G’s Exploration or Which School Has the Best Basketball Program?

Welcome back, college sports fans, to a bittersweet post. On the positive side, we are looking at the data in a way we have not done before – always exciting (at least for us at the GCR). On the flip side, this is our last post of the 2025-26 football/basketball season. After 41 consecutive days of posting (a new GCR record that was a lot of fun to write), we will be taking the next six weeks or so as our offseason.

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During that time, we will be coding the football GCR. That includes not only capturing all of the scheduled games (more on that in a second) but also creating a “Lessons Learned” from the basketball season that could improve our football reporting. G also has a side project, unrelated to sports (sacrilege!) that needs his attention (we will tell you about that at the appropriate time). JoJo has the end of the semester and finals. So, no bonbons and soap operas for us. We will be back somewhere in the middle of May. That first post will be all about the conference realignments (19 so far) for the upcoming season as well as the schedule for our annual preseason look at each conference.

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One interesting team we are watching right now is the LA Tech Bulldogs. LATC has a storied football (and women’s basketball) history playing football since 1901 with a lifetime 654-508-37 record. The won the Division II championship in 1972-73-74 along with 29 conference championships. Becoming what is now called FCS member as an independent in 1987, they promoted to FBS independent in 1989 before joining the Big West from 1993-95. Jumping back on the FBS Indy bandwagon from 1996-2000, they joined the Western Athletic Conference until 2012 before switching to Conference USA in 2013. They have expressed an interest and been accepted by the Sun Belt to replace Texas St. C-USA, however, wants them to stay another season. Both conferences have published their 2026 schedules with both including LA Tech. As of right now, the Bulldogs have 20 games on their schedule (4 out of conference, 8 C-USA, 8 Sun Belt), with 8 weeks of two games. Clearly this will be resolved, but it will require a court order as that is where the situation has escalated.

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All of that said, today is not about football, but rather basketball. Generally, we separate Men’s and Women’s basketball because it makes sense. However, 363 of the 365 Division I programs that have basketball have both programs. The exceptions are VMI and Citadel. While neither school is male-only, less than 15% of the student body is female, and women were only admitted in the late 1990s. While other sports for women are sponsored by the schools, they simply do not have basketball as an option. Title IX requires equal opportunity for women’s sports. It does not require specific sports.

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UCONN had both of their basketball teams reach the final four. Does that mean they had the best overall program this season? What about Michigan who had the Men’s champion while the Women made the Elite Eight? How would a school like South Carolina whose Women made the championship game but whose Men were last in the conference compare? So, we decided to combine the two GCR programs just once in what we are planning as an annual event to crown the “Best Basketball Program in America.”

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In the table below, we have the combined records of the teams (Citadel and VMI are just the men) along with the simple Mean of the two teams GCR Score (max score is 100.00 for the highest-ranked team for men and women). For example, if Michigan had the best team for both Men and Women, their Avg Score would be 100.00. We also looked at the Avg RPI Factor. As a reminder, the RPI is a calculation that is Winning Percentage+2xOpponent’s Winning Percentage+Opponent’s Opponent’s Winning Percentage divided by 4. That gives a value less than one. The RPI Factor (or RPIF) converts that value to one in which the difference in comparison to another team is on the same scale as the Score metric. Notice that Duke and UCONN switch places when using that metric. Why? Both metrics take into consideration strength of schedule, but the RPI has 3/4 of its value on opponents. The Big East, while considered a power conference, is not as strong top to bottom as the ACC. The final column compared the Score values for each school and determined whether the Men or the Women had the higher total. For example, the UCONN Women (Score 90.35) were 38-1 but lost in the semifinals while the Men (Score 86.52) were 34-6 losing the final. While both teams were excellent, the Women outdid the Men in the metric. Here are the Top 365 basketball programs in the country from Michigan to MS Valley.

