The passion for these games brings out the best — and, OK, sometimes the worst — in fan bases. College hoops offers great in-state rivalries — Duke-North Carolina, Xavier-Cincinnati and Villanova-Saint Joseph’s, to name a few — and awesome state-vs.-state showdowns — such as Missouri-Illinois (it’s called the Braggin’ Rights game, for crying out loud), Indiana-Kentucky (someone restart this, please) and Michigan-Ohio State.
The idea of state pride got me thinking a few weeks ago: Where is the best basketball being played right now, geographically speaking? Which state has the best collection of college hoops programs for the 2013-14 season?
Traditionally, Indiana has been synonymous with college basketball success. But after Butler’s recent back-to-back title-game trips and IU’s run at No. 1 last year, the Hoosier State is going through a bit of a down cycle — there are 10 Division I teams within its borders, and only Notre Dame received even a single vote in either poll this week.
So, as conference play kicks into high gear, who comes in first in this state-vs.-state debate? Is it North Carolina, buoyed by its Tobacco Road powerhouses? Kentucky, with its one-two punch of Louisville and UK? California, with its 24 Division I schools? Arizona, with the top-ranked Wildcats leading the way?
With this ranking, I’m taking into account a little bit of everything, loosely following the same principles the selection committee does when trying to seed the NCAA Tournament in March. It’s not solely about winning percentage or strength of schedule or big wins, but a combination of many factors. So, yes, while based on evidence and research and as much number-crunching as possible, at its essence this is a subjective list.
And I’m only looking at the best a state has to offer; there’s no reason to penalize a state for having low-major teams that spend the nonconference portion of the schedule racking up losses while playing money games that help support their school’s athletics budget. That said, there is value in having a high percentage of the state’s teams playing quality basketball. A state with multiple postseason-bound teams (the NCAA, NIT or CBI) will be ranked higher than one with one excellent team but not much else (Hi, Oregon).
Another important note: As with the tournament selection committee, there is no weight given to things that happened before this season. This ranking is about the strength of a state’s programs for the 2013-14 season only, so Louisville’s national championship last April doesn’t help Kentucky’s spot, and UCLA’s 73 titles under John Wooden (an approximate number) have no bearing on California’s standing.
A few other notes: For the “Supporting school” item, I included all teams ranked in the top 150 of either the RPI (via CBSSports.com) or Pomeroy ratings (through Tuesday’s games). Also, I included Washington, D.C., which obviously isn’t a state but does have four D-I programs (more than 17 states). And, Alaska does not have a D-I school, so it’s not listed.
1. Ohio
Carrying the state flag: No. 3 Ohio StateSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): Cincinnati (22/20), Xavier (27/25), Dayton (43/38), Toledo (66/43), Ohio (84/66), Cleveland State (86/96), Akron (127/118), Miami (220/143), Youngstown State (145/148)Combined record for these 10 teams: 106-40Need to know: Look at that consistent excellence: Ten of the state’s 13 D-I schools are in the top 150 (plus, Kent State just barely missed that mark), and seven of the 13 are in the top 100. Ohio State is the only team currently ranked in the AP or coaches poll, but if the season ended today, Ohio State, Xavier, Cincinnati and Dayton would be at-large worthy (all four made this week’s Field of 68), and there’s an excellent chance the automatic qualifier from the MAC will come from Toledo, Ohio or Akron. If Xavier or Cincinnati continues to take big steps forward as the season progresses and Ohio State wins the Big Ten, this state could lock up the year-end top spot.
2. Kansas
Carrying the state flag: No. 6 Wichita State, No. 18 Kansas, No. 25 Kansas StateSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rating): All three D-I schools are rankedCombined record for these three teams: 26-7Need to know: The Sunflower State doesn’t have any depth, but gets a significant bump for a high level of quality from its only three D-I schools — two are NCAA Tournament locks, and K-State took a huge step toward tournament security with a win against Oklahoma State last weekend. Think about that. The only three teams in the state are considered to be in the top 25 teams in the nation by the AP voters. And, as the Kansas youngsters grow into their roles and as Wichita State keeps alive hope of an undefeated regular season, this state could challenge for the top spot.
3. Iowa
Carrying the state flag: No. 9 Iowa State and No. 20 IowaSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): Northern Iowa (91/73), Drake (101/94)Combined record for these four teams: 43-14Need to know: This won’t be a pleasant state for opposing teams to visit during the conference season, and we’re not just talking about the blustery weather. Iowa State already has wins against Michigan, Auburn, Iowa and Baylor in Ames this season, and Iowa beat Notre Dame in Iowa City during nonconference play, then knocked off Nebraska to kick off Big Ten play. And Northern Iowa could be a serious problem for Wichita State if the Shockers are undefeated when they play in Cedar Falls in early February (same thing with Drake in Des Moines a few weeks earlier).
