NCAA Basketball: Ranking the top 25 programs of all time
By Brian Rauf
Best NCAA Basketball programs of all-time: 4. Kansas basketball
The first thing that comes to mind when discussing Kansas is their sheer and utter domination of the Big 12. They won 14 consecutive conference regular-season titles from 2005-2018, the longest streak in NCAA history. In total, they have won an astonishing 61 conference regular-season titles dating back to 1908, which is the most of anyone in the country.
All that sheer intra-conference dominance lends itself to some other pretty impressive accomplishments, too. They have been ranked in 200 consecutive AP polls, an active streak that is only second all-time to John Wooden’s UCLA teams.
The last time the Jayhawks were unranked? January 2009!
KU also holds the longest streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with 30, another active streak under head coach Bill Self. That tournament, however, is what keeps the Jayhawks out of the top three.
They have only won three national championships which, while fantastic, is less than you’d expect from a team with 15 Final Four appearances and nine berths in the national championship game. That said, their last national title – which came in 2008 – was won in the most spectacular and iconic of fashions.
Other than the number of national titles, Kansas brings everything else to the table. They’re 2nd on the all-time wins list with 2,274, 3rd in most NCAA tournament appearances with 48, and 5th in the number of weeks ranked.
Also of note – James Naismith, the man who invented the sport of basketball, is the only coach in program history to finish his tenure with a losing record.