The first round of the 2025 men's NCAA Tournament got underway Thursday, and the 68-team field has already started to whittle down. On April 7, there will be only one remaining as we crown another NCAA basketball champion.
Before we find out who will join that group, let's look back at the programs that have the longest history of being at the top.
Here are the men's college basketball teams with the most national championships.
The schools with the most NCAA men's basketball championships
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The Dons won consecutive national titles in 1955 and 1956, but they have only made the NCAA Tournament twice in the last 40 years.
Oklahoma State was actually Oklahoma A&M when it won its two titles in 1945 and 1946. The Cowboys have made the NCAA Tournament just once in the last eight seasons.
It's been 42 years since the Wolfpack won their last title with Jim Valvano, and they won't end that streak this season as they failed to make the NCAA Tournament. NC State moved on from its head coach Kevin Keatts after the regular season and has reportedly reached an agreement with Will Wade.
The Spartans won their last title in 2000 in coach Tom Izzo's fifth season at the helm. Izzo, now the Big Ten's all-time winningest coach, is still leading the team and has them as 2-seed this season, with a chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville won titles in 1980 and 1986 with head coach Denny Crum. The Cardinals added another championship in 2013, but it was vacated after a 2017 NCAA investigation found out that players were involved in a sex scandal. The Cardinals hadn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but they got back there in Pat Kelsey's first season as the head coach before losing to Creighton in the first round on Thursday.
The Gators won both their titles in back-to-back seasons (2006 and 2007). Current Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan led Florida, who had NBA talent in the form of twin towers Al Horford and Joakim Noah.
Like Florida, the Bearcats also won both their titles in back-to-back seasons. However, that happened more than 60 years ago, in 1961 and 1962. They haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
The Wildcats won two titles in a three-year span under coach Jay Wright. Current NBA teammates Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges are responsible for the last one in 2018, while Brunson and fellow New York Knicks player Josh Hart led Villanova in 2016. Villanova, which also won it all in 1985, has now missed the NCAA Tournament three seasons in a row.
The Jayhawks won two titles decades ago (1952, 1988) and have won two national championships under current head coach Bill Self (2008 and 2022). Self has guided Kansas to the Big Dance every year since being hired in 2003, except for 2020 when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. He hasn't had as much success winning games in the NCAA Tournament since the latest championship, though. The Jayhawks flamed out in the second round two years in a row before their first-round exit this year at the hands of John Calipari's Arkansas team.
The Hoosiers haven't claimed a national championship in 38 years, but they won three under head coach Bob Knight (1976, 1981, 1987). In 1976, they ran the table all the way to the finish line and remain the last men's basketball team with a perfect season. Indiana has only made the NCAA Tournament in two of the last nine seasons, and will be embarking on a new era after recently hiring Darian DeVries as its next head coach. The Hoosiers also took home titles in 1940 and 1953.
All five of Duke's national championships came under coach Mike Krzyzewski. He won consecutive titles in 1991 and 1992 with Christian Laettner, and also led his team to championships in 2001, 2010 and 2015. The Blue Devils are the favorites to bring home the trophy this season with coach Jon Scheyer, who took over for Krzyzewski in 2022.
The Tar Heels won half of their national championships (2005, 2009, 2017) under Roy Williams, who coached the team for 18 years before retiring in 2021. Two of their championships (1982, 1993) came under legendary coach Dean Smith. That 1982 team boasted a lineup that included Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins. Before that, UNC first won a title in 1957. The Tar Heels have traded up-and-down years since Williams stepped down. They eked into the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed this season and could be primed to make a run.
The Huskies have vaulted themselves into this position on this list because of their back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024. They had a slew of stars who now play in the NBA, from Jordan Hawkins to Stephon Castle to Donovan Clingan. UConn had three more titles in the 21st century: Cinderella runs as a 9-seed led by Kemba Walker (2011) and as a 7-seed with Shabazz Napier (2014), and another with the duo of Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor in 2004. Prior to that, the Huskies won the tournament in 1999.
In recent years, the Wildcats were known for their ability to lure one-and-done freshmen with NBA hopes thanks to former coach John Calipari. Calipari, though, only led Kentucky to one national title (2012), as did Tubby Smith (1998), Rick Pitino (1996) and Joe B. Hall (1978). Coach Adolph Rupp, for whom Kentucky's arena is named, won half of the program's championships (1948, 1949, 1951, 1958).
The Bruins have gone 30 years without a national championship, but they were the standard barrier in college basketball in the 1960s and 70s. They won seven consecutive titles between 1967 and 1973, led by greats such as Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton. Guard Gail Goodrich also helped bring two titles to UCLA in 1964 and 1965. Basketball icon John Wooden was the head coach for 10 of the Bruins' 11 title runs, which is the most of any basketball coach of all time.
The Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament altogether last season, but they bounced back and earned a 7-seed in 2025. While they easily handled Utah State in the first round, they have a challenge in the second round in a matchup with SEC Tournament runner-up Tennessee.
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