We have now seen 37 “modern” NCAA tournaments played to completion. All but the first one in 1985 used a shot clock. All but the first two, in 1985 and 1986, featured a three-point line.
The expansion of the tournament to 64 teams in the 1980s also did away with byes, giving us a true measuring stick when teams accumulate tournament victories over the years. Yes, the NCAA muddied that up a bit by expanding past 64 teams starting in 2001, but we can adjust with a well-placed asterisk here and there.
Here are the teams with the most tournament victories since the field expanded in 1985 right through to Kansas winning the 2022 title.
NCAA tournament wins, 1985-2022
Wins
1. Duke 101
2. North Carolina 96
3. Kansas 92 (Congratulations!)
4. Kentucky 83
5. Michigan State 60
6. Syracuse 57* 2018
7. Arizona 56
8. UConn 55
9. UCLA 53* 2021
10. Michigan 51* 2016
11. Louisville 49
12. Florida 48
13. Villanova 47
14. Gonzaga 41
15. Oklahoma 37
16. Arkansas 36
Wisconsin 36
18. Indiana 36* 2022
19. Ohio State 35
Purdue 35
* Round of 68 winsNote the gap between Kentucky and Michigan State. That top four’s been in a league of its own historically speaking.
If we break down these results by conference, we see that the league with the top two winningest schools fares quite well even when we adjust for how many teams you have.
(Based on current memberships.)
1. ACC
Wins per team-season: 1.15
Total wins: 476
Wins
1. Duke 101
2. North Carolina 96
3. Syracuse 57* 2018
4. Louisville 49
5. Virginia 24
6. Georgia Tech 22
7. Pitt 19
8. NC State 19* 2014
Notre Dame 19* 2022
10. Florida State 18
11. Wake Forest 16
12. Boston College 13
13. Miami 11
14. Clemson 8* 2011
15. Virginia Tech 4
* Round of 68 winsGeorgia Tech did some very good work in the first two decades of the tournament’s modern era, and that legacy still has the Yellow Jackets in the ACC’s top historical half with room to spare.
2. Big Ten
Wins per team-season: 0.81
Total wins: 352
Wins
1. Michigan State 60
2. Michigan 51* 2016
3. Wisconsin 36
4. Indiana 36* 2022
5. Ohio State 35
Purdue 35
7. Maryland 34
8. Illinois 30
9. Iowa 18
10. Minnesota 12
11. Penn State 3
12. Northwestern 1
Rutgers 1
14. Nebraska
* Round of 68 winsThis league may not win national titles anymore, but it does or did accumulate wins historically speaking. Particularly member institutions from Michigan.
3. Big 12
Wins per team-season: 0.71
Total wins: 275
Wins
1. Kansas 92
2. Oklahoma 37
3. Texas 30
4. Oklahoma State 24
5. West Virginia 22
6. Iowa State 20
7. Baylor 18
8. Texas Tech 16
9. Kansas State 14* 2017
10. TCU 2
* Round of 68 winPay no mind to that number for total wins. The Big 12 has often been tiny in size, but the figure for victories per team-season shows that a rotating cast of “Kansas and one or two other teams” has consistently delivered results in March.
4. SEC
Wins per team-season: 0.65
Total wins: 301
Wins
1. Kentucky 83
2. Florida 48
3. Arkansas 36
4. Alabama 21
5. LSU 19
6. Auburn 18
7. Tennessee 18* 2014
8. Missouri 16
9. Mississippi State 10
Texas A&M 10
11. Vanderbilt 9
12. Ole Miss 5* 2015
13. Georgia 4
South Carolina 4
* Round of 68 winsThe great Arkansas teams of the 1990s and the back-to-back Florida champions of the aughts at least give Kentucky some semblance of company if the Wildcats squint.
5. Big East
Wins per team-season: 0.57
Total wins: 258
Wins
1. UConn 55
2. Villanova 47
3. Georgetown 33
4. Xavier 28
5. Butler 22
6. Marquette 16
Seton Hall 16
8. St. John's 15
9. Providence 10
10. Creighton 9
11. DePaul 7Bringing UConn back was a really wise move by the Big East purely in terms of what this table would look like. Maybe consider bringing Syracuse back too.
