Ranking the Best Team Nicknames in College Basketball

Not every college basketball team can be winners on the court, but with the right nickname and mascot, they can be perennial champions in the world of sports trivia.

With 351 schools participating at the Division I level, there are quite a few different nicknames out there. There are also a lot of repeat monikers, as 15 schools apiece are named Bulldogs or Eagles in some form, 14 have Hawks in their name, and another 13 are some type of Tigers.

You will not see any versions of those nicknames on this list of the best in college basketball. We scoured the ranks for uniqueness, factoring in what the name means to the school and how catchy it is.

Here's our choice for the 10 best. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

10. Stetson Hatters

When your school is named after a hat maker, it makes sense to pay homage to that benefactor in whatever way possible. Hence the Stetson Hatters, one of the most unique names in college sports but also a catchy one that's not hard to forget.

John B. Stetson helped establish the school in DeLand, Florida, in the late 1800s, and the mascot (see above video) is called "John B." and somewhat resembles his namesake. And not surprisingly, he has a big 'ol Stetson hat on at all times.

From a basketball standpoint, though, the nickname and mascot are about all Stetson has going for it. Since joining Division I in 1971, the Hatters have never made the NCAA tournament and haven't reached the finals of the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament (known then as the Trans America Athletic Conference) since 1994.

Their last .500 record was in 2007-08, and last season they went 7-24.

9. Akron Zips

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The origin of the Akron Zips nickname is a long and winding one, dating back more than 100 years to when the locally based BF Goodrich Company was known for making popular rubber shoes (known as zippers) before becoming one of the leading tire makers in the country.

Yet nowadays the Zips name is more associated with speed, as when something is fast or "zippy." And the mascot is a kangaroo, which is a relatively fast animal.

Quirkiness works when it comes to sports team names, especially those that don't necessarily have the greatest of sports histories. The men's basketball program has been one of the school's more successful ones, reaching the NCAA tournament three times since 2009.

8. UC Irvine Anteaters

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If your school's nickname is going to be an animal, it's better to go bold and distinct than basic and dull.

UC Irvine avoided being just part of the critter crowd by going with Anteaters, a choice that came from a student vote nearly 50 years ago that screams the values of freedom that California was founded on.

According to the school's site, Peter the Anteater (of course it rhymes) was the brainchild of a trio of students in 1965 who drew up an anteater cartoon as an option to challenge other choices such as a roadrunner, seahawk and unicorn. One of those students, Pat Glasgow, is still affiliated with the school as a manager with the UC Irvine men's water polo team.

As one of 10 schools in the University of California system, UC Irvine found a way to stand out. The Anteaters have never made the NCAA tournament, but after winning the Big West regular-season title this past season and bringing back a team that includes 7'6" sophomore Mamadou Ndiaye, we may be seeing Peter roaming a neutral-site sideline next March.

7. Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils

Photo credit: Mississippi Valley State Athletics

One of the tiniest and most obscure schools among the 351 playing Division I basketball is Mississippi Valley State, a historically black university located in Itta Bena, Mississippi. The town has a population not far above 2,000, and the school's enrollment is around 2,500.

MVSU has made five NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2012, and is where No. 4 all-time NCAA scoring leader Alphonso Ford played from 1989 to 1993.

It could have never won a game—since making the 2012 tourney it has gone 14-46—and would still have landed on this list because of its super-cool nickname, the Delta Devils. The red-and-green logo, though not prominently featured on the uniforms, is among the sharpest in the country and taps into the school's location along the Mississippi River.

6. Pepperdine Waves

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Overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California, Pepperdine is a college that is as connected to the sea as to its roots as a Christian liberal arts college during the Great Depression.

Given the choice, wouldn't you pick a quirky aquatic-themed nickname and mascot over one referencing hard economic times?

The Pepperdine Waves have had a few brushes with fame in the college basketball world, reaching the NCAA tournament a dozen times but not since 2002. Their last NCAA tourney victory came in 2000, when as a No. 11 seed they upset No. 6 Indiana in what would prove to be Bobby Knight's final game with the Hoosiers.

If Pepperdine were to get into the tourney again now—not the easiest thing to do, as it is in the West Coast Conference that Gonzaga has dominated for seemingly forever—it now doubt would draw plenty of attention for the nickname as well as for its mascot, Willy the Wave, whose hair is a barrel of a wave that looks like a pompadour.

