Ranking top 25 college basketball programs of last 25 years: Which teams have performed the best since 2000
Only three programs -- the three listed above, and in that order -- eclipsed 700 wins over the last 25 years. So it's only right that those three, led by Duke and Kansas (with a combined five national titles in that span) headline my rankings of the top 25 programs over the last 25 years.
To rank the top 25 programs I dove into every objective data point you can find: Wins, losses, national titles, conference finishes, NCAA Tournament seeding. You name it. I also accounted for subjective data points you can't find -- like how a program affected the cultural direction of the sport and shaped stretches that sometimes spanned seasons.
What I landed on is below. I can add caveats all I want to make sure feelings aren't hurt and that programs don't feel slighted or snubbed. What I'll emphasize here: this is a ranking of programs, not teams. So the entirety of the last 25 years is considered.
Let's dive into it.
1. Duke Blue DevilsRecord since 2000-01 season: 720-171
National championships last 25 years: 2001, 2010, 2015
Duke had the most wins among all college basketball teams from 2000-2010 and has 720 total wins the last 25 years which also is most among all teams -- narrowly surpassing win totals of Kansas (717) and Gonzaga (716). In that span it has six Final Fours and the second-most national titles with three.
2. Kansas JayhawksRecord since 2000-01 season: 717-175
National championships last 25 years: 2008, 2022
Arguably the most successful college program regardless of sport the last two decades, Kansas -- narrowly clipped by Duke for the top spot -- comes in at a firm No. 2 here. It has the second-most wins by any program in the last 25 years, and its solidified standing in the top tier comes courtesy of a staggering 19 regular-season Big 12 titles (shared and outright).
3. UConn HuskiesRecord since 2000-01 season: 590-262
National championships last 25 years: 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024
No men's college basketball program has more national championships (five) than UConn in the last 25 years. That's what makes its ranking at No. 3 -- for as respectable as it is -- still feel ... kinda low? The big kicker here that bumped the Huskies down: their 590 wins since 2000 is 13th-most. That's 130 fewer wins than Duke and 127 fewer than Kansas in that period. The highs have been extraordinarily high, but the lows -- most of which came during time spent outside the Big East -- drag it down to No. 3.
4. North Carolina Tar HeelsRecord since 2000-01 season: 639-251
National championships last 25 years: 2005, 2009, 2017
Most of the last 25 years at North Carolina coincided with the coaching direction of Roy Williams, who retired in 2021 after nearly two decades leading the Tar Heels. He left his post after guiding UNC to three national titles, five Final Fours, three ACC tournament titles and nine ACC regular-season titles. UNC from 2000 through 2025 had the fifth-most wins in college hoops -- which was second-most among ACC teams and 60 more than the ACC team with the third-most wins.
5. Michigan State SpartansRecord since 2000-01 season: 617-254
National championships last 25 years: 0
The window through which the last 25 years is evaluated in this exercise -- beginning with the 2000-2001 season -- cuts off Michigan State's national championship won at the conclusion of the 1999-2000 season. And yet it still cracks the top five, a testament to the enduring greatness of coach Tom Izzo. Izzo and the Spartans have gone to six Final Fours since 2000, won four Big Ten tourneys and clinched eight shared or outright conference regular-season crowns to boot. Its 617 wins is tops among Big Ten teams; no other program from the conference has more than 600.
6. Kentucky WildcatsRecord since 2000-01 season: 651-222
National championships last 25 years: 2012
With the fourth-most wins (651) since 2000, Kentucky stakes its claim as the highest-ranked SEC team and just barely misses the exclusive top-five club. The Wildcats are one of only 12 programs to have won a title since 2000 (2012) and have won nine regular-season SEC championships the last 25 seasons.
7. Florida GatorsRecord since 2000-01 season: 608-259
National championships last 25 years: 2006, 2007, 2025
Florida has the second-most national titles the last 25 years behind only UConn (tied with Duke and UNC at 3) but has the ninth-most wins in that stretch. Under Billy Donovan in the early aughts, the Gators became the first men's basketball team of the 2000s to go back-to-back, and they are coming off a remarkable 2024-25 season that culminated with a championship win over Houston in San Antonio.