TeamTWTLTPCTAvg ScoreAvg Score
Rank
Avg RPIFAvg RPIF
Rank
Better?
Michigan651086789.721180.301Men
UCONN72791188.442177.263Women
Duke621283888.173179.342Men
UCLA611382482.944174.714Women
Vanderbilt561480080.095172.145Women
Texas561974775.106167.967Women
North Carolina521775474.877167.459Men
Alabama492170073.888169.756Men
Iowa512071873.309167.638Women
Michigan St501774672.9210166.4310Men
Gonzaga551479772.0811161.4624Men
Louisville531973671.8712165.5412Women
TCU551875371.8113164.6913Women
Texas Tech491972171.2914165.8711Men
Virginia521874370.8215163.2019Men
Villanova491774269.8716162.2020Women
Illinois502170469.6317164.0314Men
Iowa St511873969.0418161.7222Men
Nebraska472070168.5719163.3216Men
Ohio St482169668.3020163.2318Women
Arizona482169668.2521161.6323Men
Miami OH60987067.8422149.8563Men
McNeese571282667.3023148.6364Men
St Johns521973267.0724158.2932Men
Kentucky472565366.9725163.8015Women
Kansas462564866.9426161.8821Men
West Virginia492170066.5327160.3527Women
San Diego St491774266.3328154.2741Women
South Carolina492368166.0329160.7726Women
Santa Clara501972565.8630151.5157Men
Florida452366265.6831160.9525Men
BYU492467164.7132159.6828Men
Tennessee412661264.0333163.3117Men
High Point581184163.8934143.6594Men
Oklahoma472466263.7135158.3331Women
North Dakota St561381263.4936144.1291Women
Charleston481773862.6237146.0579Women
Georgia442167762.4738156.2936Men
George Mason462069762.3039152.9949Women
South Florida452168262.1340153.8545Men
Baylor422661862.0141158.7529Women
LSU442365761.7642156.9535Women
NC St412562161.5743158.5530Women
Troy472070161.3544147.2172Women
Purdue432662361.2445158.0433Men
Murray St511775061.1946148.1968Women
Oklahoma St442563861.1247154.3939Women
Marshall472268161.0048146.6974Women
Belmont461871959.9949148.3966Men
Virginia Tech422364659.8950154.2642Women
Clemson452366259.8651153.5048Men
Steph F Austin531676859.8052140.84116Men
Fairfield491873159.4053145.8482Women
CA Baptist482070659.3654147.5571Men
Arkansas402958059.1455156.9734Men
Columbia412067258.9956147.6670Women
Rhode Island442167758.6157147.6869Women
UC Irvine491972158.5958144.8284Women
Miami FL442464758.4859152.4454Men
Arizona St412760358.4760155.4437Women
Liberty442167758.4561142.73101Men
Colorado St482169658.4162146.1778Women
Arkansas St472268158.2663144.2589Women
LA Tech462168758.2364140.84115Women
Hawaii462069758.1165141.21112Women
James Madison442464757.9666148.2467Women
Vermont492071057.3567139.09126Women
Colorado392858257.3268154.3340Women
Boise St452168257.3269144.7486Men
St Marys422364657.3170142.49104Men
New Mexico482169657.1471146.2577Men
Stanford412760357.1372152.2555Men
Wisconsin402958057.0273154.4738Men
UC San Diego472070156.8874141.60110Women
Seton Hall402561556.6275150.7959Men
Montana St452267256.6076138.95127Women
Minnesota392759156.4477152.9252Women
Ga Southern442464756.2278142.31105Women
St Josephs442365756.1779142.53102Women
Syracuse392660055.9880151.7856Women
Notre Dame382956755.8681154.1543Women
Washington382857655.6982152.9650Women
Penn352261455.6983142.29106Women
Texas A&M362559055.5984152.9351Men
Tulsa492071055.5085143.1597Men
California432761455.1186148.4865Men
Richmond412562155.0687145.8780Women
Mississippi393254955.0288153.6247Women
Southern Cal362856354.9889152.8553Women
Idaho502170454.6990136.29144Women
Navy481773854.6091137.68134Women
Oregon St402858854.2792143.8993Women
Quinnipiac462069754.1993141.17113Women
Dayton422661854.1194146.2776Men
Green Bay432464254.0495139.93121Women
Auburn373352954.0196153.8046Men
C Arkansas432365253.8997137.02140Women
South Dakota St412562153.7098140.75118Women
Illinois St472763553.5799142.86100Men
