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 329 is Northern Colorado 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 Lindenwood basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 0
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 10.9
- Bids per season: 0.02
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 2
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 4
- Conference tournament titles: 1
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 1
Overall scoop on Northern Colorado basketball
55 years in Division I and Northern Colorado has actually had a winning record overall, at 599-569. The math might not be mathing, which is mostly because of the period from 1910-37, and again in 1943-44, a lot fewer games were played. But when they returned in 1973-78, and again from 2004 and on, the number of games being played increased.
The early period of DI was quite successful for the Bears. George Cooper was the head coach between 1922-31 and led them to an 89-47 record. He led them to a regular season title in the Mountain States Athletic Conference in 1925-26, with a 13-1 record against their peers.
When Northern Colorado returned in the 1970s, they adjusted quickly, going 60-65 over a brief five-year period.
Of course, the whole landscape of college sports wasn’t really classified the same way it is now, but in 2004, they became a true DI full-time member. One of their first head coaches was current Colorado HC Tad Boyle, who led them from a 4-24 record to going 25-8 in year four. The next season, new head coach BJ Hill would lead the Bears to their first and only NCAA Tournament.
Hill didn’t last long, but over the past 10 seasons, between coaches Jeff Linder and Steve Smiley, Northern Colorado basketball has had six 20-win campaigns and seven winning seasons. Dalton Knecht was on the 2022-23 roster before transferring to Tennessee and embarking on an ongoing NBA career.
So for Northern Colorado, it’s an interesting past history of competing at the highest level, but their time as a true DI member since ’04 has been pretty good for a mid-major school, and it doesn’t seem as if it’s slowing down.