College Basketball Review

No. 15 in our all-time college basketball programs rankings is Arkansas! The Razorbacks have gone dancing 37 times, going to six Final Fours, and winning it all in 1994. That was in the middle of a stretch where they were one of the best teams around. Head coach Nolan Richardson had Arkansas as a pure basketball program from the 1980s to the 2000s, taking over from what Eddie Sutton had started to build. The program has also had some underrated legends like Joe Johnson, Corliss Williamson, and Sidney Moncrief, really fitting the mold of what it means to be an Arkansas Razorback.

No. 16 in our rankings of every D1 program in college basketball history is Houston! The Cougars have turned into one of the most dominant programs since Kelvin Sampson took over in 2014, with Final Fours in 2021 and 2025. But this isn’t the first time Houston has been at this level. Previously, with stars like Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, they were dominant, going to the Final Four three straight years from 1982-84. And before that, they also appeared in the national semifinals with Elvin Hayes in 1967 and 1968, for a total of seven Final Fours. Unfortunately, they do have the most Final Fours of any program without a title, but they have the program stability to one day do that. And when your history has so many stars and coaching legends in Sampson and Guy Lewis, they have some great recruiting totals at their disposal.

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No. 17 in our all-time college basketball rankings is Cincinnati! From Oscar Robertson to Kenyon Martin, the Bearcats have had some great talent, leading them to six Final Fours and a pair of National Championships coming in 1961 and 1962. Many people think the Big O was part of those, but he was actually a bit before that, starring for the Bearcats from 1957-50. Robertson’s career averages of 33.8 PPG and 15.2 RPG are among the craziest stat lines of all-time. Cincinnati was also pretty dominant in the 1990s, as Bob Huggins got them to the big dance in the last 14 of his 16 seasons as head coach. That included a Final Four in 1992 and some other solid runs. Then, with Mick Cronin in the 2010s, Cincy became one of the top programs in the Big East. The Bearcats have missed out on March Madness for the past seven years, but with Jerrod Calhoun in charge, things are moving in an intriguing direction.

BREAKING: Michigan guard LJ Cason plans to enter the transfer portal

Michigan State and Gonzaga Men's and Women's teams will face off in a doubleheader on December 19th in the Acrisure Classic.

We’ve got a third straight mid-major juggernaut as Gonzaga is next at No. 18 in our all-time rankings! The Bulldogs are arguably the best mid-major program of all-time. They’ve made it to the NCAA Tournament 28 times, and with the exception of the COVID season, haven’t missed it since 1998. Mark Few has never NOT played in an NCAA Tournament that was held. The program’s foundation was laid by Dan Fitzgerald and Dan Monson, who together, starting to bring some consistent 20-win seasons to Spokane. But I’m not sure if they or anyone could have predicted what Mark Few would be able to make, with a mid-major program pretty much expected to compete for Final Fours year in and year out. The Adam Morrison moment - crying on the floor as his collegiate career ended in 2006, seemed like the pinnacle of what they could accomplish. But two title game appearances and nine 30-win seasons later, and you just expect Gonzaga to be one of the favorites to win it all. Plus, don’t forget that their top alum, John Stockton, came before all of this came to fruition! However, with guys like Domantas Sabonis, Rui Hachimura, and Kelly Olynyk, they’re getting used to having the star power now!

No. 19 in our all-time college basketball programs rankings is Memphis! Like UNLV, the Tigers are one of the best mid-majors of all-time, to the point where it is very hard to even consider them as a mid-major. But when you’ve had stars like Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and the late Lorenzen Wright, you’re clearly doing something right! But even more so, when you’ve got John Calipari on the coach’s bench, it’s practically impossible to fail. That was proven, as Coach Cal went a mind boggling 252-69 in his nine seasons there, with six NCAA Tournaments, including the title game, losing to Kansas in 2008. Memphis has had plenty of other great runs - going to three Final Fours overall, thanks to getting there in 1973 and 1985. They are a regular for the NCAA Tournament and have a very high bar compared to other mid-majors. Mere 20-win seasons aren’t always enough for the Tigers!

