Updating Rankings for All-Time Basketball Teams - Minnesota 1977 Next Addition

 Here are the updated current rankings for teams in our Value Add Basketball Game. I also cross referenced the list with the all-time program rankings in the great ESPN College Basketball book Jay Bilas wrote. We found the most deserving all-time team for which we have not made cards - the 1977 Minnesota Gophers whose season was documented in this piece. 

The top 29 programs in the ESPN book all have at least one team in the game except the 14th best program Minnesota. I did look at their 1997 Final Four squad as a possible, but just realized the 1977 is really the obvious team.

I look for stars in addition to great overall teams, and the Gophers had four future NBA players that year. The 6-foot-10 twin towers were All-American Mychal Thompson (22 points, 9 rebounds per game) and freshman and future NBA superstar Kevin McHale (12, 8). Steve Lingenfelter was also a freshman big at 6;9, and guard Ray Williams was the fourth future NBA player on the team at average 18,8 AND 6 assists a game.

Before I sound too over-the-top, Marquette was the only ranked team they beat and they would start with a rating of -3 due to their SRS being 18, and my starting ranking being the SRS minus 21. That would start them at 77th in the rankings below.

The 24-3 record is remarkable, but when I looked closer Marquette was the only ranked team they beat, losing a home and away against Michigan for two losses. Still, the only other loss was a 2-point loss at Purdue, so this was a great team that belongs in the game.

Here are our updated standings that are in the game, and at the bottom I add Minnesota and the best all-time programs that do not yet have a team in the game.

I should add that a team ranked 50th or so does not mean I believe they are actually the 50th best all-time. If I were picking just the top 100 teams of all time for the game, I would have dozens from the top programs like Kentucky, UCLA, UNC, Indiana, Kansas and Duke. I opted to try to keep each school to a few teams in the game to make room for getting one team in from 86 different schools (87 when I add Minnesota) - so it's kind of like automatic qualifiers in the NCAA tournament - they take the best team from a conference even that team is not one of the best 100 teams in the country like we pick the one best team from a particular good program even if that team would not be in the top 100 or even top 1000 teams all-time.

