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 253 is Tennessee State 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 Tennessee State 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: 13.4
- Bids per season: 0.06
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 16
- Conference Players of the Year: 3
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 3
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Tennessee State basketball
Tennessee State gets the nod here thanks to a long history of players getting drafted in the NBA and playing there or in the ABA. A trio of players stick out, with Truck Robinson, Dick Barnett, and Anthony Mason all playing for the Tigers and then having exceptional NBA careers.
Barnett was the fifth overall pick in 1959 and went on to have a Hall of Fame career, scoring over 15,000 points. Mason and Robinson also had noteworthy careers and are names that still resonate among basketball fans.
But in terms of college success, we can’t forget about what TSU has accomplished. The Tigers have gone dancing three times – this past season and back-to-back trips in 1993 and 1994.
The teams in the 90s featured dominant center Carlos Rogers who also had a lengthy career in the Association. In Rogers’ senior year, he averaged 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. He was the OVC Player of the Year in both years he led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament.
There aren’t really any noteworthy coaches with sustained success, but the Tigers do have Nolan Smith now. The former Duke point guard took them dancing in his first year as head coach, so he might have Tennessee State basketball on the rise very soon.