UNLV comes in at No. 20 in our all-time college basketball programs list. It might come as a shock, but when Jerry Tarkanian was there, UNLV was pretty much immune to losing. From 1973-92, he compiled a 509-105 record, good for a .829 winning percentage. It is almost unfathomable. With coach Tark, UNLV went to the Sweet 16 or further in nine of their 12 tournaments. They went to the Final Four in 1977, 1987, 1990, and 1991, winning it in ‘90 as Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony and co, dominated. The current age of UNLV isn’t nearly as dominant, but the Rebels do remain a solid program in the Mountain West. And after the Tarkanian era, they had a solid run in the late 90s with Shawn Marion starring, and in the early 2000s with Lon Kruger coaching. But their stretch under their legendary coach may be the best in college basketball history, for a non-blue blood.

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No. 21 in our all-time rankings is an NC State program with one of the best moments in college basketball history. In 1983, the 6-seed Wolfpack won it all, with head coach Jim Valvano running around looking for someone to hug as Dereck Whittenburg’s shot fell short but Lorenzo Charles laid it in in the final seconds. But this wasn’t the only great moment in ‘Pack history. They’ve been to four Final Fours and also won it all about a decade prior, in 1974. And their most recent Final Four in 2024 came with a new March Madness legend, as big DJ Burns led them there as an 11-seed. As for the all-time players that went here? Spud Webb, Nate McMillan, David Thompson, Vinny Del Negro, and Tom Guglietta, just to name a few!

No. 22 in our all-time rankings of every D1 college basketball program is Oklahoma State! Few programs can claim a coaching legend as great as Eddie Sutton. Of his 806 career wins, 368 came at OK State, the most of any of the five teams he coached. But Sutton’s record with the Cowboys pales in comparison to Hank Iba, who won 654 games with the Cowboys from 1934-70. Talk about some legends! Along the way, both coaches had Oklahoma State as a regular in March Madness. Iba won them two National Championships in 1945 and 1946 with Bob Kurland as the star player. He also brought them to the title game in 1949 and the Final Four in 1951. Sutton led them to the Final Four in 1995 and again in 2004. And it hasn’t just been coaching legends. The Cowboys have had some great talent - especially on the defensive end. Marcus Smart, Tony Allen, Desmond Mason, and now, Cade Cunningham, are some notables!

No. 23 in our all-time college basketball programs rankings is Illinois! First, pour it out for the Illini team that was crowned pre-tournament champs all the way back in 1915. They’ve yet to win March Madness, but they do claim that. But in the NCAA Tournament era, Illinois has been a regular. With 36 NCAA Tournaments and 6 Final Fours, they get there a lot, and they’ve gone on runs at a pretty good rate. Obviously, they just went there last year under Brad Underwood. But the coaching legend in Champagnie will always be Lou Henson. With 421 wins at Illinois, he’s their all-time leader there, with more than twice as many as Underwood. But you also can’t forget Bruce Weber, coaching an Illinois team led by Deron Williams to the Final Four in 2005. And before him, Bill Self was doing his thing before leaving for Kansas. It’s an underrated history of coaches at Illinois and it’s probably why they’ve accomplished so much.

No. 24 in our all-time college basketball programs rankings is Utah, and if you don’t know much about their history, you probably think this is a bad ranking. But their history says otherwise. For one, they’ve been to four Final Fours, winning it all in 1944 and going there again in 1961, 1966, and 1998. Plus, they won the NIT when it was still very big in 1947. The program at No. 25, Florida, has been great for the past 35 years or so. Utah’s 35 years were just a different time frame. The craziest stat might be with their coaches. The Utes have had three coaches get at least 300 wins with the program. Vadal Peterson, Jack Gardner, and Rick Majerus all helped keep them as one of the beasts of the West in college basketball. And the Utes have also had some underrated pro talent. Andre Miller, Andrew Bogut, Tom Chambers, Kyle Kuzma, and Keith Van Horn are some of the guys who once played here.

