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 220 is Idaho 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 Idaho State basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 1
- Sweet 16s: 5
- NCAA wins: 8
- Bids: 11
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 12.8
- Bids per season: 0.15
- AP Polls: 6
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 6
- Conference Players of the Year: 2
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 4
- Conference tournament titles: 2
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Idaho State basketball
The Bengals have a very unique history that includes 11 NCAA Tournaments, despite a winning percentage of .460 all-time.
That’s mostly because of their inclusion in EVERY NCAA Tournament from 1953-60 (8 straight). It included four Sweet 16s, with Idaho State also falling in the first round four times.
The Bengals would go on to make two more tournaments in the 1970s under head coach Jim Killingsworth, who went 109-54 in six seasons, later coaching for Oklahoma State and TCU.
It was the 1977 tourney appearance that lives on in Idaho State history. The Bengals knocked off Long Beach State and UCLA, losing to UNLV in the West Regional final. While the Bruins were full of NBA stars, three players on that Idaho State team – Steve Hayes, Greg Griffin, and Jeff Cook – all also later embarked on NBA careers.
Unfortunately, Idaho State’s last tourney bid came in 1987, a first-round exit. Since that season (39 years), they’ve only had seven winning seasons, a long way from how great and dominant they used to be.
Another player of note – Ron Boone – never made the NCAA Tournament with Idaho State, but went on to have a great pro career, playing eight seasons in the ABA and five in the NBA.
The Bengals are a program built on the first 40 seasons, while the last 40 have had very minimal, if any, success at all. But this list is all about OVERALL history, and Idaho State basketball still has a lot of that!