Here are my old-school college basketball rankings, using the four ancient regions that the NCAA used for its tournament in the 1960's and early 1970's:
EAST:
1. Villanova: 24-3
2. Virginia: 21-5
3. N. Carolina: 22-5
MIDEAST:
1. Michigan St: 22-5
2. Iowa: 20-6
3. Kentucky: 20-7
MIDWEST:
1. Kansas: 23-4
2. Oklahoma: 21-5
3. Louisville: 21-6 (Not eligible for NCAA Tournament)
WEST:
1. Arizona: 22-5
2. Oregon: 21-6
3. California: 19-8
By the way, here's what the rankings would have looked like going into the 2015 NCAA Tournament (I had forgotten about Northern Iowa, which lost to Louisville in the second round):
EAST:
1. Virginia: 29-3
2. Villanova: 32-2
3. Duke: 29-4
MIDEAST:
1. Kentucky: 34-0
2. Wisconsin: 31-3
3. Notre Dame: 29-5
MIDWEST:
1. Oklahoma: 22-10
2. Kansas: 26-8
3. No. Iowa: 30-3
WEST:
1. Arizona: 31-3
2. Gonzaga: 32-2
3. Utah: 24-8
That Mideast Region was brutal. The NCAA used the Mideast Region (without seeding) from 1957 to 1978. Kentucky only won it four times: 1958, 1966, 1975, and 1978. The 1966 team had to beat Cazzie Russell of Michigan, who was trying to reach the Final Four for the third time in a row. The 1975 team had to beat an undefeated team from Indiana. The 1978 team had to beat Magic Johnson.
ReplyDeleteKentucky was the only SEC team ever to win the old Mideast Region, and Ohio State was the only other team to win the Mideast four times. Of course, three of OSU's Mideast titles came from 1960 to 1962, when the Buckeyes had Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek on the same team.
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