The Associated Press recently made waves after releasing their list of the all-time top 100 college basketball schools.
Since the AP began ranking teams since 1949, they’ve pumped out more than 1,100 polls and their top 25 rankings consistently determine who the best teams are in college basketball (and several other sports) each year. So who better to rank the all-time programs?
Their formula weighed heavily on consistency and those who have been elite, counting poll appearances (one point each) and No. 1 rankings (two points each). Since there is no poll following the national championship, champions don’t get any extra points.
Without even looking you can argue right away the top programs in history are: UNC, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA. So how does the AP All-Time Top 100 stack up??
Here are the results:
1 – Kentucky Wildcats (1,111 Points)
2 – North Carolina Tar Heels (1,098 Points)
3 – Duke Blue Devils (1,032 Points)
4 – UCLA Bruins (957 Points)
5 – Kansas Jayhawks (857 Points)
6 – Indiana Hoosiers (662 Points)
7 – Louisville Cardinals (627 Points)
8 – Arizona Wildcats (594 Points)
9 – Syracuse Orange (581 Points)
10 – Cincinnati Bearcats (500 Points)
11 – Illinois Fighting Illini (479 Points)
12 – Ohio State Buckeyes (453 Points)
13 – Michigan State Spartans (434 Points)
14 – Michigan Wolverines (423 Points)
15 – Georgetown Hoyas (421)
16 – Connecticut Huskies (402 Points)
17 – Maryland Terrapins (400 Points)
18 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish (382 Points)
19 – Villanova Wildcats (372 Points)
20 – Oklahoma Sooners (371 Points)
21 – Marquette Golden Eagles (366 Points)
22 – North Carolina State Wolfpack (366 Points)
23 – Iowa Hawkeyes (343 Points)
24 – Purdue Boilermakers (339 Points)
25 – UNLV Rebels (321 Points)
On a side note, I’m from Illinois, so I grew up a huge Illini fan. I remember a stat several years ago — not sure if it’s still true — that Illinois had the most NCAA Tournament wins without a national championship. Yup, the Chief is over due.
Anywho…
Check out the rest of the Top 100 here.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of Crave Sports.
Photo: Getty
