The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 345 is SIU-Edwardsville basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of SIU-Edwardsville basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 1
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 11.2
- Bids per season: 0.05
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 1
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 0
- Conference tournament titles: 1
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on SIU-Edwardsville basketball
SIU-Edwardsville, or simply SIUE, is certainly on its best stretch since moving up to DI in 2008. The Cougars have had four straight seasons with winning records and went to the NCAA Tournament in 2025 after winning the OVC Tournament. Of the teams so far in these rankings, this is really the first one that is on a good track, and if they keep it up, good move up these rankings quickly with a few more good seasons.
And Cougars fans can thank head coach Brian Barone, who took over a team that went 31-88 under Jon Harris, and has gone 105-116 since, a massive increase in overall quality of play.
The 2024-25 season was easily one to remember, with the Cougars dancing for the first time ever. Ray’Sean Taylor won the OVC Player of the Year, and the rest of the team followed well as they hung their first D1 banner in program history.
Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see how Barone’s consistency can pay off even more.