Who do you think are the top 10 basketball programs

[QUSE]

Arizona has made the Elite Eight 10 times in the modern era (1985) and 6 times since 2000. SU has 6 and 3 in those same time periods. When a school makes the E8 I think it's a big accomplishment and I put a lot of emphasis on it.

Since 2000 Zona is 28-14 in the NCAAT and SU is 24-11 with the last 5 years being Zona 11-4 while SU is 11-5, pretty close.

UCLA definitely is one of the top 10 all-time programs - they're number one - but I don't think they're top 10 right now. I think Arizona is clearly the best program out west these days.

I think what a program does recently is more important than what they did long term and I was answering the question with that in mind. If you or anyone else thinks SU is the better program I don't have any problem with that, SU does have the most recent NC and FF.

If recent tournament success is such a big emphasis then I don't see how UConn isn't either no.1 or no.2 on your list, they won 25% of past 16 NCs with one more final four to boot, I don't see anyone sans Duke come close to that. Your list just doesn't seem very consistent with your criteria. And last time I checked they don't give out trophies for elite 8s, and I bet most cbb fans can't even name all the elite 8 teams from last year, but most ppl would remember final 4 teams. Tbh I think given the elite level that Arizona has been recruiting at for a long time, the fact that their last final four was won by Jason Terry and Richard Jefferson, two guys who're about to retire from the league, screams underachieving to me.

 

[Rage4CUSE]

If you gave 16 points for a 1 seed, 15 points for a 2 seed and so on. Here is the top 50 programs for the NCAA tournament Era and all ACC programs included this was done by a UNC fan. Syracuse is definitely in a bottom end of the top IMO.


Seeds
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Years Pts Team
1 14 8 4 1 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 473 North Carolina
2 12 10 6 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 32 471 Duke
3 11 6 4 4 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 439 Kansas
4 11 6 3 2 1 1 0 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 30 404 Kentucky
5 3 5 6 6 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 384 Syracuse
6 3 2 4 9 2 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 29 358 Louisville
7 6 5 4 2 2 1 0 2 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 28 348 Arizona
7 3 5 2 4 3 4 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 348 Indiana
9 4 4 1 5 2 4 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 27 333 UCLA
10 5 4 5 1 1 3 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 328 Georgetown
11 5 2 2 2 6 1 3 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 306 Michigan State
12 5 3 2 4 2 3 1 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 25 303 Oklahoma
13 3 1 3 6 4 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 25 301 Illinois
14 3 2 4 1 2 5 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 283 Purdue
15 5 6 1 1 3 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 265 Connecticut
16 4 4 2 4 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 262 Ohio State
17 2 3 1 5 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 23 255 Arkansas
17 1 2 4 4 3 2 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 255 Maryland
19 1 2 1 3 2 3 3 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 24 252 Texas
20 1 2 5 1 1 1 1 3 5 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 23 246 Villanova
21 2 4 1 1 2 4 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 21 245 Memphis
22 1 3 3 1 2 2 0 2 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 23 243 Missouri
23 2 2 4 1 3 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 234 Florida
24 2 2 5 1 1 1 0 2 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 20 229 Pittsburgh
24 1 2 0 1 2 1 5 2 3 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 24 229 Temple
30 1 3 1 4 3 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 209 Wake Forest
32 4 0 0 2 4 1 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 204 Virginia
33 1 2 1 1 3 3 3 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 203 Notre Dame
44 0 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 171 Georgia Tech
45 0 0 3 1 1 3 2 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 17 168 North Carolina State
50 0 0 1 3 2 1 2 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 14 143 Boston College
56 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 11 113 Clemson
57 0 0 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 11 111 Florida State
82 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 69 Miami (FL)
95 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 57 Virginia Tech

That has us 5th, right in the middle of them top 10. We keep finding metrics that say SU is clearly a top 10 basketball school.

Btw, look at the drop off of #1 seeds between 4th ranked Kentucky(11) and 5th Ranked SU(3). The next closest team to Kentucky after us is 7th ranked Arizona(6).

 

[Rage4CUSE]

If recent tournament success is such a big emphasis then I don't see how UConn isn't either no.1 or no.2 on your list, they won 25% of past 16 NCs with one more final four to boot, I don't see anyone sans Duke come close to that. Your list just doesn't seem very consistent with your criteria. And last time I checked they don't give out trophies for elite 8s, and I bet most cbb fans can't even name all the elite 8 teams from last year, but most ppl would remember final 4 teams. Tbh I think given the elite level that Arizona has been recruiting at for a long time, the fact that their last final four was won by Jason Terry and Richard Jefferson, two guys who're about to retire from the league, screams underachieving to me.

