ESPN.com has created a countdown of the most prestigious College Basketball programs since 1984-85.
The qualifications for making the list were as follows:
- National title … 25
- Title game loss … 20
- National semifinal loss … 15
- Elite Eight loss … 10
- Best W-L record in conference's regular season … 5
- 30+ wins in a season … 5
- Sweet 16 loss … 5
- Conference tournament title … 3
- AP first-team All-American … 3
- Losing in NCAA second round … 3
- Player in Top 10 of NBA draft … 2
- NCAA first-round win as a 12-16 seed … 2
- NIT title … 2
- AP second-team All-American … 2
- 20-29 wins in a season … 1
- NCAA tournament berth … 1
- Postseason NIT berth … 1
- AP third-team All-American … 1
- NCAA first-round loss to a 12-16 seed … -2
- Losing season … -3
- Ban from NCAA tournament … -3
>> Minimum 15 seasons in Division I
** Ties are broken by overall winning percentage since the 1984-85 season
^^ Teams are listed with their current conferences
Arkansas was picked the 15th best program. ESPN had the following reasons for the selection.
15. ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS, SEC
Positives: 4 30-win seasons; 17 NCAA berths; 2 No. 1 seeds; 3 Final Fours; 1994 National Championship
Negatives: 3 losing seasons; 0 first team All-Americans
Total points: 204
Did you know? The Razorbacks found success in the Southwest Conference and continued that tradition when it moved to the bigger SEC in 1991. New coach John Pelphrey seems to have the proud program back on the upswing. This is the highest-ranked school that didn't have any first team All-Americans since 1985. The Razorbacks come in second among the three schools tied at 204 points because of a .660 combined winning percentage since 1984-85.