List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders

In basketball, points are the sum of the score accumulated through free throw or field goal.[1] In National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball, where a player's career is at most four seasons, it is considered a notable achievement to reach the 1,000-points scored threshold. In even rarer instances, players have reached the 2,000- and 3,000-point plateaus (no player has ever scored 4,000 or more points at the Division I level). The top 25 highest scorers in NCAA Division I men's basketball history are listed below. The NCAA was not organized into its current divisional format until August 1973.[2] From 1906 to 1955, there were no classifications to the NCAA nor its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS).[2] Then, from 1956 to spring 1973, colleges were classified as either "NCAA University Division (Major College)" or "NCAA College Division (Small College)".[2][3]

Pete Maravich, who averaged 44.2 points per game over three seasons for LSU, holds the NCAA Division I scoring record with 3,667 points

Numerous players among the top 25 scorers in Division I history played in the era before the three-point line was officially adopted in 1986–87. All of the players with a dash through the three-point field goals column were affected by this rule. Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount is the only three-point shot era player on this list who did not make a single three-point shot. In the 1986–87 season, the three-point arc was made mandatory in men's basketball, marked at 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) from the center of the basket;[4] at the same time, the three-point arc became an experimental rule in NCAA women's basketball, using the men's distance.[5] In the following season, the men's three-point line became mandatory in women's basketball, and from that point through the 2007–08 season, the three-point lines remained at 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m).[4][5] On May 3, 2007, the NCAA men's basketball rules committee passed a measure to extend the distance of the men's three-point line back to 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m);[4] the women's line remained at the original distance until it was moved to match the men's distance effective in 2011–12.[5]

Additionally, several of the players on this list played during an era when college freshmen were ineligible to compete at the varsity level and competed on either freshman or junior varsity teams. As freshman and junior varsity statistics do not count toward official NCAA records, three players—Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson and Elvin Hayes—only had three seasons to compile their totals. Larry Bird redshirted (sat out) his freshman year, and therefore, like Maravich, Robertson, and Hayes, his totals were also achieved in only three seasons. With the advantage of the three-point option and an extra year of varsity eligibility, their already-historical statistics would have been much higher. Maravich, a guard from LSU, not only owns the three highest single season averages in Division I history, but also the highest career total. Remarkably, he scored 3,667 points (over 400 more than the next closest player) in a mere 83 games. His record is considered nearly unbreakable.

Four players on this list are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Pete Maravich,[6] Oscar Robertson,[7] Elvin Hayes,[8] and Larry Bird.[9]

Key

Top 25 career scoring leaders
Chris Clemons, third all-time in points, finished his collegiate career in March 2019.
Elvin Hayes finished with 2,884 points.
J. J. Redick is also third all-time in three-point field goals made (457).
Player Pos. Team Career
start		 Career
end		 Games
played		 Field goals
made		 3-point
field
goals made		 Free
throws made		 Points PPG Ref.
Pete Maravich* G LSU 1967 1970 83 1,387
—
 893 3,667 44.2 [10]
Freeman Williams F/G Portland State 1974 1978 106 1,369
—
 511 3,249 30.7 [11]
Chris Clemons G Campbell 2015 2019 130 1,024 444 733 3,225 24.8 [12]
Lionel Simmons F La Salle 1986 1990 131 1,244 56 673 3,217 24.6 [13]
Alphonso Ford G Mississippi Valley State 1989 1993 109 1,121 333 590 3,165 29.0 [14]
Doug McDermott F Creighton 2010 2014 145 1,141 274 594 3,150 21.7 [15]
Mike Daum F South Dakota State 2015 2019 137 1,005 271 786 3,067 22.4 [16]
Harry Kelly F Texas Southern 1979 1983 110 1,234
—
 598 3,066 27.9 [17]
Keydren Clark G Saint Peter's 2002 2006 118 967 435 689 3,058 25.9 [18]
Hersey Hawkins G Bradley 1984 1988 125 1,100 118 690 3,008 25.5 [19]
Oscar Robertson* G Cincinnati 1957 1960 88 1,052
—
 869 2,973 33.8 [20]
Danny Manning F Kansas 1984 1988 147 1,216 10 509 2,951 20.1 [21]
Alfredrick Hughes G Loyola (IL) 1981 1985 120 1,226
—
 462 2,914 24.3 [22]
Elvin Hayes* C/F Houston 1965 1968 93 1,215
—
 454 2,884 31.0 [23]
Tyler Hansbrough F North Carolina 2005 2009 142 939 12 982 2,872 20.2 [24]
Larry Bird* F Indiana State 1976 1979 94 1,154
—
 542 2,850 30.3 [25]
Otis Birdsong G Houston (2) 1973 1977 116 1,176
—
 480 2,832 24.4 [26]
Kevin Bradshaw G Bethune-Cookman /
U.S. International		 1987 1991 111 1,027 132 618 2,804 25.3 [3]
Allan Houston G/F Tennessee 1989 1993 128 902 346 651 2,801 21.9 [27]
J. J. Redick G Duke 2002 2006 139 825 457 662 2,769 19.9 [28]
Markus Howard G Marquette 2016 2020 128 864 434 599 2,761 21.6 [29]
Hank Gathers F/C Southern California /
Loyola Marymount		 1985 1990 117 1,127 0 469 2,723 23.3 [30]
Tyler Haws G BYU 2009 2015[n 1] 139 917 162 724 2,720 19.6 [31]
Reggie Lewis F Northeastern 1983 1987 122 1,043 30 592 2,709 22.2 [32]
Daren Queenan G/F Lehigh 1984 1988 118 1,024 29 626 2,703 22.9 [33]

