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 314 is Air Force 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 Air Force basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 4
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 11.6
- Bids per season: 0.06
- AP Polls: 13
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 1
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 1
- Conference tournament titles: 0
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Air Force basketball
When you look at the current state of Air Force basketball, you probably wonder how they made it this high on the list. The Falcons have gone 7-57 over the last two seasons, and are easily one of the worst programs in the country over the six seasons.
But there were different periods of time where Air Force basketball was a ‘force’ to be reckoned with.
In the 1960s, they made a pair of NCAA Tournaments – ’60 and ’62. Head coach Bob Spear coached them for 13 seasons and clearly had some success, with the team going 16-7 in the 1961-62 campaign.
The program didn’t really drop off under Hank Egan, but it never made it to the big dance under his coaching for the next 13 seasons. The same could be said about the following 16 seasons under Reggie Minton, and the program did start to trail off a bit.
But Joe Scott built them up quickly, going from 8-21 in his first season to 22-7 in his fourth, earning an 11 seed in March Madness. Scott would leave for Princeton and then Denver, before returning to Air Force basketball in 2020, mutually parting ways this past season after a 3-17 start.
But even after Scott left the first time, the program stayed in good shape. Chris Mooney led them to an 18-12 record, but left for Richmond after one season. Jeff Bzdelik took them back to the big dance in a 24-7 season, and followed it up with a 26-9 campaign, before bolting for Colorado, and then Wake Forest.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much to talk about over the past 19 seasons, other than a program that’s reached a low point. But for a while, Air Force was arguably the best service school on the court, and there’s definitely some bragging rights there.