We did one final run through of programs with no teams in the Value Add Basketball Game for anyone we might have missed over time, and after searching all teams from those schools who made a Sweet 16 and/or were ranked in the top 25 (a few dozen) we picked this 10 to add to the game, and you can now see a full list of the ranking for all teams in the game here.
We rank the 10 new teams here:
1. Long Beach State – 1972
Jerry Tarkanian built an instant powerhouse at Long Beach State, taking the program to four straight Sweet 16s in its first four D-I seasons. In 1972, the school’s third season at the top level, Tark put five future NBA players on the court and produced the first of two straight Top-5 AP finishes. Their Elite Eight loss came only because regional rules forced them into an early showdown with Bill Walton and the UCLA dynasty—otherwise they would likely have faced the Bruins in the Final Four or national title game. The combination of NBA talent, sustained excellence, and national respect makes this the strongest résumé of these ten teams.
Best Player: Ed Ratleff – 21.4 Pts, 7.6 Reb, 6.5 Ast
2. Kent State – 2002
Kent State’s run to the Elite Eight remains one of the greatest mid-major tournament pushes ever. They finished the season #12 AP and then defeated three ranked, power-conference teams: #20 Oklahoma State, #8 Alabama, and #9 Pitt. Antonio Gates—who would become an NFL Hall-of-Fame caliber tight end—played like a star forward before switching sports. The Value Add Basketball Game places a higher emphasis on elite wins over major opponents, and few teams on this list can match Kent State’s three-game barrage.
Best Player: Antonio Gates – 16.0 Pts, 8.1 Reb, 2.7 Ast
3. St. Louis – 1952
St. Louis was one of the stingiest defensive teams in college basketball history, allowing under 50 points per game while finishing #5 in the AP Poll. Their most remarkable week included three straight wins over ranked teams—#14 Villanova, #1 Kentucky, and #13 LaSalle—before an Elite Eight exit. They hold the distinction of beating the highest-ranked opponent (#1 Kentucky) of any team on this list, giving them one of the premier résumés.
Best Player: Bob Koch – 11.1 Pts, 4.3 Reb
4. Idaho – 1982
Idaho’s 1982 squad peaked at #8 AP, reached the Sweet 16, and dominated multiple ranked opponents. They destroyed #16 Iowa State by 22 points, then beat #16 Iowa in the NCAA Tournament. Few teams combined a top-10 national ranking with such decisive wins over tournament teams.
Best Player: Gordie Herbert – 12.6 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 3.6 Ast
5. Canisius – 1957
Canisius reached the Sweet 16 in three straight years (1955–57), something the Value Add Basketball Game places a higher emphasis on to recognize consistency and demonstrate that success was no fluke. The 1957 team climbed to #10 AP, beat #17 Alabama, upset #7 West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament, and lost only to #1 North Carolina before winning the consolation game. They don’t have the NBA talent of some others, but they have one of the most consistent résumés.
Best Player: Hank Nowak – 20.1 Pts, 10.7 Reb
6. Iona – 1980
Jim Valvano’s Iona team opened the season by crushing #14 Texas A&M by 26 points, then closed with 17 straight wins before a narrow Sweet 16 loss to Georgetown. They finished #19 AP, and Jeff Ruland provided NBA-level dominance in the paint. This was the high point of Valvano’s pre-NC State career, showcasing the coaching brilliance that would soon lead to the 1983 national championship.
Best Player: Jeff Ruland – 20.1 Pts, 12.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
7. Fordham – 1971
A fast-paced, high-scoring team that finished #9 AP and reached the Sweet 16, Fordham remains one of the more explosive squads in Value Add Basketball Game history. They scored 100 points six different times, including a 100–90 win over #6 South Carolina in the consolation round. Two players—Charlie Yelverton and Ken Charles—went on to the NBA, making this one of the most talented Fordham teams ever assembled.
Best Player: Charlie Yelverton – 23.3 Pts, 12.0 Reb, 1.8 Ast
8. Florida Gulf Coast – 2013
The Dunk City team remains a national phenomenon. As a #15 seed, FGCU stunned both Georgetown and San Diego State by double digits before falling in the Sweet 16. Their highlight-reel style and charisma made them one of the most memorable Cinderella runs ever. And their success had instant coaching ramifications—Andy Enfield was hired by USC immediately after the tournament, where he rebuilt the program into a Pac-12 contender. The Value Add Basketball Game places a higher emphasis on historic upsets, which keeps FGCU in the upper tier despite a lack of ranking or multiple marquee regular-season wins.
Best Player: Bernard Thompson – 14.3 Pts, 4.4 Reb, 1.7 Ast
9. Ball State – 1990
Ball State’s Sweet 16 run included two down-to-the-wire tournament wins over ranked opponents—#22 Oregon State (54–53) and #16 Louisville (62–60)—before nearly shocking national champion UNLV in a 67–69 thriller. The Cardinals also played Memphis to a nail-biter earlier in the season. They were one of the toughest outs in the 1990 tournament, though without major regular-season wins or an AP ranking, their résumé slots just below FGCU.
Best Player: Paris McCurdy – 11.8 Pts, 8.3 Reb, 0.9 Ast
10. UAB – 1982
UAB’s Elite Eight run in just its third season of existence remains one of the best coaching achievements ever. They shocked National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson and Virginia, 68–66, behind Oliver Robinson—Bartow’s first recruit. But the full story becomes far richer when viewed through Gene Bartow’s astonishing decade:
• Memphis State:
Bartow took a struggling program from an 0–3 start to its first Final Four, upsetting three top-10 teams and taking Memphis into the AP Top 10 for the first time in school history.
• UCLA:
He then accepted what many consider the toughest job in sports—replacing John Wooden. Bartow still delivered, taking the Bruins back to the 1976 Final Four, losing only to Bob Knight’s undefeated Indiana team.
• Building UAB from scratch:
Bartow created the UAB program from the ground up, making the Sweet 16 in year two and the Elite Eight in year three, coming within one win of becoming the first coach ever to take three schools to the Final Four.
Only two coaches have ever accomplished that feat—Rick Pitino and John Calipari—and both took far longer (18 years and 15 years respectively). Bartow nearly beat both to it within a single decade.
The Value Add Basketball Game places a higher emphasis on historically significant teams, and while the 1982 roster is difficult to card accurately, the modern UAB team now included in the game reflects the continuing relevance of the program Bartow built.
Best Player: Oliver Robinson – 21.1 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 2.8 Ast
