College Basketball Review @CbbReview

Heading to the SEC for No. 102 in our all-time college basketball rankings for Mississippi State! 14 NCAA Tournaments for the Bulldogs with a Final Four in 1996 sticking out as their best run. Big man Erick Dampier, forward Dontae’ Jones, and guard Darryl Wilson were the big three that captured Mississippi State’s fans’ hearts. The program has only made the Sweet 16 two other times, but have had a bit of a resurgence, making the big dance four times since 2019. Historically, they are your run of the mill SEC team. Not a lot of history, but enough to make them a legit Power 5 school and in today’s era, the Bulldogs will probably keep making more tourneys.

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Read more on the Dukes! cbbreview.com/2026/06/16/ran…

No. 111 in our college basketball programs rankings is Duquesne! The Dukes have over 1,500 wins and have 6 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four in 1940, the second ever installment of March Madness. Recently, they knocked off BYU for a round of 32 appearances in one of the biggest upsets of the 2024 tournament. Duquesne has hand other postseason success, winning the NIT on 1955 when it was still considered a major championship. The program has had some great names including NBA vet Mike James, TJ McConnell (before he transferred to Arizona), and head coach Chuck Davies, who went 314-106 as their coach from 1924-48. Overall, the Dukes have a lot of history and have lately been one of the better teams in the A-10, maybe on a bit of a rise.

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We go back to the Mountain West for No. 103 - the Nevada Wolf Pack! Let’s start with the players who have suited up for this program - JaVale McGee, Ramon Sessions, Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, Luke Babbitt, and plenty of other NBA vets. And that is thanks to the program being a consistent winner and producer of talent - five NCAA Tournaments since 2017 and nine since 2004, including Sweet 16s in ‘04 and ‘18. It also helps when you’ve got coaches like Eric Musselman, Mark Fox, and Steve Alford leading the way! Nevada really didn’t start getting consistently good until the early 2000s, but since then, they can’t stop! They’ve had 15 20-win seasons since 2003-04 and will likely keep that streak going!

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Next up is a program that knows a thing or two about making a Cinderella run - Oral Roberts is No. 104! No one can forget when Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor led the Golden Eagles to the Sweet 16 as a 15-seed in 2021. But ORU has long been a winning program with 7 NCAA Tournaments in 51 seasons and an Elite 8 in just their third year, in 1974. In fact, Oral Roberts burst onto the scene with six straight 20-win seasons. They’ve had 16 total, mostly thanks to a program legend coach in Scott Sutton, who had five of them in the 2000s. But the biggest name from here? Bill Self! It is where he got his first head coaching gig!

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We saw 2 impressive and dominant postseason runs this year in the NCAA Tournament and NBA Finals. Michigan had a +124 point differential across the whole NCAA Tournament, including 5 of their games being won by over double digits. The Knicks had the second longest win streak in NBA Playoff history at 13 games, including sweeps in two rounds and a record of 16-2.

Read more on the Aggies! cbbreview.com/2026/06/15/ran…

Heading to the SEC where Texas A&M makes the cut at No. 112! The Aggies have been to the NCAA Tournament 18 times. Most have been recently, with a dozen since 2006. However, historically they’ve never done much in the big dance, with just five Sweet 16s - never making it past that round. The program does have a ton of notable alums, many in recent years. DeAndre Jordan, Khris Middleton, Alex Caruso, and Robert Williams all suited up for the Aggies. Other names like Wade Taylor IV and Acie Law were program names. If these were a rankings of the past 25 years, Texas A&M would be in the top 50. But a fairly middle of the pack history pre-2000, with the exception of Shelby Metcalf’s teams, hurt A&M in these rankings.