Lindenwood432365253.55100134.78151Women
Princeton352459353.55100145.7083Women
Missouri373055253.55102150.9258Men
UMASS402363553.52103142.50103Women
Houston373055253.44104154.0344Men
Harvard372460753.40105144.6188Women
Sam Houston402561553.23106135.85146Men
Indiana362856353.21107150.3661Men
N Iowa412760353.21107143.5495Men
Kent St392660053.13109139.13125Men
Merrimack422463652.69110138.32129Men
Utah Valley412463152.63111135.91145Men
UC Davis422562752.50112136.34142Women
Maryland363054552.49113150.7860Women
Davidson412661252.45114143.1598Women
UNLV392858252.27115144.8285Women
Furman402660652.19116131.17186Men
Howard501972551.67117134.41153Women
N Colorado432365251.47118131.36183Women
St Louis412760351.46119141.62109Men
Austin Peay412364151.16120134.22157Men
Monmouth402759750.97121133.96158Women
Bradley412661250.96122137.90130Men
Rice422463650.83123139.14124Women
E Tenn St412463150.82124132.65172Men
Oregon353351550.29125150.1362Women
Rio Grande402858849.87126133.93159Women
Santa Barbara382461349.47127134.60152Women
UCF323150849.44128146.9973Men
Toledo363054549.34129137.88131Men
Robert Morris402363549.13130130.75189Men
Balt County412463149.11131132.05177Men
North Texas382857648.96132135.27149Women
St Thomas402660648.88133129.82200Men
San Francisco363153748.77134139.18123Women
South Dakota422661848.70135128.59210Women
Youngstown St402759748.60136130.88188Women
William & Mary372658748.57137134.37154Men
Towson362955448.33138135.85146Men
Missouri St393155748.19139137.48137Women
LMU362757148.14140136.33143Women
VCU363153748.09141144.1990Men
Long Island452267247.99142127.97221Men
Abilene Chr383055947.92143131.33184Women
Drexel382758547.86144134.32155Women
Utah St353153047.79145137.57136Men
Winthrop382857647.76146128.27216Men
Ball St382659447.60147132.84169Women
Morehead St382857647.50148132.43174Men
FIU362955447.46149134.28156Women
Campbell363054547.41150133.13165Women
Bowling Green352855647.29151127.64224Women
Mississippi St313249247.17152145.8681Women
Creighton323349247.08153144.7187Women
Jacksonville362955446.70154130.72191Women
Yale312753446.69155137.59135Men
Grand Canyon333151646.42156140.06120Men
Nevada343450046.34157138.67128Men
Wofford352657446.34158126.83230Women
Longwood372658746.27159124.73245Women
Mercer362658146.14160127.51227Men
Fullerton363054546.07161130.74190Men
Alabama A&M402660645.96162123.93255Women
Geo Wash373452145.87163137.05139Men
Fort Wayne382956745.64164130.65192Women
Iona382659445.63165130.22194Men
Akron363054545.60166133.86160Men
Marquette303248445.51167140.77117Women
Coastal333151645.44168132.77170Men
Mid Tenn343152345.42169135.28148Men
Stony Brook353053845.39170128.44211Women
Cincinnati293545345.34171144.1092Men
Ohio333151645.30172133.79161Women
Wake Forest323547845.20173141.85108Men
Hofstra353351545.13174134.85150Men
Kansas St313844945.06175146.6675Women
E Kentucky363054545.00176130.08196Women
UT Martin352855644.95177125.92237Men
South Alabama383155144.94178133.15164Men
N Kentucky353153044.86179133.38162Men
Portland353450744.83180132.97166Women
NJ Tech353053844.68181131.70181Women
Utah293545344.68181143.0199Women
Radford392957444.61183126.07235Women
Kennesaw St343152344.60184127.70223Men
Army372956144.46185128.81207Women
Georgetown303546244.40186142.05107Men
Samford343350743.95187127.53226Men
SMU293545343.94188141.49111Men
Southern Miss343251543.61189129.39204Men
Florida St283643843.34190143.4496Men
SEMO343152343.30191126.71231Men
Lehigh353252243.17192130.65192Women
Wilmington343152343.14193129.96197Men
Siena362955443.09194129.09206Men
St Bonaventure343350742.86195132.62173Men
