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 200 is Sam Houston 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 Sam Houston basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 2
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 16.5
- Bids per season: 0.05
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 1
- Conference Players of the Year: 6
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 8
- Conference tournament titles: 2
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Sam Houston basketball
Can you believe it? We have finally reached the top 200 of our series! And claiming the No. 200 spot on the dot is Sam Houston basketball.
Also known as Sam Houston State, the Bearkats have an all-time winning percentage of .547 with 15 of their 42 DI seasons having at least 20+ wins. Since the 2000-01 season, the program has had just three seasons with losing records, a major testament to their consistency.
Unfortunately, the winning seasons have only counted for two NCAA Tournaments, some of the worst luck a program could have. Despite winning eight regular season conference championships, the Bearkats have struggled in conference tournaments, claiming automatic bids only in 2003 and 2010.
Most of Sam Houston’s bad years happened pre-21st century, with legendary head coach Bob Marlin taking over in 1998 and revamping the program. Marlin stayed until 2010, compiling a 225-131 record and winning four regular season Southland chips.
Jason Hooten took over from Marlin in 2010 and stayed until 2023. Somehow, his teams NEVER made it to March Madness, despite going 261-169 and having just one losing season. They did win two Southland regular season titles. For the last two seasons, Hooten was there, and the Bearkats joined the WAC
For the last three years, Sam Houston has played in Conference USA, and Chris Mudge has been the coach. He has done solid, with two 20-win seasons, but one 13-19 campaign in 2024-25.
While NBA talent hasn’t been something the Bearkats can hang their cowboy hat on, they have had six former players win conference POY. Donald Cole (2003), Joe Thompson (2005), Gilberto Clavell (2011), Cameron Delaney (2019), and Zach Nutall (2021) all did so in the Southland, with Qua Grant winning in 2023 in the WAC.
Overall, it is a program that slides under the radar for a lack of March Madness success – or even getting there – but has been great in so many other areas of the game.