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 225 is UNC Asheville 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 UNC Asheville basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 2
- Bids: 5
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 15.1
- Bids per season: 0.12
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 6
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 8
- Conference tournament titles: 6
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on UNC Asheville basketball
What is it with these southern teams? UNC Asheville is the latest at No. 225!
The Bulldogs have played in the Big South since entering Division I, winning eight regular season titles, good for about one every five seasons or so.
The program didn’t get its first until Eddie Biedenbach, however, who was the head coach from 1996-2013. He had a great run with UNC Asheville, winning the conference Coach of the Year three times and producing four of their six conference Players of the Year, with Drew Pember winning the other two in 2023 and 2024.
While Biedenbach had a great run, things have still been just as good since, with Nick McDevitt and Mike Morrell each taking UNCA to the big dance once. Morrell has actually done an underrated job, because despite the solo tourney bid, has compiled a 131-116 record in eight seasons. However, a lot of that was thanks to having a star in Pember.
But the biggest reason UNCA’s play is sustainable? They’ve gone .500 or better in each of the last six seasons. It’s a Bulldogs program that has done a good job of being at or near the top of the Big South for a while and it’s not slowing down.