CBS Sports projects KU as NCAA men’s basketball’s best program over next 25 years
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- CBS Sports projects Kansas basketball as top NCAA program through 2050.
- Analyst credits KU's history, funding and coaching for long-term success.
- With 19 Big 12 titles and 2 national wins, KU ranks second over last 25 years.
Kansas men’s basketball will be the most successful of all NCAA Division I teams over the next 25 seasons, CBS Sports analyst Kyle Boone projects.
The Jayhawks, who placed second to Duke in CBS’ ranking of hoops programs the past 25 seasons, beat out runner-up Duke in projections for “most long-term success” from 2025-26 through the rest of the 2020s, 2030s and 2040s.
The rankings, according to Boone, “were formulated by accounting for past success and program history, but also by their commitment thus far to pumping in resources along with the coaching acumen and leadership of those running the respective programs.”
Of KU’s top ranking over the next 25 years, Boone wrote: “No program has been kissed by the basketball gods more gently than Kansas. It has been led by a Hall of Fame coach for more than 40 years now — from Larry Brown to Roy Williams and now Bill Self — and I suspect that trend will continue for decades more.
“While Self may be in the twilight of his career, KU has the history and the financial backing to pluck any coach from their post. This is a top-3 program in college basketball and it will continue to recruit at a high level and win at a clip commensurate with its ranking.”
Duke is projected to be the country’s No. 2 program over the next 25 seasons, followed by Louisville, Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina, Michigan, UConn, Kentucky and Houston in the top 10. That list is followed by Texas Tech, Purdue, Florida, Arizona, BYU, Auburn, Texas, UCLA, Maryland, Illinois, Gonzaga, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Memphis.
KU, by the way, recently finished as the No. 2 rated program nationally (behind only Duke) from 2000-01 through 2024-25. Of KU’s No. 2 ranking over the past 25 years, Boone cited the Jayhawks’ 2008 and 2022 national titles as well as a 717-175 overall record. Duke won national titles in 2001, 2010 and 2015 and has an overall record of 720-171 since the 2000-01 campaign.
“Arguably the most successful college program regardless of sport the last two decades, Kansas comes in at a firm No. 2 here. It has the second-most wins by any program in the last 25 years, and its solidified standing in the top tier comes courtesy of a staggering 19 regular-season Big 12 titles (shared and outright),” Boone wrote.
UConn, with national titles in 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023 and 2024, placed third, followed by North Carolina, Michigan State, Kentucky, Florida, Villanova, Syracuse, Gonzaga, Louisville, Maryland, Virginia, Baylor, Houston, Memphis, Arizona, Wisconsin, Purdue, UCLA, Ohio State, San Diego State, VCU, Illinois and Creighton. Wichita State was listed in CBS’ “also considered” category.
This story was originally published September 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
