Top Programs of All Time so Says 247

[superjohn]

I get that, but it’s one guy from the 1980s lol.

Sure but that one guy is a top 5 basketball player of all-time. You want current, Draymond Green is another Hall of Famer for them.

 

[gsmooth]

All Time.

And IU really does not produce good NBA players outside of Isiah Thomas. As ConnHuskBask stated their only title with the expanded 64 teams is in 1987. They went to the Final Four in 1992 and reached the Elite Eight in 1993, and made the final in 2002. I guess you could throw in 2012, as they were the only team to beat that great Kentucky 2012 with Anthony Davis in the regular season, but then they got beaten handily in the Sweet 16 because they got flummoxed by the Syracuse 2-3 zone.

What IU has is that they are one of the original blue bloods and are embedded in the history of college basketball going back to the days when the sport started being played on the college level.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Same as others, move UConn up one spot ahead of MSU. Can't complain about the 6 who are ahead of us. I'd consider swapping Louisville and Villanova too. Like @nelsonmuntz I have no idea why K-State is there. Four final 4s and one NC runner up. UNLV is more deserving, as is Wisconsin.

 

[Huskyforlife]

What criteria gets Kansas State on the list at all?

Bad criteria.

 

[Kolumbo]

6 of those programs were in the Big East at the same time. Just a damn shame.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Indiana's titles:

1940 - 8 teams in tourney
1953 - 22 teams in tourney
1976 - 32 teams in tourney
1981 - 48 teams in tourney
1987 - 64 teams in tourney

1993/1994 through 2022/2023 - 1 time past elite 8

 

[CardiacAndre7]

What do you think college hoops dates back to the 1700s? The last 30 years is a huge chunk of history to have had 1 deep tournament run.

Do you think all time only means the last 30 years? Like what is this lmao. Indiana has a more successful program ALL TIME than we do.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Do you think all time only means the last 30 years? Like what is this lmao. Indiana has a more successful program ALL TIME than we do.

Do you place equal weight to a tournament title won in an 8 team field or 64?

How about Elite 8s? More weight to a 64 team field or... 8 team field.

 

[superjohn]

Do you place equal weight to a tournament title won in an 8 team field or 64?

How about Elite 8s? More weight to a 64 team field or... 8 team field.

And when they further expand the tournament you'll put more weight on the performance of future winners than the titles UConn won when it was 64?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The 30 years before that is also a huge chunk of change, how did UConn do in comparison to Indiana during that stretch?

Same - 1 elite 8 lol

 

[ConnHuskBask]

And when they further expand the tournament you'll put more weight on the performance of future winners than the titles UConn won when it was 64?

Yeah, of course.

Is it that hot of a take to say winning 6 games is harder than 3?

I'm not some kind of UConn homer. I think you could put Nova and maybe even Louisville ahead of UConn on these lists. I just think Indiana due to such minimal success in the modern 64 team era knocks them down a peg.

 

[superjohn]

Same - 1 elite 8 lol

If this is a joke, what's the punchline?

Indiana 3 national titles and a 5 final 4's during that 30 year period.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Do you place equal weight to a tournament title won in an 8 team field or 64?

How about Elite 8s? More weight to a 64 team field or... 8 team field.

I don't get this take at all. If there is anything about the old NCAA championship winners, it's that there was a period when winning the NIT was similarly prestigious in the 40s and 50s. Some teams that might have won another title went to the NIT instead. St. Johns, for example, has a better history than their NCAA appearances show. So does PC.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Why make a top 25? Anything past 15 feels like a stretch

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I don't get this take at all. If there is anything about the old NCAA championship winners, it's that there was a period when winning the NIT was similarly prestigious in the 40s and 50s. Some teams that might have won another title went to the NIT instead. St. Johns, for example, has a better history than their NCAA appearances show. So does PC.

So we should further devalue the old titles. Again another point against Indiana.

 

[UCLJ0211]

These rankings are always subjective. They should of course look at historical success, but need to factor in recent success as well. In the case of Indiana vs. UConn, for example- they have one more championship than us but the last one they had was in 1987. Who has been the better team over the past 35 years though? There needs to be some weight given to that.

