wiiningest teams in terms of victories? Are they still in the top five?

There is no way that they can be left off a list of the top teams of all time.

No problem Mike .

To emphasize my point even more , i was reading an article on ESPN.com about Arizona not making the tournament .

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/po...

"Arizona saw its 25-year streak of NCAA tournament appearances snapped when it lost in the opening round of the Pac-10 tournament against UCLA.

The 16-15 Wildcats are now staying home for sure after not even getting selected to play in the NIT and declining an invitation to play in the CBI.

"That’s really not what our program is about right now," first-year Arizona coach Sean Miller told reporters of the CBI. " The goal here is to make the NCAA Tournament and be in a position for a seed that can advance and can threaten for the Final Four.""

Declining the CBI , pretty sure they wouldn't have wanted to play in the NIT as well . See what the coach says about the program's goal being to GET TO THE FINAL FOUR . That is not cinci's goal . Cinci's goal is to make the tournament , period , and if they do , even if they are a 16th seed , oh yes they will party all summer like theres no tomorrow . (lol)

The fact is chris , nobody expects anything out of Cincinnati . The media expects great things every year by UNC. This year they don't make the tournament and the web is spammed by articles about them . What a shocker . Do you see any article about cincinnati ? That's how you measure a powerhouse . If , EVEN AFTER WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP , the medias and FANS are SCREAMING AT YOU for being on a down year , you know its because it doesn't happen often , and you know its because they expect perpetual excellence from you year in year out .

Who expects anything out of Cincinnati ? I don't want to hear about cinci topping Michigan State ever again . Izzo has done more in 10 years in the NCAA than cinci in 100 . Heck , MSU had more success LAST YEAR than in cinci's last 30 years .

I don't care about final fours . Ohio state tops Cinci in final fours . Do you see them on that list ? No . Syracuse has 4 final fours only . But , on the other hand , they haven't had a losing season in 40 years . They have 40 20 wins + seasons (active streak of 13 straight) . They've been in 5 championships , and have won 3 (2 in the 1910's-20's which are not counted because they were before the tournament era). They are neck to neck in Big East Tournament Championships with Georgetown and these 2 teams have matched for memorable games . They have national prominence . They attract big stars . They have a recent championship in 03 , and they're in place to PERHAPS compete in another one this year or in the upcoming years . People talk about Coach K , but Boeheim has done an INCREDIBLE job of consistancy with Syracuse . They have an impressive history of getting SNUBBED by the NCAA Tournament committee . Won the conference in 1980 and had to settle for the NIT (and many more times they have been snubbed) .

Anyways , that is all . Cinci is not close to that history and dominance . Not a lot of teams are . But even then , they get overlooked most of the time . If 'cuse gets overlooked , imagine what people think about cincinnati !

Cincinnati ... what are you talking about . 5 of their 6 final fours come in the 60's and both of their titles as well . How is that all time consistancy ? At that time , Holy Cross, Loyola and La Salle were "contenders" . lol .

Oh sure they had a couple of 25 win seasons in late 90's early 2000's , but who never had that in their history ? Not good enough to be on the all time list .

If you'd put every team with back to back titles and a short "reign" , florida , UNLV , oklahoma state , san francisco and a few more flukes would be on that list (including cinci) .

None of these teams can even COMPARE to the greats .

And even though Arizona is not making the tournament this year , you know they're gonna bounce back eventually . Arizona is a basketball/baseball state. Cincinnati is far from them in every sport . And i really don't think they're ever gonna bounce back , the big east is too strong for them . They will never be able to outclass that division and i really don't think they'll even come close to a final four in the next 40 YEARS .

And lets face it , recent success will always outclass past success . That's just the way it goes . Why ? Because the rules have changed , and its more difficult to judge a good team back then because of the rules and seeding. If you didn't WIN your conference , you couldn't have a shot at anything . NC State went like 77-1 in 2 years in the 70's and the first year they couldn't even make the tournament because of the seeding . Plus , the NIT had more power than the NCAA tournament , now its the opposite , and all teams who won the NIT back then are not even considered . Also , it was still the early years and conferences weren't for the most part what they are today . The ACC teams were in the SEC , they split in half because of the unfairness of their FOOTBALL dominance (that's right , the ACC is a primary football conference ) and because they had too many members .

Cincinnati won at a time of extreme unbalance . Teams were not established on the big scene , conferences were in process . The league was not half as important as it is today . The players were mostly white because of racism . It was not the same game , at all .

