To be considered, a team had to reach the NCAA championship game at least twice within a 4-year span. A total of 24 teams made the title game twice in three years, so they are ranked from 24th to 1st. The four teams that took four years to reach two title games are all tied for 25th.
Each team has an explanation for their ranking, based on the following criteria:
Team and Star(s): The team and standout players from these dynasty years are featured in our Value Add Basketball Game, which has been used to simulate hundreds of games between these teams. The all-time ranking of star players is based on our composite of the ESPN/NBA list, and if a player fell off their recent top 75 all-time list then we move them back to 76th, 77th, etc based on their prior ranking.
Rank Based on Multiple Runs: This reflects where each team ranks among the 28 based on their deepest average tournament run. Tournament rounds are assigned points as follows: 1 = National Champion, 2 = Runner-Up, 4 = Final Four, 8 = Elite 8, 16 = Sweet 16, 25 = 2nd Round, 35 = 1st Round Loss, 45 = Did Not Make the Tournament.
SRS Among Dynasties: Teams are ranked by their Simple Rating System (SRS), which measures a team’s performance based on competition, record, and margin of victory. Look up seasons here.
SOS Among Dynasties: Teams are ranked based on the difficulty of their schedules (Strength of Schedule - SOS). For example, Michigan's Fab 5 faced the toughest schedule in NCAA history, including the hardest competition in their two title-game runs.
Average Victory Margin: The average margin of victory during each team’s tournament runs is also considered.
SRS Rating per Year: The SRS rating for each year of the dynasty is listed, with the average used to calculate the team’s rank in the Multiple Runs category.
The Top 25:
25th (tie) – Connecticut (2011-2014)
Featured Team: We have many UConn teams in the game but not yet from these four years.
- Rank based on multiple runs: 17
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 24
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 7
- Average tournament victory margin in 2011: 10.3 (19th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 25, 45, 1
25th (tie) – Kansas (1988-1991)
Featured Team: 1988 with Danny Manning
- Rank based on multiple runs: 20
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 23
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 3
- Average tournament victory margin in 1988: 8.8 (24th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 45, 25, 2
25th (tie) – Kentucky (1975-1978)
Featured Team: Coming soon - 1978 - with stars Jack Givens and Rick Robey
- Rank based on multiple runs: 27
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 8
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 5
- Average tournament victory margin in 1978: 9.0 (23rd best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 2, 45, 8, 1
25th (tie) – Marquette (1974-1977)
Featured Team: 1977 with Butch Lee and Bo Ellis
- Rank based on multiple runs: 23
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 20
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 15
- Average tournament victory margin in 1977: 8.0 (25th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 2, 35, 8, 1
24th – Butler (2010-2011)
Featured Team: 2010 with Gordon Hayward
- Rank based on multiple runs: 22
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 25
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 25
- Average tournament victory margin in 2010: 5.2 (27th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 35, 2, 2
23rd – La Salle (1953-1955)
Featured Team: 1954 with Tom Gola
- Rank based on multiple runs: 26
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 18
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 14
- Average tournament victory margin in 1954: 11.2 (18th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 45, 1, 2
22nd – Kansas (1952-1954)
Featured Team: 1952, current closest is 1957 with Wilt Chamberlain
- Rank based on multiple runs: 21
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 15
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 19
- Average tournament victory margin in 1952: 14.8 (11th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 2, 35
21st – Kentucky (1948-1950)
Featured Team: 1948 with Alex Groza
- Rank based on multiple runs: 25
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 28
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 26
- Average tournament victory margin in 1948: 15.7 (9th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 1, 45
20th – Kentucky (2012-2014)
Featured Team: 2012 with Anthony Davis
- Rank based on multiple runs: 28
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 21
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 18
- Average tournament victory margin in 2012: 11.8 (14th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 45, 2
19th – Oklahoma State (1945-1947)
Featured Team: 1946 with Bob Kurland
- Rank based on multiple runs: 24
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 27
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 27
- Average tournament victory margin in 1945: 18.7 (7th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 1, 45
18th – Dartmouth (1942-1944)
Featured Team: 1944 and Friends with Dick McGuire - Players were sharing time between Marine and Navy training and playing some games but not others - making the win over Big Ten champ Ohio State to improve to 19-1 to make their second national title game in three years before an overtime 40-42 loss to Utah in the title game even more impressive. We had left them out of the game due to how hard it was to cobble together stats but decided to put together a "Dartmouth and Friends" team using stats for five Dartmouth players from the 1940s that made the NBA in addition to the two Marine trainees who played some of those games between training and we let Dick bring his little brother Al McGuire to play as well.
