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 81 is UAB 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 UAB basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 1
- Sweet 16s: 3
- NCAA wins: 10
- Bids: 17
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 20.5
- Bids per season: 0.36
- AP Polls: 34
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 4
- Conference Players of the Year: 3
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 7
- Conference tournament titles: 7
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on UAB basketball
The Blazers are one of the most consistent programs – mid-major or power conference – when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament. In 47 D1 seasons, they’ve made it 17 times, a little bit better than once every three seasons. They’ve also made it in every decade since their first season in 1979-80, standing the test of time and the growing game of college basketball.
UAB’s best run was right when they got to Division I. Gene Bartow took over in 1978, right as they were making the transition to Division I. He proceeded to win 350 games with the Blazers, leading them to the NCAA Tournament every year from 1981 to 1987. They often did well in March, going to the Sweet 16 in 1981, the Elite 8 in 1982, and round of 32 in 1985 and 1986.
Bartow’s son, Murry, took over in 1996, and while he wasn’t at his father’s level, he still did a respectable job with the program. In six seasons, he went 103-83 and helped them to a Conference USA regular season title and an NCAA Tournament bid in 1999.
UAB basketball saw another great run under Mike Anderson, with three straight bids from 2004-06, including another Sweet 16 in ’04.
And overall, the biggest reason UAB has been able to stay consistent has been its coaches. The Blazers have had seven head coaches, and all of them have had all-time winning records as their coach:
- Gene Bartow: 350-193
- Murry Bartow: 103-83
- Mike Anderson: 89-41
- Mike Davis: 122-73
- Jerod Haase: 80-53
- Rob Ehsan: 76-57
- Andy Kennedy: 145-62
Obviously, some have done better than others, but no one has hurt the program, as the Blazers have stayed consistent for roughly five whole decades. Amazingly, they’ve had just five losing seasons ever.
UAB has also been a usual suspect in the NIT when they’re not playing in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve appeared in it 14 times, losing in the semifinals in 1989 and 1993 and the finals in 2023.
The one thing they really haven’t had is a tradition of great NBA players, but it also makes it more amazing how they’ve been able to be so good over so long without needing the top talent in the game.
And currently, Andy Kennedy has UAB climbing back up to even more relevancy. He’s had six 20-win seasons in six tries and a pair of tournament bids. Even a move from Conference USA to the American hasn’t deterred them, as UAB continues to be a leader in its conference.