36 New All-Time Great College Teams for Kick-off of New Season

Our Value Add Basketball Game is by far our most popular blog of all time. Our play-by-play of Bill Walton's UCLA team defeated Michael Jordan's UNC team for the title, also shows the semifinals with the recent Villanova champs and a surprise team in Draymond Greene's Michigan State team, but the 55,700 who downloaded the game and 98 all-time great teams likely had any combination of results.

With the real college basketball season kicking off Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, we are preparing 30 additional all-time great teams. While most great teams were included in the original set, we limited team game to one team per school from each century (the 20th and 21st) which led to including Bill Walton's undefeated UCLA team instead of Lew Alcindor's one loss UCLA team five years earlier and some great Duke teams and others being left out.

We decided to add 30 more teams to the all-time great teams in the game, allowing schools to have more than one team in a century if one of the following things was true; 1) an additional team from the same school was ranked as one of the top 50 schools in the country by this Bleacher Report story, a team featured one of the 50 greatest college players of all time according to this story, or a team had a great year last year that I wanted to add.

The following are the 36 new teams and what motivated us to add them to the game in the coming days.

Team	Year	Why Added
Arizona St.	1980	Bleacher's #43 team
Arkansas	1978	Bleacher #46 team
Baylor	2021	title and replace 2020 team
Colorado	2021	great last season
DePaul	1980	#45 Mark Aguirre & #41 team
Duke	1986	Bleacher's #31 team
Duke	2001	#36 Shane Battier
Georgia Tech	1990	Bleacher's #42 team
Gonzaga	2021	great season, replaces 2017
Holy Cross	1950	#39 Bob Cousy
Houston	2021	great last season
Houston	1983	#31 Hakeem Olajuwon
Illinois	1989	Bleacher's #47 team
Indiana	1981	Bleacher's #28 team
Iowa	2021	great last season
Jacksonville	1970	#30 Artis Gilmore
Kansas	1988	#26 Danny Manning
Kansas	1997	Bleacher's #39 team
Kentucky	1970	#35 Dan Issel
Kentucky	1948	Bleacher's #44 team
Loyola Marymount	1990	top offense all time 122 pts
LSU	1992	#46 Shaquille O'Neal
Maryland	1984	#25 Len Bias
Miami FL	1965	#28 Rick Barry
Michigan	1965	#32 Cazzie Russell
Michigan St.	2000	Bleacher's#32 team
Niagara	1970	#20 Calvin Murphy
North Carolina	1998	Bleacher's #37 team
Notre Dame	1981	Bleacher's #49 team
South Carolina	1973	Bleacher #50 team
St. Bonaventure	1970	#33 Bob Lanier
UCLA	2021	great last season
UCLA	1967	#1 Lew Alcindor
UNLV	1991	#29 Larry Johnson
UNLV	1987	Bleacher's #33 team
USC	2021	great last season

Once we add those teams we will repost them with the existing all-time teams, resulting in these 132 teams. We created made up six to eight team conferences or divisions just for fun in case anyone wanted to play teams in the same basic time and conference or area. 

 

