End-of-the-Year Summary/Rankings

I wanted to do an end-of-the-year rankings, not just necessarily having the top eight being the Elite 8, the top sixteen being the Sweet 16, and so on, but rather ranking them on their seasons as a whole. Of course, it's hard to knock whoever winds up being the national champs off of the #1 spot, as well as whoever winds up 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th out of the top four, but as far as all the non-Final Four teams, I think the order is very debatable. So let's pool our resources together for one last final rankings after the title game.

Also, I'm thinking about doing short write-ups, probably about the length of the above paragraph on each team and their season. Anyone down with contributing to the article?

I'm going to be messing around with my rankings in this thread...

1) Florida - 125 (5) - By winning the National Championship, the Florida Gators joined a very elite club of only seven teams that have won back-to-back titles and became the only team to do so with the same starting lineup. For a team with very little legacy prior to the 2000, this type of success is shocking to say the least, but as it stands, the Gators are the best team of the '00 decade, winning two titles and heading to three Final Fours in the past seven years. While the Gators' group of star juniors have all declared for the NBA Draft, they made a huge score by retaining coach Billy Donovan. So long as he's at the helm, the Gators have the potential to wind up being one of the NCAA elites.

2) Ohio State - 120 - Hindered by injuries and foul troubles, Greg Oden's freshman debut wasn't quite what it could have been. It was still a sign of things to come from the game's next great big man, especially his great performance in the national championship, but he didn't dominate the collegiate landscape the way many expected him to. It was actually the stellar play of the Buckeyes' underclassmen that carried them throughout the season, as well as the play of Oden's former high school teammate, Mike Conley, Jr., who played throughout the season with poise beyond his years. Still, even though the 'Thad 5' wasn't quite the 'Fab 5,' they had an amazing season, finishing with the best record in the entire NCAA at 35-4.

3) Georgetown - 113 - Making the Final Four for the first time since 1985, Georgetown has renewed their legacy under John Thompson III, who in just three years already has a Sweet 16 and a Final Four under his belt. The Hoyas stumbled early on, going 4-3 in their first seven games, but then finished strong at 19-2, including a 13-3 Big East record and conference crowns in both the regular and post season. Big man Roy Hibbert, although inconsistent, had a career season, capped off with in Hoyas' meeting with Ohio State in the Final Four, and Jeff Green had an all-around year worthy of Big East Player of the Year honors. Still, the play of guys like Jessie Sapp, DaJuan Summers, Jeremiah Rivers, Patrick Ewing, Jr., and Jonathan Wallace was just as important in the Hoyas' late season run. It's that type of team-first effort that John Thompson III has made a career of getting his team's to play with.

4) UCLA - 112 - The Bruins finished the season in disappointing fashion, losing to Cal in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament and then being blown out by Florida in the Final Four, but overall, the Bruins had an amazing season. They won the Pac-10 regular season title, they finished the season with thirty wins, and they also passed North Carolina for the most final four appearances of any NCAA team with 17. This season also marked the coming out party of sophomore point guard Darren Collison, who emerged this season as one of the premier floor generals in the NCAA, as well as one of the league's top defenders. Provided that none of their players declare early for the NBA draft, they'll also return every single player on this roster and bring in five-star freshman center Kevin Love next season, setting them up for the club's third straight Final Four run.

5) Kansas - 104 - The Jayhawks seem to always have the best talent on paper but never seem to be able to parlay that talent into postseason success, having only two titles to their name despite being one of the oldest college basketball programs in America, dating back to the 1800's when they were coached by the inventor of basketball himself, Dr. James Naismith. This season was no exception, as the Jayhawks arguably had more talent than any team in America, returning every key player from their 2005-06 Big 12 Championship team, yet they got knocked out of the tournament just short of the Final Four by the UCLA Bruins, 55-68. In typical Jayhawk fashion though, they dominated the regular season, beating the eventual national champion Florida Gators, winning both the regular and post-season Big 12 titles, and finishing with a 33-5 record.