Just inside the top 25 at No. 25 are the Florida Gators! Obviously, the past 20 seasons have been nothing short of impeccable. Since 2000, Florida is a top 10 program of all-time, and you could make a case for the top five. They’ve won all three of their nattys since 2006, which is an insane rate, second only to UConn. And of their six Final Fours, all of them have come since 1994. But that’s really the only thing going against Florida. All of their success has pretty much come since the late 1980s. Despite fielding a team in 1920, they never even went to the big dance until 1987, the second stint for Norm Sloan. But once he and Lon Kruger got the ball moving, the Gators haven’t looked back. And Billy Donovan and Todd Golden have just taken that and ran with it. Plus, the number of NBA stars coming from the program lately is insane. From Bradley Beal to Al Horford to David Lee and Chandler Parsons, their guys certainly don’t just peak in college.

No. 26 is a Purdue program that eclipsed 2,000 wins all-time last season, becoming just the ninth program to do so. Over the years, they’ve gone from a historic Big Ten team to now, arguably the best we’ve had over the past decade or longer. The team played in the title game in 1969, led by Rick Mount, and were pre-tournament champs in 1932, so history runs deep here. You can tell that too by the 35 Consensus All-American nods. But they really became a power under Gene Keady, who turned them into a consistent power. Now, it’s Matt Painter, who is doing the same, arguably on a higher level. The biggest thing going against Purdue is how they always seem to come up short. It happened under Keady, and it has with Painter, too. And when you have talent like Zach Edey, Carsen Edwards, Glenn Robinson, and more, it’s obvious why the bar is so high!

We’re staying in the Big East for No. 27, which is Georgetown! The Hoyas have been in a rut for a while, but if you know anything about the history of college hoops and the Big East, they used to be a powerhouse. Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, and Alonzo Mourning are just some of the talented players to go there. And big John Thompson created a fear factor for opposing teams, making GTown one of the toughest teams to beat - mentally and physically. Unfortunately, Patrick Ewing, the coach, brought the program down, and Ed Cooley has had a hard time resurrecting it. But make no mistake, in their heyday, with three of their five Final Fours between 1982 and 1985, Georgetown practically RAN the best conference in basketball.

No. 28 in our all-time college basketball programs rankings is Marquette! Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Doc Rivers, Maurice Lucas, Jae Crowder - so many great pros have played here, and that isn’t even counting the college greats like Markus Howard and Travis Diener! Marquette has really had the best of both worlds with NBA products and college legends. The Golden Eagles have fared well in March Madness too, with 37 bids and Final Fours coming in 1974, 1977, and 2003, winning it all in ‘77. In fact, Al McGuire took them to the Sweet 16 or further nine times between 1968 and 1979. In 1970, they actually turned down a bid to the big dance due to geographical issues. They won the NIT and finished 26-3. It really doesn’t matter the era - Marquette has been great on many levels for decades!

No. 29 in our rankings of every D1 program in college basketball is Oklahoma! The Sooners have been led by some coaching greats in Lon Kruger, Kelvin Sampson, and Billy Tubbs. That makes it nearly impossible to be a bad program, but they really made the most of it. However, their first two Final Fours were much earlier on, as head coach Bruce Drake took them there in 1939 and 1947. After a couple of decades of missing the NCAA Tournament, the Sooners soon became a consistent competitor in the big dance, with Final Fours later coming in 1988 under Tubbs, 2002 under Sampson, and 2016 under Kruger. You also shouldn’t overlook the talent to come out of OU. Blake Griffin, Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, Buddy Hield, and Trae Young are a pretty solid all-time starting five if you ask me - and I’m definitely missing some guys too. Overall, the Sooners are just a great Power 5 college hoops program both historically and in the current day.