So I was playing my 2005 EA Sports NCAA March Madness game for the PS2 and they had Notre Dame with a prestige ranking of 5 out of 6 *'s. What the hell has ND ever done in basketball besides ending UCLA's unbeaten streak? NC State on the other hand had only 4*'s. Some team from the Atlantic 10 even had a prestige ranking of 4*'s. Who the hell is doing the programming in these games? It seriously must be some Japanese programmers that go "oh Notre Dame, they most excellent, we shall give them 5 stars!" The game even had conference rankings, which for some reason were based only on 5*'s instead of 6. The ACC was the only 5* conference.

Ok now that you kind of got how I came to the idea for this thread, lets hear how you'd rank the confences and teams. I'm going to do both on a 6* scale. Here's mine


Conference Prestige

ACC - ******

America East - **

Atlantic 10 - ***

Atlantic Sun - *

Big XII - ****

Big East - ******

Big Sky - *

Big Ten - *****

Big West - **

Colonial - **

Conference USA - ****

Horizon League - **

Mid-Continent - **

MAC - ***

MEAC - *

Missouri Valley - ***

Mountain West - ***

Northeast - *

Pac 10 - *****

Patriot League - **

SEC - ***** (I would have probably had them at a 4* two years ago, but many of the teams have really stepped up)

Southland - *

Sun Belt - **

WCC - ***

WAC - ***

Did I miss any conferences? I'm gonna do the ACC teams next.

[Edited on November 29, 2006 at 1:26 AM. Reason : ]

11/29/2006 1:25:52 AM

anywhoo...........

11/29/2006 1:27:36 AM

this thread will fail.

11/29/2006 1:28:03 AM

not to justify the 5 * rating for notre dame basketball. But cant pass up a chance to use wikipedia

Quote :

"Notre Dame has success in other sports also. The men's basketball team has made 27 NCAA Tournament appearances and made it to the Final Four in 1978. They are also known for ending UCLA's 88-game winning streak in 1974, a streak which had begun after Notre Dame had previously ended UCLA's 45-game winning streak in 1971. Notre Dame's women's basketball team also has made numerous tournament appearances, and won the National Championship in 2001."

i agree. 3 *'s at the most. one final four appearance 28 years ago

11/29/2006 1:32:36 AM

how'd we get ranked lower in prestige, not current roster, but prestige when their biggest accomplishment is

Quote :

"made it to the Final Four in 1978."

11/29/2006 1:36:10 AM

what is really odd is that wikipedia has a section on notre dame basketball but nothing on any of our sports specifically

[Edited on November 29, 2006 at 1:38 AM. Reason : d]

11/29/2006 1:38:03 AM

OMG FIRE CHUCK

o wait

11/29/2006 1:38:45 AM

holy crap this got me kinda interested and I found out that since the ACC basketball tournament began there has only been one time when the final game has not had a team from north carolina in it

11/29/2006 1:44:07 AM

^^^ nah, not really. ND has a ton of fans.

11/29/2006 1:44:46 AM

^^ Eh, not that hard when half the teams are from NC.

11/29/2006 1:48:40 AM

^^^ and it was played at Reynolds for many many years.... talk about home field advantage

11/29/2006 2:14:09 AM

^^uh yeah it is pretty hard...lets say it was purely by chance...and exactly half of the teams were from nc...which actually there are less than half...then a championship game should have 2 non north carolina teams once every four years

11/29/2006 2:38:37 AM

^and, of course, it's not by chance, so your point its completely irrelevant.

- Good programs beget good teams over and over.
- Noting that success breeds success, the NC programs took turns in dominating the tournament.
- College basketball is the main even in North Carolina, so it gets all the support and attention, where it is just a blip in other states.

11/29/2006 2:50:01 AM

Boston College - **** - 3 Elite Eight Appearances, 1997 and 2001 Big East Tournament winners, 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, 10 NIT trips.

Clemson - *** - 1939 Southern Conference Tournament Champions, 1990 ACC Regular Season Champions, 3 Sweet 16 Appearances, 1980 Elite 8 Appearance, 1999 NIT Runner-Up.

