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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1959 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1959 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: Cal
1 Kansas State
2 Kentucky
3 Michigan State
4 Cincinnati
5 NC State
T6 Mississippi State
T6 North Carolina
8 Bradley
9 Cal
10 Auburn
11 West Virginia
12 TCU
13 Saint Louis
14 Utah
15 Marquette
16 Tennessee A&I State
17 St. John’s
T18 Saint Mary’s
T18 Navy
T20 St. Joseph’s
T20 St. Bonaventure
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1958 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1958 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: Kentucky
1 West Virginia
2 Cincinnati
3 San Francisco
4 Kansas State
5 Temple
6 Maryland
7 Notre Dame
8 Kansas
9 Dayton
10 Indiana
11 Bradley
12 North Carolina
13 Duke
14 Kentucky
15 Oklahoma State
T16 NC State
T16 Oregon State
18 St. Bonaventure
T19 Michigan State
T19 Seattle
T19 Wyoming
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1957 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1957 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: North Carolina
1 North Carolina
2 Kansas
3 Kentucky
4 SMU
5 Seattle
6 Cal
7 Michigan State
8 Louisville
T9 UCLA
T9 Saint Louis
11 West Virginia
12 Dayton
13 Bradley
14 BYU
15 Indiana
T16 Oklahoma City
T16 Vanderbilt
T16 Xavier
19 Notre Dame
20 Kansas State
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1956 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1956 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: San Francisco
1 San Francisco
2 NC State
3 Dayton
4 Iowa
5 Alabama
6 SMU
7 Louisville
8 Illinois
9 UCLA
10 Vanderbilt
11 North Carolina
12 Kentucky
13 Utah
14 Temple
15 Holy Crosss
16 Oklahoma City
17 Saint Louis
18 Duke
19 Canisius
20 Seattle
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1955 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1955 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: San Francisco
1 San Francisco
2 Kentucky
3 La Salle
4 Utah
5 Iowa
6 NC State
7 Duquesne
8 Oregon State
9 Marquette
10 Dayton
11 Colorado
12 UCLA
13 Minnesota
14 Tulsa
15 George Washington
16 Illinois
17 Niagara
18 Saint Louis
19 Holy Cross
T20 Cincinnati
T20 SMU
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1954 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1954 Final Top 10
NCAA Basketball National Champion: La Salle
1 Indiana
2 Kentucky
3 Duquesne
4 Oklahoma State (A&M)
5 Notre Dame
6 Western Kentucky
7 Kansas
8 LSU
9 Holy Cross
10 Iowa
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1953 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1953 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: Indiana
1 Indiana
2 Seton Hall
3 Washington
4 La Salle
5 Kansas
6 LSU
7 Oklahoma State (A&M)
8 NC State
9 Kansas State
10 Illinois
11 Western Kentucky
12 Cal
13 Notre Dame
14 DePaul
14 Wyoming
16 Saint Louis
17 Holy Cross
18 Oklahoma City
19 BYU
20 Duquesne
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1952 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1952 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: Kentucky
1 Kentucky
2 Illinois
3 Kansas
4 Duquesne
5 Washington
6 Kansas State
7 Saint Louis
8 Iowa
9 St. John’s
10 Wyoming
11 St. Bonaventure
12 Seton Hall
13 TCU
14 West Virginia
15 Holy Cross
16 Western Kentucky
17 La Salle
18 Dayton
T19 Louisville
T19 Indiana
T19 UCLA
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
NEXT: Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1951 Final Top 20
Coaches Poll College Basketball Rankings: 1951 Final Top 20
NCAA Basketball National Champion: Kentucky
1 Oklahoma State (A&M)
2 Kentucky
3 Kansas State
4 Illinois
5 Columbia
6 NC State
7 Bradley
8 Indiana
9 St. John’s
10 BYU
11 Saint Louis
12 Washington
13 Arizona
14 Beloit
15 USC
16 Vanderbilt
T17 Siena
T17 Villanova
T19 Dayton
T19 St. Bonaventure
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
