The Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky Wildcats

Location: Lexington, Kentucky

Nickname: Wildcats

Reason For Nickname: In 1909 after a football game against the University of Illinois, Commandant Carbusier mentioned that the football team fought like wildcats, giving birth to the nickname.

Colors: Blue and White

Conference: Southeastern

Arena: Rupp Arena (built 1976, capacity 23,000)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Appearences: 48 Appearances, 13 Final Fours, 7 National Championships

NIT Appearances: 7 Appearances, 1 Championship

The 2nd Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Duke Blue Devils

Duke Blue Devils

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Nickname: Blue Devils

Reason For Nickname: World War I French flying unit, the “Les Diables Bleus”

Colors: Blue and White

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

Arena: Cameron Indoor Stadium (built 1940, capacity 9,314)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Appearances: 32 Appearances, 14 Final Fours, 3 National Championships

NIT Appearances: 5 Appearances

The 3rd Greatest Basketball Program In The South: North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina Tar Heels

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Nickname: Tar Heels

Reason For Nickname: North Carolina’s nickname is the “The Tar Heel State”. That should explain everything.

Colors: Carolina Blue and White

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

Arena: Dean E. Smith Center (built 1986, capacity 21,750)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Appearances: 40 Appearances, 17 Final Fours, four National Championships

NIT Appearances: 5 Appearances, one championship

The 4th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Georgetown Hoyas

Georgetown Hoyas

Location: Washington, D.C.

Nickname: Hoyas

Reason For Nickname: It comes from some Latin chant that makes no sense to the causal sports fan.

Colors: Blue and Gray

Conference: Big East

Arena: Verizon Center (built 1998, capacity 20,173)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Appearances: 25, including one National Championship and five Final Fours

NIT Appearances: 10 Appearances

The 5th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Louisville Cardinals

Louisville Cardinals

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Nickname: Cardinals

Reason For Nickname: The Cardinal is Kentucky’s official state bird.

Colors: Red, White, and Black

Conference: Big East

Arena: Freedom Hall (built 1956, capacity 18,865)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Appearances: 34 Appearances, 8 Final Fours, 2 National Championships

NIT Appearances: 14 Appearances, one Championship

The 6th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Maryland Terrapins

Maryland Terrapins

Location: College Park, Maryland

Nickname: Terrapins

Reason For Nickname: In 1932, then-president Curley Byrd suggested that their athletic programs be known as the Terrapins. The name has stuck ever since.

Colors: Officially – red, white, black, and gold

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

Arena: Comcast Center (built 2002, capacity 17,950)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Appearances: 22 Appearances, two Final Fours, one National Championship

NIT Appearances: 7 Appearances, one Championship

The 7th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Location: Bowling Green, Kentucky

Nickname: Hilltoppers

Reason For Nickname: The location of Western Kentucky University, which is located on a hill in Bowling Green.

Colors: Red and White

Conference: Sun Belt

Arena: E.A. Diddle Arena (built 1963, capacity 14,277)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Tournament Appearances: 20 Appearances, one Final Four.

NIT Appearances:13 Appearances, three Final Fours

The 8th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: North Carolina State Wolfpack

North Carolina State Wolfpack

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

Nickname: Wolfpack

Reason For Nickname: In 1922, a disgruntled fan said that the student section behaved like a “wolfpack”, therefore giving the nickname to the NC State program.

Colors: Red and White

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

Arena: RBC Center (built 1999, capacity 19, 722)

Postseason Appearances:

NCAA Tournament Appearances: 22 Appearances, three Final Fours, two National Championships

NIT Appearances: 11 Appearances

The 9th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas Razorbacks

Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas

Nickname: Razorbacks

Reason For Nickname: The Arkansas athletic teams has been called the Razorbacks since 1910 after a student pep rally led by then-football coach Hugo Bezdek, who said that the football team played like a band of “Razorback Hogs”.

Colors: Cardinal and White

Conference: Southeastern

Arena: Bud Walton Arena (built 1993, capacity 19,200)

The Pride of Arkansas: One of the south’s greatest basketball programs, the Arkansas Razorbacks have a long storied tradition of excellence. In its history the Razorbacks have gone to 28 NCAA Tournaments and five Final Fours, including a National Championship over Duke in 1994. Along with that, the Razorbacks have won 22 Southwest Conference titles in 76 years of competiton and two SEC Championships since joining in 1992.