6) North Carolina - 101 - Despite collapsing worse than any other team in the tournament this season, the Tar Heels were still the best team to not crack the Final Four, ending the season with an overall record of 31-7 and the ACC crown. Tyler Hansbrough continued to dominate on both ends of the floor, freshman Ty Lawson was arguably the second or third best point guard in the nation this season despite his young age, and freshman Brandan Wright finished his strong debut season with the sixth best shooting percentage in the NCAA. As far as the regular season goes, the Tar Heels couldn't have done much better.

7) Oregon - 94 - After three years of trying to mesh, the Ducks' talented core finally put it all together this year and played to their potential. Aaron Brooks, in particular, took his game to another level this season, as he not only became a more accurate shooter but became a more confident leader, taking the Ducks on his back throughout stretches of the season. Freshman Tajuan Porter was also a major surprise. After being overlooked by most other high-majors because he stands at only 5'6", Porter wound up being one of the nation's biggest impact freshmen, averaging 14.6 ppg, earning a starting role, and single-handedly winning the Ducks' Final Four matchup against UNLV with his 33 point (8-12 3pt) performance. Finishing the season at 29-8 with a Pac-10 Tournament title, this season will go down as one of the most successful seasons in Oregon's school history.

8) Wisconsin - 88 - Don't let the Badgers' late season collapse taint the great season they had. They may not have made the Final Four like they were expected to, but they still achieved a #1 ranking in the polls for the first time in school history in mid-February, and it was very well-deserved, as the Badgers stood 26-2 at the time with wins over then #2 Pittsburgh, #5 Ohio State, and #20 Marquette under their belt. The Badgers' record-setting season was also defined by a career season from senior Alando Tucker, who was recently named as one of only five Wooden Award finalists.

9) Texas A&M - 82 - The Aggies recently lost the most successful coach the school has ever had in Billy Gillespie, who bolted to take the head coaching job Kentucky. Aggie fans shouln't let that mar a historical season from their school though. The Aggies reached as high as a #6 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today poll, the highest in school history. They also won for the first time in school history in Kansas' historic "Phog" Allen Fieldhouse and achieved a #3 seeding as well, the school's highest seeding ever. They got to that level because of their amazingly balanced play, spurred on by Wooden Award finalist Acie Law IV, who became a better "pure" point guard this season, showing better decision making on offense and not always looking for the score himself.

10) Memphis - 80 - Memphis may have been beaten by ever decent opponent they played in the regular season, but they came to play when it mattered, in the NCAA Tournament. They also finished with the second best record in the NCAA when all was said and done at 33-4. For a program that had never been to consecutive Elite Eights in their 76-year history, that's a hell of an accomplishment, and Tiger fans should be proud. They may have had players on their roster who probably should have been kicked off for their run-ins with the law, like Jeremy Hunt, Kareem Cooper, and Andre Allen, but ethics aside, they had more depth and talent than most teams, as evidenced by the legtimate ten-man rotation coach Calipari ran.

11) Pittsburgh - 74 - The Panthers started off the season as one of the most dominant teams in the NCAA, and Aaron Gray also started off as the most dominant big man in the game. However, the Pitt guards didn't shoot well enough to keep defenders honest, and as a result, Gray got double teamed more, was less effective, and the team dropped more games. They still wound up at a respectable 29-8 on the season and finished second in the Big East, but they struggled in the postseason, narrowly escaping defeat against VCU in the second round and then losing to the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16. Had they not shot a dismal 36% from the field, perhaps they would have gone further.

12) Washington State - 70 - This season's biggest surprise, Washington State was picked by many analysts to finish towards the bottom of the Pac-10 after an 11-17 finish to the 2005-06 season, yet they finished #2 in the Pac-10 with a 26-8 record. The success can be credited to first year head coach Tony Bennett (no, not the singer, the son of former head coach Dick Bennett). By getting his team to value their defensive contributions more than their offense or their stats, Bennett got his team to crack the tournament for the first time since the 1993-94 season.

