Credit Jim Boeheim for building Syracuse basketball into one of the premier squads across collegiate hoops in the sport’s history.
Thanks to 44-straight winning seasons by head coach Jim Boeheim, Syracuse basketball ranks in the top-10 nationally in the history of the sport in a variety of all-time categories, such as team victories, NCAA Tournament successes and Final Four appearances.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander has assembled a list of the top-68 teams in college basketball history, and he relied extensively on data. Norlander awarded points based on categories such as wins and losses, Big Dance achievements, conference titles, NIT championships, conquests of ranked foes and NBA Draft picks.
In a lot of respects, I believe that the ‘Cuse is one of the 10 best squads in the history of college basketball. However, in all fairness, the Orange has only one national title and six Final Fours, not that I’m complaining.
The top 10 in Norlander’s piece contains a bunch of usual suspects, and a surprise or two. In order, it is Kentucky at No. 1, followed by North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, Kansas, Louisville, Indiana, Connecticut, Villanova and Cincinnati.
Then, coming in at No. 11, is Syracuse basketball. After the Orange is Ohio State, Arizona, Michigan State, Illinois, Utah, St. John’s, Michigan, N.C. State and Georgetown.
I have to acknowledge my disappointment in the ‘Cuse not making the top 10. At the same time, Syracuse basketball landing ahead of Ohio State, Michigan State, St. John’s, Michigan and, most importantly, Georgetown, brings me a really nice dose of satisfaction.
Let’s dig a bit into what Norlander had to say about the Orange in his feature.
"He opened with, “Jim Boeheim would never take sole credit for this, but let’s come correct: He’s more responsible for his team’s placement on this list than any coach at any school. That’s because Boeheim has set a men’s Division I record for longest affiliation with any school in history.”"
Norlander added, “Syracuse’s home venue, the Carrier Dome, is also part of the viewing tapestry of college hoops, as the stadium has been the reason the school has led in attendance in most years over the past three decades and is unique to the sport.”
It’s no secret that the ‘Cuse has somewhat struggled, particularly in regular seasons, since it joined the Atlantic Coast Conference from the Big East Conference during the 2013-14 stanza. However, historically speaking, we sure are lucky to have the ability to cheer on one of the most successful teams ever in college basketball.