Duke - ****** - What can you say, they're the team of the 90's, and even the past 15 or so years. Tradition oozes out of the walls of Cameron Indoor Stadium. It's pretty much everyone's consensus toughest place to play in all of college basketball. 3 National Championships (2 being back to back), 14 Final Fours, 16 ACC Tournament Championships, 18 ACC Regular Season Championships, etc.

Florida State - *** - There's got to be some tradtion here somewhere right? Some NCAA appearances, etc.

Georgia Tech - **** - 2 appearances in the National Championship game, a ton of talented players have came out of here. I don't know how many NCAA appearances they've had, but I'm guessing a fair amount during Cremins years.

Maryland - ***** - 1 National Championship, another Final Four the year before the championship, ACC championships in 1958, 1984, and 2004. Numerous amount of NCAA tournament appearances, a constant leader in attendance nationally, one of the toughest places to play in college basketball in the Comcast Center (Cole Fieldhouse was tough as well).

Miami - ** - Do I really need to say anything here? I mean this is a program that was dropped by the school and non-existent from 1972-1985. 1 Sweet Sixteen in 2000.

North Carolina - ****** - 4 National Championships, winningest coach in the history of the game, another leader in attendance nationally. A lot of great players have played there. Numerous ACC Tournament and Regular Season Championships, as well as NCAA appearances.

North Carolina State - ***** - 2 National Championships, 1 other Final Four, 10 ACC Tournament Championships in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1965, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1983, 1987. A number of Southern Conference Championships. 1973 undefeated season. Another leader in attendance nationally. Home of Everett Case, father of the ACC, who is also credited with bringing big time basketball to the state of North Carolina, first to introduce his starting lineup by spotlight, and his team brought the tradition of cutting down the nets to the college game. (I'm praying that Lowe can elevate us to a 6 star program in these next few years)

Virginia - **** - Final Four appearances in 1981, 1984. Elite Eight appearances in 1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995. One ACC Tournament Championship.

Virginia Tech - ** - Umm, yeah...

Wake Forest - **** - One Final Four appearance in 1962. 20 NCAA appearances. Anyone know how many ACC Championships they have, regular season and tournament? Fairly tough place to play when the fans are supportive. A number of great players, Tim Duncan, Muggsy Bogues, Josh Howard, Chris Paul, and let us not forget their generous gift of Billy Packer, who played on their Final Four team, to college announcing.

11/29/2006 2:54:01 AM

wait a second, this is from a video game?


grow up

i dont care about playstation games

11/29/2006 7:38:43 AM

Quote :

"uh yeah it is pretty hard...lets say it was purely by chance...and exactly half of the teams were from nc...which actually there are less than half...then a championship game should have 2 non north carolina teams once every four years"

Lionheart's point was that the ACC Tournament Final has only been without a team from North Carolina once in its history.

From 1954-1971, there were eight teams in the conference, four from North Carolina. That's 50%.

In '71, South Carolina left the conference, so from '71-78 there were only seven teams, four from NC. That's 57.14%.

In '78 Georgia Tech came in, so we're back up to 50% until 1991. Florida State makes one more out of state team than in state, so we're down to 44.4% until 2004 when it went down to 36.36% and then last year at 33.3% (which doesn't really matter since Duke won).

It's not that hard to get at least one NC team in the final every year with percentages like that.

It's a cool little stat for sure, but not that crazy when you think about it.

[Edited on November 29, 2006 at 8:11 AM. Reason : 4]

11/29/2006 8:10:52 AM

Big East

Cincinnati - ***** - 2 National Championships in 1961 and 1962. 6 Final Fours, 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances during Huggins tenure, home to 3 time All-American, and one of the greatest players ever in Oscar Robertson.

Connecticut - ****** - 2 National Championships in 1999 and 2004, which makes up their 2 Final Fours. 27 NCAA Tournament appearances. 10 Big East Regular Season Championships in 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006. 6 Big East Tournament Championships in 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004. 11 NIT appearances, and 1 NIT Championship in 1988.

DePaul - *** - 2 Final Fours, one NIT Championship in 1945. That's about all I could find.

Georgetown - ***** - 1 National Championship in 1984. 3 Final Fours. Big East Regular Season Championships in 1980, 1984, 1987, 1989, and 1992. Big East Tournament Championships in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989.