All-time conference scoring leaders

The following list contains current and defunct Division I conferences' all-time scoring leaders. The "conference founded" column indicates when each respective conference first began intercollegiate athletic competition, not necessarily when they began basketball. For example, the Great West Conference was established as a football-only conference in 2004 but became an all-sports conference in 2008 (with basketball actually beginning in 2009–10).[34] Also note that some of the schools on this list are no longer in the conference in which they are identified. Utah, for instance, is currently a member of the Pac-12 Conference, but when Keith Van Horn set the scoring record they were still a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Similarly, BYU is currently in the West Coast Conference, but their final four seasons in the Mountain West Conference were the years in which Jimmer Fredette played at the school and set that conference's scoring record.

No player scored more Patriot League points than CJ McCollum (2,361).
Tyler Hansbrough amassed an ACC-record 2,872 points at North Carolina.
Bo McCalebb netted a Sun Belt record 2,679 points at New Orleans.
Bill Bradley, the Ivy League's all-time leading scorer, is also in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Conference Conference
founded		 Conference
disbanded		 Player School Career
start		 Career
end		 Points Ref.
America East 1979 — Reggie Lewis Northeastern 1983 1987 2,709 [35]
American Athletic 2013[n 2] — Quinton Rose Temple 2016 2020 1,860 [38][39]
American South 1987 1991 Kevin Brooks Southwestern Louisiana 1987 1991 2,294
Atlantic 10 1976 — Mark Macon Temple 1987 1991 2,609 [40]
ACC 1953 — Tyler Hansbrough North Carolina 2005 2009 2,872 [41]
Atlantic Sun 1978 — Willie Jackson Centenary 1980 1984 2,535 [42]
Big 12 1996 — Buddy Hield Oklahoma 2012 2016 2,291 [43]
Big East 1979[n 2] — Markus Howard[n 3] Marquette 2016 2020 2,761 [29]
Big Eight 1907 1996 Danny Manning Kansas 1984 1988 2,951 [45]
Big Sky 1963 — Tyler Hall Montana State 2015 2019 2,518 [46]
Big South 1983 — Chris Clemons Campbell 2015 2019 3,225 [12][47]
Big Ten 1896 — Calbert Cheaney Indiana 1989 1993 2,613 [48]
Big West 1969 — Lucious Harris Long Beach State 1989 1993 2,312 [49]
CAA 1982 — David Robinson* Navy 1983 1987 2,669 [50]
Conference USA 1995 — Jon Elmore Marshall 2015 2019 2,636 [51]
East Coast 1958 1994 Daren Queenan Lehigh 1984 1988 2,703
Great Midwest 1990 1995 Erwin Claggett Saint Louis 1991 1995 1,910 [52]
Great West 2004 2013 Chris Flores NJIT 2009 2013 1,726
Horizon 1979 — Alfredrick Hughes Loyola (IL) 1981 1985 2,914 [53]
Ivy 1901[n 4] — Bill Bradley* Princeton 1962 1965 2,503 [54]
MAAC 1980 — Lionel Simmons La Salle 1986 1990 3,217 [55]
Metro 1975 1995 Bimbo Coles Virginia Tech 1986 1990 2,484 [56]
MAC 1946 — Bonzi Wells Ball State 1994 1998 2,485 [57]
MEAC 1970 — Tom Davis Delaware State 1987 1991 2,275 [58]
Missouri Valley 1907 — Hersey Hawkins Bradley 1984 1988 3,008 [59]
Mountain West 1999 — Jimmer Fredette BYU 2007 2011 2,599 [60]
NEC 1981 — Terrance Bailey Wagner 1983 1987 2,591 [61]
OVC 1948 — Henry Domercant Eastern Illinois 1999 2003 2,602 [62]
Pac-12 1959 — Don MacLean UCLA 1988 1992 2,608 [63]
Pacific Coast[n 5] 1915 1959 Bob Houbregs* Washington 1950 1953 1,774 [63]
