Top 10 Best NCAA Basketball Teams in the United States of All Time

Top 10 Best Basketball Colleges In The US

How Many NCAA Men’s College Basketball Teams Are There?

The National Collegiate Athletic Association reports that there are nearly 1,100 schools in the country, with teams divided into three divisions and more than 100 conferences. The top 350 men's college basketball teams compete in Division I and are divided into 32 conferences.

Every year, the team that wins its conference championship is automatically selected for the NCAA tournament, with the remaining 36 teams chosen by a selection committee. Each March, the NCAA tournament uses a single-elimination format to narrow the field to a Final Four and then a national championship game.

Top 10 Best Basketball Colleges In The US

1. University of Kentucky (Team: Kentucky Wildcats)

The Kentucky Wildcats are one of the best basketball teams in the country, representing the University of Kentucky and possibly the most successful NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I basketball program. They have the most wins and the highest winning percentage of all time. The team's coach, John Calipari, is a legend known for spotting talent and building championship-caliber teams.

In the final showdown to determine college basketball's single greatest program of all time, the Kentucky Wildcats delivered the knockout punch to win the title. No other program leads the country in so many key areas over such a long period of time as Kentucky.

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2. Duke University, North Carolina (Team: Duke Blue Devils)

The basketball team that represents Duke University is known as the Duke Blue Devils. The team has won five NCAA championships and has been a top four contender in numerous games across the United States. Mike Krzyzewski has been the Blue Devils' coach since 1980 and has led the team to numerous victories. He is possibly the only coach in history to have led so many victories.

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3. University of Kansas (Team: Kansas Jayhawks)

‍The first coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, James Naismith is considered the inventor of the game of basketball. The Kansas Jayhawks basketball program is classified in the NCAA Division I and competes in the Big 12 Conferences. Bill Self has been coaching the Jayhawks successfully since 2003.

4. University of Connecticut (Team: Connecticut Huskies)

The Connecticut Huskies are a relative newcomer to the elite group of college basketball programs, but they have made their mark by winning multiple national championships in the last 15 years.

Since taking over as head coach in the 1986-87 season, UConn has been one of the most successful basketball programs in the country. Their three NCAA national championships tie them for sixth place all-time in that category. In fact, they are tied for the most national titles with the Kansas Jayhawks, which is impressive given that Connecticut has played in 500 fewer games and 10 fewer Final Fours than Kansas.

5. University of California – Los Angeles (Team: UCLA Bruins)

With North Carolina sitting in third place, the final showdown for basketball's best program came down to its two greatest champions in Kentucky and UCLA. The two greatest schools in basketball have incredibly rich traditions and have consistently won at the very highest level of the sport.

UCLA can certainly boast about its most proud accomplishment: they are the all-time leader in NCAA championships. Having won 11 national titles, they have won three more championships than Kentucky, six more than North Carolina and Indiana, seven more than Duke and eight more than Kansas and Connecticut.

6. University of Arizona (Team: Arizona Wildcats)

For the first time since the 2002-03 season, the Arizona Wildcats basketball team is on the verge of being ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Eleven long seasons, including the upheaval caused by Lute Olson's leave of absence in 2007-08 and retirement before the 2008-09 season, separate the Arizona Wildcats from the title of top college basketball team.

Despite three decades of dominance, the Arizona Wildcats have only had five teams reach the top of the Associated Press polls. On Saturday, they can add No. 6.

With players like Elliott, Kerr, Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Gardner, Walton, Richard Jefferson, Salim Stoudamire, and Andre Iguodala, those five No. 1 teams define the Arizona Wildcats programs.

7. University of Louisville (Team: Louisville Cardinals)

Last season, the Louisville Cardinals returned to college basketball's biggest stage, reaching the Final Four for the second time under head coach Rick Pitino. Louisville has a long basketball history and is considered one of the best programs in the country.

Their performance in the Final Four is perhaps their most notable claim to being an elite basketball school. The Cardinals have made it to nine of them, which are divided among three head coaches.

Denny Crum was the most successful. He took over the program in the 1971-72 season and immediately led U of L to the Final Four. This became a common occurrence for Crum's Cardinals as he led them there six times in his first fifteen seasons

8. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Team: North Carolina Tar Heels)

The basketball team at this university, the North Carolina Tar Heels, is famous for producing all-time great Michael Jordan. This is one of the most successful basketball teams in history, having won seven Men's Basketball National Championships. Roy Williams has been the Tar Heels' head coach since 2003.

9. Villanova University (Team: Villanova Wildcats)

The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represents the university and competes in NCAA Division I's Big East Conference. They have three National Championships and a record 27 Philadelphia Big 5 titles. The Villanova Wildcats have a total of 1,803 victories to their name. Jay Wright has been the Wildcats' head coach since 2001.

10. Ohio State University (Team: Ohio State Buckeyes)

Ohio State, a Big Ten member, has been a consistent power in college basketball throughout the sport's long history. The school made their national debut as the National Runner-Up in the 1938-39 season, and they haven't looked back since.

The Buckeyes have advanced to the national semifinals eleven times in their history, ranking them sixth all-time in NCAA history. However, all of those Final Four appearances have resulted in only one national championship trophy: Ohio State's in 1959-60.

Conclusion

Basketball is a popular sport among both players and spectators. The top ten basketball colleges in the United States are determined not only by their performance, but also by how their fans rate them. College basketball in the United States is governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).

Each of these organizations is divided into subgroups based on the number and level of scholarships available to athletes. They each have their own conferences that divide the best basketball teams into groups based on their geographical location.

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