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 233 is Troy 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 Troy 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: 15.0
- Bids per season: 0.12
- 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: 8
- Conference tournament titles: 4
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Troy basketball
Troy basketball has to feel like one of the luckiest mid-major programs around, because heading into their 34th season, they will be on just their fourth head coach.
Don Maestri took over in 1982 and stayed the coach as Troy transitioned to Division I in 1993. He stayed until 2013, coaching 31 seasons. During that time, Troy played in Division II in the Gulf Coast Conference and as an Independent, and in Division I (East Coast Conference, Mid-Continent Conference, Atlantic Sun Conference, Sun Belt Conference). Even through those changes, he compiled a 291-296 record in DI and claimed six regular season conference titles. In 2003, Troy won the A-Sun and went to its first March Madness.
Maestri was replaced by Phil Cunningham, who stayed seven seasons, leading Troy to the big dance in 2017. Scott Cross was after, and also stayed seven seasons, but moved to the Georgia Tech job thanks to five straight 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournaments in a row. Adam Howard will take over coaching duties this season.
Surprisingly, no Troy basketball player has ever been selected in the NBA Draft. However, they have had a trio of conference Players of the Year. Tayton Conerway was named the Sun Belt POY in 2025. Detric Golden won it in the A-Sun in 2000, with Greg Davis doing that in 2004.
The Troy program has had solid seasons, especially under Maestri, but Cross elevated them to a serious mid-major team to watch. Five 20-win seasons in a row is no joke, especially in the Sun Belt. It’ll be interesting to see what Troy can do from here.