Louisville - ****** - 2 National Championships in 1980 and 1986. 8 Final Fours. 11 conference championships. 32 NCAA Tournament appearances. 1956 NIT Champions, 1948 NAIB Champions, Top 5 in the Nation in Attendance for 24 consecutive years. (I considered giving them only 5 stars, but the number of Final Fours and NCAA Tournament appearances kind of pushed it to 6 for me)

Marquette - 1 National Championship in 1977. 3 Final Fours in 1974 (runner ups), 1977, and 2003. 6 Elite Eights in 1955, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1977, and 2003. 24 NCAA Tournament appearances. 1 NIT Championship in 1970.

Notre Dame - **** - 1 Final Four in 1978. 27 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Pitt - **** - 2 "National Championships" in the 1927-1928 season and the 1929-30 season. 1 Final Four (1941), 1 Elite Eight (1974), and 3 Sweet Sixteens (2002, 2003, 2004). 18 NCAA Tournament appearances (941, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). 2 Eastern Eight Tournament Champions (1981 and 1982). 4 Eastern Intercollegiate Champions (33', 34', 35', 37'). 3 Big East Regular Season Champions (87', 88', 04'). 2001-02 Big East Regular Season West Champions, 2002-03 Big East Tournament and Regular Season West Co-Champions.

Providence - *** - 2 NIT Championships (1961, 1963), 2 Final Fours (1973, 1987), 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, 16 NIT appearances.

Rutgers - ** - 1 Final Four (couldn't find the date) and that's all that I could find, but they did give us the great Jim Valvano.

St. John's - *** - 2 Final Fours, 27 NCAA Tournament appearances which is ranked 7th among NCAA teams, and 5th most successful program in college basketball history with 1673 wins. All that "success" and not much to show for it.

Seton Hall - *** - 1 Final Four in 1989 (runner-up), 1 NIT Championship (1953),

South Florida - * - umm...

Syracuse - ***** - 1 National Championship (2003), UNC like "National Championships" in 1918 and 1926 aka Helms Foundation Trophys, 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, 4 Final Fours (1975, 1987, 1996, 2003).

Villanova - ***** - 1 National Championship (1985), 3 Final Fours (1939, 1971, 1985). I kind of wanted to give them only 4 stars, but they do have an NCAA championship. I don't know how many conference championships they have.

West Virginia - *** - 1 Final Four (1959, runner up), 1 NIT Championship (1942), 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, 14 NIT appearances.

11/30/2006 10:51:09 PM

Quote :

"what is really odd is that wikipedia has a section on notre dame basketball but nothing on any of our sports specifically"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NC_State_Wolfpack

11/30/2006 10:53:05 PM

Quote :

"and let us not forget their generous gift of Billy Packer, who played on their Final Four team, to college announcing."

We produced Terry Gannon, who does basketball and golf. He is actually good unlike Packer.

12/1/2006 1:22:21 AM

I was trying to be sarcastic with the Billy Packer remark. Hence the .

12/1/2006 1:45:00 AM

Big Ten

Illinois - ***** - 1 unofficial National Championship in 1915 (another one of those Helms trophies), 5 Final Fours (1949, 1951, 1952, 1989, 2005 <--runner up), 26 NCAA Tournament appearances, 17 Big Ten Regular Season Champions (1915, 1918, 1924, 1935, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1949, 1951 1952, 1963, 1984, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005), 2 Big Ten Tournament Champions (2003, 2005)

Indiana - ****** - 5 National Championships (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987), 8 Final Fours, 14 Sweet Sixteens, 32 NCAA Tournament appearances, 20 Big Ten Titles (1926, 1928, 1936, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2002). Truly one of the most historic programs in all of college basketball.

Iowa - **** - 3 Final Fours (1955, 1956, 1979), 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, 8 Big Ten Titles (1923, 1926, 1945, 1955, 1956, 1968, 1970, 1979), 2 Big Ten Tournament Titles (2001, 2006).

