College Basketball Blue Bloods: Ranking the Best Basketball Schools 2025

Originally posted on College Football News
By Pete Fiutak | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 4:29 AM ET

Is your school a college basketball blue blood?

There are many big-time basketball schools, but being a blue blood requires tradition, dominance, consistency, expectations, and a boatload of winning seasons. It also means that basketball is king - usually.

Our blue blood criteria is really simple. You are one if you can brag 1) 45 20-win seasons with at least one national title, and/or 2) more than three NCAA Tournament championships. And by the way, we don't care about NCAA sanctions or vacated wins.

College Basketball Schools: 20-Win Seasons

How many 20-win seasons do each of these programs have? Teams in italics moved up

20 Belmont, Illinois State, Minnesota, Texas A&M, Washington State

21 Chattanooga, Fresno State, Iowa State, Saint Mary’s, Seton Hall

22 Akron, Charleston, San Diego State, Santa Clara, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech

23 Boston College, Butler, Florida State, Kent State, Mississippi State, Wake Forest

24 DePaul, LSU, Pitt, Santa Clara, Wyoming

25 Cal, Stanford, USC, Wisconsin (1 national title)

26 Marshall

27 Oregon State, UTEP

28 Florida (3 National Titles), Oregon (1 National Title), San Francisco

29 Georgetown (1 National Title), Missouri, Virginia, Washington

30 Iowa, New Mexico

31 Bradley, Houston, Kansas State, Michigan State (2 National Titles), Providence, Tennessee

32 Gonzaga, Maryland, Michigan

33 Alabama, West Virginia

34 Oklahoma, Purdue, UNLV (1 National Title)

Elite College Basketball Schools

Top 25 basketball schools based on ranking, followed by number of 20-win seasons

T25 Xavier Musketeers

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 35
Last Year: T27

T25 Texas Longhorns

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 35
Last Year: T24

T25 Utah State Aggies

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 35
Last Year: T27

24 Creighton Bluejays

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 36
Last Year: T24

T22 Arkansas Razorbacks

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 37
Last Year: 23
1 National Title

T22 Ohio State Buckeyes

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 37
Last Year: 21
1 National Title

21 Illinois Fighting Illini

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 38
Last Year: 22

T19 Oklahoma State Cowboys

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 39
Last Year: 20
2 National Titles

T19 Utah Utes

20 Win Basketball Seasons:40
Last Year: T18

T17 Marquette Golden Eagles

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 41
Last Year: T18
1 National Title

T17 Cincinnati Bearcats

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 41
Last Year: 16
2 National Titles

16 Memphis Tigers

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 42
Last Year: 17

T13 Arizona Wildcats

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 43
Last Year: 14
1 National Title

T13 St. John’s Red Storm

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 43
Last Year: 15

T13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 43
Last Year: 13

12 NC State Wolfpack

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 44
Last Year: 12
2 National Titles

11 BYU Cougars

20 Win Basketball Seasons: 46
Last Year: 11

College Basketball Blue Bloods

Again, you're in the College Basketball Blue Blood club if you came up with 20 or more wins in at least 45 seasons with at least one national title. Or, you're in if you won more than three NCAA Tournament national championships.