Idaho St323150842.78196127.92222Women
Fla Gulf Coast323448542.63197129.18205Women
Southern373154442.60198124.33250Women
East Carolina333052442.47199133.16163Women
Cleveland St373253642.46200126.02236Women
Providence303645542.28201139.22122Men
Old Dominion303546242.13202132.91167Women
Chattanooga333052442.05203124.05252Women
Fair Dickins412661241.99204120.73282Women
IL Chicago333449341.74205131.30185Men
Holy Cross343251541.51206128.24217Women
Stetson323349241.45207125.91238Women
UAB313150041.21208130.11195Men
App St303248441.17209128.20218Men
West Georgia333052441.05210123.55257Women
Jax St313348441.02211123.73256Women
Wright St333449341.02211125.60240Men
FAU323349240.92213129.93198Men
Arlington303546240.83214131.96179Men
Brown252946340.80215128.69208Women
SIUE352954740.73216119.95287Men
Lamar323051640.64217125.24242Women
Butler283544440.63218137.09138Men
Wichita St323547840.63219131.79180Men
Marist303248440.61220129.70201Men
Elon303446940.50221128.28215Women
W Illinois313249240.41222121.63270Women
Temple313348440.28223132.39175Women
Pacific293446040.27224131.01187Men
Wyoming283544440.21225132.01178Men
Northridge303446940.19226126.23234Men
Charlotte313547040.17227132.85168Men
Pepperdine303645539.83228128.06219Women
S Utah293545339.69229124.20251Women
Texas St303248439.69230124.98244Men
Duquesne303446939.61231127.55225Men
Queens313447739.57232125.04243Men
Lipscomb293346839.13233124.34249Men
Xavier263741339.08234136.70141Men
Tulane293545338.78235131.42182Men
TN Tech283246738.74236121.38273Women
La Salle283643838.72237132.67171Women
Cornell243143638.65238128.33214Men
Norfolk St333250838.34239114.52331Women
S Indiana283445238.33240119.93288Women
C Michigan283345938.30241126.32233Women
Greensboro293545338.23242118.24304Women
Oakland263741338.14243129.69202Men
Georgia Tech253939138.01244137.80132Women
Tarleton283544437.98245123.02259Women
Penn St233837737.97246140.91114Women
W Kentucky263542637.94247127.98220Men
Utah Tech283544437.74248125.54241Men
E Washington293743937.59249124.00253Women
Fresno St283743137.53250128.60209Men
Asheville273543537.52251118.69300Men
Mt St Marys303248437.48252124.53247Men
Maine273742237.37253127.30228Women
Denver263641937.05254121.30274Men
Mercyhurst323448537.05254121.13276Men
Little Rock273642936.92256122.32264Women
Northwestern234036536.89257140.44119Men
TN St283445236.86258126.65232Men
Nwestern St283643836.70259121.62271Women
Nicholls293545336.62260122.52262Women
Weber St273841536.23261121.73267Men
S Illinois263641936.23262122.76260Men
Bryant273444336.17263119.72291Women
Binghamton283643836.14264117.59309Women
New Mexico St253740335.92265121.63269Men
Oral Roberts253839735.85266119.88290Women
Rutgers234036535.76267137.71133Men
North Alabama263542635.67268119.72291Women
Montana273841535.17269123.06258Men
Ark Pine Bluff283544435.10270118.57302Women
Dartmouth213338935.05271120.64283Men
Incarnate Word253641034.99272119.23294Women
St Peters243540734.95273122.49263Men
UTEP243739334.88274121.42272Women
Depaul244037534.68275132.13176Men
Boston Univ283743134.62276120.78280Men
Fordham273543534.60277122.00265Men
NC A&T233738334.57278117.93306Women
Sacred Heart273742234.51279121.06278Men
Albany253740334.37280120.23286Women
Drake264039434.34281125.89239Men
Sacramento St253939134.29282120.57284Women
MD Eastern293843334.21283116.46317Women
E Michigan233738333.98284124.36248Women
Alabama St273742233.81285114.50332Women
Wagner273444333.76286112.96341Men
Portland St263641933.59287119.91289Men
Seattle263940033.47288121.06277Men
Grambling273841533.41289113.78339Men
Loyola Chicago254237333.36290129.43203Women