Michigan - ***** - 1 National Championship (1989), 6 Final Fours (1964, 1965, 1976, 1989, 1992, 1993), 17 NCAA Tournament appearances, 10 Elite Eights (1948, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1989, 1992, 1994), 10 Sweet Sixteens (1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994), 12 Big Ten Titles (1921, 1926-27, 1929, 1948, 1964-65, 1966, 1974, 1977, 1985, 1986), 2 NIT Championships (1984, 2004). Probably could put them at a 4 star now due to the sanctions the school put on the program.

Michigan State - ****** - 2 National Championships (1979, 2000), 6 Final Fours 1957, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, I couldn't find the other statistics, but I'm sure they have a number of NCAA Tournament appearances and Big Ten Titles.

Minnesota - *** - 1 NIT Championship (1993), 1 Final Four in 1997 that was voided due to academic fraud, 3 Sweet Sixteens (1982, 1989, 1990), 6 NCAA Tournament appearances (1972, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2005), 8 Big Ten Regular Season Championships (1906, 1907, 1911, 1917, 1919, 1937, 1972, 1982).

Northwestern - * - No NCAA Tournament appearances and that's all I have to say.

Ohio State - **** - 1 National Championship (1960), 9 Final Fours, I only know of 5 Big Ten Titles which were won consecutively from 1960-64.

Penn State - * - 1 Final Four (1954), and their best finish was when they beat UNC to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in 2001. They've been pretty lackluster through much of their history.

Purdue - ***** - 1 National Championship (1932), 2 Final Fours (1932, 1969) 21 Big Ten Titles (the most of any Big Ten school), 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. I gave them 5 stars due to the number of conference championships.

Wisconsin - **** 1 National Championship (1941), 2 Final Fours that I know of (1941, 2000) and that's about all that I know, but Bo Ryan has made them a consistent NCAA team.

12/1/2006 4:38:06 PM

So have I been pretty spot on so far, or are there some that you would change?

12/1/2006 6:20:29 PM

what is marquettes ranking? i would give 4, possibly 5

12/1/2006 10:18:47 PM

ah crap i totally forgot to put the stars beside Marquette. i was gonna give them a 5* ranking, b/c they have a national championship, good basketball tradition, and also the Bradley Center can be a fairly tough place to play.

12/9/2006 6:04:48 PM

SEC

Alabama - **** - 1 Elite Eight (2004), 8 Sweet Sixteens, 18 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 6 Conference Tournament Championships (1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991), 7 Conference Regular Season Championships (1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991). Trail only Kentucky in SEC basketball wins, SEC tournament titles and regular season titles (normally I would have given them a 3 * rating, but when I saw this, it changed my perspective on their program).

Arkansas - ***** - 1 National Championship (1994), 6 Final Fours (1941, 1945, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1995). That's all I could find, but that generally warrants a 5* rating.

Auburn - ** - 1 SEC Tournament Championship (1985), 2 SEC Regular Season Championships (1960, 1999), and Charles Barkley.

Florida - ***** - 1 National Championship (2006), 3 Final Fours (1994, 2000, 2006), 2 SEC Tournament Championships (2004, 2005). Definitely a late-bloomer in terms of program prestige and history, but they have steadily become one of the premier programs in the nation while Billy Donovan has been at the helm. I still hate them for calling themselves the Rowdy Reptiles though.

Georgia - ** - 1 Final Four (1983), 1 SEC Championship (1990), Dominique Wilkens seems to be their only really famous player.

Kentucky - ****** - 7 National Championships (1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998), 13 Final Fours (1942, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1966, 1975, 1978, 1984, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998), 40 SEC Regular Season Championships, 25 SEC Tournament Championships. #1 in all-time wins. This program is so storied that they are known for permanently referring to unforgettable teams by nicknames such as The Fabulous Five, NIT Scandal, The Fiddlin' Five, Rupp's Runts, The Season Without Celebration, Kentucky's Shame, The Unforgettables, The Untouchables, The Unbelievables, and The Comeback Cats. They don't even hang individual banners of their SEC Championships b/c they have so many. This is truly one of the blue bloods of college basketball.

LSU - **** - 1 Mythical National Championship (MNC) in 1939 (i.e. a championship determined by polls; the NCAA Tournament did not exist at this time), 4 Final Fours (1953, 1981, 1986, 2006), 9 SEC Championships (1935, 1953, 1954, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1991, 2000, 2006).