Prove to me that cincinnati can win now that the dominance has been set in , now that the conferences have been built and now that EVERY player in the country , no matter the color , have a chance at playing . Its far harder to win the tournament now that it has ever been . More and more teams are given a shot in , and its hard for any team to win every tournament game in hunt of the title . Heck , they're talking about expanding the tournament to 94 teams .

Im telling you , Cincinnati has no weight on that balance , not anymore . They have nothing to attract the best players in the country . Players want to win , not be a part of a team that won 50 years ago . Good luck to cinci , but in my eyes , they will be at the bottom of the big east for the next century . And no , i don't hate them . Im just realistic . Same deal with NC State .

These teams wont ever see the light again , they've been burried with the expasion of the sport and they wont be able to de-throne the cities who LIVE AND DIE for college basketball .

consistency. what are you talking about. they didn't do anything before lute olson and the 80's. im not saying that arizona hasn't had some good recent years with a good coach. but lute is all that arizona has ever had and this year is great proof of that. Cincinnati has had much success with many coaches and many eras. where as arizonas success is only recently. and arkansas WTF. no way the deserve to even be in the same region as uconn and Cincinnati

actually michigan state is legit. but Cincinnati needs to replace arizona on this list. Cincinnati has 6 final fours. arizona has 4.Cincinnati has more national titles. and look at arizona this year. their in the pac 10 the worst conference in the country and they still cant do anything

where is Cincinnati on this. i fell they are way better than michigan state with more history. yet they are not even mentioned by anyone here. 2 national championships. 6 final fours. 10 conference tournament championships. somebody please show the bearcats the respect they deserve. they have hit lower times right now because there in the big east the toughest conference in the country

id really like to know how you have UCLA at #4 when they almost triple kansas in championships , more than double north carolina and has 4 over kentucky .

they at least have 20 years on UCLA so to count wins as a "edge" is ridic .

it would take 30 years for any other significant program to have a CHANCE of tieing them assuming they don't win another one . franctly , i don't see any other program ever catching up on them .

this top is an absolute joke . somehow north carolina is at #1 . 2 teams double their championships .

how the hell kansas ended up ahead of UCLA . 3 championships , compared to 11 . Ok naismith . but are you serious ?

1 ucla

2 kentucky

3 north carolina

4 kansas

5 indiana

6 duke

that's just how it goes , you either play to win it all or you don't . elite eights , final fours , nobody gives a flying urethra . only thing that matters is championships . plus ucla is 1st in all these other categories as well , so im not sure how the hell you made your rankings .

why does in every other sport , championships make the ranks , but when it comes to college bball some morons rank teams that are totally outclassed in that category as #1 .

celtics in nba .

pitt/dallas in nfl .

yankees in mlb .

alabama in college fball .

tiger woods in golf .

montreal canadians in nhl .

UCLA IN COLLEGE BBALL (why would it be different ? )

Hi Mike ,

I see that Syracuse is on that top 10 . Its well deserved , and its nice to see you change your mind .

Id put Louisville over Indiana . They don't have as many championships , but 2 losing seasons since 1943 is hard to overlook . Very hard . Since they joined the big east in 05 they've been very solid too . I know i didn't mention them in my top 5 , mainly because they've been in weak conferences forever , but seeing their success in the big east i must agree to their dominance .

By the way , now that John Thompson's son is the coach of the Hoyas , Georgetown COULD go back to the powerhouse they were in the 80's and 90's . Already started strong couple seasons back with a final four, so that would be my team to watch . They're no longer defensive enforcers like they were , but they still make every team earn their wins against them .

Ah , the big east is just too strong . Just for the heck of it ill re-do my top , without raging over Duke (god do i hate them).

1 . UCLA

11 championships Wat

2 . UNC

- Perpetual Dominance -

3 . UK

victoriessss

4 . KU

funny mascot yo

5 . Duke (I Surrender)

"man i hate duke" - Quote of the decade by every non-Duke college hoops fan

6 . Syracuse

longest active (and ever) winning seasons streak + otto is sexy

7 . Louisville

they originally come from MISSOURI VALLEY yaaa bwoy can they play bball or wat

8 . Arizona

their logo looks stupid tho big A with bolding made in MS Paint get out of here

9 . Indiana (Ouch big setback)

p.s. They suck now legacy over

10 . UConn / Illinois / MSU / Nova / Utah

too lazy to pick but if you like championships pick UConn

if you like tradition/winning percentage pick ILLI

if you like Green color pick MSU

if you like spanish pick viLLanOva

if you like disappointment and redheads pick utah

Hey don't laugh i mightve done it HuMoRoUs but its a legit top 10 . Just got sick of re-stating every reason why schools are mentionned . Everyone Knows Already .

