If I Could Choose

If you could choose the teams in college basketball that YOU wanted to be good every season, who would you choose? What would be the closest thing to a perfect bracket in March look like for you? A lot of programs go through the normal ups and downs from season to season, while a few others stay fairly consistent and stay good. But what if you had the power to choose which teams were good year in and year out? Now these teams don't have to be the greatest things since sliced bread or even be national title contenders every year. What if they were just good to great every season. Maybe some teams that were always borderline NIT/NCAA Tourney, but were still good every season. Some that are consistently in the NCAA tourney but may not be Final Four contenders every year but just maybe every several years. Maybe some mid majors and small schools that rule their conferences and could make some noise in March with some luck. And of course, some teams who will be great every year and be annual Top 15 teams. I have went through each conference and chosen teams I'd like to see fit in these categories every year. Some for good reasons and others for no real reason at all.

One-Bid Conferences

America East- Vermont

Vermont has been pretty decent as of late. They made the postseason(NIT or NCAA) 7 times from 2010 to 2019. They've also been competitive the last two trips to the NCAA's losing to Purdue 70-80 in 2017 and losing to Florida State 69-76 in 2019.

Atlantic Sun- Florida Gulf Coast

I have two words: Dunk City.

Big Sky- Montana

No real reason for this choice. But the state of Montana needs something right? They also went to the NCAA tourney 5 times from 2010-2019.

Big South- UNC-Asheville/High Point

The reason for both of these teams has nothing to do with their success on the court. For UNC-Asheville, I just have the memory of Kenny George and it just fascinating me. As for High Point, I just remember them being the worst team on the video game Final Four 2002 and being bright pink(at least that is how I remember it). I would be fine seeing both consistently good, but only one can go to the NCAA tourney.

Big West- Hawaii

Hawaii does a lot of traveling, so I feel they should at least be the kings of the Big West.

Colonial Athletic Association- Towson

They have the best logo in the league. And that is the only reason I have.

Horizon League- Detroit

Mike Davis is the current coach there as of now. And as long as he is there, I would like to see them be successful and at the top of their conference.

Ivy League- Harvard

Harvard won the Ivy 7 times from 2011-2019 and went to the NCAA's four straight years from 2012-2015. Within those four trips they were able to upset a 3 seeded New Mexico team and 5 seed Cincinnati team. I would like to see that success from them continue.

MAAC- Iona

I remember teams being lead by AJ English and wishing they were that good every season. They've never won an NCAA Tourney game but they should be at the top of their league every year.

MAC- Ball State

It is an Indiana school. My brother was also close to being named after Chandler Thompson, who has one of the best dunks in college basketball history after dunking it on Larry Johnson's head.

MEAC- Norfolk State

The memory of Kyle O'Quinn after beating the 2 seeded Missouri Tigers in 2012 is my only reason for this.

MVC- Northern Iowa

The MVC was a competitive league at one point with Northern Iowa and Wichita State. I remember back in 2014-2015 where both teams stayed in the top 15 from February to the end of the season. I would like to see UNI get back to that and for another team or maybe even two replace Wichita State as another great mid major team.

NEC- Merrimack/LIU

Merrimack is in their first season as a D-1 school and already have a win over a Big Ten school in Northwestern. LIU is in their first season as the Sharks after changing from the Blackbirds.

Ohio Valley- Murray State

Isaiah Canaan, Cameron Payne and Ja Morant. I want to see the guard talent keep rolling and the success to go along with it.

Patriot League- Colgate

You have to have toothpaste.

Southern- Mercer

I like their jerseys when they were beating in 2014.

Southland- Stephen F. Austin

Another small school with some success the last decade and I want it to continue.

SWAC- Arkansas Pine Bluff

This is the team I always started with on College Hoops 2K8 and turned them into a powerhouse in the SWAC. I want to see that happen in real life.

Summit- Omaha

Peyton Manning anyone?

Sun Belt- Georgia State

Ron Hunter isn't coaching there anymore, but the memory of the him falling out of his chair after his son, RJ Hunter, hit a game winning three to upset 3 seed Baylor, is enough for me to want to see it continue for the program.

WAC- Grand Canyon

They are the only D-1 for profit school and their coach is Thunder Dan himself, Dan Majerle.

Multiple Bid Leagues

AAC- Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, Temple, Wichita State

Not all of these teams would be NCAA Tourney teams every season, but it would happen on occasion. Each team has had plenty of success over the years and they are the top programs historically in the conference.

Atlantic 10- Davidson, Dayton, Saint Louis, VCU

The A10 can be a multi-bid league on an annual basis and we have seen it multiple times before. These 4 teams have had success that have made me want to see them always be successful. The times with Steph Curry at Davidson, when Saint Louis had Jordair Jett, Dayton going to the Elite 8 and VCU going to the Final 4, something about each school has stuck with me.