To be fair our last final four win, the only player in the league is in the back end of his career. But Jason Terry is like 39 years old.

 

[two3zone]

That has us 5th, right in the middle of them top 10. We keep finding metrics that say SU is clearly a top 10 basketball school.

When the criteria gives you more credit being a higher seed than it does winning it the criteria is incredibly flawed. If anybody can honestly say that we've had more success the past few years than Uconn and Louisville then you need your head checked.

 

[Alsacs]

That has us 5th, right in the middle of them top 10. We keep finding metrics that say SU is clearly a top 10 basketball school.

Btw, look at the drop off of #1 seeds between 4th ranked Kentucky(11) and 5th Ranked SU(3). The next closest team to Kentucky after us is 7th ranked Arizona(6).

We are 1987 away from being ahead of Michigan State IMO. If we had 2 NCs we would move to 9th.

We have been super consistent in the JB era. We weren't a 1 seed a lot but we were 3-4 seeds a lot and we make the second weekend a lot.

I would put us 10th ahead of Arizona 11th.

The top 4 are not questioned.

I give UCLA the history and respect of 5th. You gotta give UConn their due after that. They don't have the longevity but they got the rings which matter more.

Indiana/Louisville next tier are interchangeable IMO.

Then you got Michigan State/Syracuse/Arizona/Florida types.

 

[Rage4CUSE]

When the criteria gives you more credit being a higher seed than it does winning it the criteria is incredibly flawed. If anybody can honestly say that we've had more success the past few years than Uconn and Louisville then you need your head checked.

Like I said before, that is just one metric saying that SU is a top 10 program in the history of NCAA. There is also the fact that SU has the 5th most wins as a program in D1 history.

 

[two3zone]

Like I said before, that is just one metric saying that SU is a top 10 program in the history of NCAA. There is also the fact that SU has the 5th most wins as a program in D1 history.

5th in wins, tied for 15th in NCs with 20 others schools.

We very well could be a top 10 program, but it is a very good debate and I honestly don't think there is a cut and dry answer to if we are or not.

 

[QUSE]

To be fair our last final four win, the only player in the league is in the back end of his career. But Jason Terry is like 39 years old.

Just looked it up, Terry wasn't on that team lol. But my point still stands.

 

[longislandcuse]

I think program wise we are 8-10 but brand wise 5 or 6 behind UK, UNC, KU and Duke. There is definitely a drop off between those 4 and Cuse though.

Household names
East Coast Bias
Famous alumni
Iconic Dome
Huge crowds
Large fan base located throughout major eastern coast cities

 

[Brooky03]

Syracuse is in the top 10. Almost every time this comes up on national boards, about 80% of responses put us in the bottom half of the top 10 (8-10) range.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Louisville is going to take a major hit and North Carolina is going to become irrelevant for many years. Louisville knows that a big hit is coming. North Carolina is clueless. The NCAA is not scared of individual schools. They are scared of cheating and with good reason. Unaffected schools cheer when penalties are levied against competitors. They assume that the competitors are guilty. Skeptics think that member schools are angry when the NCAA lowers the boom. It is quite the opposite.

 

[dasher]

I think program wise we are 8-10 but brand wise 5 or 6 behind UK, UNC, KU and Duke. There is definitely a drop off between those 4 and Cuse though.

Household names
East Coast Bias
Famous alumni
Iconic Dome
Huge crowds
Large fan base located throughout major eastern coast cities

great points. I think our national perception is a bit better than our actual performance. That comes from always at least being pretty good. We never have just an awful year.

 

[Dave85]

Orange have a great brand in the biggest media market.

All we need is a few more NC and we would always be in the top discussion. Everything is there. We just need some more luck to go our way. Our time will come.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Louisville is going to take a major hit and North Carolina is going to become irrelevant for many years. Louisville knows that a big hit is coming. North Carolina is clueless. The NCAA is not scared of individual schools. They are scared of cheating and with good reason. Unaffected schools cheer when penalties are levied against competitors. They assume that the competitors are guilty. Skeptics think that member schools are angry when the NCAA lowers the boom. It is quite the opposite.

Explain Cam Newton skating.

 

[dasher]

Louisville is going to take a major hit and North Carolina is going to become irrelevant for many years. Louisville knows that a big hit is coming. North Carolina is clueless. The NCAA is not scared of individual schools. They are scared of cheating and with good reason. Unaffected schools cheer when penalties are levied against competitors. They assume that the competitors are guilty. Skeptics think that member schools are angry when the NCAA lowers the boom. It is quite the opposite.