 

[HuskyHawk]

So we should further devalue the old titles. Again another point against Indiana.

No, and it wouldn't matter. National Championships are one measure. Certainly one UConn has in its favor. But all time wins, appearances, deep runs, conference championships, all of that matters. And IU is ahead of UConn on all of those. Not far ahead, but ahead. Several of UConn's NCAA appearances and two sweet 16s came in the 50s.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

If this is a joke, what's the punchline?

Indiana 3 national titles and a 5 final 4's during that 30 year period.

You asked me:

The 30 years before that is also a huge chunk of change, how did UConn do in comparison to Indiana during that stretch?

1992-1993 through 1962-1963 UConn made 1 Elite 8. The same amount of Elite 8s that Indiana had made 1993-1994 thru present.

We did all of our damage in the modern era, which I think holds more weight due to level of difficulty in winning 6 do or die games.

P.S. @HuskyHawk UConn has more regular season titles than Indiana.

 

[Orc]

Where are they wrong? I would at least jump us ahead of IU and MSU. Probably more.

Cuse is too low. They have tons of Helms(?) titles. That counts right?

 

[superjohn]

You asked me:



1992-1993 through 1962-1963 UConn made 1 Elite 8. The same amount of Elite 8s that Indiana had made 1993-1994 thru present.

We did all of our damage in the modern era, which I think holds more weight due to level of difficulty in winning 6 do or die games.

P.S. @HuskyHawk UConn has more regular season titles than Indiana.

So I guess it wasn't a joke.

Reading comprehension...

Indiana has 3 national titles and 5 final fours in the 30 year stretch before.

I asked you how UConn did during that stretch compared to Indiana.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

So I guess it wasn't a joke.

Reading comprehension...

Indiana has 3 national titles and 5 final fours in the 30 year stretch before.

I asked you how UConn did during that stretch compared to Indiana.

Yeah and I told you - UConn made 1 Elite 8 during that period when Indiana won 3 titles and made 5 final 4s.

The coincidence being that in the last 30 years when we've won 4 titles and made 5 final 4s, is that Indiana had only advanced to same number of Elite 8s as us during our down yeara - 1.

 

[Billy Jack]

They've been to 1 Elite 8 in 30 years (reached the NCAA final). That's the same amount as St. Peter's.

Not to mention I think only 1 of their titles came with the expanded 64+ team field.

The list is “all time”, not the last 30 years, or during the 64 team tournament era.

 

[Billy Jack]

What do you think college hoops dates back to the 1700s? The last 30 years is a huge chunk of history to have had 1 deep tournament run.

No, it isn’t.

 

[mussels]

Another metric that’s fun to play with: weeks ranked in AP poll. Total AP Men's BB Poll Appearances Summary | College Poll Archive

Going back to 1939, Indiana comes in at #8 with 572, UConn #22 with 375.

If you just look at our heyday, say from 1990, we come in at #7 (370) and Indiana #18 (273).

If you look back the last ten years, Indiana ranks #36 (60) and UConn #38 (57). Yikes !!

 

[Billy Jack]

Any list can only be interpreted based on the criteria that were used to formulate it. When a list purports to be “greatest men’s basketball programs of all time”, that’s misleading because it doesn’t specify what they’re “greatest” at. For example, a list based exclusively on national championships would look different than a list based on program wins.

Just as an example of how lists can look different, I’m going to presents a list, based on success limited to success in the tournaments era (1938-present) and based solely on national championships + final fours with NCs weighted more heavily, with Elite 8’s used as a tiebreaker, and with adjustments made for the NIT era:

1. UCLA
2. North Carolina
3. Kentucky
4. Duke
5. Kansas
6. Louisville
7. Indiana
8. UConn
9. Michigan State
10. Villanova
12. San Francisco
13. Michigan
14. Florida
15. Ohio State
16. Syracuse
17. NC State
18. Oklahoma State
19.Georgetown
20. St. John’s
21. Arizona
22. Arkansa
23. Utah
24. UNLV
25. Loyola (Chi)