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Top 10 College Basketball Teams: #4 Michigan State Spartans

The Michigan State Spartans are FanWide’s #4 College Basketball Team! From the legendary Magic Johnson to their current star guard Cassius Winston, Michigan State basketball has always been led by its elite players. The devout Michigan State fan base, however, has been what has truly helped the Spartans thrive. Top 10 finishes in 6 of 8 categories helped the Spartans snag a prestigious spot in the top 5 among FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball teams.

Visit FanWide.com to find a Michigan State Spartans game watch party or fan club near you.

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Top 10 College Basketball Teams: #5 Duke Blue Devils

Coming in at number 5 in FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Rankings is the Duke Blue Devils. The hiring of head coach Mike Krzyzewski catapulted the extraordinary success experienced by the Blue Devils over the past 39 years. The Hall of Fame head coach took over for the Blue Devils In 1980. During Coach Krzyzewski’s legendary career, he has become the winningest coach in Division 1 college basketball history and has won 4 national championships. “Coach K” has also done a tremendous job of recruiting the top high school players in the country. In the past 5 years, Coach K has recruited NBA lottery picks such as Jahlil Okafor, Brandon Ingram, Jayson Tatum, Marvin Bagley III, Zion Williamson, and RJ Barrett to play for the Blue Devils. Krzyzewski’s top notch recruiting shows his ability to adapt to the modern one-and-done era. The Blue Devil’s recent success has caused their fanbase to grow tremendously across the nation. Because of Duke’s recent success and their massive following, the Blue Devils place 5th on FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Team Rankings.

Visit FanWide.com to find a Duke Blue Devils game watch party or fan club near you.

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Top 10 College Basketball Teams: #6 Syracuse Orange

Over the years, Syracuse has built one of the most consistently successful college basketball programs in the nation. The Jim Boeheim era has been particularly fruitful. Ten years after the former Orange guard graduated from Syracuse, he was named the head coach of their basketball program. That day in 1976 was a turning point for the program. 946 wins later, Syracuse is an established college basketball powerhouse. Their success on the court has translated to popularity off of it. Because of their prestige, they are often able to land top high school recruits and consistently produce NBA talent. From their consistent victories on the court to their record-breaking arena, Syracuse basketball is a blue-blood program. The team’s impressive resumé has earned them the #6 spot in FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Team Rankings!

Visit FanWide.com to find a Syracuse Orange game watch party or fan club near you.

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Top 10 College Basketball Teams: #7 Villanova

FanWide’s #7 NCAA Basketball team is the Villanova Wildcats. Villanova has won two of the last four National Championships. Coach Jay Wright has elevated Nova Basketball to a new level. Their consistent regular season success has made them increasingly interesting to watch for current fans, and their postseason glory has brought in a wave of new ones. Villanova’s tournament play has become must-see TV. Legendary moments like Kris Jenkins’ National Championship winning buzzer beater in 2016 and Donte DiVincenzo’s 2018 National Championship 31 point eruption have contributed to a new generation of Villanova fans. Their exciting play and consistent success has made them one of the most prominent programs in the nation and landed them a spot in FanWide’s Top 10.

Visit FanWide.com to find a Villanova Wildcats game watch party or fan club near you.

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Top 10 College Basketball Teams: #8 Michigan Wolverines

Coming in at #8 on FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Teams: the Michigan Wolverines. From the legendary “Fab Five” in the early ‘90s to the modern Michigan team, Wolverines basketball has always been about team cohesion and success. The strength of the team, however, cannot exist without the strength of the fans, who are unwavering in their support of the Wolverines. To repay their support, Michigan has grown into a yearly juggernaut, made evident by numerous Big Ten and NCAA Tournament wins. Strong finishes across all categories earned the Wolverines the #8 spot among FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Teams.

Visit FanWide.com to find a Michigan Wolverines game watch party or fan club near you.

