Where did all the top college basketball teams rank in the final 1951 to 1959 top 25 Coaches Polls? Which programs made the cut and which ones just missed out, but received votes?
According to the final Coaches rankings, how do the programs rank all-time, by decade, and by era? Which ones were the best over the 1950s? The Coaches college basketball poll started at the end of the 1951 season, so the Coaches polls for the era are missing a few of the seasons the AP polls ranked.
Take all the Coaches final rankings and use our CFN scoring system – the Coaches 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 three national championships from 1951 to 1959, and like it was in the AP version, it turned out to be the program of the decade with ease.
One key note: The Coaches final rankings came out at the end of the regular seasons, not after the NCAA Tournaments.
Coaches Poll, All-Time College Basketball Rankings
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
College Football All-Time Rankings Coaches Poll | AP Poll
AP Poll, All-Time College Basketball Rankings
1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
Coaches Poll Top 20 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955
1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
College Football Coaches Greatest Programs of All-Time
NCAA Basketball National Champions
1951 Kentucky, 1952 Kentucky, 1953 Indiana, 1954 La Salle, 1955 San Francisco, 1956 San Francisco, 1957 North Carolina, 1958 Kentucky, 1959 Cal
Coaches Poll: 1951 to 1959 Final All-Time College Basketball Rankings
1 Kentucky 170
T2 Kansas State 113
T2 NC State 113
4 Kansas 105
5 Indiana 102
6 Saint Louis 91
7 Illinois 90
8 Dayton 85
T9 Iowa 77
T9 Oklahoma State 77
11 North Carolina 74
12 San Francisco 73
13 Duquesne 70
14 West Virginia 67
15 Bradley 65
16 Notre Dame 60
17 Washington 58
T18 Holy Crosss 55
T18 UCLA 55
20 La Salle 54
21 Cincinnati 52
22 Cal 51
23 Michigan State 49
24 SMU 48
25 Utah 47
Others Receiving Votes (Points): Western Kentucky 45, Louisville 44, St. John’s 43, LSU 38, Seton Hall 38, St. Bonaventure 36, Vanderbilt 36, BYU 35, Wyoming 35, Seattle 34, Temple 33, Marquette 28, Oklahoma City 28, Oregon State 28, TCU 27, Alabama 21, Columbia 21, Duke 21, Maryland 20, Mississippi State 20, Auburn 16, Colorado 15, Arizona 13, Minnesota 13, Beloit 12, DePaul 12, Tulsa 12, George Washington 11, USC 11, Tennessee A&I State 10, Xavier 10, Niagara 9, Siena 9, Villanova 9, Navy 8, Saint Mary’s 8, Canisius 7, St. Joseph’s 6
Coaches Poll, All-Time College Basketball Rankings
Final All-Time College Basketball Rankings | 1950s | 1960s
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
Coaches Top 20 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955
1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
College Football Coaches Greatest Programs of All-Time