NCAA Basketball: Ranking the top 25 programs of all time

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – APRIL 03: Jonathan the Husky, mascot for the Connecticut Huskies, performs against the Oregon State Beavers in the second quarter during the semifinals of the 2016 NCAA Women’s Final Four Basketball Championship at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Best NCAA Basketball programs of all-time: 9. UConn basketball

Another traditional Big East power that is heading back to the conference next season, UConn ranks sixth all time with four national championships (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014) and have reached the Final Four five times, all of which have come since 1999.

That run of national championships over the past two decades has elevated UConn’s national profile exponentially, but they have been one of the country’s better programs for a while.

The Huskies have won 10 Big East regular season titles, which is still more than anyone else. Their seven Big East Tournament titles is also the most ever (tied with Georgetown). As a program, they have won 34 regular season titles dating back to 1925 and have played in 33 NCAA Tournaments.

Though UConn has always been a regional power, that move to being a nationally dominant program didn’t happen until head coach Jim Calhoun took over the program. He won all of those Big East titles and led the Huskies to four Final Four appearances, including their first three titles. The other title came under Kevin Ollie, who succeeded Calhoun.

The UConn program went downhill quickly after that 2014 title, however. They posted back-to-back losing seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18, after which Ollie was fired. Dan Hurley is working on restoring the program and bringing it back to its former glory, but they also had a losing season last year.

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