College Basketball BLUE BLOODS

[AA484]

I wanted to find out who the "true" college basketball BLUE BLOODS are.

I went through the past ten years of NCAA tournaments and awarded pts on the following scale:

17 pts for every title won
10 pts for every runner-up
6 pts for making it to the Final 4
4 points for making it to the Elite 8
3 points for making it to the Sweet 16
2 points for making it to the second round

Results are as follows;

1. Villanova 51
2. North Carolina 49
3. Kansas 42
4. Gonzaga 41
5. Duke 40
6. Michigan 37
7. Kentucky 29
8. Virginia 28
9. Baylor 27
10. Louisville 26
Wisconsin 26
12. Michigan State 25
13. Oregon 23
14. Florida 20
Syracuse 20
16. UConn 19
Texas Tech 19
18. UCLA 18
19. Arizona 17
20. Wichita State 15
Houston 15
22. Oklahoma 13
Iowa State 13
Purdue 13
25. Florida State 12
Notre Dame 12
Ohio State 12
Arkansas 12
29. Butler 11
Xavier 11
West Virginia 11
32. Tennessee 10
Auburn 10
Miami (FL) 10
35. Maryland 9
Loyola Chicago 9
Creighton 9
38. Iowa 8
39. San Diego State 7
40. Dayton 6
Indiana 6
South Carolina 6
Cincinnati 6
Texas A&M 6
USC 6
Memphis 6
Illinois 6
48. Utah 5
LSU 5
Alabama 5
Providence 5
52. Marquette 4
Harvard 4
Saint Louis 4
VCU 4
Stephen F. Austin 4
Northern Iowa 4
Middle Tennessee 4
Rhode Island 4
Kansas State 4
Minnesota 4
Buffalo 4
Oregon State 4
Texas 4
Saint Mary's 4
Murray State 4
Saint Peter's 4
68. La Salle 3
Florida Gulf Coast 3
Stanford 3
N.C. State 3
Nevada 3
Clemson 3
Virginia Tech 3
Oral Roberts 3
76. California 2
Temple 2
Ole Miss 2
Colorado State 2
Mercer 2
North Dakota State 2
Pittsburgh 2
UAB 2
Georgetown 2
Georgia State 2
Little Rock 2
Yale 2
St. Joseph's 2
Hawai'i 2
Northwestern 2
Seton Hall 2
Marshall 2
UMBC 2
Wofford 2
Washington 2
UC Irvine 2
Liberty 2
UCF 2
Rutgers 2
Oklahoma State 2
North Texas 2
Abilene Christian 2
Colorado 2
Ohio 2
Richmond 2
TCU 2
New Mexico State 2

 

[AA484]

For the following, I awarded points based on overall seeding:

17 for top overall seed
10 for second overall seed
6 for the other one seeds
4 for a 2 seed
3 for a 3 or 4 seed
2 for 5, 6, 7, or 8 seed

Most "overachieving" team (actual performance vs. seeding):

1. Michigan +15
2. UConn +13
3. North Carolina +12
Syracuse +12
5. Oregon +8
6. Loyola Chicago +7
UCLA +7
8. Texas Tech +6
9. Wisconsin +5
10. 9 tied with +4

Most "underachieving" team/biggest tournament chokers (actual performance vs. seeding):

1. Kansas -21
2. Gonzaga -20
Virginia -20
4. Arizona -18
5. Florida -7
Kentucky -7
7. Cincinnati -6
8. 6 tied with -5

Teams with a "0" difference (they do just as well as they're supposed to):

Arkansas
Iowa State
Maryland
Northwestern
Ole Miss
Pittsburgh
Providence
Saint Mary's
St. Joseph's
TCU
USC
Utah
Wofford

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I tend to share Bomani Jones' opinion that being a "blue blood" in college sports is a little like being "old money": it's not really a club you can "join," nor is it a club that you can get "kicked out" of. Or maybe more like being nobility, in countries where they still do that: like, you can be an uber-rich tech bro, and still be thought of as less important than some broke-ass Earl, whose family lost all their money, but still holds the title that was bestowed upon his ancestor by the king, like, 900 years ago.

I think that the better question is, at what point in college basketball history was the doorway to entry into blue blood status "officially" sealed off? Like, if you consider Duke to be a "blue blood," I feel like they would have to be the last school to get in the "club," before the door was closed behind them.

 

[AA484]

Slim, I considered that but thought it would be a good look on those chipping away or even breaking through the glass ceiling of the "blue bloods."

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Maybe we can call them the "New Bloods." That's catchy, right?

 

[909]

Indiana has effectively been kicked out of blue blood category. I think a team can definitely get kicked out of it, but it takes a good 25-30 years to get in that club.

 

[AA484]

Indiana is definitely out. UCLA may be too inconsistent to still be in. I think everyone else is safe for the time being.

The origin of the term 'blue bloods' in college basketball

What is a college basketball 'blue blood' anyway? The earliest reference we found was from 1927, when the Times Union of Brooklyn read: "Centrals Made Up of Basketball Blue Bloods."

www.ncaa.com