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 280 is Samford 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 Samford basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 3
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.3
- Bids per season: 0.06
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 3
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 5
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Samford basketball
It’s hard to picture Samford as not having a good basketball team, because lately it has been anything but that. The Bulldogs have had five straight winning seasons, with Bucky McMillan coming to town and totally revamping the program. He left for Texas A&M in 2025, but Lennie Acuff picked up right where he left off.
To be fair, this isn’t the only time Samford basketball has been relevant. Jimmy Tillette led them to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 1999 and 2000.
Samford had a season to remember not too long ago in 2023-24. The Bulldogs won 29 games and if it weren’t for a bad late call, might have upset Kansas in the first round of March Madness. McMillan’s “Bucky Ball” offense averaged 86.1 points per game, the fifth most in the country.
For now, Samford remains a top program in mid-major ball. It wasn’t always this way, but thanks to Bucky, the Bulldogs are certainly one of the premier programs at their level.