The 10th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Location: Winston Salem, North Carolina

Nickname: Demon Deacons

Reason For Nickname: In 1923, Wake Forest played what would later become Duke University in football. Because of the fighting spirit of the Wake squad, they decided to call them the Demon Deacons.

Colors: Old Gold and Black

Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference

Arena: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (built 1989, capacity 14,665)

Old Gold Spirit: Wake Forest has one of the strongest basketball traditions in the South, beginning as a program in 1906. In 102 years of basketball, the Demon Deacons have gone to 20 NCAA Tournaments and six NITs. Along with those accomplishments, the Deacons have won the ACC regular-season title in 1960, 1962, 1995, and 2003 plus the ACC Tournament championship in 1961, 1962, 1995, and 1996.

The 11th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama Crimson Tide

Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Nickname: Crimson Tide

Reason For Nickname: After the 1907 Alabama-Auburn football game in Birmingham, a sports editor for a Birmingham newspaper described the Alabama football team’s play against Auburn as a “crimson tide”.

Colors: Crimson and White

Conference: Southeastern

Arena: Coleman Coliseum (built 1968, capacity 15,043)

Hoops At The Capstone: Alabama basketball began three years after the birth of Paul Bryant in 1916 and for a long time had to live in the large shadow of the football program, which has won 12 National Championships. Despite this, the basketball program for much of its history has not been short of success. Alabama has won the SEC regular-season championship in 1934, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1987, and 2002. They’ve also been crowned tournament champions in 1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991 as well as SEC West champions in 2002 and 2005.

The 12th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Memphis Tigers

Doc’s Note: Normally in this series about the 25 Greatest Basketball Programs in the South, I have the logos of the teams I write about. But because the University of Memphis won another National Championship in dance and I know some of them, I figured using this picture would give you readers something to think about when it comes to the basketball tradition in Memphis.

Matt’s Note: If it is successful, maybe the Top 12 of the 25 will be worthy of having dance team photos INSTEAD of team logos as we all know these logos for the most successful teams at the top (the Dukes, UNCs, etcetera…).

Memphis Tigers

Location: Memphis, Tennessee

Nickname: Tigers

Reason For Nickname: An old yell that started when the school was founded in 1912, it was not until 1939 when the school officially adopted the Tigers as its nickname.

Colors: Blue and Gray

Conference: Conference USA

Arena: FedEx Forum (built 2004, capacity 21,165 [for basketball])

Tiger Pride:The University of Memphis began playing basketball while it was known as West Tennessee Normal School in 1920 with Fredrick Grantham as its first head coach. Until Eugene Lambert arrived there in the 1950’s, basketball at the school was an afterthought. Memphis has appeared in 20 NCAA Tournaments, including two Final Fours in 1973 and 1985. They’ve also have one NIT Championship to their credit with one coming in 2002, Calipari’s second year at the helm.

The 13th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia Mountaineers

Location: Morgantown, West Virginia

Nickname: Mountaineers

Reason For Nickname: The mountains of the state and the people who reside in that area.

Colors: Old Gold and Blue

Conference: Big East

Arena: WVU Coliseum (built 1970, capacity 12,000)

Country Roads And The Hardwood: West Virginia’s basketball heritage dates back to the early 1900’s. Since then the Mountaineers has been considered among the top 25 in all-time victories as well as NCAA Tournament appearances.

The 15th Greatest Basketball Program In The South: Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee Volunteers

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Nickname: Volunteers

Reason For Nickname: Tennessee is known worldwide as the “Volunteer State” (this all dating back to old war times).

Colors: Orange and White

Conference: Southeastern

Arena: Thompson-Boiling Arena (built 1987, capacity 24,535)

Good Ol’ Rocky Top: Tennessee has been, and will always be, known as a football school as well as a school with a strong women’s basketball program. For years, the men’s basketball program has had its share of great moments, but has been overshadowed by those two programs for much of its existence.