The Real Prestige Rankings: Part X

Kentucky also made the championship game in 1997 and the Final Four in 1993.

3) Kansas Jayhawks – Total Points: 1,076

• Two NCAA Championships, two Championship Game Appearances, three Final Four Appearances, three Elite Eight Appearances, five Sweet 16 Appearances, one Missed Tournament
• ESPN Rank: 2

Kansas is the No. 3 most prestigious program in the last 24 seasons.  They have been in the NCAA tournament 23 of the 24 years and have made it to at least the Final Four in seven of those years.

The Jayhawks won the national championship in 1988 as a No. 6 seed by defeating No. 1-seeded Oklahoma in the finals.  They added another national championship this last year by defeating No. 1-seeded Memphis in the finals in dramatic overtime fashion as a No. 1 seed.  Kansas’ Mario Chalmers hit the game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation.

Kansas has also been to the national championship game two other times.  In 1991 they lost to No. 2-seeded Duke in the finals as a No. 3 seed, and in 2003 they lost to No. 3-seeded Syracuse in the finals as a No. 2 seed.  Kansas’ other Final Four appearances came in 1986, 1993, and 2002.

You may notice the only difference in my top five teams from ESPN’s is that Kansas and UNC switched places.  While Kansas has had more regular season success because they do not have any competition that matches Duke in their conference, North Carolina has had the better tournament success.  

2) North Carolina Tar Heels – Total Points: 1,106

• Two NCAA Championships, six Final Four Appearances, four Elite Eight Appearances, four Sweet 16 Appearances, two Missed Tournaments
• ESPN Rank: 3

The Tar Heels are the second-most prestigious basketball program over the last 24 seasons.  They have only two missed tournaments, both of which came under coach Matt Doherty during the recovery after Dean Smith’s retirement.

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