Watching your favorite basketball team play and howling when they score a point is a soul-stirring experience.
College basketball has everything you would want from a sport, whether fierce competition, heated rivalries, or most-awaited tournaments. You always find something interesting happening on the court, with stunning ankle breaks, brilliant passes, and high-caliber dunks.
The fast-paced game with unpredictable endings keeps you glued, skipping heartbeats. It’s no surprise college basketball is one of the most widely broadcast sports in America.
But there are over 350 Division I basketball colleges. How would you decide whom to follow? This article pulls together a list of the six best college basketball programs you must watch in 2023. And if you are worried about your assignments, you can seek help from domyhomeworkabc.com, a homework help service for students, to not miss deadlines.
6 Highest Ranking College Basketball Teams You Shouldn’t Miss in 2023
1. Purdue Boilermakers
Representing Purdue University, the Boilermakers have gone from unranked to No. 1 in the AP Poll. 2023 is a hot year for the team, and you would love to watch whether they seek Final Four this time.
The fans boast that the team has won 24 Big Ten Championships, the maximum of any college. Boilermakers have claimed prestigious awards, including four Big Ten Player of the Year, one Naismith Player of the Year, and one Oscar Robertson Trophy.
Although they appeared in two NCAA Tournament Final Fours in 1969 and 1980, the program hasn’t won any national titles yet.
Matt Painter, the current head coach, has led the team to an astounding 14 tournament appearances with six Sweet Sixteen appearances.
If you are a serious fan, you would be secretly praying to see the rivalry between the Boilermakers and Indiana Hoosiers.
2. Kansas Jayhawks
Jayhawks from the University of Kansas is one of the most successful college basketball teams. They have won six national championships with four NCAA and two Helms national championships.
You will be surprised to know that Kansas has claimed 63 conference titles, the maximum in Division I history. The team has also made an unbreakable record of 32 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.
The program had eight head coaches over the last 120 years, and four have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. James Naismith, the first coach of the Jayhawks, was the inventor of basketball.
Bill Self has been the head coach of the team since 2003 and has led Kansas to a record of winning 14 consecutive Conference titles from 2005 to 2018.
The history of remarkable performances makes the Jayhawks a powerful team to watch in 2023.
3. North Carolina Tar Heels
No serious North Carolina fan is unaware that Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, was a former Tar Heels.
Representing the University of North Carolina, this team has participated in 21 Final Fours, the highest of any college. They have won six NCAA championships and one Helms Athletic Foundation retroactive title.
Fans boast that Tar Heels is the only team to reach a minimum of one Final Four for nine consecutive decades and have the highest average wins per season. Besides, an impressive 12 team members have been inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Since 1910, Tar Heels have won over 2,294 games, scoring the second-highest all-time winning percentage. No wonder ESPN ranked the team No. 1 in the 50 most successful programs in the past 50 years.
4. Duke Blue Devils
If you are a Blue Devils fan, you must be counting the days to see Duke vs. North Carolina in the NCAA finals. No surprise that it’s one of the top rivalries in North American sports.
Representing Duke University, Blue Devils have the fourth-highest all-time wins of 2,201 and a winning percentage of 0.711.
The current coach, Jon Scheyer, is a former player and a prolific scorer. Under his captaincy in 2009-10, Duke won the 2010 NCAA championship.
The Blue Devils have won 5 national titles (fourth highest), played 17 Final Fours (third highest), and had 11 championship game appearances (third highest).
They have made a record of being 21 times ACC Champions and have won 19 ACC regular season titles. That’s a lot of reasons to be a die-hard Duke fan.
5. Kentucky Wildcats
The Wildcats of the University of Kentucky is the most prestigious college basketball program with the highest all-time winning percentage.
The team had been led by many legendary coaches like Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Tubby Smith, etc. The current head coach, John Calipari, signed a lifetime deal with the Wildcats in April 2019.
Kentucky dominates college basketball with 131 NCAA tournament wins, 45 Sweet Sixteen appearances, and 38 Elite Eight appearances.
The Wildcats have played 17 NCAA Final Fours, the third highest, and won eight NCAA championships, the second highest. This is the only team with 1,000 wins in 1968, 2,000 wins in 2009, and the maximum number of all-time wins from 1996 to 2022.
You see, it’s natural to be a Kentucky fan!
6. UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team competes on behalf of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Since the first season in 1919, the Bruins have won 11 NCAA championships, the highest of all time. The renowned coach John Wooden led the team to claim 10 national titles from 1964 to 1975.
You would find UCLA fans boasting about the 88-game winning streak and how the Bruins were unstoppable in the early 1970s.
The team has a total win of 1,906 and a winning percentage of 0.688, making it the sixth highest-ranking college basketball program.
Whether seven consecutive NCAA championships or ten consecutive Final Four appearances, UCLA Bruins have made several incredible records to follow in 2023.
Final Thoughts
College basketball is the ultimate form of entertainment. It lets you destress after long study hours and spend exciting time with your friends cheering for your favorite players. You can follow the above high-ranking teams in 2023 to enjoy the most thrilling games. Now it’s time to pick your team because March Madness is coming.