4. Kentucky
Carrying the state flag: No. 12 Louisville and No. 14 KentuckySupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): Eastern Kentucky (124/137), Morehead State (142/110), Western Kentucky (137/112)Combined record for these five teams: 54-21Need to know: The Bluegrass State is no stranger to NCAA Tournament success. Kentucky and Louisville have both won a national title in the past three years, and schools like Murray State, Western Kentucky and Morehead State have wrecked more than a few brackets with their memorable upsets. Without a really strong mid-major to support the two big schools, though, Kentucky is probably a couple notches below where it would have been in the past few seasons. The recent news out of Louisville — the Cardinals dismissed Chane Behanan and lost Kevin Ware to injury — doesn’t help, either.
5. California
Carrying the state flag: No. 13 San Diego StateSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): UCLA (30/36), St. Mary’s (48-34), Stanford (54/89), California (45/54), UC-Santa Barbara (67/37), Southern California (102/83), UC-Irvine (98/126), Pacific (122/64), Loyola Marymount (131/144), San Francisco (130/107), Pepperdine (143/141), Long Beach State (171/95), Fresno State (164/124)Combined record for these 14 teams: 132-72Need to know: Although there might not be a true national championship contender in the state, San Diego State is a second-weekend team, and more than half of the Golden State’s D-I teams make the top 150 in the Pomeroy or RPI ratings (and a few others are just on the outside). That’s an impressive level of quality. And, as a random note that doesn’t factor into this ranking, did you know California is almost the only state to have an entire conference within its borders? Eight of the nine Big West teams call California home, with Hawaii as the outlier.
6. Wisconsin
Carrying the state flag: No. 4 WisconsinSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): Green Bay (60/55), Marquette (49/105), Milwaukee (183/121)Combined record for these four teams: 47-14Need to know: This might be the best Wisconsin team of the Bo Ryan era, which is really saying something. Marquette struggled to score in the nonconference portion of the season, but both of the state’s two Horizon League teams — Green Bay and Milwaukee — have played much better basketball than they did a year ago. All four of the state’s schools are on track to play in a postseason tournament, which is no easy feat.
7. Pennsylvania
Carrying the state flag: No. 8 VillanovaSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): Pittsburgh (6/22), Drexel (92/68), Saint Joseph’s (82/80), Penn State (94/102), Temple (108/163), La Salle (99/119)Combined record for these seven teams: 65-30Need to know: On its own, Philadelphia would rate pretty highly on this list; of the teams listed above, Villanova, Saint Joseph’s, Drexel, Temple and La Salle all call the city home (so does Penn, for that matter, but it’s a down season for that Ivy League team). And coach Jamie Dixon has created a pretty solid program across the state in Pittsburgh, too.
8. North Carolina
Carrying the state flag: No. 16 DukeSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): North Carolina (25/39), N.C. State (74/63), Wake Forest (76/65), Charlotte (114/131), Elon (140/149), North Carolina Central (120/87), Davidson (191/137)Combined record for these eight teams: 74-40Need to know: North Carolina is a perennial contender for the best basketball state, but this isn’t close to the best year for the Old North State. N.C. State and Wake Forest are off their peak, and some of the traditional small-school powers like Davidson and UNC-Asheville are down this year. Still, though, with Duke leading the way, North Carolina a dangerous (but schizophrenic) team, and a handful of squads capable of winning automatic bids, the state easily makes the top 10.
9. New York
Carrying the state flag: No. 2 SyracuseSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): St. John’s (72/57), Manhattan (73/60), St. Bonaventure (93/147), Stony Brook (115/180), Iona (110/156), Columbia (100/133), Canisius (135/114), Albany (156/146), St. Francis (213/117)Combined record for these 10 teams: 94-48Need to know: With Syracuse’s arrival in the ACC for the 2013-14 season, there are 10 different conferences that call New York home. The Metro Atlantic claims six schools (Canisius, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Niagara, Siena) and the Northeast has three (LIU-Brooklyn, St. Francis, Wagner), while the other eight are represented by just one or two schools from the state.
10. Florida
Carrying the state flag: No. 10 FloridaSupporting schools (with Pom/RPI rank): Florida State (38/53), Miami (85/108), UCF (129/243)Combined record for these four teams: 37-16Need to know: By the time March rolls around, the Gators should finally be near full strength and will be expected to reach another Elite Eight (at least). This football state has produced some very good basketball teams in the past decade or so, thanks to excellent coaches such as Billy Donovan at Florida and Leonard Hamilton at Florida State. Donovan, with his two national championships, four Final Fours and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 17 years, has made basketball much more than an afterthought in Gainesville.
MORE RANKINGS: Nos. 11-50
VIDEO: Florida rolls | Iowa State downs Baylor