Rank	All-Time Great VABG Team	Rating	Wins	Losses	Score	Allow	<3 GP	Program
1	UCLA - 1972 - Bill Walton	15.5	6	0	72	62		2
2	Duke - 2001 - Shane Battier	15.4	3	0	82.3	71		7
3	Kansas - 2008 - Mario Chalmers	15.2	5	1	74.7	56		3
4	Kentucky - 1996 - Antoine Walker	14.5	2	1	72	69.3		1
5	Villanova - 2018 - Mikal Bridges	10.8	7	2	79.4	70.3		21
6	Kansas - 1997 - Paul Pierce	10.1	3	0	75.3	60.3		3
7	North Carolina - 2005 - Sean May	9.6	3	2	72.2	64.4		4
8	Indiana - 1976 - Scott May	9.6	3	1	71.3	59.8		5
9	Ohio St. - 1960 - Jerry Lucas	8.9	2	1	84	76.3		9
10	Gonzaga - 2017 - Nigel Williams-Goss	8.7	3	3	69.8	63
11	Houston - 1968 - Elvin Hayes	8.5	3	1	73	63.8		55
12	Virginia - 2019 - Kyle Guy	8.3	4	1	72.6	65.4
13	Connecticut - 2004 - Ben Gordon	8.1	5	2	74.7	66		54
14	Duke - 2010 - Jon Scheyer	7.9	5	2	74	66.7		7
15	Arkansas - 1994 - Corliss Williamson	7.7	1	2	75.3	70.3		32
16	Michigan St. - 2000 - Mateen Cleaves	7.3	4	0	88.3	78.3		15
17	Baylor - 2021 - Jared Butler	7.1	2	2	86	78.5
18	Louisville - 2013 - Russ Smith	7	2	1	74	66.3		11
19	Duke - 1992 - Christian Laettner	6.9	1	2	73.7	70.3		7
20	North Carolina - 1982 - Michael Jordan	6.7	5	1	68.8	65		4
21	Cincinnati - 1960 - Oscar Robertson	6.1	1	2	72.3	78		17
22	UCLA - 1967 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	5.6	2	1	83	87		2
23	UNLV - 1991 - Larry Johnson	5.4	1	2	72.7	76.3		58
24	NC State - 1974 - David Thompson	5.1	2	1	72	72.7		22
25	Purdue - 2018 - Carsen Edwards	5	4	1	71.2	68.8		8
26	Illinois - 2005 - Deron Williams	4.3	3	2	72	69.6		6
27	Auburn - 2019 - Chuma Okeke	4.2	8	1	71	65.3
28	Michigan St. - 1979 - Magic Johnson	4.1	2	1	70.3	62.7		15
29	Houston - 1983 - Hakeem Olajuwon	4.1	2	1	70.7	65		55
30	DePaul - 1980 - Mark Aguirre	4	3	1	80.3	67.7		26
31	Memphis - 2008 - Derrick Rose	3.9	4	2	68.7	65.8
32	Wake Forest - 1996 - Tim Duncan	3.9	2	1	66	64.7		37
33	Kentucky - 2012 - Anthony Davis	3.7	4	2	72.2	65.7		1
34	Wisconsin - 2015 - Frank Kaminsky	3.4	2	2	65	63.3		28
35	Oregon - 2017 - Dillon Brooks	2.7	4	3	71.9	69.9		50
36	North Carolina - 1998 - Vince Carter	2.7	2	1	80.7	83.7		4
37	Arizona - 2015 - Stanley Johnson	2.6	3	1	75.3	70.5		49
38	Michigan - 1965 - Cazzie Russell	2.6	2	1	85.7	79		13
39	Syracuse - 2003 - Carmelo Anthony	2.3	2	1	76	74		23
40	Iowa - 2021 - Luka Garza	2	1	1	79.5	70.5	play 1	10
41	Cincinnati - 2002 - Jason Maxiell	1.9	2	2	72.8	71.5		17
42	Oklahoma - 1985 - Wayman Tisdale	1.9	3	1	75.3	73.8		20
43	Connecticut - 1999 - Richard Hamilton	1.5	0	2	60.5	73	play 1	54
44	Missouri - 1982 - Steve Stipanovich	1.5	2	0	69.5	65.5	play 1	29
45	Loyola Marymount - 1990 - Bo Kimble	1.4	1	2	112.3	108.3
46	Illinois - 1989 - Nick Anderson	1.4	2	1	87	84		6
47	Florida - 2006 - Joakim Noah	1.3	5	3	74.4	72
