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NCAA basketball: 10 most underrated college basketball programs of all time

ByMike Phillips|
SOUTH BEND, IN - FEBRUARY 1974: Head coach Digger Phelps of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish talks to players on the bench during a college basketball game against the Marquette Warriors at Notre Dame in February 1974 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - FEBRUARY 1974: Head coach Digger Phelps of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish talks to players on the bench during a college basketball game against the Marquette Warriors at Notre Dame in February 1974 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
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TUCSON, AZ – MARCH 17: Juan Fernandez #4 celebrates with Lavoy Allen #24 of the Temple Owls after scoring the winning basket to defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions 66 to 64 in the second round of the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at McKale Center on March 17, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – MARCH 17: Juan Fernandez #4 celebrates with Lavoy Allen #24 of the Temple Owls after scoring the winning basket to defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions 66 to 64 in the second round of the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at McKale Center on March 17, 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

7. Temple

  • All-Time Record: 1,926-1,078 (.641 Winning Percentage)
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances: 33
  • Final Fours: Two (1956, 1958)
  • National Championships: Zero
  • Notable Alums: Terence Stansbury, Aaron McKie, Lavoy Allen

Quick, name the top five winningest programs in NCAA basketball history. Odds are you’ll hit four easily (Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, and Duke), but it may take you a while before you realize that the fifth is Temple.

Temple has done nothing but win since its first season in 1903, picking up the fifth most victories among all Division I programs. The Owls have gone to the NCAA Tournament 33 times, the most of any school not in a Power 5 conference, and they have a pair of Final Four appearances to their name.

Even though Temple hasn’t won a national championship, they did win the NIT twice when the event had prestige and won a pair of national tournaments in their legendary 1938 season. The Owls went 23-2 that year when they won the NIT in the last year before the birth of the NCAA Tournament.

The school went on to have a remarkable run of success under Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, who brought the Owls to postseason play in 22 consecutive years. That stretch of brilliant basketball included trips to the Elite Eight on five separate occasions, making Temple a force to be reckoned with on the national stage.

Things haven’t been as prosperous after Chaney left, but the Owls continue to be a regular tournament contender out of the American Athletic Conference. Alum Aaron McKie was tapped to succeed Fran Dunphy as head coach this spring, and the hope is that he can help the Owls relive some of the glory they experienced while he was at the school.