Where does SU stack up???

[Quazzum69]

Now that the season is officially over, I think it's a good time to review where SU ranks among other programs in terms of NCAA tournament success since 1985. There's nothing shocking about the list; SU is quite high (despite what you may hear regarding underachieving and early flameouts) and the big boys are just out of reach - for now.

The point system is simple: 8 points for winning the championship; 4 points for the runner-up; 2 points for a final four (semifinal); and, 1 point for an elite eight (quarterfinal). Seventy schools have been to an elite eight or higher since 1985. There are a bunch with very few points so I'll just list all the schools with at least 10 points (there are 18 of them). You'll notice that Georgetown is not among these top 18 schools. They only had nine points, just above Butler which had eight points. I've added little notes that are particularly interesting.

1. Duke, 56 points (4 titles, 4 runner-ups, 3 semis, 2 quarters)
2. UNC, 42 points (3 titles, 6 semis, 6 quarters)
3. Kentucky, 39 points (3 titles, 1 runner-up, 2 semis, 7 quarters)
4. Kansas, 38 points (2 titles, 3 runner-ups, 3 semis, 4 quarters)
5. UConn, 31 points (3 titles, 1 semis, 5 quarters)
6. Florida, 25 points (2 titles, 1 runner-up, 1 semis, 3 quarters)
7. Louisville, 23 points (2 titles, 2 semis, 3 quarters)
8. Michigan State, 21 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 4 semis, 1 quarters) *Nothing until 1999*
9. Michigan, 21 points (1 title, 3 runner-ups, 1 quarter) *18 year drought between 1994 and 2013*
10. Arizona, 20 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 2 semis, 4 quarters)
11. Syracuse, 20 points (1 title, 2 runner-ups, 1 semi, 2 quarters)
12. UCLA, 18 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 2 quarters, 2 semis)
13. Indiana, 15 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 1 semi, 1 quarter) *Nothing since 2002*
14. Arkansas, 15 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 1 semi, 1 quarter) *All between 1990 and 1995*
15. UNLV, 13 points (1 title, 2 semis, 1 quarter) *All between 1987 and 1991*
16. Villanova, 12 points (1 title, 1 semi, 2 quarters) *17 year drought between 1988 and 2006*
17. Maryland, 10 points (1 title, 1 semi) *2 year blip*
18. Ohio State, 10 points (1 runner-up, 2 semis, 2 quarters)

 

[We Are Syracuse]

Cool list. But didn't Mich St go to final four like 3 or 4 years ago?

 

[CorduroyG]

sweet 16 should get a point

 

[omniorange]

Now that the season is officially over, I think it's a good time to review where SU ranks among other programs in terms of NCAA tournament success since 1985. There's nothing shocking about the list; SU is quite high (despite what you may hear regarding underachieving and early flameouts) and the big boys are just out of reach - for now.

The point system is simple: 8 points for winning the championship; 4 points for the runner-up; 2 points for a final four (semifinal); and, 1 point for an elite eight (quarterfinal). Seventy schools have been to an elite eight or higher since 1985. There are a bunch with very few points so I'll just list all the schools with at least 10 points (there are 18 of them). You'll notice that Georgetown is not among these top 18 schools. They only had nine points, just above Butler which had eight points. I've added little notes that are particularly interesting.

1. Duke, 56 points (4 titles, 4 runner-ups, 3 semis, 2 quarters)
2. UNC, 42 points (3 titles, 6 semis, 6 quarters)
3. Kentucky, 39 points (3 titles, 1 runner-up, 2 semis, 7 quarters)
4. Kansas, 38 points (2 titles, 3 runner-ups, 3 semis, 4 quarters)
5. UConn, 31 points (3 titles, 1 semis, 5 quarters)
6. Florida, 25 points (2 titles, 1 runner-up, 1 semis, 3 quarters)
7. Louisville, 23 points (2 titles, 2 semis, 3 quarters)
8. Michigan State, 21 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 4 semis, 1 quarters) *Nothing until 1999*
9. Michigan, 21 points (1 title, 3 runner-ups, 1 quarter) *18 year drought between 1994 and 2013*
10. Arizona, 20 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 2 semis, 4 quarters)
11. Syracuse, 20 points (1 title, 2 runner-ups, 1 semi, 2 quarters)
12. UCLA, 18 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 2 quarters, 2 semis)
13. Indiana, 15 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 1 semi, 1 quarter) *Nothing since 2002*
14. Arkansas, 15 points (1 title, 1 runner-up, 1 semi, 1 quarter) *All between 1990 and 1995*
15. UNLV, 13 points (1 title, 2 semis, 1 quarter) *All between 1987 and 1991*
16. Villanova, 12 points (1 title, 1 semi, 2 quarters) *17 year drought between 1988 and 2006*
17. Maryland, 10 points (1 title, 1 semi) *2 year blip*
18. Ohio State, 10 points (1 runner-up, 2 semis, 2 quarters)

Great work here. I did something similar, but I gave 8 pts for NC, 6 pts for RU, 4 pts for an FF, 2 pts for an E8, and then 1 pt for making the tournament but not getting to the E8. Consistency should count for something.

With my system it was interesting to see the separation between Duke, UNC, KU, and UK versus the rest of the pack and even the separation of Duke from the other three.

The next level down in terms of overall points were Arizona, Michigan State, UConn, SU, Louisville, Florida, UCLA, Indiana, and Michigan. So using since the tournament expanded to 64 teams as the beginning point, as good as this group has been, they aren't catching the upper 4 soon.

Finally, Georgetown did slightly better in my system than yours, tying Nova and Ohio State and finishing ahead of UNLV, Oklahoma, Maryland, Memphis, and Temple.

It will be interesting to see how things develop over the next decade.

Cheers,
Neil