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 106 is LIU 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 LIU basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 8
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 15.1
- Bids per season: 0.10
- AP Polls: 20
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 4
- NBA players drafted & played: 10
- Conference Players of the Year: 8
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 10
- Conference tournament titles: 7
- NIT titles: 2
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on LIU basketball
Based on the modern-day era of college basketball alone, LIU is probably somewhere between 200th and 250th all-time. They’ve made five NCAA Tournaments since 2011, and all eight have come since 1981. While they’ve never won a game in March Madness, the Sharks have turned into one of the best programs in the NEC. In fact, no school in conference history has had more Conference Players of the Year than LIU, which has had eight of them.
But LIU makes it in at No. 106 not because of that, but because of being a true powerhouse at the beginning of the sport at the collegiate level.
Legendary head coach Clair Bee led them from 1931-43 and 1945-51, compiling an insane record of 360-80. He produced four Consensus All-Americans in Julie Bender (1937), Irv Torgoff (1939), Ossie Schectman (1941), and Sherman White (1950).
But more importantly, Bee led LIU basketball to two NIT Championships in 1939 and 1941. In ’39, they were also crowned national champs by the Helms Foundation, and the 1941 title might as well count as the same. Back then, the NIT was surely the bigger tournament, so in those moments, the Sharks were practically the champs of the country.
Bee was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968 and is considered one of the pioneers of college basketball coaching, largely for his contributions and success with this very LIU basketball program.
Some people might argue with this ranking, but without Clair Bee and LIU, the game wouldn’t be the same. He helped it grow and LIU was nothing short of a blue blood in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.