6. Pac-12
Wins per team-season: 0.55
Total wins: 219
Wins
1. Arizona 56
2. UCLA 53* 2021
3. Utah 22
4. Oregon 21
5. Stanford 20
6. USC 12* 2017
7. Washington 11
8. Cal 9
9. Arizona State 6* 2019
10. Colorado 3
Oregon State 3
Washington State 3
* Round of 68 winsThis league may not win national titles anymore, but it does or did accumulate wins historically speaking. Particularly Arizona and UCLA.
So much for conferences. A total of 210 teams have won at least one tournament game in the modern era. We’ve already named 75 of them. Here are the other 135….
The Zags and a host of other winners
Total wins: 504
Wins
1. Gonzaga 41
2. Memphis 28
3. Cincinnati 26
4. Temple 24
UNLV 24
6. Wichita State 12* 2016
7. UMass 11
Tulsa 11
9. Houston 10
10. VCU 10* 2011
11. Western Kentucky 9* 2012
12. Loyola Chicago 8
Rhode Island 8
Saint Joseph's 8
15. Richmond 7
16. BYU 7* 2012
Dayton 7* 2015
18. Nevada 6
New Mexico 6
San Diego State 6
UAB 6
22. George Mason 5
Murray State 5
Northern Iowa 5
Saint Louis 5
Southern Illinois 5
UTEP 5
28. Saint Mary's 5* 2013
29. Charlotte 4
George Washington 4
Kent State 4
Loyola Marymount 4
Navy 4
New Mexico State 4
Ohio 4
36. La Salle 4* 2013
Siena 4** 2002
38. Ball State 3
Bradley 3
Cleveland State 3
Davidson 3
Eastern Michigan 3
Louisiana Tech 3
Miami OH 3
Middle Tennessee 3
Milwaukee 3
Missouri State 3
Old Dominion 3
Saint Peter's 3 (Strut up!)
Tulane 3
Wyoming 3
52. Florida Gulf Coast 3* 2016
53. Texas Southern 3* 2018, 2021, 2022
54. Bucknell 2
Buffalo 2
Chattanooga 2
Colorado State 2
Cornell 2
Detroit 2
Georgia State 2
Harvard 2
Illinois State 2
Little Rock 2
Manhattan 2
Oral Roberts 2
Pacific 2
Princeton 2
Santa Clara 2
SMU 2
Stephen F. Austin 2
Valparaiso 2
Weber State 2
73. Hampton 2* 2015
Morehead State 2** 2009
Norfolk State 2* 2021
North Dakota State 2* 2019
Northwestern State 2** 2001
Vermont 2* 2012
79. Mount St. Mary's 2* 2017 ** 2008
UNC Asheville 2* 2011 ** 2003
81. Abilene Christian 1
Austin Peay 1
Central Michigan 1
Charleston 1
Coppin State 1
Drexel 1
East Tennessee State 1
Evansville 1
Fresno State 1
Green Bay 1
Hawai'i 1
Indiana State 1
Lehigh 1
Liberty 1
Marshall 1
Mercer 1
Montana 1
New Orleans 1
North Texas 1
Northwestern 1
Pepperdine 1
Penn 1
San Diego 1
South Alabama 1
Southern 1
Southwestern La. 1
UCF 1
UC Irvine 1
UC Santa Barbara 1
UMBC 1
UNC Wilmington 1
Utah State 1
Western Michigan 1
Winthrop 1
Wofford 1
Yale 1
117. Albany 1* 2014
Arkansas Pine Bluff 1** 2010
Belmont 1* 2019
Cal Poly 1* 2014
Drake 1* 2021
Fairleigh Dickinson 1* 2019
Florida A&M 1** 2004
Holy Cross 1* 2016
James Madison 1* 2013
Monmouth 1** 2006
Niagara 1** 2007
North Carolina A&T 1* 2013
Oakland 1** 2005
Radford 1* 2018
Robert Morris 1* 2015
St. Bonaventure 1* 2018
UC Davis 1* 2017
UTSA 1* 2011
Wright State 1* 2022
* Round of 68 wins
** Round of 65 winsWhat’s even more remarkable than Gonzaga’s win total is that the Bulldogs have accumulated that haul over just the past 22 tournaments. The Zags were winless in NCAA tournament history — modern or pre-modern — up until March 11, 1999.
John Gasaway 