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 216 is American 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 American 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: 14.0
- Bids per season: 0.07
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 1
- NBA players drafted & played: 1
- Conference Players of the Year: 6
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 8
- Conference tournament titles: 4
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on American basketball
It’s a bit surprising that American basketball has only been in Division I for 60 seasons, considering they just have the name of a program that has been competing in DI for a century. However, in their six decades, they’ve found some solid success!
First off, the Eagles are practically a .500 team, with an 840-866 record all-time. That has led to 8 regular season conference titles and 4 conference tournament titles, leading them to the big dance in 2008, 2009, 2014, and 2025.
The first two trips to March Madness came under head coach Jeff Jones, who went 211-183 in his time at American. Mike Brennan brought them there in 2014, with Duane Simpkins as the most recent coach to guide them to the tourney.
But American basketball also had an all-time player in one of their first seasons in Division I. Kermit Washington was a Consensus All-American in 1973, leading American to a 21-5 record. Washington averaged 20.8 points per game and an astounding 20.4 rebounds per game, later getting drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and playing 10 seasons in the NBA. In college, Washington was one of seven players to ever average 20 and 20 for a career. Unfortunately, he had an infamous brawl that involved an awful punch from Rudy Tomjanovich, and later had some more off-court troubles. Still, as a player, the best in American basketball history.
While Colgate has dominated the Patriot League lately, American has been a bit of a more consistent program, beating the Raiders out by a few spots here.