Make no mistake, the star of this "Dartmouth and Friends 1944" team and the actual 1944 team was Dick McGuire, who would go onto dish out more than 4,000 assists in the NBA en route to being named an NBA All-Star seven times and finishing 11th in MVP voting one year. This is our only team of 310 Value Add Basketball Game teams in the game that does not use the actual roster - but since the roster was changing every game anyway between military training that year, we decided to put together this team to represent the team that came so close to winning the title despite a new line-up every game.
Here is Dartmouth's account of the season and photo of the 1944 team.
- Rank based on multiple runs: 15
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 26
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 28
- Average tournament victory margin in 1944: 10.0 (20th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 2, 16, 2
| Dartmouth & Friends 1944 | Ht | Cards based on: |
|---|---|---|
| Dick McGuire | 6'0 | 8.0pt,5.7A,3.8 R in NBA, 7-time All-Star, 11th place MVP |
| George Munroe | 5'11 | 6.1pt,0.3A in NBA |
| Lionel Baxter | 10+ppg when played, Marine | |
| Thomas Killick | 10+ppg when played, Marine | |
| Aud Brindley | 6'4 | 2.8pt,0.1 A in NBA, All-Am |
| Al McGuire | 6'2 | 4.0pt,1.9A,2.1R in NBA |
| Ed Leede | 6'3 | 7.8pt,1.9 A,1.0 R in NBA |
| Joseph Vancisin | 4 pt, 19 min in Nat'l title | |
| John Monahan | 1 of 3 full (Vancisin,Brindley) | |
| Bob Gale | 6'5 | 10 pt, 37 min Nat'l title |
17th – Georgetown (1983-1985)
Featured Team: 1984 with Patrick Ewing
- Rank based on multiple runs: 19
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 10
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 21
- Average tournament victory margin in 1984: 9.8 (21st best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 25, 1, 2
16th – North Carolina (2015-2017)
Featured Team: soon to be created - 2017 with Justin Jackson
- Rank based on multiple runs: 14
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 11
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 4
- Average tournament victory margin in 2017: 11.2 (16th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 16, 2, 1
15th – California (1958-1960)
Featured Team: 1959 with Jack Grout, Darrall Imhoff and Bill McClintock
- Rank based on multiple runs: 10
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 16
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 17
- Average tournament victory margin in 1959: 11.3 (15th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 8, 1, 2
14th – Houston (1982-1984)
Featured Team: 1983 with Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the 13th and 53rd best players in the history of basketball
- Rank based on multiple runs: 9
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 17
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 22
- Average tournament victory margin in 1983: 9.2 (22nd best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 4, 2, 2
13th – Arkansas (1993-1995)
Featured Team: 1994 with Corliss Williamson
- Rank based on multiple runs: 13
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 19
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 16
- Average tournament victory margin in 1994: 11.2 (17th best)
- Bracket reached each year in order: 16, 1, 2
12th – North Carolina (1981-1983)
Featured Team: 1982 with Michael Jordan and James Worthy, the greatest and 56th greatest player in the history of basketball.
- Rank based on multiple runs: 11
- Based on SRS among dynasties: 13
- Based on SOS among dynasties: 2
- Average tournament victory margin in 1982: 4.6 (28th best) This means UNC was the "least dominant," seeming to barely survive each round by an average of less than five points. However, this could also be viewed as the "most clutch" since it entailed UNC pulling out one clutch win after another against the 2nd toughest schedule faced by any of the 28 dynasties, with only Michigan's Fab 5 required to get through tough compeition.
- Bracket reached each year in order: 2, 1, 8
For the top 10 dynasties of all time, including a tie for 10th place, visit the Dodds on Sports 247 CBS Sports article. To pull up free cards of the players for each featured team mentioned, click on the free Value Add Basketball Game to see them in the format shown in this SIMS Magazine Feature.