8. Villanova WildcatsRecord since 2000-01 season: 594-258
National championships last 25 years: 2016, 2018
One of only 12 programs to have won a title since 2000 and one of six to win it at least twice, Villanova helps secure a second spot for the Big East in the top 10 here. No Big East team accrued more wins than Nova in the stretch beginning in 2000 (594 wins), and that resume was bolstered by four Final Fours, five Big East tourney titles and eight regular-season conference championships.
9. Syracuse OrangeRecord since 2000-01 season: 579-278
National championships last 25 years: 2003
Syracuse might feel out of place here among the younger readers in this space -- it has struggled the last decade since leaving the Big East -- but I assure you the Orange are deserving of a spot in the top 10. You simply can't tell the story of college basketball in the early 2000s without them. From 2000-2010 they had the sixth-most wins in college hoops with 280, and despite struggles the last decade they are still 16th in total wins with 579.
10. Gonzaga BulldogsRecord since 2000-01 season: 716-143
National championships last 25 years: 0
I wrestled with myself on where to rank Gonzaga and Michigan State -- the only two teams in the top 10 without a championship the last 25 years -- and ultimately decided a ranking of the top 10 programs in college basketball since 2000 that omitted Gonzaga would be invalidated in an instant. Yes, the Zags have run roughshod in an inferior WCC, with 22 regular-season conference titles and 19 WCC Tournament titles. That's played a huge part in their march to the third-most wins in college basketball since 2000 with 716. But they've also broken through on a national stage, too, with two NCAA Tournament runner-up finishes (2017 and 2021), five Elite Eight appearances and 12 Sweet 16s.
11. Louisville CardinalsRecord since 2000-01 season: 559-283
National championships last 25 years: 2013
Louisville had the 10th-most wins in college basketball from 2010-2020 in the peak of the Rick Pitino era -- which produced a title team* in 2013 -- but the asterisk around that championship and the swings of mediocrity of late keep the Cards just outside the top 10. They've had four losing seasons in the last five years, though the arrow is pointing directly up right now under second-year coach Pat Kelsey.
12. Maryland TerrapinsRecord since 2000-01 season: 545-293
National championships last 25 years: 2002
Marked largely by mediocrity since leaving the ACC for the Big Ten, it's easy to forget just how remarkably relevant Maryland was early in the 2000s. Shoutout to Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter, Greivis Vasquez and Steve Blake. The Terps won the national championship in 2002 under coach Gary Williams, but haven't been back to the Final Four since.
13. Virginia CavaliersRecord since 2000-01 season: 527-278
National championships last 25 years: 2019
Virginia won 262 games between 2010 and 2020 -- tied for the tenth-most in college hoops -- which was punctuated by a 35-3 season in 2018-19 that culminated with its first and only men's national championship. The team is still finding its footing post-Tony Bennett but was among the most consistent both regionally and nationally for the greater part of a decade.
14. Baylor BearsRecord since 2000-01 season: 513-301
National championships last 25 years: 2021
This is the lowest ranking among programs from 2000 through 2025 that won at least one title. That's because Baylor had the fewest wins among title-winners in that span (with 513, it tied for the 50th-most). Baylor's title team in 2021 went 28-2 and might go down as one of the most dominant in the modern era behind a team that ranked No. 1 in 3-point shooting percentage.
15. Houston CougarsRecord since 2000-01 season: 528-296
National championships last 25 years: 0
It feels immoral to have Houston -- the winningest program since 2000 -- ranked all the way down at No. 15. That speaks to just how low the program was before Kelvin Sampson revived it in 2014-15. The Cougars appeared in just one NCAA Tournament between 1993 and 2017 and have earned berths in every tourney since, which has helped it earn two Final Four appearances, three Elite Eights and six Sweet 16s. They are coming off a national runner-up season and could open the 2025-26 season as preseason No. 1.
