Like most sports debates in the United States, discussion of which college basketball programs should be considered “blue bloods” is often subjective and leads to disagreements more than conclusions.
Ken Pomeroy, creator of the KenPom.com college basketball statistical archive, sought to shed some light on the subject using statistical data dating back to 1997. When it comes to a team’s best season, conference affiliation, recruiting and the resumption of the playoffs, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are at the top of the sporting hierarchy.
The Zags ranked 6th in KenPom’s all-time program rankings, behind Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Michigan State. Gonzaga has made 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the second-longest active streak in the country, and has reached the Sweet 16 a total of 13 times since 1997, more than Villanova (eight), UConn (10) and Louisville. (eight) in this period.
The Bulldogs have made nine consecutive trips to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, including two Final Fours and two national runner-ups during that span. The last team to make nine consecutive rounds of the Sweet 16 was Duke from 1998 to 2006.
Although it has not won a national championship, the level of consistency at the highest level puts Gonzaga ahead of some teams that have won multiple titles since 1997 – UConn, Villanova and Florida – due to the fact that all three teams have experienced difficult years.
Before joining the Big East in 2021, the Huskies missed the playoffs in five of the seven seasons they spent in the American Athletic Conference (2014-2020) and fell all the way to 179th in the final rankings of KenPom for 2018.
Villanova had a few early tournament exits early in the Jay Wright era. Florida’s post-Billy Donovan era hasn’t seen the Gators reach the Sweet 16 since 2017. Other programs like Baylor, Virginia and Louisville have all had low moments at some point in the last 25 years before to reach the pinnacle of the sport and claim a title. national title.
But as KenPom’s algorithm shows, few programs have achieved the level of consistency Gonzaga has achieved over the past two decades. In fact, only five programs have finished higher than the top 10 in KenPom’s end-of-season rankings since 1997.
Another factor to consider is recruiting. Gonzaga has only signed three five-star recruits since 2000, which adds to the rarity of the program’s success, but it also could hold the Zags back in KenPom’s rankings.
Other interesting facts from KenPom program evaluations:
– Gonzaga (No. 6) and Memphis (No. 39) were the only two teams currently in the mid-major conferences to be ranked in the top 50. Of course, some programs like UConn, Louisville, Xavier, Cincinnati, Creighton and BYU were affiliated with smaller leagues before moving to their current places in the power conferences.
– The West Coast Conference had three teams in the top 100: Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s (No. 71) and Washington State (No. 89), the latter having spent more than 100 years in the Pac-12. Consider this addition a plus for the WCC.
– Kansas is the only team in the country that hasn’t finished a season outside of KenPom’s top 30, although Duke has the highest median ranking (No. 5).
– Among programs that have won a national championship since 1997, Syracuse (No. 25) was the lowest ranked.