I think UNC is going to skate on this one. The NCAA passed on it the first time. there was a reason for that. One thing you are correct on is the last thing you said. There is a rich history of people not caring when injustices are done to someone or someone is faced with excessive punishment. That rich history includes people being surprised when no one stands up for them when they are faced with injustice or when thye are faced with excessive punishment.

 

[jncuse]

The top programs should be:
- Historical Dominant
- Consistently Great in the Current Generation
- Well Positioned moving forward

There is a clear Big 4 that are fairly close

Kansas
Kentucky
UNC**
Duke

** some concerns moving forward that could impact ability to stay with rest of group.

The next 6 are all fairly close as well. Indiana and UCLA used to be at the same level as the Big 4, but just have not been good enough recently. But all these schools have a mix of historical dominance or high level of recent success.

Indiana
UCLA
Louisville
Michigan St
Syracuse
Arizona

I think the line for the top 10 was fairly easy to establish. I can't think of any other programs that can really overtake these if we are going to consider historical results to some degree.

UConn is extremely high in recent success. But until UConn is able to hitch on with a power conference, they get immediately disqualified as a top 10 program candidate. To many questions moving forward

 

[HOFCeluck]

We're probably somewhere 8-12. ...I'm good w that.

 

[dasher]

The top programs should be:
- Historical Dominant
- Consistently Great in the Current Generation
- Well Positioned moving forward

There is a clear Big 4 that are fairly close

Kansas
Kentucky
UNC
Duke

The next 6 are all fairly close as well. Indiana and UCLA used to be at the same level as the Big 4, but just have not been good enough recently. But all these schools have a mix of historical dominance or high level of recent success.

Indiana
UCLA
Louisville
Michigan St
Syracuse
Arizona

I think the line for the top 10 was fairly easy to establish. I can't think of any other programs that can really overtake these if we are going to consider historical results to some degree.

UConn is extremely high in recent success. But until UConn is able to hitch on with a power conference, they get immediately disqualified as a top 10 program candidate. To many questions moving forward

I agree that UConn has problems going forward but at this moment, they are certainly a top 10 program.

 

[AlaskaSU]

I think UNC is going to skate on this one. The NCAA passed on it the first time. there was a reason for that. One thing you are correct on is the last thing you said. There is a rich history of people not caring when injustices are done to someone or someone is faced with excessive punishment. That rich history includes people being surprised when no one stands up for them when they are faced with injustice or when thye are faced with excessive punishment.

The reason they skated is that it was a matter of determining if an academic course was legitimate. Such a question is outside of the ncaa wheelhouse, and rightfully so. It all changed when the Southern accrediting Institute ruled the courses bogus. The floodgates are now open. North Carolina will not skate.

 

[SoBeCuse]

IMO my rankings are based on recruiting ability, history and titles.

1. Kentucky
2. North Carolina
3. Kansas
4. Duke
5. UCLA
6. UConn
7. Indiana
8. Louisville
9. Michigan State
10. Syracuse

Tomcat's signature which says SU has been to a final four in 5 straight decades is tiebreaker over Arizona which would be my 11th.

I could swap Louisville with UConn (longer reign of importance for UL) and either keep Syracuse where you have them or swap them with Arizona. Good list though.

1. Kentucky
2. North Carolina
3. Kansas
4. Duke
5. UCLA
6. Louisville
7. Indiana
8. UConn
9. Michigan St.
10. Arizona or Syracuse

 

[Rage4CUSE]

Does UCONN take a hit in the top 10 rankings since their ball program has only been D1 program for what 30 years know? Am I remembering that correctly?

 

[cuseattle]

UCLA
Kentucky
Kansas
North Carolina
Duke
Indi
Syracuse
UConn
Michigan St.
Zona
(I put UConn low, because they are late to the party)
Honorable mention
Ville, Utah, OK State

 

[cuseattle]

Does UCONN take a hit in the top 10 rankings since their ball program has only been D1 program for what 30 years know? Am I remembering that correctly?

Something like that. Believe they rode our coat tails into prominence.
Respect for the Championships

 

[PoppyHart]

UCLA
Kentucky
Kansas
North Carolina
Duke
Indi
Syracuse
UConn
Michigan St.
Zona
(I put UConn low, because they are late to the party)
Honorable mention
Ville, Utah, OK State

Utah? RUKM?

 

[cuseattle]

Utah? RUKM?

West Coast thing. They have been relevant for 75 years. I am not kidding. Look at all time wins.