July 2008 - Posts
Few college basketball programs have hit Cincinnati’s highs. Multiple national titles and Final Fours, legendary players and a bevy of conference crowns make the Bearcats among the all-time elite.
They’ve hit some lows, too. Cincinnati’s endured some serious Big Dance drought and heartbreak through the years, not to mention its off-court issues.
Still, it’s impossible to overlook how good the Bearcats have been. If not for its forgettable seasons between 1978 and Bob Huggins’ arrival in 1989, Cincinnati likely would’ve been higher than No. 11 on the list of the greatest college basketball programs.
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Everyone loves rankings. Whether it’s the AP, coaches, the nation’s top colleges, weekend box office results or the best Donkey Kong player ever, people love ‘em.
Especially when it comes to sports rankings.
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Nearly every team on this top 25 list of the greatest college basketball programs comes from a BCS conference: The Big Ten, ACC, Big East, Big 12, SEC or Pac-10. Those schools usually receive more media exposure, tend to draw highly touted prospects and feature plenty of big-name coaches.
So what to make of the schools on the list that aren’t from a BCS conference?
What to make of Utah, which lands at No. 12 on this list?
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Any mention of Villanova basketball always circles back to the 1985 national champions. It just can’t be helped.
That Wildcats team pulled off one of college hoops’ most memorable upsets, beating defending national champion Georgetown, a squad analysts had been trying to place among the all-time greats. The ‘Cats made 90 percent of their field-goal attempts in the second half, and shot nearly 80 percent for the game, a remarkable feat on the national stage.
It could go on and on (in fact, more later). But that’s the point. Villanova has more hoops lore than just than ’85 team.
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Lute Olson isn’t going to recruit one-and-done type players anymore?
Yeah, right.
It’s easy to understand Olson’s frustration. When your best player bolts after one season and an incoming recruit decides to play in Europe instead, that’d make anyone cranky. (Nevermind that Olson must be feeling a little more apprehension than normal about the upcoming season. A self-imposed one-year leave of absence can do that.)
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No team on the list of the 25 greatest college basketball programs is underrated. They’ve all been considered an elite team or been consistently good throughout the years.
But some simply get more attention than the others. And some can get outright overlooked.
Which brings us to No. 14 on this list, Illinois.
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The Brandon Jennings watch continues.
Jennings, the McDonald’s All-American point guard, is still waiting to see if he’ll be ruled eligible for next season after taking his third SAT. Those scores won’t be released until July 11th. And all of those delays just brew even more talk about Jennings possibly playing in Europe next season.
It’s like the Brett Favre un-retirement talk, but for us hoops junkies…
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Gotta love the names from Michigan State hoops. Magic and Mateen. Jud and Izzo. Smooth Steve Smith. Shootin’ Shawn Respert. The Izzone.
There was plenty of game behind those names, making it easy to place the Spartans at No. 15 on the list of the greatest college basketball programs.
MSU’s been to six Final Fours (more than Georgetown or Cincinnati), has won 67 percent of its NCAA tournament games (better than Indiana), has logged 22 appearances in the Big Dance, has 10 regular-season conference titles to go with 1,418 wins, more than its fair share of great NBA players and hasn’t missed an NCAA tourney since 1997.
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