March 17, 2015
The University of Notre Dame boasts the most successful combined men’s and women’s basketball programs of any institution in the country – whether the teams are compared by combined Associated Press rankings, combined victories, combined winning percentage or NCAA graduation rates.
The numbers are based on the 21 programs that earned selection to both the men’s and women’s brackets in the upcoming NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.
Notre Dame ranks atop the standings in four combined categories:
- Associated Press poll rankings (based on March 16 poll): Notre Dame women are #2, men are #8.
- Victories: 60 (Notre Dame women have 31, men have 29). That ties the all-time Irish combined record from 2012-13 when the women finished 35-2 and the men ended up 25-10.
- Winning Percentage: .895, based on a combined 60-7 record for the two Notre Dame teams (women are 31-2, men are 29-5).
- Graduation Success Rate figures: Both the Notre Dame men’s and women’s programs featured perfect 100 figures in the combined four-year individual sport graduation rates released by the NCAA in October 2014.
There are only seven institutions that rank in both the Associated Press men’s and women’s basketball polls this week – and Notre Dame boasts the best combined rankings (four of the seven schools come from the Atlantic Coast Conference):
Associated Press Poll Rankings
School | Men’s Rank | Women’s Rank | Combined Ranks |
1. Notre Dame | 8 | 2 | 10 |
2. Kentucky | 1 | 11 | 12 |
3. Maryland | 12 | 4 | 16 |
4. Duke | 4 | 16 | 20 |
5. Baylor | 16 | 5 | 21 |
6. Louisville | 17 | 8 | 25 |
7. North Carolina | 15 | 15 | 30 |
Here’s how the 21 teams from both NCAA brackets rank in terms of combined wins, with Notre Dame at the top:
Victories
School | Men’s Wins | Women’s Wins | Combined Wins |
1. Notre Dame | 29 | 31 | 60 |
2. (tie) Kentucky | 34 | 23 | 57 |
2. (tie) Maryland | 27 | 30 | 57 |
2. (tie) Wichita State | 28 | 29 | 57 |
5. Gonzaga | 32 | 24 | 56 |
6. Baylor | 24 | 30 | 54 |
7. (tie) Duke | 29 | 21 | 50 |
7. (tie) Dayton | 25 | 25 | 50 |
9. Louisville | 24 | 25 | 49 |
10. (tie) N. Carolina | 24 | 24 | 48 |
10. (tie) BYU | 25 | 23 | 48 |
12. Boise State | 25 | 22 | 47 |
13. Ohio State | 23 | 23 | 46 |
14. (tie) Iowa | 21 | 24 | 45 |
14. (tie) N. Mexico State | 23 | 22 | 45 |
16. (tie) Arkansas | 26 | 17 | 43 |
16. (tie) Iowa State | 25 | 18 | 43 |
18. (tie) Oklahoma | 22 | 20 | 42 |
18. (tie) Texas | 20 | 22 | 42 |
20. LSU | 22 | 17 | 39 |
21. Oklahoma State | 18 | 20 | 38 |
Here’s how the 21 teams from both NCAA brackets rank in terms of combined winning percentage, with Notre Dame again at the top:
Winning Percentage
School | Men’s Record | Women’s Record | Combined Win % | |
1. Notre Dame | 29-5 | 31-2 | .895 (60-7) | |
2. (tie) Maryland | 27-6 | 30-2 | .876 (57-8) | |
2. (tie) Wichita State | 28-4 | 29-4 | .876 (57-8) | |
4. Kentucky | 34-0 | 23-9 | .863 (57-9) | |
5. Gonzaga | 32-2 | 24-7 | .861 (56-9) | |
6. Baylor | 24-9 | 30-3 | .818 (54-12) | |
7. (tie) Duke | 29-4 | 21-10 | .781 (50-14) | |
7. (tie) Dayton | 25-8 | 25-6 | .781 (50-14) | |
9. Louisville | 24-8 | 25-6 | .777 (49-14) | |
10. BYU | 25-9 | 23-9 | .727 (48-18) | |
11. New Mexico State | 23-10 | 22-7 | .725 (45-17) | |
12. Boise State | 25-8 | 22-10 | .723 (47-18) | |
13. North Carolina | 24-11 | 24-8 | .716 (48-19) | |
14. Iowa | 21-11 | 24-7 | .714 (45-18) | |
15. Ohio State | 23-10 | 23-10 | .696 (46-20) | |
16. Iowa State | 25-8 | 18-12 | .682 (43-20) | |
17. Arkansas | 26-8 | 17-13 | .671 (43-21) | |
18. Oklahoma | 22-10 | 20-11 | .667 (42-21) | |
19. Texas | 20-13 | 22-10 | .646 (42-23) | |
20. LSU | 22-10 | 17-13 | .629 (39-23) | |
21. Oklahoma State | 18-13 | 20-11 | .612 (38-24) |
Here’s how the 21 teams from both NCAA brackets rank in terms of combined GSR, with Notre Dame again at the top:
Graduation Success Rate
School | Men’s GSR | Women’s GSR | Combined GSR |
1. (tie) Notre Dame | 100 | 100 | 200 |
1. (tie) Duke | 100 | 100 | 200 |
1. (tie) Dayton | 100 | 100 | 200 |
4. (tie) Iowa | 100 | 92 | 192 |
4. (tie) Maryland | 100 | 92 | 192 |
6. Texas | 100 | 90 | 190 |
7. Kentucky | 89 | 100 | 189 |
8. Gonzaga | 91 | 92 | 183 |
9. Oklahoma | 77 | 100 | 177 |
10. Baylor | 92 | 80 | 172 |
11. BYU | 82 | 86 | 168 |
12. Iowa State | 64 | 100 | 164 |
13. (tie) N.Carolina | 88 | 69 | 157 |
13. (tie) Wichita State | 64 | 93 | 157 |
15. Boise State | 69 | 79 | 148 |
16. Louisville | 58 | 89 | 147 |
17. Ohio State | 53 | 92 | 145 |
18. LSU | 50 | 92 | 142 |
19. Arkansas | 55 | 75 | 130 |
20. Oklahoma State | 22 | 63 | 85 |
21. New Mexico St. | 13 | 63 | 76 |
The 2014 GSR numbers cover grant-in-aid student-athletes who enrolled between 2004 and 2007 at all Division I institutions.
The Notre Dame men’s basketball team already has established a modern record for victories in a season with 29 to date. The previous high was a 27-7 mark in 2010-11. (The all-time record came in the 1908-09 season at 33-7.)
The Irish women’s team now has won at least 30 games in five straight seasons – including 31-8 in 2010-11, 35-4 in 2011-12, 35-2 in 2012-13 and 37-1 in 2013-14.
Both the Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams won their respective 2015 ACC Tournament titles in Greensboro. That marks the 13th time in ACC history that the same institution claimed both basketball championships in the same year – and the first time since 2011 when Duke did it. The only four ACC schools to accomplish that feat are Notre Dame, Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
The Notre Dame women’s team won both the ACC regular-season title and the ACC Tournament crown in both 2014 and 2015.
In terms of NCAA seeding, the Irish women in 2015 received a #1 seed, while the men earned a #3 seed. That’s the best combined seeding at Notre Dame since 2011 when the women were #2 and the men were #2.