NCAA Basketball: Best programs without an NCAA Tournament win since 2000

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HONOLULU, HI – DECEMBER 25: Phil Fayne #10 of the Illinois State Redbirds and Pat Birt #11 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane fight for position after a free throw attempt during the second half of the Diamond Head Classic third place game at Stan Sheriff Center on December 25, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Illinois won the game 68-56. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

Honorable Mentions

11. Illinois State

While this team was 6th in KenPom (121.421) since 2000, the team hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1998 when Kevin Stallings was head coach. They’ve played in 6 of the last 11 Missouri Valley Tournament finals, clearly losing them all. 7 NIT bids for a mid-major since 2000 isn’t anything to look down on, but this program is still waiting to return to the Dance (even if they were probably deserving of an at-large bid in 2017).

12. Massachusetts

Bruiser Flint, Steve Lappas, Travis Ford, Derek Kellogg, and Matt McCall have led the Minutemen to a series of average to decent seasons, with the 2014 NCAA Tournament appearance their only since 2000. In a heavy A-10 with Dayton, VCU, and Rhode Island, that trend could continue, as John Calipari is not walking through that door.

13. TCU

Up and down over the last twenty years, the return of alum Jamie Dixon as head coach is already paying dividends, with last season’s NCAA Tournament bid. This is a program in great position to grab an NCAA win in the next few years, but this is also a team that didn’t win the WAC, CUSA, or MWC; so it may take some time to cement their status in the Big 12.

14. Charleston

Another school who recently ended a long NCAA Tournament drought, Charleston lands favorable in the rankings, 15th in KenPom (140.053). The program did very well in the SoCon before struggling to adapt to the Colonial, but those struggles have been reversed these last few years. Whether a Tourney win will come soon is unseen, but Charleston is building something.

15. Oregon State

A team that is under .500 since 2000 finds itself an honorable mention because it plays in the tough Pac-12, and the Beavers did make their first Tourney appearance in nearly three decades back in 2016. 12th in KenPom (134.579), this is completely power conference bias, as Oregon State hasn’t even been above .500 in conference play since 1990.

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