Ole Miss - * - I can't find crap on them, so they must not have done much. I'd say most people nationally don't think much of the Ole Miss basketball program anyways.

Mississippi State - *** - 1 Final Four (1996). Couldn't find anything more than that, but I know they've had some decently successful seasons in the past.

South Carolina - *** - 2 NIT Championships (2005, 2006), 8 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1 SEC Regular Season Championship (1997), 1 ACC Tournament Championship (1971), 1 Southern Conference Tournament Championship (1933). The lingering question is, with such a historically mediocre program, why the need for such a big arena then?

Tennessee - TBD - I can't find information on their program. I do know that there is a myth that they built Thompson-Boling Arena (capacity 24,535) so large b/c they wanted to one up Kentucky. I'd imagine they'd be a 3 * program though.

Vanderbilt - *** - 1 NIT Championship (1990), 3 SEC Regular Season Championships (1965, 1974 (shared), 1993), 1 SEC Tournament Championships (1951), 8 NCAA Tournament Appearances (1965, 1974, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2004 <--this one is quite memorable to State fans for the Phantom intentional foul on Marcus Melvin), 2 Elite Eights (1965, 1974), 2 Sweet Sixteens (1993, 2004). One cool tradition Vanderbilt has revolves around their streak of always making 3 pointers in their games. Vanderbilt is one of only three teams to make a 3 point field goal in every game since the rule was implemented in the 1986-87 season. The other two teams to do so are Princeton and UNLV. At Vanderbilt home games, after the first 3 pointer of the game is made, the PA announcer says "And the streak continues" and the cheerleaders throw t-shirts commemorating the streak into the crowd.


[Edited on February 21, 2007 at 12:08 AM. Reason : ]

2/21/2007 12:06:12 AM

Quote :

"ACC - ****** Big East - ******"

ok, not to be an acc homer, BUT

if these are prestige (not current strength), then there's really no way you can put any conference on the same level as the acc.

2/21/2007 1:34:07 AM

if this is about a video game then this thread is gayer than the thread about the faggot player at unc

2/21/2007 9:30:45 AM

What about the Southern, wasn't NC State in that before the ACC?

2/21/2007 10:09:55 AM

correct me if im wrong, but why would anyone even include things like "9 time regular season SEC Champs" etc. If we are comparing a conference, conference championships contribute nothing. About the farthest you could go to contribute anything meaningful for overall conference prestige relating to interconference play is the fact that a solid conference from top to bottom like the ACC tends to beat up on each other a lot

2/21/2007 10:35:23 AM

Quote :

"if these are prestige (not current strength), then there's really no way you can put any conference on the same level as the acc."

Why can't the Big East be on the same level as the ACC. The ACC has had only 4 teams win National Titles. The Big East has had 7 teams (Marquette, Cincinnatti, Syracuse, Villanova, Louisville, Georgetown, and Connecticut) win NCAA titles. That accounts for 10 NCAA Championships. The four ACC teams only hold 10 NCAA Championships as well.

^I included Regular Season Championships should be included b/c it can show which teams have often dominated league play. If you come out on top of a major conference like the ACC, Big East, etc. then you have a good chance to make a deep run in the tournament. Granted the age of the conference should be taken into consideration with the number of conference championships. The SEC has been around since 1932, while the ACC has been around since 1953. 10 Conference Championships in the ACC is more impressive than 10 Conference Championships in the SEC or the Big Ten, which has been around since 1896.

I am open to suggestions, and welcome others to do their own rankings of the teams/conferences. This isn't a dumb thread. Think about how many times in years past that conferences like the ACC have complained about how many teams they should have gotten in the tournament. Last year comes to mind when we only got 4 teams in and a ton of mid-majors got in. Granted some mid-majors do well in the tournament (i.e. George Mason), but most of the time they stink it up and get blown off the floor. If it's really about getting the 64 best teams then shouldn't we consider the toughness of the conference when looking at the records. A 10-6 team in the ACC, barring they didn't fuck up their OOC schedule, should get a better seed than a second place Missouri Valley Conference team that got an at-large bid.

Quote :

"What about the Southern, wasn't NC State in that before the ACC?"

