A picture of Northwestern used to go here.
This was a big year for previously unsuccessful NCAA tournament teams. Northwestern and South Carolina both won tournament games, marking 2017 as the ultimate in upward programmatic mobility.
The list of major-conference programs that have not won a game this century is now down to just four members: Nebraska, Oregon State, Rutgers, and TCU. That being said, we’ll give the Horned Frogs an asterisk on this one. Unlike the Cornhuskers, Beavers, and Scarlet Knights, the fightin’ toads weren’t members of a “power” conference for the entire time period in question.
Every national championship this century has been won by a team at No. 17 or higher on this list. The majority of Division I — 199 teams — is yet to win an NCAA tournament game this century.
NCAA tournament wins since 2000
1. North Carolina 47 2. Kansas 45 3. Duke 43 4. Michigan State 41 5. Kentucky 40 6. Florida 36 7. Connecticut 33 8. Wisconsin 33 9. Arizona 30 10. Louisville 28 11. Syracuse 28 12. UCLA 27 13. Gonzaga 25 14. Villanova 21 15. Butler 21 16. Xavier 21 17. Maryland 20 18. Ohio State 20 19. Oklahoma 19 20. Texas 19 21. Illinois 17 22. Oregon 17 23. Memphis 16 24. Pitt 16 25. West Virginia 16 26. Indiana 14 27. Purdue 14 28. Marquette 13 29. Notre Dame 13 30. Michigan 13 Includes 2016 round of 68 31. Tennessee 13 Includes 2014 round of 68 32. Wichita State 12 Includes 2016 round of 68 33. Cincinnati 11 34. Georgetown 11 35. Iowa State 11 36. Oklahoma State 11 37. Stanford 11 38. Baylor 10 39. NC State 10 Includes 2014 round of 68 40. Missouri 9 41. VCU 9 Includes 2011 round of 68 42. Texas A&M 8 43. Virginia 8 44. Washington 8 45. USC 8 Includes 2017 round of 68 46. Georgia Tech 7 47. LSU 7 48. Miami 7 49. Utah 7 50. Kansas State 7 Includes 2017 round of 68 51. Boston College 6 52. San Diego State 6 53. Temple 6 54. Wake Forest 6 55. Dayton 6 Includes 2015 round of 68 56. Alabama 5 55. George Mason 5 56. Saint Joseph's 5 57. Southern Illinois 5 58. Tulsa 5 59. Vanderbilt 5 60. Cal 4 61. Creighton 4 62. Florida State 4 63. Kent State 4 64. Mississippi State 4 65. Nevada 4 66. Northern Iowa 4 67. South Carolina 4 68. UAB 4 69. BYU 4 Includes 2012 round of 68 70. Ole Miss 4 Includes 2015 round of 68 71. Saint Mary's 4 Includes 2013 round of 68 72. Western Kentucky 4 Includes 2012 round of 68 73. Arkansas 3 74. Auburn 3 75. Davidson 3 76. Iowa 3 77. Milwaukee 3 78. Ohio 3 79. Saint Louis 3 80. Seton Hall 3 81. Texas Tech 3 82. UNLV 3 83. Washington State 3 84. Florida Gulf Coast 3 Includes 2016 round of 68 85. La Salle 3 Includes 2013 round of 68 86. Siena 3 Includes 2002 round of 65 87. Arizona State 2 88. Bradley 2 89. Bucknell 2 90. Cornell 2 91. Georgia State 2 92. Harvard 2 93. Middle Tennessee 2 94. Murray State 2 95. New Mexico 2 96. Pacific 2 97. Penn State 2 98. Richmond 2 99. Stephen F. Austin 2 100. Hampton 2 Includes 2015 round of 68 101. Morehead State 2 Includes 2009 round of 65 102. Northwestern State 2 Includes 2001 round of 65 103. South Florida 2 Includes 2012 round of 68 104. Vermont 2 Includes 2012 round of 68 105. Mount St. Mary's 2 2008 & 2017 rounds of 65 & 68 106. UNC Asheville 2 2003 & 2011 rounds of 65 & 68 107. Central Michigan 1 108. Charlotte 1 109. Cleveland State 1 110. Colorado 1 111. Colorado State 1 112. DePaul 1 113. Fresno State 1 114. George Washington 1 115. Georgia 1 116. Hawaii 1 117. Indiana State 1 118. Lehigh 1 119. Little Rock 1 120. Manhattan 1 121. Mercer 1 122. Minnesota 1 123. Montana 1 124. Norfolk State 1 125. North Dakota State 1 126. Northwestern 1 127. Old Dominion 1 128. Pepperdine 1 129. Providence 1 130. Rhode Island 1 131. San Diego 1 132. St. John's 1 133. UNC Wilmington 1 134. Utah State 1 135. Virginia Tech 1 136. Winthrop 1 137. Wyoming 1 138. Yale 1 139. Albany 1 2014 round of 68 140. Cal Poly 1 2014 round of 68 141. Clemson 1 2011 round of 68 142. Florida A&M 1 2004 round of 65 143. Holy Cross 1 2016 round of 68 144. James Madison 1 2013 round of 68 145. Monmouth 1 2006 round of 65 146. Niagara 1 2007 round of 65 147. North Carolina A&T 1 2013 round of 68 148. Oakland 1 2005 round of 65 149. Robert Morris 1 2015 round of 68 150. UA Pine Bluff 1 2010 round of 65 151. UC Davis 1 2017 round of 68 152. UTSA 1 2011 round of 68
Big salute to UC-Davis for making the list this year. Bragging rights in the hoops version of the Causeway Classic are now yours.