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The following 12 teams and players listed under them will be added either because we learned a player on their team was added to the NBA/ESPN All-Time top 75 player ranking or because we did not have a team within the range of the school's 3- or 4-year dynasty (e.g. we had Oscar Robertson's Cincinnati team, but the dynasty of two tiles actually occurred right after he graduated). We will then have a team for each of the top 75 all-time players who played substantial time at a D1 college.
We also discovered teams with two of the greatest coaches of all time in UNC great coach Dean Smith playing for Kansas in 1952 and Jim Boeheim on the Syracuse 1966 team, which he would take over as a coach.
The first five players on each team are the starters and listed in the order of Point Guard (1-PG), Shooting Guard (2-SG), Small Forward (3-SF), Power Forward (4-PF) and Center (5-C). Then the reserves in italics are listed below them in the same order.
We also added two teams from our top two dynasties. We decided we needed to add the first 30-0 UCLA team that started the streak with Walt Hazzard in 1964 before Kareem and Walton arrived, and Jim Calhoun's last champs who delivered perhaps the most surprising Connecticut title behind Kemba Walker in 2011.
Here are the new teams, and it looks like a new UCLA and Cincinnati team will debut at 2nd and 3rd place all-time, while some teams like Syracuse debuting at 206th placer were added because an all-time great player has moved into the ESPN/NBA top 75.
| Rnk | Team Being Created | Top Player (and if in top 75) | Off | Def | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cincinnati 1962 | Paul Hogue | 1.22 | 0.75 | 16 |
| 3 | UCLA 1964 | Walt Hazzard | 1.35 | 0.90 | 15 |
| 17 | UCLA 1975 | Dave Meyers | 1.25 | 0.86 | 10 |
| 21 | Kentucky 1978 | Jack Givens | 1.18 | 0.81 | 9 |
| 58 | North Carolina 2017 | Justin Jackson | 1.27 | 0.97 | 4 |
| 92 | Kansas 1952 | Clyde Lovellette | 1.20 | 0.95 | 1 |
| 105 | Connecticut 2011 | Kemba Walker | 1.14 | 0.90 | 0 |
| 138 | Bowling Green 1963 | Nate Thurmond #49 | 1.12 | 0.92 | -3 |
| 139 | Dartmouth 1944 | Dick McGuire | 1.05 | 0.85 | -3 |
| 156 | Detroit Mercy 1960 | Dave DeBusschere #73 | 1.19 | 1.00 | -4 |
| 157 | Villanova 1950 | Paul Arizin #66 | 1.16 | 0.97 | -4 |
| 206 | Syracuse 1966 | Dave Bing #74, Jim Boeheim | 1.20 | 1.07 | -8 |
| Tm | Bowling Green 1963 | Cincinnati 1962 | Connecticut 2011 | Dartmouth 1944 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-PG | Howie Komives | Tony Yates | Kemba Walker - star | Dick McGuire - star |
| 2-SG | Pat Haley | Larry Shingleton | Shabazz Napier | George Munroe |
| 3-SF | Wavey Junior | Ron Bonham | Jeremy Lamb | Bob Gale |
| 4-PF | Elijah Chatman | Tom Thacker | Roscoe Smith | Thomas Killick |
| 5-C | Nate Thurmond - star | Paul Hogue - star | Alex Oriakhi | Aud Brindley |
| 6-PG | Bill Reynolds | Tom Sizer | Donnell Beverly | Al McGuire |
| 7-SG | Lyle Pepin | Niels Giffey | Ed Leede | |
| 8-SF | Mel Gilbert | Fred Dierking | Jamal Coombs-McDaniel | Joseph Vancisin |
| 9-PF | Bob Carbaugh | Dale Heidotting | Tyler Olander | John Monahan |
| 10-C | Tom Baker | George Wilson | Charles Okwandu | Bob Gale |
| Tm | Detroit Mercy 1960 | Kansas 1952 | Kentucky 1978 | North Carolina 2017 |
| 1-PG | Ray Albee | Dean Kelley | Kyle Macy | Joel Berry |
| 2-SG | Larry Hughes | Bob Kenney | Truman Claytor | Theo Pinson |
| 3-SF | George Heger | Bill Hougland | Jack Givens - star | Justin Jackson - star |
| 4-PF | Dave DeBusschere - star | Bill Lienhard | James Lee | Isaiah Hicks |
| 5-C | Charlie North | Clyde Lovellette - star | Rick Robey - star | Kennedy Meeks |
| 6-PG | Tom Villemure | Dean Smith | Jay Shidler | Nate Britt |
| 7-SG | Frank Chickowski | Charlie Hoag | Dwane Casey | Kenny Williams |