Yes we were in the Southern Conference before helping found the ACC. We won 6 Southern Conference Tournament Championships (1928,1947,1948, 1949, 1950, 1952). We've won 10 ACC Tournament Championships. I can't find the numbers on how many regular season championships in both leagues that we've won.

[Edited on February 21, 2007 at 11:42 AM. Reason : ]

2/21/2007 11:32:01 AM

I like this thread. It kind of puts all teams accomplishments in perspective.

As far as conferences, over the Big East's life (started in the early 80s) the ACC and the Big East have been the two premier basketball conferences...

2/21/2007 12:10:28 PM

^Thank you, just b/c the Big East is a young conference doesn't mean they aren't a prestigious one.

[Edited on February 21, 2007 at 12:55 PM. Reason : ]

2/21/2007 12:40:23 PM

ok, two things. first thing, everyone saying this thread is stupid b/c it's about video games, read it again, it's 'how would you rank the conferences?'

second thing, ^ is the worst post ever. i mean that.

EDIT: ^ took out the part where he said "america is a young country and we're prestigious, no one wants to fuck with us." it's no longer the worst post ever, but i'm keeping my original comment.

[Edited on February 21, 2007 at 1:05 PM. Reason : i would've edited that, too]

2/21/2007 12:44:50 PM

Why? The Big East has been every bit as prestegious over it's lifetime as the ACC. Yes, the ACC has been around longer and has more 'tradition' attached to it, but I don't see how that makes it any more or less prestegious today.

As far as National Championships, in the ~50 year history, the ACC has 4 teams who have won 10 National Championships IIRC. In the ~25 year history of the Big East, 4 members (UConn, Nova, G'Town, and Syrcause) have won 5 National Championships. Add in a historically GREAT program like Louisville and two historically very, very good programs like Cincy and Marquette and you have a conference that is every bit the ACCs equal IMO.

2/21/2007 1:01:54 PM

Pac-10

Arizona - ***** - 1 National Championship (1997), 4 Final Fours (1988, 1994, 1997, 2001), 11 PAC-10 Basketball Titles (1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005), 20 consecutive 20-win seasons, and reached the NCAA Tournament 22 consecutive years, which is the longest active and second-longest streak in NCAA history (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has the longest streak with 27).

Arizona State - ** - 1 Sweet Sixteen (1995), 12 NCAA Tournament Appearances (1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1973, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1995, 2003) * (note I know there are only 11 listed here, but I can't find when their other appearance was).

Cal - *** - 1 National Championship (1959), 2 Final Fours (1959, 1960), 1 NIT Championship (1999), 13 Conference Championships (6 in the 1920s, 3 in the 1930s and 40s, and 4 in 5 years in the span of 1955-60). The Golden Bears have a decent amount of history, but it's all old history, and have not had a conference championship since 1960. They once had a 25-year, 52 game losing streak to UCLA which ended in 1986. Granted UCLA was a powerhouse for much of those 25 years, but to go that long without winning one single game is inexcusable, especially since by the 1980s UCLA had fallen off some and was considered beatable.

Oregon - *** - 1 National Championship (1939, note this was the first NCAA Tournament; this was also Oregon's only Final Four appearance which they were then known as the Tall Firs instead of the Ducks). I don't know much else besides that they won the Pac-10 recently in 2002 and 2003, and they reached the Elite Eight in 2002. They have a pretty good basketball tradition playing in MacArthur Court, which was opened in 1927 making it the oldest on-campus Division I basketball arena, behind Fordham's Rose Hill Gym. The University, going against many fan wishes, plans to build a new, modern 15,000 seat arena, thus replacing the legendary, unique gym that shares the nickname "The Pit" with New Mexico's University Arena, which is truly more deserving of the nickname since it really is a large hole in the ground.

Oregon State - *** - 2 Final Fours, 16 NCAA Tournament Appearances, holds the NCAA record for the most wins against a single team from all their matchups against Oregon, and have the 13th most amount of wins of any program in the nation as of the end of the 2005 season (hmm...this doesn't seem very valid though). Note I couldn't find the dates on the Final Fours and the NCAA Tournament Appearances, but I think a lot of them came early on in the NCAAs existence.

