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 181 is Green Bay 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 Green Bay basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 5
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 15.8
- Bids per season: 0.11
- AP Polls: 3
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 2
- Conference Players of the Year: 5
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 4
- Conference tournament titles: 4
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Green Bay basketball
Green Bay basketball might be a bit of a surprise until you look at their overall body of work.
In 45 seasons, the Phoenix have made five NCAA Tournaments. That is good for about one every nine seasons. But when they aren’t making it to the big dance, usually they’re at least giving themselves a shot. Green Bay has had 13 seasons with 20+ wins and 29 seasons of a .500 record or better. They have long been one of the most consistent mid-majors at being relevant within their conference.
The program has also had more legendary and notable coaches than you’d imagine. Sure, Doug Gottlieb is currently stealing the show, especially after going from four wins in year one to an 18-15 record last year. But in the early 2000s and into the 2010s, Tod Kowalczyk and then Brian Wardle roamed the sidelines. Kowalczyk went 136-112 at Green Bay and has now made a living at Toledo. He’s currently got 451 Division I wins, nearly the always impressive 500 mark. Meanwhile, Wardle is a budding star, going 95-65 at Green Bay and now 207-160 at Bradley. He still only turns 47 this year and has surpassed 300 career wins.
While programs – even mid-majors – prefer to keep their coaches, Green Bay can’t complain too much, because Dick Bennett was one who stayed for a while. The father of Tony Bennett, Dick, went 187-109 in 10 seasons with the Phoenix, taking them to the NCAA Tournament three times. Tony played on the team from 1988-92, and was a true star, as a 2x conference Player of the Year and future NBA player for just over two seasons. He remains the program’s all-time leader with 601 assists, 2,285 points, 290 threes, and many more records.
But it was post-Tony Bennett when Green Bay had its most tournament success. The 1994 team reached the round of 32, following a first round upset of 5-seed Cal. That was the first of a three-year stretch where Green Bay made the NCAA Tournament every March.
Of course, the Bennetts are famed in Green Bay basketball history, but the program has had many more great names: Keifer Sykes, Alec Brown, and Jordan Fouse, just to name a few.
I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to see this program top 200, and would have guessed more around 225th. But we’ve trusted the data all along and aren’t about to stop now!