Greatest College BB Programs Ever | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Greatest College BB Programs Ever

Dream Jobbed 2.0

“Most definitely”
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Most wins all time

Temple, ND, SJU, are not the discussion for top 10 programs ever but they have the most wins all time.
1Kentucky19031172,3187121.765
2Kansas18991222,3028620.728
3North Carolina19111102,2758180.736
4Duke19061152,2018930.711
5Temple18951261,9401,0960.639
6Syracuse19011201,9229220.676
7UCLA19201011,9068640.688
8Notre Dame18981231,9001,0401.646
9St. John's19081131,8711,0440.642
10Indiana
 
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My top ten.

UCLA
Kentucky
Duke
UNC
Kansas
UConn
Indiana
Michigan St
Villanova
Arizona
 
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And the official Top 10 is:

Kentucky
UNC
Duke
UCLA
Kansas
Louisville
Indiana
UConn
Villanova
Cincinnati


Might want to use this in recruiting:

Storrs, Connecticut, can now claim to be home to one of the 10 best programs in college basketball history on the men's side -- and certainly the best in women's hoops. This means UConn is the best basketball school in America from a historical perspective.
 
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Just a comment on my post above. Seems that those top 7 always get mentioned as the "Blue Bloods" of college basketball. So is UConn just outside Blue Blood status?
 
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!Controversial hot take alert!

I consider neither UCLA nor Indiana to be blue bloods (whatever that means). To me, that is a status that a program can lose, and they lost it.

I also never counted UConn or Villanova in that group. I think we can join it in the next 10 years if the results warrant it. Likewise, 'Nova can make the cut in the next 15 years.
 
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Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky and Indiana are probably the only programs that should be ranked ahead of UConn. UConn is in the top 5 most consecutive conference titles won with that run in the 50s. Gonzaga appears on that list twice.
Forgot UCLA, but no way Louisville should be ranked ahead of us with 3 titles and Rick Pitino.
 
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!Controversial hot take alert!

I consider neither UCLA nor Indiana to be blue bloods (whatever that means). To me, that is a status that a program can lose, and they lost it.

I also never counted UConn or Villanova in that group. I think we can join it in the next 10 years if the results warrant it. Likewise, 'Nova can make the cut in the next 15 years.
That's like saying UConn women's bball are not a blue blood 60 years from now, only because they didn't win a title they in 25 years.
 
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Just a comment on my post above. Seems that those top 7 always get mentioned as the "Blue Bloods" of college basketball. So is UConn just outside Blue Blood status?

You think Louisville is "always" considered a blueblood? I suppose there are a handful of people who say that, but it is definitely a minority opinion. I think most folks these days would say UNC, UK, KU, and Duke. UCLA has been too mediocre over the past 25 years, ditto Indiana.
 
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And the official Top 10 is:

Kentucky
UNC
Duke
UCLA
Kansas
Louisville
Indiana
UConn
Villanova
Cincinnati


Might want to use this in recruiting:

Storrs, Connecticut, can now claim to be home to one of the 10 best programs in college basketball history on the men's side -- and certainly the best in women's hoops. This means UConn is the best basketball school in America from a historical perspective.
"Oh, the P5 will never want us!" :rolleyes:

If the P5 were smart, they'd have added us long ago to prevent us from winning more.
 
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They have more NCAA appearances, more wins, a better record overall, more final fours, and more weeks ranked.
That, I am aware of. But I'd equate Louisville to Villanova, since the goal is titles.

The fact UConn has never lost a championship game in basketball is unreal. Am sure that'll change one day.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
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Cinci in the top 10 seems ridiculous. Louisville ahead of UConn is just wrong. But all we need to do to fix that is have some good years ahead as they watch the shambles of the stained and sullied tatters of their program fall.
 
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That, I am aware of. But I'd equate Louisville to Villanova, since the goal is titles.

The fact UConn has never lost a championship game in basketball is unreal. Am sure that'll change one day.

This is a pretty narrow-minded and reductive view, not to mention boring. You can probably find the list of programs ranked by titles on wikipedia, but it's going to tell you that San Francisco is better than Syracuse and Arizona. Louisville is one of the all-time great programs, and by most metrics, they've been better than UConn. Yes, UConn has one more national championship than Louisville, but is that more important than everything else? How about Kansas? They only have three.
 
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Just a comment on my post above. Seems that those top 7 always get mentioned as the "Blue Bloods" of college basketball. So is UConn just outside Blue Blood status?
While I already consider UConn to be a “blue blood,” I do think our last 4-5 years put a dent on the identity of our program, and ultimately being included in that discussion. So it is probably accurate where we are placed on this list. With our move back to the Big East and our expected return to prominence, I would be surprised if UConn doesn’t cement their blue blood status over the next 5 years. Another Natty would be the end of the discussion for sure!
 

Chin Diesel

Power of Love
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The top five have been the top five for the last 20 years.

UConn, Indiana and Louisville seem to be the next group. Nova's two recent championships has really elevated them.

Personally I'd have Louisville behind UConn and Indy. You can argue Indy/UConn and get strong arguments for either case. I think Louisville falls short of both of them.
 
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This is a pretty narrow-minded and reductive view, not to mention boring. You can probably find the list of programs ranked by titles on wikipedia, but it's going to tell you that San Francisco is better than Syracuse and Arizona. Louisville is one of the all-time great programs, and by most metrics, they've been better than UConn. Yes, UConn has one more national championship than Louisville, but is that more important than everything else? How about Kansas? They only have three.
We have had a much longer run of success than USF, starting in the 50s, continuing till this day. Does that suit your standards better, more fulfilling?

USF to Syracuse was a lame comparison. Really.
 