Patriot 1986 — CJ McCollum Lehigh 2009 2013 2,361 [64]
SEC 1933 — Pete Maravich* LSU 1967 1970 3,667 [65]
Southern 1921 — Stephen Curry Davidson 2006 2009 2,635 [66]
Southland 1963 — Joe Dumars*[n 6] McNeese State 1981 1985 2,607 [68]
Summit 1982 — Mike Daum South Dakota State 2015 2019 3,067 [69]
Sun Belt 1976 — Bo McCalebb New Orleans 2003 2008 2,679 [70]
SWC 1914 1996 Terrence Rencher Texas 1991 1995 2,306 [71]
SWAC 1920 — Alphonso Ford Mississippi Valley State 1989 1993 3,165
West Coast 1952 — Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount 1987 1990 2,490[n 7] [72]
WAC 1962 — Keith Van Horn Utah 1993 1997 2,542 [73]

Footnotes
  1. After playing as a freshman in 2009–10, Haws spent two years on a Mormon mission and did not play his sophomore season until 2012–13.
  2. The original Big East Conference, founded in 1979 with basketball competition starting at that time, split along football lines in July 2013. The seven schools that did not sponsor Division I FBS football reorganized as a new Big East Conference, while the FBS football schools that had not left for other conferences, plus several new members, began operating as the American Athletic Conference. The American now considers its basketball history to have begun with the 2013 split,[36] while the current Big East maintains the basketball history of the original Big East.[37]
  3. The Big East Conference also recognizes Howard as its all-time conference scoring leader, using the criterion of points scored in regular-season conference games only. He scored 1,587 points in games that counted toward the record.[44]
  4. Although the Ivy League was not formally founded until 1954 and did not play its first basketball season until 1955–56, it considers its men's basketball league to be a continuation of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League, founded in 1901.
  5. Although the Pac-12 Conference claims the history of the Pacific Coast Conference, the PCC operated under a completely separate charter.
  6. The Southland Conference recognizes Dwight "Bo" Lamar, who played at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana) between 1968 and 1972, as their all-time conference scoring leader, using the criterion of points scored against conference opponents only.[67] He scored 1,054 points in conference games.[67] Additionally, Southwestern Louisiana did not join the Southland Conference until 1971, so all of Lamar's points prior to then do not count toward Southland Conference scoring. Joe Dumars, who is technically second on the list with 819 points, actually scored more career points than Lamar since McNeese State was a member of the Southland Conference for the duration of Dumars' career. The above conference scoring leaders list uses overall career totals, not conference-career totals, as its criterion.
  7. Hank Gathers' scoring total in this table includes only games played for WCC member Loyola Marymount; he played his freshman season of 1985–86 at USC in what was then known as the Pacific-10 Conference. He transferred from USC after that season; after sitting out the 1986–87 season due to NCAA transfer rules, he played at Loyola Marymount until his death during his senior season in 1990.

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