13) Southern Illinois - 69 - The regular season champions of the competitive Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Illinois earned a #4 seed in the postseason because of their physical, defensive-minded play, as well as career seasons offensively from combo guard Jamaal Tatum and post player Randal Falkner, despite struggling as a team on that end of the floor. Surprisingly though, the Salukis were able to force the #1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks' frenetic pace down to a slow crawl, narrowly missing a victory in a closely contested 58-61 loss in the Sweet 16.

14) Southern Cal - 59 - In just his second season as the Trojan's head coach, Tim Floyd led his team to the most wins in Southern Cal's school history, even without having starting point guard Gabe Pruitt until late December. The Trojans dedicated their season to the deceased Ryan Francis, who was an honorable mention All-Pac 10 Freshman for them last season, wearing a black #12 on their jerseys in his honor. Next season looks to be even better for Southern Cal, who only loses one starter, Lodrick Stewart, will be replaced by five-star combo guard O.J. Mayo.

15) Tennessee - 54 - Their record may not necessarily indicate it, but the Vols were one of the hottest teams in the NCAA this season, only losing eleven games because of their absolutely brutal schedule which included games against teams like North Carolina, Butler, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Ohio State, all before heading into SEC play. Chris Lofton was the face of this team, leading them in scoring and being ridiculously clutch throughout the year, but a lot of credit has to go to the lone senior, Dane Bradshaw, who although not the highest scorer was probably the most valuable player to the Vols this season with his versatility. The Vols may bring back every other contributer next season, but the loss of Dane Bradshaw will probably hurt more than most people expect.

16) Butler - 51 - After starting off the season strong by winning the NIT Season Tip-Off, Butler continuing to distinguish themselves as more than just a "mid-major," closing out the season 23-7 and making a run to the Sweet 16 for the second time in the last five years. This time they weren't as much as an underdog as before though, entering the game against the eventual National Champion Florida Gators as a school-record #5 seed. A.J. Graves also managed to make a name for himself as one of the premier guards in college basketball with a 16.9 ppg scoring average and a 95% free-throw percentage. Despite losing Todd Lickliter to the University of Iowa, the Bulldogs should still have a chance at similar postseason success with Graves returning.

17) UNLV - 46 - The Rebels were underseeded in the tournament this season. After earning a 28-6 record and winning the the MWC tournament, UNLV was alotted only a #7 seed. When the tournament rolled round though, the Rebels proved their worth, beating Georgia Tech, a team who many experts had advancing, and then by upsetting the #2 seed Wisconsin Badgers. This year's squad may not have been as good as the UNLV teams from the early 90's, but they came about as close as UNLV will probably come to duplicating that success in a long time.

18) Texas - 35 - This 2006-07 Longhorns squad will probably be remembered as the team that had Kevin Durant and rightfully so. They were a more multifaceted team than the media portrayed them as, with D.J. Augustin, Damion James, and A.J. Abrams all played key roles in the Longhorns' season, but make no mistake, without Kevin Durant, they would have been a bubble team, if even that. Durant was simply a special player, the type which we probably won't see around in the NCAA for years to come. It's hard to assess his legacy at the moment because he just played his last game a few weeks ago, but when we look back at this season a few years from now, I'm sure a strong argument will be made for him having the greatest freshman season of anyone to have ever play the game, even better than Magic Johnson, Chris Jackson, and Carmelo Anthony.

19) Louisville - 34 - A lot of analysts wrote the Cardinals off after a slow 5-4 start to the season, but the team with eight underclassmen in their rotation appears to have simply been going through growing pains, perhaps spurred on by the lack of decorum from freshman Derrick Character, once touted as the top recruit in his class. The Cardinal went 19-6 in their last twenty-five games, including an impressive 12-4 Big East record, earning them a #6 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they ran Stanford out of the gym in the opening round and then lost at the last minute in the next to #3 seed Texas A&M. With that kind of conclusion to a season full of turmoil, Louisville fans should be optimistic, especially all but one scholarship player returning for next season.

