Yesterday, we covered how CBS Sports spent its time projecting the best college basketball programs over the next 25 years. Today, we wanted to dive into another piece CBS Sports produced titled “Ranking top 25 college basketball programs of last 25 years: Which teams have performed the best since 2000”.
Obviously, we can point out that the Jayhawks are going to be near the top spot if not No.1. Barring a recent two-year stumble, Kansas has been near perfect in asserting itself as one of college basketball’s giants.
Kyle Boone of CBS Sports ranks the Jayhawks No.2
Record 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).”
What caused Kansas to slide to second? Via personal opinion, it comes down to conference strength.
While the Big 12 is debatably now the nation’s strongest conference, with Houston, Arizona, Iowa State, and Texas Tech all pushing for the top spot, in the past, as Boone mentioned, it was largely a Kansas-dominated conference. To no fault of the Jayhawks, but perhaps it strengthens Duke’s position in the fact that they often had to duke (no pun intended) it out with UNC, UVA, and the occasional other.
Yet, with a Big 12 that has seen nine of 2025’s top-25 recruits join teams in the conference, Kansas will have its hands full over the coming seasons, which likely only helps the Jayhawks if Kansas is able to consistently compete for the No.1 spot.
While the ACC’s level has fallen off to a certain extent, the Blue Devils’ ability to keep themselves in places like the Final Four last April is likely what pushes them to the No.1 spot.