16. Memphis TigersRecord since 2000-01 season: 621-236
National championships last 25 years: 0
The John Calipari era at Memphis -- from 2000 through 2009 -- highlighted the best run in school history and helps the Tigers crack the rankings at No. 16. They won 291 times from 2000 to 2010, tied for the third-most in the sport in that span behind only Duke and Kansas. They also finished national runner-up in 2008.
17. Arizona WildcatsRecord since 2000-01 season: 624-234
National championships last 25 years: 0
Arizona had the seventh-most wins in the 2010s and has the seventh-most wins thus far in the 2020s. It enters this season as the sixth-winningest program of the 2000s.
18. Wisconsin BadgersRecord since 2000-01 season: 595-258
National championships last 25 years: 0
Remarkably consistent success at Wisconsin lands it at No. 18 on the list. It has the 10th-most wins since 2000 with 595 and has only one losing season since the 1990s.
19. Purdue BoilermakersRecord since 2000-01 season: 544-294
National championships last 25 years: 0
The fifth-winningest program of the 2020s so far, Purdue is a perfect example of a team that might be higher on this list when I do this exercise again in 25 years. It has the 33rd most wins since 2000 and has made eight Sweet 16s and finished as national runner-up in 2024.
20. UCLA BruinsRecord since 2000-01 season: 559-284
National championships last 25 years: 0
The era of UCLA dominance under John Wooden is long gone, but the Bruins have broken through on this list with consistency, similar to Wisconsin above. Their 559 wins since the 2000 season is 23rd-most and those highs have come with appearances in four Final Fours and five conference regular-season titles.
21. Ohio State BuckeyesRecord since 2000-01 season: 574-277
National championships last 25 years: 0
Ohio State has a 96-70 record since the 2020 season -- 89th-best in college hoops -- but the totality of the last 25 years has been kind to the Buckeyes. They made Final Fours in 2007 and 2012, finished runner-up in 2007 and five conference tournament titles to go with six conference regular-season titles.
22. San Diego State AztecsRecord since 2000-01 season: 579-254
National championships last 25 years: 0
With 579 wins since the 2000 season, SDSU ranks 14th among all college basketball programs and first teams from the current MWC. (Utah State, a member of the Big West until 2004-05 and then a member of the WAC until 2012-13, currently has 578 wins in that span.) The Aztecs have been a force in their conference with nine MWC titles but also nationally, as evidenced by a run to the title game in 2023 that ended with a 76-59 loss to UConn.
23. VCU RamsRecord since 2000-01 season: 587-249
National championships last 25 years: 0
VCU had the 19th-most wins from 2010 to 2020 and is the 18th-winningest program thus far in the 2020s, helping it to No. 13 on the wins list since the 2000 season. Everyone remembers its magical 2011 Final Four run under Shaka Smart and the cultural breakthrough of his havoc-style defense, but few know how good they've been before and after that. They have not had a losing season since the 1990s and own eight conference regular-season titles the last 25 years.
24. Illinois Fighting IlliniRecord since 2000-01 season: 550-302
National championships last 25 years: 0
Three Elite Eights since 2000 and a national runner-up finish in 2005 is anchoring the Illini inside the top 25 for now. They have won just one regular-season conference championship since that season and shockingly advanced to the NCAA Tournament's second weekend once since then. But the Bill Self and Bruce Weber eras were very, very good, and Brad Underwood has stacked six consecutive winning seasons together, too.
25. Creighton BluejaysRecord since 2000-01 season: 578-269
National championships last 25 years: 0
Under the guidance of two great coaches -- first Dana Altman and now Greg McDermott -- the Bluejays have amassed 578 wins since the 2000 season, tied for the 18th-most. In both the MVC and the Big East they have made a cultural mark with a handful of stars who became All-Americans led by Kyle Korver, Baylor Scheierman, Ryan Kalkbrenner and, of course, former player of the year Doug McDermott.
Programs that just missed the cut: Vermont, Pitt, Utah State, BYU, Belmont.
Also considered: Wichita State, Texas, Cincinnati, Marquette, Xavier, Saint Mary's, Oregon, Dayton.
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