You mention Michigan in your first paragraph? I'm not so sure about that one. Michigan State yes, but not Michigan!

No problem .

By the way , if any school out of the Big Ten should be mentionned , outside of indiana , it would be Illinois . Only 12 losing seasons in 105 years , to compare them to the "greats" , UNC has 10 in 100 years . They have a national championship as well , in 1914 , and 16 times they finished the season 1st of their conference . I just don't see Ohio State on the top 10 list with 26 losing seasons . Consistancy is very important to be considered a top school .

About Syracuse , If you go by GREATEST ALL TIME , you gotta take ALL TIME in consideration . Syracuse has 14 losing seasons in 110 years . They have 3 national championships (1917 , 1925 , 2003 ). 5th winningiest all time team , active record of 39 straight winning seasons . Even the NCAA seems to underrate them , they've been left out of the NCAA tournament 8 times despite having impressive records . Perhaps there wouldve been more final fours , maybe a 4th championship .

Anywho , it can always go either way .

Lol my second comment was just "inside rage" coming out .

Since 1980 , the Big East has racked up 6 national championships . 5 DIFFERENT TEAMS . Louisville , Gtown , Syracuse , UConn , Villanova . 5 times they've been runner ups for the title , which makes 11 appearences for the big east in the last 30 years for the national championship . A lil over 30% of the time , a Big East team makes it to the national championship . 2 of the runner up teams only lost by 1 point , including Gtowns 1982 team against Micheal fkn Jordan . They don't get blown out like UCLA in 2006 or Duke in 1990. In their championship victories , the big East has beaten Duke , UCLA and Kansas . (more recently Syracuse beating kansa in 03) . So , yes , in the early years of basketball these 5 teams you named (cept duke) has been powerhouses . But, they have yet to dominate the big east . Since the big east was founded , in my eyes they've been the most successful conference in all of basketball and in 20 years , you'll see a completely different top 5 list.

By the way , Mark it down , A big east team is going to the championship this year again .

Re-reading my comment , I thought id add a bit more info .

These teams in the top 5 , they're all scared , and only play to win . Therefore , they schedule teams they know they outclass , only . When they THINK they have no chance , they give up on the season .

Why are they scared of Butler ? Xavier ? Southern Illinois ? Creighton ? Belmont ? Old Dominion ? Valpo ? Wichita State ? Bradley ? Because they know they wont get by them easily .

I watched UCLA - Arizona State tonight , no idea why . UCLA gave up on the game before it even started. No will , no fighting . Lousy passes that got intercepted . Awful play all around . Never would i have seen this BAD performance coming from a true basketball team . Fact is , the powerhouses of college basketball only play for championships and final fours . When both are unaccessible , they give up . They don't even care about giving a good show , or dignity . They simply give up .

I respect their acheivments , but i don't respect their mentality .

Would love to see them in the big east . That is the strongest conference in all of college basketball , and trust me you cant win it often . Going 15-3 in conference play like Syracuse did this win , its absolutely outstanding . DePaul is 1-17 in conference play . Laugh ? No , don't . They were 7-5 before conference play . And finished the season 8-22 . What does that tell you ? THIS CONFERENCE IS NOT A JOKE . Look at the talent they send to the NBA (DePaul) . They're not a bad team at all.

That's all i had to say . I cant put Syracuse all time #1 because UNC , UCLA , KU and UK have achieved way too much to overlook , but im telling you when it comes to TOUGH , CLOSE basketball , they have no idea what its like . They're used to blow out every team of their conference like its nothing , and struggle in close games (UCLA coming short in 3 straight final fours games in 06 to 08). I knocked down UConn earlier , but they consistantly play one of the toughest schedules , and still can drop 30 wins seasons every now and then .

Fact is , Syracuse tops the strongest conference in all of college basketball . Do not underrate them .

where is syracuse ? seriously ? not even in the poll ? You have to go back to 1968 for their last losing season . Jesus christ i cant believe you overlooked that Mike .

you cant have connecticut mentionned there if syracuse is not . clear cut #1 out of the big east , not even close , and uconn has only been really flashing since they joined the big east . uconn is not a basketball power , altho they have some sort of tradition they're far from the level of dominance that syracuse has been in the last 90+ years .

your top 4 is right on , there is no CLEAR #1 (id say UCLA tho because number of championships is always the most important "stat" in my mind) because they're all interchangeable depending on the person's point of view . im not pro-kansas , as they lack the championships . however , i cant overlook kansas for being ridiculously consistant forever . i don't like indiana as #6 , where have they been in the last 15 years ? and duke , well fuck duke . i think its more of a coach beastly performance than basketball talent . coach K is that good , no wonder kobe wanted him to coach the lakers . i don't give duke the credit at all , their play has never impressed me . they're more of a "annoying" presence than a basketball powerhouse . they always seem to stick around , no one really knows why , on paper they're terrible but meh , coach K is a brainiac .