20) Maryland - 30 - After missing the tournament each of the past two years, the Terps came back in impressive fashion this season, finishing third in the ACC. They've weathered three years of underachieving from seniors Mike Jones, D.J. Strawberry, and Ekene Ibekwe, but the entire trio elevated their game to another level this season, especially Ibekwe, who may have not gotten the publicity of Jones and Strawberry but anchored the team defensively. The Terps also got alot more than most had expected from freshman guards Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes, who appear to be the future of the program.

21) Nevada - 26 - The Wolf Pack's season was a bit of an enigma. While they finished with an extraordinary 29-5 record and were led by a legitimate Naismith Award candidate in Nick Fazekas, the Pack also failed to finish the season with any definining wins, losing their only regular season game against a ranked team in early December to UNLV, 58-49. They also came up flat in the post-season, being run out of the gym by Memphis in the Sweet 16. Still, even though they never got that one marquee win, the Pack still won twenty-nine games against decent competition (even if they were games they were supposed to win) and won the WAC regular season title with a 14-2 conference record.

22) Vanderbilt - 24 - The Commodores struggled up until mid-January, starting off the season 1-3 and losing games to teams like Wake Forest, Furman, Appalachian State, Auburn, and Georgia. They got confidence though after three straight wins in conference play over then-#9 Alabam, Kentucky, and then-#22 LSU, finishing the regular season as arguably the SEC's hottest team. The Commodores even knocked off the nation's #1 team and eventual national champion Florida Gators. The difference was that they started to hit their perimeter shots. Vandy shot only 12% from three point land opposed to the 48% they shot from downtown against the Gators. That sort of shooting led to an impressive postseason run to the Sweet 16, in which they ran George Washington out of the gym and then knocked off the #3 seeded Washington State Cougars in two overtimes. In fact, it was only because of a controversial no-call on a Jeff Green travel that the streaking Commodores were even eliminated from the tourny.

23) Winthrop - 15 - We may never know how good this year's Winthrop team was. Based on their resume alone, it'd be hard to distinguish them from the traditional powerhouses. With a 29-5 record, their only losses were road games against North Carolina, Wisconsin (in overtime), Texas A&M, Maryland, and then Oregon in the tournament. Still, playing in the Big South, they went through the season largely untested, with their lone win against a ranked team coming in their first round tournament matchup with Notre Dame. It's hard to fault them though, as they won all of the games they were supposed to and more, going undefeated in conference play, winning their conference tournament, and beating Missouri State during ESPN's BracketBusters weekend. A lot of credit has to be given to head coach Gregg Marshall, who took the job at Winthrop when the team had no NCAA Tournament appearances to his name in 1998 and has since led them to seven appearances. Marshall should also be given credit for not being one of the many coaches to jump ship on his program to benefit his own career, as he reportedly turned down an offer to be the coach at the Big East's South Florida less than a month ago.

24) Notre Dame - 8 - Known for academics and football, Notre Dame's success came as a huge surprise this season, especially after losing their leading scorer, Chris Quinn, and their leading rebounder, Torin Francis. The Irish even lost starting point guard Kyle McAlarney after he was charged with possession of marijuana midway through the season, but they battled through the adversity and finished the season with the fourth best record in the super conference known as the Big East. They wound up losing in the first round of the tournament because of a somewhat unfair matchup with Winthrop, who should have been seeded much higher than a #11 seed, but they still exceeded all expecations this season and have, for the moment at least, introduced Notre Dame's name back into the conversation when it comes to college basketball.

25) Brigham Young - 6 - The Cougars had an up-and-down season. On one hand, they got absolutely blown out by Michigan State and UCLA early in the season, lost to 15-17 Lamar as well as 17-13 Colorado State, and then dropped the two most crucial games of the season, the MWC title game and their first round NCAA tournament game. Then on the other hand, they finished with a 25-9 overall record, won the MWC regular season title outright, and won every single one of their home games on the year, earning them the longest active home winning streak in the NCAA. Overall, it was a successful season, but the Cougars probably could have done more with the talent and experience they had on their roster.

