Where did all the top college basketball teams rank in the final 1949 to 1959 top 25 AP polls? Which programs made the cut and which ones just missed out, but received votes?
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According to the final AP rankings, how do the programs rank all-time, by decade, and by era? Which ones were the best over the 1950s? The AP college basketball poll started at the end of the 1948-1949 season, so we’re lumping it in this decade, too.
Take all the AP final rankings and use our CFN scoring system – the AP final regular season No. 1 gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom.
Kentucky won four NCAA Tournaments, proving to be even better than the final rankings in the AP polls. Even so, it was the best program of the 1950s by a relative mile.
One key note: The AP final rankings came out at the end of the regular seasons, not after the NCAA Tournaments.
AP Poll, All-Time College Basketball Rankings
Final All-Time College Basketball Rankings | 1950s | 1960s
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP Top 20 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955
1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
College Football AP Greatest Programs of All-Time
NCAA Basketball National Champions
1949 Kentucky, 1950 CCNY, 1951 Kentucky, 1952 Kentucky, 1953 Indiana, 1954 La Salle, 1955 San Francisco, 1956 San Francisco, 1957 North Carolina, 1958 Kentucky, 1959 Cal
AP Poll: 1949 to 1959 Final All-Time College Basketball Rankings
1 Kentucky 228
2 NC State 132
3 Bradley 124
4 Kansas State 119
5 Illinois 113
6 San Francisco 104
7 Oklahoma State (A&M) 102
8 Duquesne 100
8 Kansas 100
10 Saint Louis 96
11 West Virginia 90
12 Indiana 86
13 Dayton 83
13 Holy Cross 83
13 La Salle 83
16 UCLA 80
17 Iowa 75
18 Seattle 71
19 St. John’s 69
20 North Carolina 68
21 Western Kentucky 66
22 Notre Dame 63
23 Cincinnati 54
24 Washington 53
25 Duke 50
Others Receiving Votes (Points): Louisville 49, Utah 49, Mississippi State 45, Michigan State 43, Oklahoma City 41, SMU 41, Vanderbilt 41, Seton Hall 36, Alabama 35, Minnesota 35, LSU 33, Villanova 33, Temple 32, Ohio State 30, Wake Forest 29, Auburn 28, Cal 28, George Washington 26, Maryland 26, Arizona 25, Marquette 24, Columbia 23, USC 22, Wyoming 19, St. Bonaventure 18, Penn State 17, Tulane 17, Bowling Green 16, Oregon State 16, BYU 15, Yale 15, Memphis State 14, Long Island 13, St. Joseph’s 12, Toledo 12, Colorado 11, Saint Mary’s 11, Idaho State 10, Loyola-Chicago 10, Murray State 10, Niagara 10, Santa Clara 10, TCU 10, Tulsa 10, Wisconsin 10, San Jose State 9, Butler 8, Siena 8, Washington State 8, DePaul 7, Hamline 7, Canisius 6, SW Missouri State 6, Texas State 6
AP Poll, All-Time College Basketball Rankings
Final All-Time College Basketball Rankings | 1950s | 1960s
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP Top 20 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955
1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
College Football AP Greatest Programs of All-Time