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 264 is UAlbany 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 UAlbany basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 5
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 14.6
- Bids per season: 0.19
- 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: 2
- Conference tournament titles: 5
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on UAlbany basketball
The Great Danes have had an enhanced stretch of poor basketball, so many might forget they’ve actually had a solid time in DI hoops since joining in 1999. In fact, they’ve made the big dance in almost 20% of their seasons.
All five bids came under head coach Will Brown, who led them there in 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Brown coached 20 seasons at Albany, winning 315 games and all of the program’s tourney bids and America East regular season titles.
The first two tourney bids, happening in back-to-back seasons, came thanks to star player Jamar Wilson. Wilson remains the Great Danes’ all-time leader with 2,164 points and 488 assists.
From 2013-2015, the Great Danes really just had a great culture, with players like Sam Rowley, Peter Hooley, Evan Singletary, and Mike Black all pitching in during one season or another.
Dwayne Killings took over the program in 2021 and certainly hasn’t reached Brown’s level, with just one winning season in five tries.
Overall, UAlbany isn’t on Vermont’s level, but may have had the second-best extended run of success of the century in the conference. The Catamounts have won the America East Tournament 10 times since the turn of the century, with Albany’s 5 as the second most. That’s definitely something to be proud about!