48	Michigan - 1989 - Glen Rice	1.3	0	2	70.5	78.5	play 1	13
49	Indiana - 1981 - Isaiah Thomas	1.3	2	1	72.7	72.3		5
50	Arizona - 1997 - Mike Bibby	1	2	1	68.7	71		49
51	Michigan St. - 2009 - Draymond Green	0.9	6	3	71.3	71.9		15
52	Loyola-Chicago - 1963 - Jerry Harkness	0.6	0	1	62	68	play 2
53	Seton Hall - 1989 - John Morton	0.5	1	1	78	78	play 1
54	Georgetown - 1984 - Patrick Ewing	0.4	2	1	67.3	65.3		42
55	Texas Tech - 2019 - Jarrett Culver	0.3	3	2	65.6	67.2
56	Michigan - 2013 - Trey Burke	0.3	1	2	70.3	69.7		13
57	LSU - 1992 - Shaquille O'Neal	0.2	1	1	82.5	81	play 1
58	San Francisco - 1956 - Bill Russell	0	0	1	67	74	play 2
59	USC - 2021 - Evan Mobley	0	1	0	77	67	play 2	25
60	Syracuse - 1987 - Rony Seikaly	-0.3	2	1	72.3	68.7		23
61	Jacksonville - 1970 - Artis Gilmore	-0.3	1	1	78	75	play 1
62	Ohio St. - 2007 - Greg Oden	-0.4	2	3	70.2	71.4		9
63	Colorado - 2021 - McKinley Wright	-0.6	1	0	86	82	play 2	51
64	Pittsburgh - 2009 - DeJuan Blair	-0.8	1	3	60	62.3		60
65	Purdue - 1969 - Rick Mount	-0.8	0	1	86	87	play 2	8
66	Duke - 1986 - Johnny Dawkins	-1	0	1	106	108	play 2	7
67	Georgia Tech - 2004 - Jarrett Jack	-1.1	2	3	62.6	67.4
68	Georgetown - 2007 - Roy Hibbert	-1.4	1	2	76.7	75.3		42
69	UTEP (Texas Western) - 1966 - Bobby Joe Hill	-1.4	2	1	63.7	66
70	Kansas - 1957 - Wilt Chamberlain	-1.5	1	1	67.5	74	play 1
71	Dayton - 2020 - Obi Toppin	-1.6	1	0	87	82	play 2	48
72	Marquette - 2003 - Dwyane Wade	-2.4	2	2	73.3	74		24
73	Marquette - 1977 - Butch Lee	-2.8	1	1	66	61.5	play 1	24
74	St. John's - 1985 - Chris Mullin	-2.8	0	1	75	76	play 2	16
75	San Diego St. - 2011 - Kawhi Leonard	-2.9	2	2	69.3	71.8
76	Marquette - 1971 - Jim Chones	-2.9	1	2	70	72.7		24
77	Oklahoma St. - 2004 - John Lucas	-3.1	1	3	68.8	71		18
78	Maryland - 1984 - Len Bias	-3.2	1	1	69.5	68.5	play 1	38
79	Kansas St. - 2008 - Michael Beasley	-3.3	1	1	75	75.5	play 1	27
80	South Carolina - 2017 - Sindarius Thornwell	-3.4	1	2	65.3	65.7
81	UNLV - 1987 - Armen Gilliam	-3.4	0	1	64	82	play 2	58
82	Kentucky - 1948 - Alex Groza	-3.8	1	1	71	81.5	play 1	1
83	Indiana - 2002 - Jared Jeffries	-3.9	1	3	67.3	72.8		5
84	Maryland - 2002 - Juan Dixon	-4	1	3	67	76.3		38
85	St. Joe's - 2004 - Jameer Nelson	-4.3	1	2	68.3	75.7		56
86	Oklahoma - 2016 - Buddy Hield	-4.4	1	3	60.3	67.3		20
87	West Virginia - 2010 - Kevin Jones	-4.6	1	3	70.3	76		36
88	Utah - 1998 - Andre Miller	-4.6	0	1	69	79	play 2	19
89	Oklahoma St. - 1946 - Bob Kurland	-5	0	1	80	82	play 2	18
90	St. Bonaventure - 1970 - Bob Lanier	-5	0	1	64	74	play 2
91	UCLA - 2006 - Jordan Farmar	-5.2	2	3	66	72.4		2
92	Holy Cross - 1950 - Bob Cousy	-5.2	1	1	88	89.5	play 1
93	DePaul - 1945 - George Mikan	-5.2	0	1	51	55	play 2	26
94	Georgia Tech - 1990 - Dennis Scott	-5.2	0	1	64	82	play 2