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Read more on the Sun Devils! cbbreview.com/2026/06/15/ran…

James Harden and Arizona State are No. 113 in our rankings of every D1 program! The Sun Devils have been to the NCAA Tournament 17 times, going to the Elite 8 in 1961, 1963, and 1975, and the Sweet 16 five times. Of course, Harden was the most notable player, but he wasn’t the only Consensus AA at ASU, with Ike Diogu as the other. Arizona State also had a very legendary coach, Ned Wulk, who won over 400 games from 1957 to 1982. Recently, Bobby Hurley got a good stay, but ASU finally moved in a new direction and got former Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett heading into next season. Bennett will inherited a program that has long been overshadowed by Arizona, but almost has an underrated history. They’ve never been close to a blue blood, but ASU has the location in the NIL era to start something!

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Read more on the Salukis! cbbreview.com/2026/06/15/ran…

No. 114 is Southern Illinois! The Salukis were home to one of the greatest NBA players of all-time and someone who is having a pretty good week - Walt Frazier! As time has gone on, they have become a great mid-major program, reaching the Sweet 16 in 1977, 2002, and 2007. They made 9 NCAA Tournaments between 1993 and 2007, going to six straight from 2002-07. Some great coaches also fine-tuned their careers with the Salukis, including Bruce Weber and Matt Painter. While SIU has not gone to the big dance in the last 19 seasons, they’ve had 8 winning seasons, so it is only a matter of time, especially with Scott Nagy leading the way!

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No. 105 in our all-time college basketball programs rankings is Fresno State, home of future Hall of Famer Paul George! The Bulldogs have been in D1 since 1970, with 6 NCAA Tournaments. Their longest run was the Sweet 16 in 1982. In the late 90s and early 2000s, they became a bit of a powerhouse as Jerry Tarkanian became the head coach and led them to six straight 20-win seasons. That included All-American Courtney Alexander. Other accolades include the 1983 NIT Championship, 2022 The Basketball Classic, and being the home to other NBA players like Rafer Alston and Melvin Ely. It’s a program that has had a little bit of everything!

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Imagine this man calling a World Cup goal.

No. 106 is an LIU program with one of the first coaching legends in college basketball history. Clair Bee coached the team from 1931-1951, going 360-80 and winning the NIT Championship when it was the MAJOR tournament in 1939 and 1941. In ‘39, they were crowned Helms National Champs. In the modern day era, LIU has made the NCAA Tournament often, with 5 bids since 2011. They’ve won 10 regular season conference chips. Modern day hoops fans may not understand how great they were, but the Sharks were really one of the first true blue bloods in college basketball history.

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Next up is a program with some NBA legends - Paul Millsap and Karl Malone both played at Louisiana Tech, coming in at No. 107. Malone led the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16 as a junior in 1985, the furthest run for a program that has been to 5 NCAA Tournaments. But for LTech, NCAA Tournaments don’t tell the whole story. They’ve had 12 20-win seasons in the last 14 tries, just always falling short of more bids. The program definitely has a winning culture and has 13 regular season conference chips - they just need to start proving it more in March!

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Read more on the Monarchs! cbbreview.com/2026/06/15/ran…

Flying in at No. 115 are the Old Dominion Monarchs! ODU has had a great overall record, at an almost .600 winning percentage all-time. They’ve been one of the most consistent programs in mid-major history, never going more than seven straight seasons of missing the NCAA Tournament. They’ve had some great coaches lead the way - Tom Young, Oliver Purnell, and Blaine Taylor all won over 300 career games. The program has made 12 NCAA Tournaments in 50 season, a rate of about one every four years. They’ve never made a Sweet 16, but have won a trio of games in March. And despite moving conferences often, ODU has continued to be consistent. They are having their worst stretch in program history right now, but the other 45 years or so have all been great, especially as a mid-major.