Team	Year	Top 50 players or note if added for team rank	Made up Conference
Alabama	1977		SEC 1948-77
Arizona	1997		P12 20th Century
Arizona	2015		P12 21st Century
Arizona St.	1980	Bleacher's #43 team	P12 20th Century
Arkansas	1978	Bleacher #46 team	SEC 1978-94
Arkansas	1994		SEC 1978-94
Auburn	1984		SEC 1978-94
Auburn	2019		SEC 1996-19
Baylor	2021	title and replace 2020 team	B12 2004-21
Butler	2010		BE 1999-18
California	1959		P12 20th Century
Cincinnati	1960		Amer
Cincinnati	2002	#3 Oscar Robertson	Amer
Colorado	2021	great last season	P12 21st Century
Connecticut	1999		BE 1999-18
Connecticut	2004		BE 1999-18
Creighton	2014		BE 1999-18
Davidson	2008		A10
Dayton	1967		A10
DePaul	1945	#24 George Mikan	BE 1945-89
DePaul	1980	#45 Mark Aguirre & #41 team	BE 1945-89
Duke	1986	Bleacher's #31 team	ACC 1981-90
Duke	1992	#19 Christian Laettner	ACC 1992-04
Duke	2001	#36 Shane Battier	ACC 1992-04
Duke	2010		ACC 2005-19
Florida	2006		SEC 1996-19
George Mason	2006		A10
Georgetown	1984	#15 Patrick Ewing	BE 1945-89
Georgetown	2007		BE 1999-18
Georgia	1982		SEC 1978-94
Georgia Tech	1990	Bleacher's #42 team	ACC 1981-90
Georgia Tech	2004		ACC 1992-04
Gonzaga	2021	great season, replaces 2017	Western
Holy Cross	1950	#39 Bob Cousy	Eastern
Houston	1968	#14 Elvin Hayes	Amer
Houston	1983	#31 Hakeem Olajuwon	Amer
Houston	2021	great last season	Amer
Illinois	1989	Bleacher's #47 team	B10 1989-02
Illinois	2005		B10 2005-21
Indiana	1976		B10 1960-81
Indiana	1981	Bleacher's #28 team	B10 1960-81
Indiana	2002		B10 1989-02
Indiana St.	1979	#10 Larry Bird	Eastern
Iowa	2001		B10 1989-02
Iowa	2021	great last season	B10 2005-21
Jacksonville	1970	#30 Artis Gilmore	Eastern
Kansas	1957	#6 Wilt Chamberlain	B12 1946-03
Kansas	2008		B12 2004-21
Kansas	1988	#26 Danny Manning	B12 1946-03
Kansas	1997	Bleacher's #39 team	B12 1946-03
Kansas St.	2008		B12 2004-21
Kentucky	1996		SEC 1996-19
Kentucky	2012		SEC 1996-19
Kentucky	1948	Bleacher's #44 team	SEC 1948-77
Kentucky	1970	#35 Dan Issel	SEC 1948-77
La Salle	1954	#38 Tom Gola	A10
Louisville	1980	#27 Darrell Griffith	ACC 1957-80
Louisville	2013		ACC 2005-19
Loyola Marymount	1990	top offense all time 122 pts	Western
Loyola-Chicago	1963		ACC 1957-80
Loyola-Chicago	2018	#2 Pete Maravich	Eastern
LSU	1970		SEC 1948-77
LSU	2006		SEC 1996-19
LSU	1992	#46 Shaquille O'Neal	SEC 1978-94
Marquette	1977		BE 1945-89
Marquette	2003		BE 1999-18
Maryland	2002		B10 1989-02
Maryland	1984	#25 Len Bias	B10 1960-81
Memphis	2008		Amer
Miami FL	1965	#28 Rick Barry	ACC 1957-80
Michigan	1989		B10 1989-02
Michigan	2013		B10 2005-21
Michigan	1965	#32 Cazzie Russell	B10 1960-81
Michigan St.	1979	#11 Magic Johnson	B10 1960-81
Michigan St.	2000	Bleacher's#32 team	B10 1989-02
Michigan St.	2009		B10 2005-21
Missouri	1982		SEC 1978-94
Navy	1986	#22 David Robinson	Eastern
Niagara	1970	#20 Calvin Murphy	Eastern
North Carolina	1957		ACC 1957-80
North Carolina	1982	#12 Michael Jordan	ACC 1981-90
North Carolina	1998	Bleacher's #37 team	ACC 1992-04
North Carolina	2005		ACC 2005-19
North Carolina St.	1974	#9 David Thompson	ACC 1957-80
Notre Dame	1970	#21 Austin Carr	ACC 1957-80
Notre Dame	1981	Bleacher's #49 team	ACC 1981-90
Ohio St.	1960	#13 Jerry Lucas	B10 1960-81
Ohio St.	2007		B10 2005-21
Oklahoma	1985	#47 Wayman Tisdale	B12 1946-03
Oklahoma	2016		B12 2004-21
Oklahoma St.	2004		B12 2004-21
Oklahoma St. (A&M)	1946	#23 Bob Kurland	B12 1946-03
Oregon	2017		P12 21st Century
Pittsburgh	2009		ACC 2005-19
Princeton	1965	#8 Bill Bradley	Eastern
Purdue	1969		B10 1960-81
Purdue	2018		B10 2005-21
San Diego St.	2011		Western
San Francisco	1956	#5 Bill Russell	Western
Seattle	1958	#16 Elgin Baylor	Western
Sen Hall	1989		BE 1945-89
South Carolina	1973	Bleacher #50 team	SEC 1948-77
South Carolina	2017		SEC 1996-19
St. Bonaventure	1970	#33 Bob Lanier	A10
St. Joe's	2004		A10
St. John's	1985	#40 Chris Mullins	BE 1945-89
Syracuse	1987		ACC 1981-90
Syracuse	2003		ACC 1992-04
Tennessee	1977		SEC 1948-77
Texas	2003		B12 1946-03
Texas Tech	2019		B12 2004-21
UCLA	1967	#1 Lew Alcindor	P12 20th Century
UCLA	1972	#4 Bill Walton	P12 20th Century
UCLA	2006		P12 21st Century
UCLA	2021	great last season	P12 21st Century
UNLV	1987	Bleacher's #33 team	Western
UNLV	1991	#29 Larry Johnson	Western
USC	2021	great last season	P12 21st Century
Utah	1998		P12 20th Century
UTEP (Texas Western)	1966		Western
VCU	2011		A10
Villanova	1985		BE 1945-89
Villanova	2018		BE 1999-18
Virginia	1981	#17 Ralph Sampson	ACC 1981-90
Virginia	2019		ACC 2005-19
Wake Forest	1996	#18 Tim Duncan	ACC 1992-04
Wake Forest	2005		ACC 2005-19
West Virginia	1959	#7 Jerry West	B12 1946-03
West Virginia	2010		B12 2004-21
Wichita St.	2013		Amer
Wisconsin	2015		B10 2005-21
Wyoming	1943		Western