Stanford - **** - 3 National Championships (1937, 1938, 1942 <-- this one being the only NCAA Championship). The Cardinal have a good winning tradition and have been ranked #1 in the nation just a few years ago. I was kind of torn on whether I should give them a 3 * or a 4 * b/c they have not won anything of great significane in some time, but have posted great records in recent years earning them high national recognition.

Southern Cal - ** - Since starting basketball in 1907, USC has compiled a record of 1,386-1,013 (.578), winning 14 league championships. How did they ever win 14 league championships is beyond me.

UCLA - ****** - No surprise hear. 11 National Championships (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995), 16 Final Fours (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1995, 2006), 36 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 80 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 28 Conference Championships (1945, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2006), and a snootiness that is distininctly Californian in nature. In regards to UCLA basketball and its high expectations, former UCLA basketball player and current Seattle Supersonics player Earl Watson commented, "Eleven national championships, the best coach to coach the game says a lot [John Wooden]. I take offense to those who act like UCLA is just another school compared to Duke. Duke is a great school in the east, but UCLA is worldwide."

Washington - **** - 1 Final Four (1953), 4 Sweet Sixteens (1984, 1998, 2005, 2006), 9 Pac-10 Regular Season Titles (1931, 1934, 1943, 1944 (tie), 1948, 1951, 1953, 1984 (tie), 1985 (tie)), 1 Pac-10 Tournament Championship (2005). While not a historically great team, this program has come a long ways in recent years with Lorenzo Romar who secured a #1 seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and has their fans believing in them. Hec Edmundson Pavilion is now one of the toughest places to play in the Pac-10.

Washington State - ** - 1 "National Championship" in 1917 (they actually went to the NCAA to ask for approval to hang a banner, and the NCAA laughed at them and said sure go ahead we don't care. if that what gets your jollies then by all means do so ; well the whole dialogue I made up but they really did ask the NCAA for permission to hang a banner this year for a 90 year old "championship" that no one remembers or cares about ), also they hold the dubious record of participating in the lowest scoring championship basketball game in Division I history, losing to the University of Wisconsin 39-34 in the 1941 National Championship game. Impressive ain't it?

[Edited on March 7, 2007 at 2:43 AM. Reason : ]

3/7/2007 2:14:23 AM

Quote :

"No surprise hear"

this thread is fucking stupid

3/7/2007 11:42:38 AM

[Quote :
"Notre Dame has success in other sports also. The men's basketball team has made 27 NCAA Tournament appearances and made it to the Final Four in 1978. They are also known for ending UCLA's 88-game winning streak in 1974, a streak which had begun after Notre Dame had previously ended UCLA's 45-game winning streak in 1971.

Notre Dame's women's basketball team also has made numerous tournament appearances, and won the National Championship in 2001]

And who ended UCLA's NCAA Championship run in 1974?

3/7/2007 12:20:58 PM

Oregon State 13th in all-time wins? And most wins over a single team against Oregon?

You sure those are right? Just doesn't seem possible. The Beavers haven't been a good team in a while now.

3/7/2007 12:48:02 PM

^^^wow, I can't believe I didn't catch that. I usually look back over my posts, but it was really late at night and I went to bed soon after posting it. you know you don't have to read it if you don't want to right? others have said in here that they liked it.


^http://osubeavers.nmnathletics.com/attachments1/280.pdf

[Edited on March 7, 2007 at 7:33 PM. Reason : ]

3/7/2007 7:21:41 PM

Big XII

Baylor - ** - 2 Final Fours (1948, 1950), the scandal in 2003 really hurt this program, but Scott Drew has a good class coming in next year, so who konws how they'll do in the upcoming years.

Colorado - ** - 10 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 7 NIT Tournament Appearances, 5 Conference Titles through the span of 1951-1976.

Iowa State - *** - 1 Elite Eight (2000), 2 Sweet Sixteens (1986. 1997), 13 NCAA Tournament Appearances (1944, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005), 3 NIT Tournament Appearances (1984, 2003, 2004). I couldn't find how many conference titles they have. They do care about their basketball though and have one very underrated venues in Hilton Coliseum. They have a 102-25 (80.3 winning percentage ) mark at home during the last eight years.