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While I already consider UConn to be a “blue blood,” I do think our last 4-5 years put a dent on the identity of our program, and ultimately being included in that discussion. So it is probably accurate where we are placed on this list. With our move back to the Big East and our expected return to prominence, I would be surprised if UConn doesn’t cement their blue blood status over the next 5 years. Another Natty would be the end of the discussion for sure!
UConn made the tournament in 2016 so let's say the last 4 years were sucky. Really only 3 years since they weren't bad last season. I think every program has some downturns.

Most say Indiana is a blue blood. Between 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 they went 6-25, 10-21 and 12-20. You can say the B10 was better than the AAC but those are still 3 way worse years than UConn had. Plus Indiana hasn't won a national championship in 33 years, since 1987. 33 years is a long time. Since that championship they've been to 2 Final Fours, in 1992 and 2002. Hardly a record of a blue blood over a 33 year period.

Since 2003 they've made the NCAA Tournament only 7 times and only gotten through the first weekend three times, in 2012, 2013 and 2016 when they made the Sweet 16 each time.

So why has Indiana held on to their blue blood status? Did they have a longer sustained period of success than UConn and it would take a longer and much worse period to knock them out of that blue blood status?

They don't seem to recruit like a blue blood program. A good B10 program, but not an elite program.

So is Indiana still a blue blood? Why?

 
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UConn made the tournament in 2016 so let's say the last 4 years were sucky. Really only 3 years since they weren't bad last season. I think every program has some downturns.

Most say Indiana is a blue blood. Between 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 they went 6-25, 10-21 and 12-20. You can say the B10 was better than the AAC but those are still 3 way worse years than UConn had. Plus Indiana hasn't won a national championship in 33 years, since 1987. 33 years is a long time. Since that championship they've been to 2 Final Fours, in 1992 and 2002. Hardly a record of a blue blood over a 33 year period.

Since 2003 they've made the NCAA Tournament only 7 times and only gotten through the first weekend three times, in 2012, 2013 and 2016 when they made the Sweet 16 each time.

So why has Indiana held on to their blue blood status? Did they have a longer sustained period of success than UConn and it would take a longer and much worse period to knock them out of that blue blood status?

They don't seem to recruit like a blue blood program. A good B10 program, but not an elite program.

So is Indiana still a blue blood? Why?

I’m not arguing with any of your points about Indiana. I’m talking about UConn’s status as a blue blood. Indiana is probably on the cusp of being a questionable blue blood for the reasons you mentioned. The only programs I wouldn’t argue against their blue blood status are Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC and I suppose UCLA.
 
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UConn made the tournament in 2016 so let's say the last 4 years were sucky. Really only 3 years since they weren't bad last season. I think every program has some downturns.

Most say Indiana is a blue blood. Between 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 they went 6-25, 10-21 and 12-20. You can say the B10 was better than the AAC but those are still 3 way worse years than UConn had. Plus Indiana hasn't won a national championship in 33 years, since 1987. 33 years is a long time. Since that championship they've been to 2 Final Fours, in 1992 and 2002. Hardly a record of a blue blood over a 33 year period.

Since 2003 they've made the NCAA Tournament only 7 times and only gotten through the first weekend three times, in 2012, 2013 and 2016 when they made the Sweet 16 each time.

So why has Indiana held on to their blue blood status? Did they have a longer sustained period of success than UConn and it would take a longer and much worse period to knock them out of that blue blood status?

They don't seem to recruit like a blue blood program. A good B10 program, but not an elite program.

So is Indiana still a blue blood? Why?

I see your point on Indiana. To dig even deeper, since 1994, Indiana has made it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament only 5 times. One of those times was the fluke Final Four and Championship game appearance in 2002. People point to our 2014 Championship and say that was a "fluke". I disagree because it is hard to win a National Championship, therefore, there are no such thing as "fluke" National Championships. It's a big step from the Elite 8 compared to the Final Four, and it's also a huge step from winning the National Championship compared to just an appearance in the Final Four.

Bottom line with Indiana is the legend and legacy of Bob Knight is still strong...as it should be. But, for all the schools in the blue blood conversation, Indiana by far has had the least success going back 20+ years.
 
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We have had a much longer run of success than USF, starting in the 50s, continuing till this day. Does that suit your standards better, more fulfilling?

USF to Syracuse was a lame comparison. Really.

You dismissed everything Louisville has done because of one additional title and equated them to Nova entirely based on the number of titles. If your point wasn't that the number of titles trumps everything else, then what was it?
 

Mr. French

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UConn made the tournament in 2016 so let's say the last 4 years were sucky. Really only 3 years since they weren't bad last season. I think every program has some downturns.

Most say Indiana is a blue blood. Between 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 they went 6-25, 10-21 and 12-20. You can say the B10 was better than the AAC but those are still 3 way worse years than UConn had. Plus Indiana hasn't won a national championship in 33 years, since 1987. 33 years is a long time. Since that championship they've been to 2 Final Fours, in 1992 and 2002. Hardly a record of a blue blood over a 33 year period.

Since 2003 they've made the NCAA Tournament only 7 times and only gotten through the first weekend three times, in 2012, 2013 and 2016 when they made the Sweet 16 each time.

So why has Indiana held on to their blue blood status? Did they have a longer sustained period of success than UConn and it would take a longer and much worse period to knock them out of that blue blood status?

They don't seem to recruit like a blue blood program. A good B10 program, but not an elite program.

So is Indiana still a blue blood? Why?


This is pretty spot on.

They have the history to be top 10, but they can't be considered blue blood with 2 FFs, some average and some terrible seasons in the last 30 years, and their last championships in the 70s and 80s.
 

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