ACC- Duke, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse

There is a lot of history and greatness from these schools and a lot of recent success as well. I feel they should always be leading the ACC and be in the NCAA Tournament every season. It will be interesting to see though how Duke, UNC and Syracuse handle a coaching change after Coach K, Coach Williams and Coach Boeheim retire. Louisville and Pittsburgh seem to have found their coaches and look like future contenders for the ACC. Florida State and Notre Dame have had the same coach for almost twenty years. Notre Dame is up and down but Florida State has hit a stride recently and has looked great. I want to see Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse going at it for conference champion every year.

Big 12- Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, West Virginia

Another league where not everyone would make it, but it would be close and maybe every several years, each would make the NCAA Tourney. I would like to see Kansas continue as the best of the league but having more contenders on an annual basis than we have seen over the last decade and a half.

Big East- Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette, St. Johns, Villanova, Xavier, Connecticut*

Just like the ACC, there is a ton of history with some of these schools dating back to the old Big East, along with some relative new history with programs like Butler and Xavier. I personally would like to see Xavier be the best of the best in the conference, but wouldn't mind seeing Villanova staying at the top or Georgetown becoming great again. UConn will be rejoining the Big East in 2020-2021 and I would absolutely like to see them regain the greatness we saw throughout the 2000's.

Big Ten- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue

As an Indiana fan I want to see Indiana alone by themselves at the very top every season and going for a 1 seed every year. I would be okay with the occasional finish at 2, 3 or 4. But following behind Indiana I want to see Michigan State, Ohio State, Maryland, Michigan and Purdue. Iowa and Minnesota going in and out from the NIT and NCAA.

CUSA- Charlotte, UAB

I just remember Charlotte being good at one point in the early 2000's and I don't know why but I want to see it again. As for UAB, I remember Mike Davis coaching there and Robert Vaden leaving IU to go there and Vaden being a star. Also loved watching the game they upset 3 seed Iowa State in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Mountain West- New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV

It seems like forever ago, but at one point a few years ago, the MWC had reached a point of being one of the best conferences in the nation. New Mexico and SDSU were a huge part of that. I would like to see UNLV return back to its glory days or at least close to it.

PAC 12- Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC

The PAC-12 hasn't been great in recent years with the downfall of UCLA but I would like to see UCLA return to being the best of the conference followed by Arizona and Oregon with Stanford and USC following behind as NCAA/NIT type teams.

SEC- Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee

Kentucky should be the best of the conference with some good competition from year to year. Would be great to see Arkansas and LSU be their top competitors on a yearly basis followed by Florida and Tennessee. As for Georgia, I would just like to see them being a consistent NIT team and a Top 10 team every year in the SEC as long as Tom Crean is there. Everyone few years I'd like to see them get in the NCAA Tourney and maybe even make a little noise with a win or two.

WCC- BYU, Gonzaga, Saint Mary's

Gonzaga has been the class of the WCC for years now and it won't be going away anytime soon and that is exactly what I want to see. I also want to see another team get close to where they are and challenge them for the WCC title often and who better than the program that had the superstar Jimmer Fredette?

The Perfect Bracket

For this I will be listing what would be the perfect bracket according to seed lines. Basically what I would love to see one day and that would satisfy me the most.

1. Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA

2. Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, Connecicut

3. Villanova, Gonzaga, Arizona, Syracuse

4. Louisville, San Diego State, Ohio State, Xavier

5. Georgetown, Memphis, Dayton, UNLV

6. VCU, Arkansas, Michigan, Baylor

7. West Virginia, Wichita State, Pittsburgh, Florida

8. Cincinnati, Oregon, Florida State, Northern Iowa

9. Purdue, Illinois, Texas, Saint Louis

10. New Mexico, Maryland, Notre Dame, Charlotte

11. Kansas State, Temple, Butler, BYU, Tennessee, Oklahoma State

12. Ball State, Murray State, Davidson, UAB

13. Vermont, Florida Gulf Coast, Stephen F. Austin, Hawaii

14. Georgia State, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Detroit, Harvard

15. Mercer, Iona, Montana, Grand Canyon

16. Merrimack/LIU, UNC-Asheville/High Point, Towson, Omaha, Colgate, Norfolk State

Bubble: Iowa State, Oklahoma, Creighton, Marquette, St. John’s, Georgia, USC, Stanford, Iowa, Minnesota, LSU

Multiple Bids

Big Ten- 7

ACC- 7

Big 12- 6

Big East- 5

SEC- 4

AAC- 4

A10- 4

PAC12- 3

MWC- 3

WCC- 2

CUSA- 2