Others Receiving Votes:

Virginia - 3 (21-11), Indiana - 1 (21-11), Xavier - 1 (25-9)

 

I'd definitely be down for that man

I didn't get to see UNC's collapse today, but that is a shocker. Good for G'Town though, I can't say I've ever not enjoyed the way they play with hustle and smart offense.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Schaddy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'd definitely be down for that man

I didn't get to see UNC's collapse today, but that is a shocker. Good for G'Town though, I can't say I've ever not enjoyed the way they play with hustle and smart offense.</div>

Yeah, UNC choked, but I've still got them as the best non-Final Four team based on their entire season of accomplishments.

Nice to have you on board for the article though...

 

I might be down as well, doesn't seem like a bad idea. Plus this forum needs more college articles. [/sarcasm]

Seriously though, I'm in if you guys need a third.

 

^ That's really tough news, man. My grandma (who I'm very close to) was diagnosed with it in 2000, and beat it. Good luck to your friend

 

Year's over... let's start these up and get them done A.S.A.P. so that they're still topical...

 

<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'll have mine completed by Friday.</div>

Awesome... I'd like to get these out today or tomorrow... any word on UK? Haven't seen him on in a while...

EDIT -



Looks like he actually signed out in the TL forum -

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "UKFan":</div><div class="quote_post">Leaving this afternoon for Cocoa Beach, Florida and won't be back until next Saturday.

See you guys later! </div>

 

I'll get working on this too

 

Thanks Shape...

Schaddy/CK... still need yours.

 

I really need you guys to get your order in. I've finished #1-21 explanations because those are the teams I'm pretty sure will make the final 25, but I don't want to do the remaining four until I get a consensus on them.

If we wait too long, this won't be topical anymore. It only takes five minutes at the most to just write the order of these teams down, c'mon.

 

Sorry for the delay, I'm making mine as we speak...

 

1. Florida
2. Ohio State
3. Georgetown
4. UCLA
5. Kansas
6. North Carolina
7. Oregon
8. Texas A & M
9. Wisconsin
10. Memphis
11. Washington State
12. Southern Illinois
13. Pittsburgh
14. USC
15. Tennessee
16. UNLV
17. Butler
18. Maryland
19. Texas
20. Louisville
21. Nevada
22. Winthrop
23. Vanderbilt
24. Notre Dame
25. Virginia

 

Don't get how anyone can have A&M over Memphis, but w/etf you guys want...

 

Here's the order so far... still waiting on Schaddy (and UK if he's back yet)...

1) Florida – 75 (3)
2) Ohio State – 72
3) Georgetown - 68
4) UCLA – 67
5) Kansas - 62
6) North Carolina - 61
7) Oregon - 56
8) Wisconsin - 54
9) Texas A&M – 48
10) Memphis – 46
11T) Pittsburgh – 45
11T) Washington State – 45
13) Southern Illinois – 40
14) Southern Cal – 35
15) Butler – 33
16) Tennessee – 31
17) UNLV – 26
18) Maryland - 21
19T) Louisville – 20
19T) Nevada – 20
19T) Texas – 20
22) Vanderbilt – 10
23) Winthrop – 7
24) Notre Dame – 6
25) BYU – 4

Others Receiving Votes:
Indiana (1), Virginia (1), Xavier (1)

 

1. Florida
2. Ohio State
3. Georgetown
4. UCLA
5. Kansas
6. North Carolina
7. Oregon
8. Memphis
9. Wisconsin
10. Texas A&M
11. Southern Illinois
12. Pittsburgh
13. USC
14. Washington State
15. Tennessee
16. UNLV
17. Butler
18. Vanderbilt
19. Texas
20. Louisville
21. Maryland
22. Winthrop
23. Nevada
24. Virginia
25. Notre Dame