95	Iowa - 2002 - Reggie Evans	-5.3	1	2	71	75.3		10
96	Texas - 2003 - T.J. Ford	-5.3	1	2	68.7	76.3		47
97	Virginia - 1981 - Ralph Sampson	-5.4	0	1	61	72	play 2
98	Tennessee - 1977 - Bernard King	-5.7	1	1	76	83	play 1	33
99	California - 1959 - Jack Grout	-5.8	0	1	69	71	play 2	34
100	Seattle - 1958 - Elgin Baylor	-6.2	0	1	62	64	play 2
101	LSU - 2006 - Glen Davis	-6.4	1	2	66.3	75
102	Wichita St. - 2013 - Fred VanVleet	-6.4	1	2	64.3	71.3
103	Alabama - 1977 - Reggie King	-6.6	0	1	70	71	play 2	43
104	Davidson - 2008 - Stephen Curry	-6.9	1	5	66.7	70.8
105	Marquette - 2011 - Jimmy Butler	-7	0	1	82	87	play 2	24
106	Notre Dame - 1981 - Orlando Woolridge	-7	0	1	68	74	play 2	12
107	Kansas - 1988 - Danny Manning	-7.6	0	1	58	67	play 2	3
108	Indiana St. - 1979 - Larry Bird	-7.8	0	1	69	76	play 2
109	Stephen F Austin - 2016 - Thomas Walkup	-8	0	1	94	95	play 2
110	Notre Dame - 1970 - Austin Carr	-8.2	1	1	67	76.5	play 1	12
111	La Salle - 1954 - Tom Gola	-8.2	0	1	67	76	play 2
112	South Carolina - 1973 - Mike Dunleavy	-8.2	0	1	66	72	play 2
113	Wyoming - 1943 - Ken Sailors	-8.2	0	1	60	73	play 2
114	Auburn - 1984 - Charles Barkley	-8.3	1	1	71.5	77	play 1
115	West Virginia - 1959 - Jerry West	-8.4	0	1	68	69	play 2	36
116	Brigham Young - 1981 - Danny Ainge	-8.6	0	1	67	77	play 2	41
117	Kentucky - 1970 - Dan Issel	-8.6	0	1	116	138	play 2	1
118	North Carolina - 1957 - Lennie Rosenbluth	-8.6	0	1	76	89	play 2	4
119	Navy - 1986 - David Robinson	-9	0	1	61	77	play 2
120	Villanova - 1985 - Ed Pinckney	-9.2	0	1	65	72	play 2	21
121	Wake Forest - 2005 - Chris Paul	-9.3	0	3	64.3	85.3		37
122	Arkansas - 1978 - Sidney Moncrief	-9.6	0	1	58	79	play 2	32
123	Creighton - 2014 - Doug McDermott	-9.7	0	3	66.3	80
124	Georgia - 1982 - Dominique Wilkins	-9.7	1	1	70	78	play 1
125	George Mason - 2006 - Jai Lewis	-9.9	0	3	59.3	67
126	Arizona St. - 1980 - Byron Scott	-10	0	1	64	79	play 2
127	Creighton - 2020 - Ty-Shon Alexander	-10.2	0	1	72	106	play 2
128	Louisville - 1980 - Darrell Griffith	-10.4	0	1	52	82	play 2	11
129	Dayton - 1967 - Don May	-11	0	1	69	88	play 2	48
130	Butler - 2010 - Gordon Hayward	-13	0	3	54.7	76.3
131	LSU - 1970 - Pete Maravich	-13	0	1	66	67	play 2
132	Princeton - 1965 - Bill Bradley	-13	0	1	62	79	play 2
133	VCU - 2011 - Bradford Burgess	-13.3	0	3	60.3	71.3
134	Loyola-Chicago - 2018 - Cameron Krutwig	-13.9	0	3	59.3	75
135	Miami FL - 1965 - Rick Berry	-14.6	0	1	104	108	play 2
136	Niagara - 1970 - Calvin Murphy	-16.6	0	1	68	84	play 2
	Minnesota - will add 1977							14
	Stanford							30
	Temple							31
	Washington							35
	Bradley							39
	Oregon St.							40
	Western Kentucky							44
	Alabama-Birmingham							45
	Vanderbilt							46
	Iowa St.							52
	Saint Louis							53
	Nebraska							57
	Xavier							59