Teams were evaluated in 8 different categories (visit this blog post to see the methodology):

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Top 10 College Basketball Teams: #9 Arizona Wildcats

Coming in at number 9 in FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Rankings is the Arizona Wildcats. While the Wildcats have not won a national championship since 1997, they have had a lot recent success. Ever since Arizona hired Sean Miller as the head coach in 2009, the Wildcats have seen an uptick in tournament appearances and regular season wins. Not only has Miller been able to drastically improve Arizona’s winning percentage, he has also had a lot of success recruiting the top high school basketball players. Former top recruits and current NBA stars such as Deandre Ayton, Stanley Johnson, Lauri Markkanen, and Aaron Gordon have helped stabilize and improve an Arizona Basketball program on the rise. With a top-3 overall recruiting class (which includes top point guard Nico Mannion) for 2019, the Arizona Wildcats future looks very bright. Because of Arizona’s recent success and their massive fanbase, the Wildcats place 9th in FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Team Rankings.

Visit FanWide.com to find a Arizona Wildcats game watch party or fan club near you.

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Top 10 College Basketball Teams: #10 Wisconsin Badgers

FanWide’s #10 College Basketball team is the Wisconsin Badgers! Few programs can combine historical greatness and present success the same way Wisconsin can. Though the team has not won a National Championship since 1941, the Badgers are a consistent threat in the always-competitive Big Ten conference, year in and year out. Even more impressive, however, is the unwavering commitment of Badgers fans, who are always there to support their team. Top 10 finishes in the categories of fan clubs, recent tournament wins, attendance, and aggregate social media followers earned the Wisconsin Badgers the #10 spot among FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Teams.

Visit FanWide.com to find a Wisconsin Badgers game watch party or fan club near you.

Teams were evaluated in 8 different categories (visit this blog post to see the methodology):

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Introducing the Top 10 College Basketball Teams

More colleges participate in men’s basketball than any other sport. Because of this, with more than 1,000 men’s basketball teams currently competing in the NCAA, college basketball is one of the most competitive sports at any level. Still, among these 1,000+ teams lie a handful of programs that always seem to perform at a level above the rest. In college basketball, continued success is partially reliant on consistently landing talented high school players. As a result, team popularity and fan engagement are closely related to victories on the court. Nevertheless, there are always some teams which remain popular, no matter how well their season is going.  FanWide is using its own fan engagement data alongside traditional measures of success to quantify program popularity. Read below to get an inside look at how FanWide is cultivating a top ten list that uses its proprietary fan data to rank teams based on more than just production on the field.

Top 10 (Check back here periodically to see the updated list)

10. Wisconsin Badgers

9. Arizona Wildcats

8. Michigan Wolverines 

7. Villanova Wildcats

6. Syracuse Orange

5. Duke Blue Devils

4. Michigan State Spartans

Basketball, Sports Data, Sports Fan Data, Top 10

Top NBA Teams: #1 Golden State Warriors

And now…at the number one seed in FanWide’s Top Ten NBA Teams rankingthe Golden State Warriors!

Although a majority of this organization’s success has been focused on the past five years, there is a great amount of historical value to the Warriors franchise. A majority of current Warriors fans are younger NBA fans who are attracted to the extreme levels of success the team is having yet many are blind to the fact that many legends have once represented Golden State. Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Nate Thurmond, Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond, Tim Hardaway, Chris Webber, Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, David Lee, Jason Richardson, and Bernard King are only some of the names that have represented the Warriors. Currently, their roster is stacked out with Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Demarcus Cousins. It is hard to find an organization that has had as much talent as the Warriors throughout history. Let’s get into the nitty gritty on how the Golden State Warriors took home the crown in FanWide’s Top Ten NBA Teams ranking.

Visit FanWide.com to find a Golden State Warriors game watch party or fan club near you.

Basketball, Sports Data, Sports Fan Data, Top 10

Top NBA Teams: #2 San Antonio Spurs

When will their fire and power ever dissolve? Every year they manage to maintain their reputation of being one of the most threatening teams across the league. They are the San Antonio Spurs. It is easily agreed upon that the Spurs have built the steadiest and most successful NBA franchise over the past 20 years. Starting with David Robinson and Robert Horry, then transitioning to the Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili phase, then Kawhi Leonard, and now DeMar DeRozan, the talent never seems to end. The man behind the plan that has gifted the Spurs the immense amount of success they have had in the past 20 years is head coach Gregg Poppovich. With all of this, and more, the Spurs were able to land the #2 spot on FanWide’s Top Ten NBA Teams rankings. Let’s find out more about how the Spurs got second.

Visit FanWide.com to find a San Antonio Spurs game watch party or fan club near you.