ESPN has ranked the top 50 programs in the last 50 years and Kentucky comes in at #3.
[QUOTE]
Editor’s note: Using a point system devised by the ESPN Stats & Information department, ESPN.com is counting down the 50 most successful programs of the past 50 years. [URL=”http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/tag/_/name/50-in-50-series”]A running list of the top 50 can be found here[/URL]. For an explanation of the scoring system, read our [URL=”http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/62654/introducing-the-50-in-50-series”]intro[/URL]. And if you disagree with the order — and we’re sure you do — [URL=”http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/rank/_/listId/1892/versionId/1″]re-arrange our top 25 here[/URL].
[B]3. Kentucky[/B] (841 points)
[B]Positives:[/B] Winners of four national titles during the years of our study, the Wildcats have been a top-six team in every decade of our scoring system. In the John Calipari era, the Cats are the top-ranked program with 103 points in the past three seasons. In the past 20 seasons, Kentucky has the second-most points (428), trailing only Duke (441).
[IMG]http://assets.espn.go.com/i/teamlogos/ncaa/lrg/96.gif[/IMG][B]Negatives:[/B] Lost 17 points because of NCAA sanctions in 1988-89 and 1975-76. Didn’t reach the Final Four in a 12-season stretch between 1999 and 2010. And just one Final Four from 1979-1992.
[B]Fun fact:[/B] Kentucky has 26 conference titles, the most of any team over the past 50 years.
[B]Rank by the decade [/B]
1962-69: 97 (4th)
1970-79: 180 (2nd)
1980-89: 134 (6th)
1990-99: 215 (2nd)
2000-present: 214 (4th)
[B]
50 in 50 starting five[/B] (1962-present)
[B]G[/B] – Kyle Macy (1977-80)
[B]F[/B] – Jamal Mashburn (1990-93)
[B]F[/B] – Jack Givens (1974-78)
[B]F[/B] – Anthony Davis (2011-12)
[B]C[/B] – Dan Issel (1967-70)
[B]Top options off the bench[/B]
Kenny Walker (1982-86)
Tony Delk (1992-96)
Cotton Nash (1961-64)
[B]50 in 50 coach:[/B] Adolph Rupp (1930-72)
[B]Best teams[/B] (1962-present)
1977-78 (30-2, NCAA national champions)
1995-96 (34-2, NCAA national champions)
2011-12 (38-2, NCAA national champions)
[/QUOTE]
Surprisingly, UCLA was not #1 in the poll, but North Carolina took the top spot.
I guess 11 championships doesn’t mean a whole lot anymore.
