NCAA Basketball: Ranking the top 25 programs of all time
By Brian Rauf
Best NCAA Basketball programs of all-time: 17. Cincinnati basketball
You undoubtedly think of Cincinnati as a good basketball program, but you’re probably also surprised to see the Bearcats this high. Does that about sum things up?
Maybe it’s their lack of a real postseason run over the last two decades, but the perception of the Cincinnati program does not do its accomplishments any justice.
Did you know that the Bearcats are one of just 10 programs that have been ranked in the AP poll for at least 500 weeks all time? Did you know they’re one of 14 schools with at least six Final Four appearances? Did you know they’re one of 15 schools with multiple national championships? Did you know their 1,816 wins is the 13th-most all time?
In terms of raw accomplishments, there aren’t many that can match what Cincinnati has done. However, most of this happened during the 1950’s and 1960’s. It still counts, and the Bearcats have been a fine program since, but it doesn’t hold the same weight.
Five of Cincy’s Final Four appearances came in consecutive seasons from 1959-63, including both of their national championships (1961, 1962). Since that run ended in 1963, the Bearcats have only been to one Final Four (1992) and three Elite Eights (1992, 1993, 1996). They have also only been to the Sweet 16 once since 2001 despite making 13 NCAA Tournament appearances in that time span.
Cincinnati has been a consistently good program since that golden era and has plenty of conference championships and tournament appearances to show for it, but this program may never reach that level of dominance again.