Nova Post 1st Ever 100 pt VABG Game Behind Suns' Bridges and Bucks' DiVincenzo

Since we invented the Value Add Basketball Game in February 2019, we have played a couple of hundred games, and had never had a team score 100 points in regulation until today. The game took 44 minutes to play - with the first card flipped at 1 p.m. and final card at 1:44 p.m.

The team that accomplished it was the only team with two players in the NBA Finals, Phoenix Suns' starter Mikal Bridges and injured Milwaukee Buck Donte DiVincenzo, from our 2-seed and the National Champion 2018 Villanova team.

The victim was the 2020 Creighton team, which does have a very poor defense (Adj. Def 0, worse than the average team's -3) but is happy to simply outscore opponents. The Blue Jays team in the game today actually won our 68-team Value Add Basketball Game championship after Covid cancelled their real Big East tournament game at halftime and March Madness. Ironically, that week I had breakfast with their point guard Marcus Zagarowski's parents as few blocks from Madison Square Gardne in disbelief that the hottest team in basketball (they had improved from 23rd to 7th in one month in the AP poll) would not have a chance at a real run as Covid collapses the world around us.

While one group of former Creighton players participated in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) airing on ESPN, as the Omaha Blue Crew, the VABG Creighton 2020 player cards were in our 8-team NBA Finals college alumni tournament due to Phoenix Sun Ty-shon Alexander, one if the trio of great 3-point shooting guards along with Zegarowski and Mitch Ballock. Those three all have the highest possible endurance of 44, meaning they play all 44 possessions of a VABG game.

At 1 p.m. Central today we flipped the first card in 7-seed Creighton's game against fellow Big East team and 3-seed Villanova, the 2018 national champs.

Zegarowski and Alexander combined for 4 first half 3-pointers and then Alexander hit another one to open the second half to give the Blue Jays a 39-34 lead in the upset big against the 2-seed Nova.

And then Villanova started to look like the team that blitzed Michigan in the 2018 National Title game with a 44-17 first half before cruising to victory. DiVincenzo hit a 3-pointer, then immediately stole the ball and fed it to center Spellman on a dunk plus foul to give Villanova their first lead of the game 41-39 with 18:30 to play. At the 8:17 mark Bridges had a steal, and was fouled on a dunk, hitting the free throw to make it 74-51 Nova less than 12 minutes after they trailed.

As usual., Nova won the turnover battle big 17-7, and doubled Creighton in the second half 72-36 for the most scoring in a half ever in a VABG game for an offensive efficiency of 1.95 points per trip (33 possessions in the second half, and there were a total of four extra in this game for fouls and steal/fast breaks in the final 9 possessions.

