On Monday, UConn won its sixth NCAA title after claiming victory over San Diego State with a score of 76-59. It was the first national championship for the Huskies since 2014, and it was their sixth overall since 1999. It is possible that they have established themselves as the most successful program in the previous 25 years. Each of the four national titles won by the Huskies had a player who would go on to have a career in the NBA. In 1999, Richard Hamilton was their most notable player, while in 2004, Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon were the team captains. Kemba Walker won it for Connecticut in 2011, and then Shabazz Napier contributed to the Huskies’ victory three years later. Yet, despite the fact that the Huskies have won the most NCAA titles over the course of the past 25 years, they are not the institution that has won the most national championships overall. These are the five institutions that have won the most national championships overall.
First place goes to UCLA, which has won 11 NCAA titles.
With 11 national championships to its name, UCLA is the undisputed leader in this category. The illustrious head coach John Wooden, who is widely regarded as the best coach in the annals of collegiate basketball, was responsible for 10 of those championships. The years 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1995 were all years in which Wooden led UCLA to the title.
In 1995, Jim Harrick was the head coach of the Bruins as they won their 11th national championship. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, and Gail Goodrich were just a few of the future Hall of Famers who played for John Wooden at UCLA. On the other side, Ed O’Bannon was UCLA’s greatest player back in 1995 when the Bruins were competing.
Kentucky, with its eight NCAA titles, is ranked second.
With eight, the state of Kentucky has won the second-most national titles overall. In contrast to UCLA, the Wildcats did not spend a significant amount of time atop the rankings. They won their first three titles between the years 1948 and 1951, and then they earned their fourth title in 1958.
Twenty years later, the Wildcats were finally able to claim their fifth national championship. They won two more towards the middle of the 1990s, and then won their eighth overall in 2012. Even though Kentucky may not have the most NCAA titles, they have generated the most players who have gone on to play in the NBA.
Third place: North Carolina, has six NCAA titles to its name.
Michael Jordan will ensure that the University of North Carolina is famous for being his alma mater. In 1982, with Jordan’s assistance, the University of North Carolina won its second national championship. Since Michael Jordan graduated from North Carolina in 1984, the Tar Heels have won four more championships, bringing their total to six.
The University of North Carolina is also deserving of consideration as one of the most successful academic programs of the past two decades. Throughout that time period, they have won three titles in 2005, 2009, and 2017. They did not go past the first round of the tournament this season, but it is anticipated that they will do better the next year.
UConn, Indiana, and Duke are tied for fourth place with five NCAA titles apiece.
After taking home their fifth national title on Monday, UConn vaulted up the rankings to take the fourth spot. The Huskies are tied for third place with Indiana and Duke, with Duke having seen a similar level of success over the past two decades as the Huskies.
While Indiana hasn’t been to the championship game since 1987, Duke has won three national championships in the last decade. As Mike Krzyzewski transformed Duke into a dominant program, Isiah Thomas’s alma mater, Indiana University, has struggled to find success in men’s basketball since his days as head coach.
Fifth place: Kansas, winner of four NCAA championships
After Kansas won their fourth national championship the previous season, they moved up to the fifth slot in the rankings. Before, the Jayhawks and the Villanova Wildcats both had three championships, the same number as the Wildcats. The University of Kansas won the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1952 and again in 1988.
The Kansas Jayhawks have won two national titles since 2008, contributing to their overall success over the past 15 years. They were able to win the championship last year with the help of Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji, while their team in 2008 featured future NBA players Mario Chalmers, Cole Aldrich, Brandon Rush, and Darrell Arthur.
