Where did all the top college basketball teams rank in the final 1980 to 1989 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 1980s?
Take all the AP final rankings and use our CFN scoring system – the AP final No. 1 team gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom.
Because the final AP college basketball rankings come out at the end of the regular season instead of after the NCAA Tournament, there are a few egregious blips here and there – like UCLA not being the program of the 1960s. All of those inconsistencies are holding the 1980’s beer.
Remember those back-to-back DePaul national champs in 1980 and 1981? They finished on top of the final AP polls, but crashed in tournament time.
1885 national champion Villanova wasn’t in the final AP rankings, and neither was the Danny (Manning) and the Miracles Kansas team of 1988 that won it all.
It was the decade when the NCAA Tournament went to a whole other level, and these rankings reflect that.
AP Poll, All-Time College Basketball Rankings
Final All-Time College Basketball Rankings | 1950s | 1960s
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP Top 20 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985
1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
College Football AP Greatest Programs of All-Time
NCAA Basketball National Champions
1980 Louisville, 1981 Indiana, 1982 North Carolina, 1983 NC State, 1984 Georgetown, 1985 Villanova, 1986 Louisville, 1987 Indiana, 1988 Kansas, 1989 Michigan
AP Poll: 1980 to 1989 Final All-Time College Basketball Rankings
1 North Carolina 200
2 Georgetown 149
3 Kentucky 131
4 DePaul 117
5 UNLV 115
6 Duke 112
T7 Indiana 108
T7 Syracuse 108
9 Louisville 101
T10 Illinois 96
T10 Oklahoma 96
12 St. John’s 81
13 Missouri 79
14 Michigan 77
15 Oregon State 76
16 Iowa 71
16 Memphis State 71
18 Virginia 66
19 Purdue 64
20 Notre Dame 69
21 Arkansas 55
22 UCLA 53
23 LSU 51
T24 Arizona 49
T24 Temple 49
Others Receiving Votes (Points): Houston 46, Kansas 43, Maryland 41, Georgia Tech 40, NC State 39, Tulsa 38, Alabama 36, Pitt 32, Arizona State 31, BYU 31, Wake Forest 30, Bradley 27, UTEP 23, Wyoming 22, West Virginia 21, Minnesota 19, Idaho 18, Louisiana Tech 18, Ohio State 16, Boston College 15, Fresno State 15, Georgia 15, Seton Hall 15, VCU 15, Clemson 13, Stanford 13, Villanova 13, Loyola-Chicago 12, Utah 12, Wichita State 12, Chattanooga 11, Loyola Marymount 11, Tennessee 11, Washington 11, Florida State 10, New Orleans 10, Navy 9, Texas Tech 9, UAB 9, Weber State 9, Ball State 8, Michigan State 8, Xavier 8, Oklahoma State 7, TCU 7, Kansas 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 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985
1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
College Football AP Greatest Programs of All-Time