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Read more on the 49ers! cbbreview.com/2026/06/14/ran…

No. 116 in our rankings of every D1 college basketball program is Charlotte! The 49ers have been to the NCAA Tournament 11 times in 54 seasons, averaging about one every five years. They’ve done very well, with a 7-12 record in March Madness and a Final Four in 1977. The 1976-77 squad featured future NBA star Cedric Maxwell, who averaged 22.3 PPG and 12.1 RPG during the Final Four season. Charlotte’s best years were between 1987 and 2005, when they went to 10 of their 11 tourneys. They made the second round four times in that span. The last two decades have been more up and down as a once proud program is hoping to be consistently good once again.

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Did Buzz Williams improve Maryland in the transfer portal heading into year two? @gracejeffer fills you in on who is coming to College Park!

On to No. 108 in our rankings - Saint Louis! The Billikens have been to 11 NCAA Tournaments, with 5 since 2012 - definitely currently in the top tier of A-10 hoops. The Billikens also went to the big dance four times from 1994 to 2000, mostly under head coach Charles Spoonhour. But it was Eddie Hickey who brought SLU on some runs - to the Elite 8 in 1952 and the Sweet 16 in 1957. A little before that, the Billikens werr home to 2x Consensus AA Ed Macauley. The biggest thing going for Saint Louis is a sustained winning culture. They haven’t had more than three losing seasons in a row since the early 1980s. It is a program that always bounces back and is often a favorite in their conference to go dancing.

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Read more on the Midshipmen! cbbreview.com/2026/06/14/ran…

When it comes to the service schools, no one comes close to Navy basketball! The Midshipmem come in at No. 117 in our rankings. Obviously, we can’t start anywhere besides David Robinson. The big man was a 2x Consensus AA and led Navy all the way to the Elite 8 as a junior in 1986. He is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But Navy has more than just Robinson to talk about. Over 1,500 wins, 11 NCAA Tournaments, the National Champs in 1913, and two other Sweet 16s in 1954 and 1959. Navy hasn’t been back to the big dance in almost three decades, but they’ve had five 20-win seasons in that span, including a 26-8 record last season. Maybe their time is coming soon again, especially with whay Jon Perry could be building!

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Ending the night with No. 109 in our rankings - Tulsa! The Golden Hurricane have been to the NCAA Tournament 16 times, with 8 bids between 1994 and 2003. That included back-to-back Sweet 16s in ‘94 and ‘95 and an Elite 8 in 2000. Helps when you’ve got Tubby Smith and Bill Self! Speaking about coaches, Nolan Richardson, Danny Manning, and Frank Haith also coached here. It’s one of the craziest track records for a mid-major. Tulsa’s also had some great players in its time, inlcuding Paul Pressey (pictured). But the program has really seen success thanks to great coaches maximizing talent. And theya are coming off a 30-8 season, so more great years are on the horizon!

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No. 110 in our rankings is New Mexico! The Lobos have been as good as it gets lately, with 12 20-win seasons since 2004-05. They’ve made the NCAA Tournament seven times in that stretch. A little before that, UNM was on even more of a roll, with seven tourney bids between 1991 and 1999. However, in all of those 14, zero second weekends to show for. There was a time where New Mexico did make some Sweet 16s, going there in 1968 and 1974, albeit fewer teams in the bracket. But above all, New Mexico has had some great players walk through their doors. Tony Snell, Danny Granger, Michael Cooper, and Mel Daniels are just some of the stars to suit up for the Lobos. And, The Pit is one of the best venues in college sports!

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Read more on the Jackrabbits! cbbreview.com/2026/06/14/ran…

Moving on to No. 118 in our rankings - South Dakota State! The Jackrabbits have only been D1 for 21 years but have been as consistent as it gets - just six losing seasons and seven NCAA Tournaments. They’ve even had nine regular season conference championships and are nearly always a favorite in the Summit League. SDST also had one of the greatest scoers in CBB history - Mike Daum - who ranks ninth all-time with 3,067 points. And coaches? From Scott Nagy, to TJ Otzelberger, to Eric Henderson, they continue to have some great guys on the sidelines. Can Bryan Petersen continue that tradition?

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