Power Ranking the Top 10 Most Pathetic Programs in College Basketball

We all know about the prestigious programs in college basketball like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina, but what most people do not pay attention to, and rightfully so, are the worst programs in college basketball.

The 10 worst programs in the nation have been determined by overall and conference record over the past four seasons.

Some programs have been horrible throughout that period while some have progressively gotten worse to earn a higher spot on this list.

Here are the 10 most pathetic programs in all of America.

10. DePaul

DePaul has been the laughing stock of the Big East for quite some time now.

The Blue Demons have racked up five conference wins in the past four seasons, with three of those coming last season.

In his first season with the Blue Demons, former Clemson coach Oliver Purnell began to turn around the program as they went 12-19 in the regular season last year.

However, the reputation of DePaul being an easy win on anyone's Big East schedule will remain with the program until it finishes above last place in the conference.

9. Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois also had a first-year coach last season in Mark Montgomery and look to moving in the right direction.

However, their futility at the bottom of the MAC standings has been known for a while now.

Last season was as close to rock bottom as the Huskies could get as they went 5-26 overall and 3-13 in the MAC.

The reason the Huskies are not higher on this list is because of the 29 regular-season games they won from the 2008-09 season until the 2010-11 season.

8. Central Arkansas

Central Arkansas is a decent team when it comes to non-conference play, but when it enters the competition in the Southland Conference, it is just plain awful.

The Bears improved last season by going 3-13 in the Southland and 8-21 overall.

To many that may not be improving, but for a team that only won five games overall and just one in conference the year before, it was seen as a positive improvement.

7. Binghamton

Binghamton's basketball program was going nowhere but up after it made the 2009 NCAA tournament by winning the America East conference tournament.

After scandal hit the program, the Bearcats record has fallen quickly during the past three seasons.

Last season, the Bearcats only won two games, over Vermont and over UMBC in the first round of the America East Tournament.

This season has not treated the team well either as it is already 0-2 after losses to Loyola (MD) and Brown.

6. Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State has had a drastic fall from winning 13 games during the 2009-10 season.

The Owls failed to win a game in the Atlantic Sun last season and only went 3-28 overall under the direction of first-year coach Lewis Preston.

Preston, who was an assistant at Notre Dame, Florida and Penn State before taking his first head coaching job, has a huge task in front of him to turn around the program.

With perennial power Belmont now out of the conference, the Atlantic Sun is up for grabs this season and the Owls could have a chance to change their fate under a young coach like Preston.

5. Louisiana-Monroe

Louisiana-Monroe's football program has caught all the headlines this season for beating Arkansas this season, but its basketball program is not anywhere close to the football program.

The Warhawks have gone 2-14 in the Sun Belt for the last two seasons while their overall record has become even worse.

The 2010-11 season produced a 7-24 overall record while last season produced just a 3-26 record for the Warhawks.

The current season started with yet another loss, with it coming on Sunday at the hands of Oklahoma.

4. Fairleigh Dickinson

Fairleigh Dickinson has been the laughing stock of the Northeast Conference for the past two seasons.

FDU has gone 8-50 overall and 5-31 in the NEC over the past two seasons.

The Knights are only two seasons removed from a 10-8 conference record and have fallen flat on their faces since then.

With a fall from grace so quickly, the FDU Knights are more than deserving of ranking in the top four of most pathetic programs.

3. Dartmouth

Dartmouth has been the most consistent out of all of the pathetic programs on this list.

Dartmouth has gone 1-13 in the Ivy League and won just five games for each of the past three seasons.

The only change in the team's record has been two extra losses last season, 25, compared to the 23 games it lost in the two previous seasons.

However, things are always allowed to change, and the Big Green did win their first game of the season over Maine this year.

Things can also stay the same, and that opening win could be a fluke for a consistently bad program.

2. Bryant University

Bryant University has only played in Division I for four seasons, but it has been four seasons of awful basketball.

The Bulldogs were a strong team in Division II, but since their jump up to Division I before the 2008-09 season, they have not performed well at all.

There were signs of hope during the 2010-11 season when the Bulldogs went 9-21, but they dropped off drastically last season going 2-28.

Last season was the worst season in the program's brief Division I history; it went 1-29 during the 2009-10 season which was its first season in the Northeast Conference.

1. Towson

No program in Division I basketball has been as pathetic as the Towson University Tigers.

The Tigers have gone 5-57 over the past seasons and have won just one win in CAA play during that span.

The Tigers hit a new low last season by winning just one game, which came against UNC-Wilmington in late January.

The year before last, Towson went 4-26 and failed to win a game in the CAA.

There is not much hope for the Tigers again this season, but winning more than one game will be considered a success given how pathetic their basketball program has been in recent years.