ESPN's list is garbage . are they in love with the big ten ? seriously ? 5 teams in the top 5 and they're one of the weakest divisions (yes indiana has history and illinois is decent , but out of these 2 i don't see any other big ten team even in the top 30 ). their overall all sports combined reputation helps them because as far as basketball goes , any missouri valley team plays better ball , they just lack the money .

my own top :

1 - bruins ( no team will ever break everything they accomplished , ever . )

2 - tar heels ( always there year after year unlike kentucky , + jordan )

3 - wildcats (uk)

4 - jayhawks

5 - ORANGE . ( prove me wrong . )

6 - blue devils

7 - indiana ( meh these 5 championships still count , but this franchise is Fallllllllllllling in the abyss )

8 - wildcats (arizona) ( same as the hoosiers , they seem to be falling more year after year)

9 - spartans ( a lot of gaps in their history , but add magic johnson and their recent revival and its tough to overlook them . love izzo . )

10 - WONT EVER BE GONZAGA

To all gonzaga fans out there , start by actually getting past a sweet sixteen or at least going undefeated with these weak schedules before you even mention yourselves as a basketball powerhouse . Morrison was ugly ( and a bust in the NBA ), Heytvelt overrated as HELL , and they're pretty much your whole history . GARBAGE TEAM .

The missouri valley teams are the most talented out of the entire divison 1 . They don't flash , at all , but their players are dedicated and true ballers . In decenies to come , watch as they emerge from the dark and dominate these weak teams ( aka florida - ohio state - wisconsin - pittsburgh - villanova - cincinatti - etc.) considered dominant because they've had 4 good years in a 70 year span .

Syracuse #1 in my heart . #5 in history . #1 coolest mascot ( BEAT THAT ! )

Mike,

Very Nice hub & quite interesting. I enjoyed reading.

First of all you can't have a program that has never won a championship in this. Number 2 while they have struggled in this decade where is Arkansas on this list. They were the winningest program in the country from 1990 to 1996. They have went to numerous NCAA Tournaments, 6 Final Fours, 2 National Championship Games and a National Championship. These programs seem to reflect how people are doing well over the past 10 years. I agree with the Top 7 it is after that it is off. My real beef is with Connecticut. They have not had enough success over a long period. Their success has been the last 15 years. That is not long enough. They had partial success in the early 90's but not enough to make me do backflips. I actually think Michigan State #8, Arkansas should be #9 and Arizona #10. I think Michigan, Ohio State, Georgetown, North Carolina State are schools that could be above Connecticut. You have to take into consideration from 1939 on. I like Florida but they are not a top 10 all time program. I believe Connecticut is a popular choice because of their success from 1999 til now but not a logical one if you consider their program over the past 70 years.

how will this season affect your ratings? Will North Carolina fall out of your #1 spot?

My best is the 2nd!

I have a Roy Williams story. His Kansas team was in Chicago doing something like a challenge with four teams. I was eating alone in the hotel restaurant and there beside me reading his paper was Roy Williams. Duke had just beat Kansas the prior year I think in the final but it might have been semifinal. It was a long time ago. I chatted it up with him and he was pretty talkative. About 5 minutes into the conversation he asks if I'm a Jayhawk fan and I say, "Hell no! I'm a Duke fan!" And the conversation ended. He went back to his paper. Completely snubbed me. I'm not even sure if he finished his steak. He was done and gone shortly after the silent treatment started. It was a proud moment for me. I should've shmoozed the moment. I might have gotten some tickets!!!

Flip Duke with UNC and I'd be happier. You overly gush on Roy Williams, although he's the best coach they've had since Dean left. Roy and Coach K are comparable - overall - but not with their respective current teams. Coach K's achievements at Duke by far outshine Roy's at UNC.

I smell Tar Heel.

I am surprised to see my favorite ranked so high on the ESPN poll you show. There have been many great players to come from the U of I to play professionally.

Mine didn't make the cut...man!