It was the first time a team every scored 100 points in regulation in a VABG game, with the final score of 106-72.

Villanova 2018 represents the Big East in our semifinal against another Big Ten foe, the 2015 Wisconsin team of Frank Kaminsky that stunned the Kentucky team that many considered the greatest team in history in the Final Four that year.

The other semifinal is an all-ACC game, with the 2019 champion Virginia Cavaliers facing the only upset winner of our opening rounds and only 2020 team, the 5-seed Louisville 2020 team upset Chris Paul's 4-seed Wake Forest 2005 team 80-79.

Eee

Suns Big Men in B10 Showdown - MD vs. WI

A Big Ten showdown in our NBA Finals alumni team featured two current Phoenix Suns. 

Rookie big man Jalen Smith brought his 2020 Maryland team with the best inside-outside duo with his point guard Anthony Cowan against teammate big man Frank Kaminisky and his 2015 Wisconsin team that won a stunner in the 2015 Final 4 against a Kentucky team many considered the greatest team in history.

We start this blog by setting up the teams. Here is who we put in the game at the beginning (44th possession) and leaving Smith on the bench for the first three possessions so that he could then play the final 41 possessions of the game. Here is the line-up.

The coins are the five players in the game, and we drew in the order the get the ball on the 8-sided die or top reading on the fast action card, with a roll of 1 to Cowan, 2 to Ayala, 3 to Scott, 4 to 2021 Big Ten defensive player and now Marquette player Morsell and 5 to Mitchell.

The dimes only go to players with a 2nd number on the "gets ball on" reading on the player card, so a 6 alos goes to Cowan, a 7 to Morsell and 8 to Mitchell.

We then put coins on the players who will start on the court for Wisconsin, and we chose:

1 to Jackson, 2 to Gasser, 3 to Hayes, 4 to Kaminsky and 5 to Dukan.

You may notice the "play time" space was accidentally left blank, which leaves two options. The simple option in any game is to play the bottom row from possession 44 to 38, and then the top row from 37 to 1, the final possession.

However we took the other option of adding the stamina for each player by going to www.kenpom.com and then taking half the % minutes number (Kaminski's 82% min means he can play 41 of the 44 possessions without getting tired.

By the time we made it to the 26th possession to go, wisconsin led 48-40 all all the starters were in the game with enough duration to play the last 26 possessions without getting tired.

However we did have one unplanned substitution with 10 possessions left. Cowan drew a 5th foul on WI PG Koenig.

We could have brought Jackson back in the game, but he had already played 14 possessions earlier in the game, so only had 2 possessions left st full strength of his 16 possessions.

However, Zak Showalter had not played and can play up to 8 possessions, so we decided to play him from the 10th to the 3rd possession to go, and then save Jackson's final two possessions at full strenght for the final two possessions of the game.

Surprisingly Zak would end up sealing the game with a 4-point play with 2 minutes to play to give the Badgers a 77-65 lead.

Cowan (26 points) and Smith (25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocked shots) were an unbelievable inside-outside duo we would have loved to see in the cancelled 2020 March Madness.

However, they received no help as Wiggins (7 points) was the only other Terp to score besides the 2 automatic points when we start at 20-20.

The game was closer than the final score indicated, as Cowan's scored with 7:03 left to cut it to 63-60, but they could get no closer.

However, the Badgers played their normal balanced game with only 8 total turnovers.

Kaminsky led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but all 5 starters had double figures in addition to the 6 from showalter and another 8 from Jackson off the bench.

We did not plan to line up the conferences, the seeding just worked out that way.

One semifinal is an ACC semifinal, with UVA's national champs taking on the Louisville 2020 team that nudged Chris Paul's 2005 Wake Forest team 80-79.

With the Wisconsin win above the Big Ten clash, they face the winner of a Big East clash between 2018 national champs Villanova and the one other actual NBA Finals star Bridges against the Creighton team that won our 2020 March Madness title over Duke.

We have no way of knowing who would have one thr tournament that covid ruined, but Creighton was by far the hottest team entering the tournament - having risen for  23rd to 7th in the final month of the season, so the threes should be flying.

Ddd