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 248 is Central Michigan 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 Central Michigan basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 1
- NCAA wins: 3
- Bids: 4
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 12.6
- Bids per season: 0.07
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 6
- Conference Players of the Year: 4
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 8
- Conference tournament titles: 2
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Central Michigan basketball
If we were ranking teams based on nicknames, the Chippewas would probably be in the top 25. They do crack the top 250 here, in part thanks to eight regular season MAC titles.
Many of those came early on, with head coach Dick Parfitt doing a great job as CMU first entered the Division I level. In 1975, one of their first D1 seasons, Parfitt led them to a 22-6 record. The Chippewas knocked off Georgetown in the first round, falling to Kentucky in the Sweet 16. Parfitt would take them back to the dance in 1977, losing in the opening round.
Central Michigan would make it back to March Madness a decade later in 1987 under head coach Charlie Coles. Then, in 2003, after a 16-year wait, they made it back and upset 6-seed Creighton in the first round, losing to Duke in the second round.
Unfortunately, Central Michigan hasn’t been back to the NCAA Tournament, making it 23 years this past March. Keno Davis had a chance in 2015, the last time the program won the MAC regular season. But since the 2003-04 season, Central Michigan has had a winning record just five times.
CMU has also had a few notable players in its history. Dan Majerle was a first round NBA Draft pick in 1988 and was named to the All-Star team three times with the Phoenix Suns. On the 2003 team that beat Creighton, Chris Kaman was the big man. Kaman was an All-Star in 2010 and grabbed over 5,500 rebounds in his career.
Overall, Central Michigan isn’t thought of as one of the top programs in MAC basketball, but they have had a handful of years and notable players that make them almost an underrated program of sorts.