East Texas243838733.05291117.92307Women
SC Upstate253939132.89292114.87327Men
Memphis234036532.85293127.14229Men
Colgate253939132.61294120.95279Men
Alcorn St263741332.40295114.00338Women
Hampton234036532.33296117.30312Men
North Dakota254137932.33297117.87308Men
Delaware234036532.13298122.75261Women
Detroit243938132.12299120.30285Men
Le Moyne273841531.77300114.59330Men
UTSA234135931.74301123.95254Women
Loyola MD243838731.57302119.21295Women
Pittsburgh214332831.56303128.40212Men
Bethune244136931.43304115.10325Men
Manhattan234036531.39305121.95266Men
Washington St214531831.32306129.92199Men
Chrls So233937131.12307118.60301Men
San Diego234334830.75308121.69268Men
UC Riverside214332830.68309120.75281Women
Corpus Christi243838730.66310116.25319Men
Lowell233937130.43311112.72343Men
Jackson St244037530.35312116.75315Men
Florida A&M243838730.28313114.19335Men
American233937130.10314118.25303Men
TX Southern223936129.98315109.77350Men
IU Indy214233329.22316115.56323Women
Bucknell214233329.21317119.00299Women
NC Central233837729.10318109.59352Men
Georgia St204331729.05319119.11298Women
Lafayette224035528.98320117.10313Women
ULM214432328.79321119.25293Women
Stonehill243938128.78322110.25348Women
Buffalo204232328.55323121.13275Men
Indiana St214332828.41324119.16296Men
New Hampshire194131728.22325115.06326Women
Houston Chr204132828.21326114.18336Men
W Michigan194131728.16327117.95305Men
Omaha224433327.97328114.34334Men
Milwaukee204431327.78329115.73321Men
N Arizona204431327.76330114.80328Women
Citadel112233327.51331112.84342Men Only
W Carolina184230027.46332114.71329Men
New Haven213935026.68333105.63358Men
Air Force194828426.26334124.73245Women
Boston College164625826.19335128.34213Men
Cal Poly184528625.96336116.41318Men
New Orleans184528625.30337117.50310Men
C Connecticut203933924.84338108.37355Men
North Florida164625824.51339114.41333Women
Valparaiso184727724.34340116.89314Men
Presbyterian184528624.08341109.03354Men
Morgan St194231123.92342106.52357Men
Louisiana164825023.82343116.65316Men
Evansville175025423.57344119.14297Women
E Illinois174726623.51345115.53324Men
Coppin St174726623.43346110.75347Women
N Illinois164426723.42347114.17337Men
Long Beach154724222.54348115.66322Men
Prairie View214631322.14349104.04360Men
Canisius154525021.86350112.58344Men
Northeastern144623321.70351116.07320Men
Gardner Webb164825021.38352111.00346Women
Chicago St164825021.38353109.71351Women
Bakersfield154724221.22354110.00349Men
Bellarmine154923420.98355113.68340Men
SELA144623320.97356111.49345Men
SC St154724220.41357103.58361Men
San Jose St135220020.01358117.45311Men
Delaware St154624619.8835997.72365Women
Kansas City115018017.81360105.35359Women
Rider114719017.10361109.05353Women
VMI62618816.67362103.33362Men Only
St Francis105116415.11363100.89364Men
Niagara95015315.05364107.90356Men
MS Valley115317214.84365102.11363Women

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That’s a wrap for the season. Thank you for reading and sticking with us for the long season. We look forward to providing you with more and better content next season. Thank you for your comments, questions, and suggestions. Without them we would be limited in our development. Thank you, especially, for sharing with others. We do not advertise or charge fees or any of that stuff, so the only way we can grow is through word of mouth. Thank you for taking time this season to spend with us. Just like Artemis, we are going to the dark side of the moon (great album) for a few weeks, but we will be splashing down in May, JoJo and G.

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