Kansas - ****** - 2 National Championships (1952, 1988), 2 Helms Trophies that were retroactively awarded in 1936 (1922, 1923), 12 Final Fours (1940, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1971, 1974, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003), 34 NCAA Tournament appearances (4th all time), 50 Conference Titles (most of any school 1 ahead of Kentucky; note they must count regular season championships) here's a list of all of them, 13 Missouri Valley Conference (1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1915, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927), 12 Big Six Conference (1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946), 5 Big Seven Conference (1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957), 13 Big Eight Conference (1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996), 7 Big 12 Conference (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), 1,900 wins are the third most wins in NCAA history, ranked fifth in NCAA Tournament victories (73). This program can claim many notable individuals including Dean Smith, Larry Brown, Roy Williams, Wilt Chamberlain, Phog Allen, James Naismith (who had a losing record at Kansas), and Adolph Rupp. I personally think this is one of the more overrated programs of all time. I mean they are technically by their resume a 6 * program, but they only have 2 national championships, and have not won it in a long time. The last one in 1988 ultimately putting Kansas on probation. They played in a notoriously and historically weak conference in the Big 12/8/7 etc. (note the Big 12 has definitely elevated their game during the past year or so) which all but guaranteed them a high NCAA seeding due to pretty much running through the conference with ease (think Kentucky back in the day). This constant winning allowed them to just hand pick the best players from that part of the country, so you'd think they would have won at least one more national championship considering the number of Final Fours they've been to. Sorry for the rant.

Kansas State - **** - 4 Final Fours (1948, 1951 runner up, 1958, 1964), 11 Elite Eights, 16 Sweet Sixteens, 22 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 17 Conference Titles. The 1990s hurt the historic value of this program, but Bob Huggins will certainly elevate it back to where it once was. He got them their first 20-win season since 1989 in his first year there.

Missouri - **** - 4 Elite Eights (1944, 1976, 1994, 2002), 6 Sweet Sixteens (1976, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1994, 2002), 21 NCAA Tournament Appearances (1944, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003), 6 NIT Tournament Appearances (1984, 1985, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2005), 15 Conference Regular Season Championships, here is the list, 4 Missouri Valley Conference Championships (1918, 1920, 1921, 1922), 3 Big Six Conference Championships (1930, 1939, 1940), 8 Big Eight Conference Championships (1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994), and 6 Big Eight Conference Tournament Championships (1978, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993).

Nebraska - * - 1 NIT Championship (1996), 6 NCAA Tournament Appearances (1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998), 1 Big Eight Conference Tournament Championship (1994), 14 NIT Appearances (1967, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2006), and Nebraska has a distinction of one of the few major conference programs never to win a single game in the NCAA Tournament.

Oklahoma - **** - 4 Final Fours (1939, 1947, 1988, 2002), 3 Big XII Tournament Championships (2001, 2002, 2003), 1 Big XII Regular Season Conference Championship (2005), 4 Big Eight Tournament Championships (1985, 1988,1989, 1990) 2 Big Eight Regular Season Conference Championships (1979, 1984), 1 Big Seven Conference Championship (1949), 6 Big Six Conference Championships (1929, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1947), 1 Missouri Valley Conference Championship (1928).

Oklahoma State - ***** - 2 National Championships (1945, 1946), 6 Final Fours (1945, 1946, 1949, 1951, 1995, 2004), 22 NCAA Tournament Appearances (1945, 1946, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1965, 1983, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).

Texas - **** - 3 Final Fours (1943, 1947, 2003), 2 Big XII Regular Season Conference Titles (1999, 2006), 22 Southwest Conference Regular Season Titles(1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1924, 1933, 1939, 1943, 1947, 1951, 1954, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1995).

Texas A&M - ** - 7 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 11 Conference Championships, 2 Conference Tournament Championships. If Gillispie continues, it won't be long until they've moved themselves up to a 4 * program.

Texas Tech - ** - I couldn't find anything on them, but they can't be that bad historically right? I mean they got Bob Knight to come there, so there must have been some kind of promise there. Also why would they have such a large arena if they sucked so bad in the past? So they'll be a two star until some stats are found on how many NCAA tournament appearances, Sweet Sixteens, Elite Eights, and conference titles they have.

3/8/2007 3:40:56 PM