The College Basketball Programs that Are Winning Social Right Now.

From the court to the web, college basketball bleeds competition, and in March that competition hits a fever pitch. By the end of the month we’ll have clear winners and losers between the baselines, but naming a winner on social media isn’t quite as clear. Programs have different priorities and a win for one team might look more like a loss for another. However, there are some generally agreed upon metrics that mean success on social. Engagement rate being one of them.

Engagement rate works well as a comparative metric because it evens the playing field. Just like in the big dance, a mid-major has a chance to upset a perennial blue-blood. Your follower count is irrelevant here. Create engaging content and you can win.

So who’s winning social right now in the college basketball world? Here are the Top 10 programs for the month of February, based on engagement rate across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. (NOTE: Teams who did not have a basketball specific account on any one of the three networks were disqualified. North Carolina for example. The Tar Heels do not have a basketball specific Facebook page.)

1. Duke — 993k followers, 7.1% Engagement — #17 AP Poll

Duke’s claim to the most engaged social community in the month of February is perhaps most impressive due its high follower count. It’s tough to keep a big following consistently interested, but the Blue Devils do exactly that by publishing more content than any program except Kentucky.

2. Indiana — 407k followers, 6.26% Engagement — #12 AP Poll

The Hoosiers are clearly committed to using social to revitalize a brand which had grown stale in the last 10 years. Indiana claims the most engaged Facebook community on the list and only Duke, Kentucky and Houston posted more Instagrams than Indiana.

3. Purdue —80k followers, 5.83% Engagement- #15 AP Poll

Purdue boasts the highest engagement numbers by a non-blue blood basketball program. The Boilermaker’s major focus seems to be Twitter where they put out the majority of their content. (639 tweets in February) Of the teams on this list, Purdue owns the fastest growing Instagram account. (1.1% in February.)

4. Villanova —87k followers, 5.52% Engagement- #3 AP Poll

A small but mighty group of 13k, Villanova’s Twitter following is the most engaged on this list. The Wildcats are also consistent in their efforts across the social spectrum which puts them in the top 5 most engaged teams.

5. Houston — 16.5k followers, 5.41% Engagement- UNRANKED AP Poll

What Houston lacks in followers, they make up for with posts. The first unranked team in the top 10, the Cougars rank 2nd and 4th respectively in post quantity on Instagram and Facebook. Houston’s Instagram content sees a higher engagement rate than any team in the country.

6. Arizona —135k followers, 4.94% Engagement- #18 AP Poll

Consistency is the name of the game for Arizona. While not standout performers on any single network, they rank in the top 15 across the board which is a rarity. The Wildcats are unique in their handle selection of “@APlayersProgram” instead of the typical “mbb” or “hoops.”

7. Maryland — 104k followers, 4.94% Engagement — #14 AP Poll

Maryland stands out in this list as perhaps the least consistent of the bunch. The Terrapins boast high engagement on Facebook and Instagram, but don’t crack the top 25 on Twitter. Not surprisingly, Maryland only tweets 8.5 times per day, which is well below the national average of 11.

8. Georgia — 34k followers, 4.80% Engagement- UNRANKED AP Poll

The second unranked team on the poll, proving the point that social media success isn’t ALL about winning. Georgia’s strongest performance in February was on Twitter, but consistent engagement on Facebook and Instagram put them in the top 10.

9. Oregon State — 34k followers, 4.67% Engagement- UNRANKED AP Poll

The third unranked team, the Beavers are another program that can boast consistency across networks. Oregon State has success with content like this, which connects the team with their fans regardless of wins and losses.

#10 Kentucky- 852k followers, 4.66% Engagement- #22 AP Poll

The second most followed team on the list, the Kentucky Wildcats round out the top 10. Kentucky posts 9 times a day to Facebook, FAR more frequently than the national average of 1.9.

Honorable Mention — Oklahoma —163k followers, 4.11% Engagement

Rounding out the top 10, Oklahoma’s strong commitment to design and photography keeps the Sooners soaring. OU boasts the fastest growing Facebook page in the country.

The college basketball season is just heating up, but just like on the court, social media performance in February sets the tone for March. It will be interesting to see how this list evolves as the month goes on and more and more attention shifts to the hardwood.