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 113 is Arizona 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 Arizona State basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 3
- Sweet 16s: 5
- NCAA wins: 15
- Bids: 17
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.1
- Bids per season: 0.15
- AP Polls: 113
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 2
- NBA players drafted & played: 22
- Conference Players of the Year: 3
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 8
- Conference tournament titles: 0
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Arizona State basketball
We move to the Big 12 for No. 113 in our rankings as Arizona State is next up!
The Sun Devils have definitely had their fair share of March Madness bids, with 17 total. But they’ve never really gone on a March Madness run, with five Sweet 16s and three Elite 8s. All of the Elite 8s were before the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams, coming in 1975, 1963, and 1961.
Unlike most programs with teams in the early 1900s, ASU actually struggled a bit, not really finding any consistency until the late 1950s. Head coach Ned Wulk took over in 1957 and remains their all-time leader in wins with 405. He coached until 1982 and brought them to 9 of their 17 NCAA Tournaments. His highs included being ranked in the top five in the early 1960s and producing veteran NBA player Fat Lever right at the end of his Sun Devils coaching career. The one knock on Wulk’s teams is often being a favorite, but never capitalizing in March.
Unfortunately, since Wulk, Arizona State just hasn’t been able to put a great product on the court. They’ve gone to 8 NCAA Tournaments in the last 36 seasons, and have only gone to the second weekend once, with a Sweet 16 in 1995.
Herb Sendek had the best recent run, going 159-137 from 2006-15 and producing future Hall of Famer James Harden. Both Harden and Ike Diogu played under Sendek and are the only two Consensus All-Americans in program history. After Sendek, the Sun Devils had 11 seasons of up-and-down play under Bobby Hurley.
One of the best claims Arizona State basketball has is a great pool of NBA talent. Harden, Lever, Eddie House, and Byron Scott are just some of the best players to suit up for the school.
Right now, Arizona State is looking to get past the somewhat rough years under Hurley. It’ll be a challenge to get back to the Ned Wulk days, but that’s what ASU fans hope for.