| 8-SF | Bob Wright | John Keller | LaVon Williams | Brandon Robinson |
| 9-PF | John Parker | Bill Heitholt | Chuck Aleksinas | Luke Maye |
| 10-C | Dick Dylus | B.H. Born | Mike Phillips | Tony Bradley |
| Tm | Syracuse 1966 | UCLA 1964 | UCLA 1975 | Villanova 1950 |
| 1-PG | Dave Bing - star | Gail Goodrich | Pete Trgovich | Joseph Hannan |
| 2-SG | Jim Boeheim - star | Walt Hazzard - star | Dave Meyers | Leo Wolf |
| 3-SF | George Hicker | Fred Slaughter | Marques Johnson | Thomas Sabol |
| 4-PF | Vaughn Harper | Jack Hirsch | Richard Washington | Brooks Ricca |
| 5-C | Richard Dean | Keith Erickson | Ralph Drollinger | Paul Arizin - star |
| 6-PG | Richard Cornwall | Mike Huggins | Jim Spillane | Ben Stewart |
| 7-SG | Sam Penceal | Kenny Washington | Andre McCarter | Perry Del Purgatorio |
| 8-SF | Frank Nicoletti | Rich Levin | Casey Corliss | Tom Brennan |
| 9-PF | Norman Goldsmith | Kim Stewart | Wilbert Olinde | |
| 10-C | Val Reid | Doug McIntosh | Brett Vroman |
Featured team: 1967 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (3rd greatest pro player)
Rank based on multiple runs: 1 (tie with UCLA 1970-72).
Based on SRS among dynasties: 1 (tie with UCLA 1970-72).
Based on SOS among dynasties: 9
In 1967, won average NCAA tournament game by: 23.8, to edge UConn by half a point for the best margin ever.
Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 1, 1
Featured team: 1972 with Bill Walton (the 44th greatest pro player ever and 3rd best college player ever).
Rank based on multiple runs: 1 (tie with UCLA 1967-69).
Based on SRS among dynasties: 1 (tie with UCLA 1967-69).
Based on SOS among dynasties: 13
In 1970 and again in 1972 won by an average of 18.0 for 7th best margin.
Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 1, 1
Provided UConn makes it to at least the Final 4 this year, the would move into 3rd ahead of the other two 3-year runs. If not, then the last of the four UCLA 3-year runs would move into 3rd to give UCLA the top three ever.
4. UCLA (1973-1975)
Featured team to be added: 1975 featuring Dave Meyers and the team that delivered Wooden’s final title to make it 10 of 12 seasons.
Rank based on multiple runs: 5 (missed 1974, but still in Final 4 in between titles)..
Based on SRS among dynasties: 7
Based on SOS among dynasties: 3
In 1973, won by an average of 16.0, the 9th best total.
Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 4, 1.
Under this scenario the early UCLA dynasty of the four would slip to the 10th greatest dynasty, being passed by the dynasties not only of Connecticut 2023 - 2025, but also Kentucky 1996-98, Cincinnati 1961-63, Duke 1990-92, San Francisco in 1950s and finally Ohio State in the early 1960s.
This is not because the 1964 team is not great - in fact we project them to move into the No. 3 spot all-time in our Value Add Basketball Game as soon as their cards are created. Rather is is the fact that the 1964 UCLA team missed the tournaments completely, so despite how great 1964 and 1965 teams were, that drops the 1964-65 as a whole to be the 10th greatest 3-year dynasty ever in college hoops:
10. UCLA (1964-1966)
Featured team to be added: 1964 featuring Walt Hazzard, the leader of the undefeated team that started the 12-season run before Kareem arrived.
Rank based on multiple runs: 8 (slipped a little due to not making tournament at all in 1966 after two titles).
Based on SRS among dynasties: 14
Based on SOS among dynasties: 15
Won average NCAA tournament game by: 15.5 in 1965, the 12th best margin of any dynasty..
Bracket reached each year in order: 1, 1, 45
Once the 12 new teams are built out my tentative plan is to but then in a tournament with the four powerhouse teams shown in my current local ratings for a 16-team tournament. All four had disappointing losses in the early season to drop a bit in our rankings.
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