5. Wichita State Shockers

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When Gonzaga burst onto the scene in the late 1990s as a mid-major basketball team fighting to be one of the big boys, it didn't have the benefit of possessing a catchy nickname to enhance its reputation. Ignoring the official Bulldogs name and calling them the "Zags" didn't count.

Wichita State hasn't faced such a dilemma, as the Shockers have one of the coolest nicknames around that only becomes cooler because it's attached to a program that's quickly developed into a powerhouse.

The mascot is a walking version of a shock of wheat, and the process of "shocking" wheat for harvest ties back to Wichita State's heritage of being known for agriculture and farming in its earliest days.

WSU managed to shock many people, as well as plenty of teams, by reaching the Final Four as a No. 8 seed in the 2012-13 NCAA tournament and then making it to the third round this past year without a loss. Not many other programs have a nickname that also describes their rise to prominence.

Syracuse didn't "orange" its way to the top, and Duke hasn't "blue-deviled" its many conquests under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

4. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

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What the heck is a chanticleer?

That question is the main reason Coastal Carolina is among the more well-known of the low-end college basketball teams in Division I. Weird and wild nicknames stand out, and few are weirder or wilder than the Chanticleer.

It's a rooster, by the way.

Coastal Carolina returned to national prominence—and elicited quite a few more "what the...?" reactions—when it won the Big South conference tournament to earn the school's first NCAA tournament bid since 1993. The Chanticleers were trending for a bit during their opening-round game, which they led early against No. 1 seed Virginia, before falling 70-59.

3. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns

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Dropping the "g" from an adjective is usually an attempt to seem hip and cool—see the Runnin' Rebels of UNLV or the Runnin' Utes of Utah—but in the case of Louisiana-Lafayette, removing that one letter is actually what makes the Ragin' Cajuns such a great nickname.

Though ULL (which prefers to be known just as Louisiana and as recently as 1999 was known as Southwest Louisiana) has been a school for more than 100 years, its athletic program didn't adopt the Ragin' Cajuns nickname officially until the 1970s. College basketball became a Division I sport there around the same time.

With Louisiana's rich Cajun history, having a nickname that taps into that is perfect. Even better is the use of a chili pepper as the apostrophe, while at the same time Ragin' and Cajuns pretty much rhyme.

You also can't argue with having a mascot whose name is a type of pepper, cayenne, that's synonymous with Cajun food.

2. North Carolina Tar Heels

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The nickname describes what is more or less a dirty foot, while its mascot is a ram. Put it together and add in the Carolina blue uniforms, and the North Carolina Tar Heels are one of the most recognizable names in college basketball.

Named after the North Carolina's official state nickname, the Tar Heels link themselves back to the region's Civil War history. The state was well-known for being a major producer of pine tar, according to a 1982 article from Tar Heel Magazine written by alumnus William S. Powell. When the school needed a nickname, it naturally went with this one.

UNC is strong in many sports, but men's basketball remains its most successful. Rising to prominence under legendary coach Dean Smith and continuing under Roy Williams, the Tar Heels have the distinction of being one of the best programs in the nation while also not having a run-of-the-mill nickname like Wildcats, Tigers or some other animal.

Having a mascot that's completely different from the nickname is a bit odd, but Ramses is a nice complement to the Tar Heels logo.

1. Indiana Hoosiers

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College basketball keeps improving and advancing, adapting to modern times. But there's something to be said about tradition—about holding onto the sports roots. That's why the Indiana Hoosiers top our list for the best nickname in the game.

Named after every resident of the Hoosier State, the nickname conjures up images of kids playing ball in their driveway and shooting at a makeshift hoop and backboard nailed above the garage. Pretty much what the iconic film Hoosiers looked like, which makes sense because it was about a small-town Indiana high school winning the state championship long ago.

Indiana's uniforms remain traditional as well—just plain red and white—while the Hoosiers' striped warm-up pants remain a beacon of convention in a world of constant upgrading. While the team has had an up-and-down past 15 years since the Bobby Knight era ended, the Hoosiers remain as relevant as ever in college basketball and deserve to be recognized for having the best nickname around.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.