Heading into March Madness, Which NCAA Men’s Basketball Team Has Most Championships?

March Madness is about to grip the big boys of the NCAA circuit. The tournament will feature 68 teams fighting the ultimate glory. But while the action-packed event will be a tough battle even for the best, the moment is opportune to look into the past record of the team and check which one has won the tournament most times.

Essentially Sports curates a list of the top 6 teams that have won the tournament a maximum number of times.

UCLA – 11 times

Years: 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995. 

Bruins have won the tournament maximum times. They had their extravagant set of victories especially in the 60s and 70s. Hence 10 out of these 11 tourney wins were recorded in the 60s and 70s. UCLA’s head coach during these wins was John Wooden. He propelled the team to an exceptional 316-68 record under him.

UCLA last won the tournament in 1995, this time under head coach Jim Harrick. Bruins emerged victorious in their games against Oklahoma State and Arkansas, clinching the title for the 11th time. UCLA therefore have a clear-cut dominance over the other teams especially during the time Wooden coached the team.

Kentucky Wildcats – 8 times

Years: 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012. 

Wildcats have won the Championship 8 times. Their maximum wins came in two phases. During the first phase, they won 3 titles in 1948, 1949 and 1951. They then again bagged the coveted title during the second phase in 1996 and ’98. Other than that, Wildcats were winners in 1958, 1978, and most recently in 2012.

During the first phase of their win, they were coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp. Rupp provided them the impetus to have 6 Final Four appearances out of which they won the title 4 times.

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Rupp was so successful with the team that he had to go to retirement as a mandatory process at the age of 70. Who knows if he had continued, Wildcats would’ve grabbed more titles. Their most recent title win was during the time of John Calipari. All eyes would be set on Calipari this season since his team has the potential to get another title.

North Carolina Tar Heels – 6 times

Years: 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017. 

Tar Heels have embellished their name on the trophy 6 times. Their first title win came under the head coach Frank McGuire. Under him in 1957, the team had an undefeated season and topped it up with a title win. McGuire was asked to resign after some NCAA violations and then Dean Smith was announced as the coach. Smith got the program their second title in the year 1982 when Michael Jordan plied his time at the school.

Smith then went on to bag another title in 1993. The remaining three titles came under Roy Williams. While Hubert Davis is now the head coach for Tar Heels, the fans will be expecting him to help the team get another title this season, particularly so because they have a good lineup that can rage a rampage whenever the situation demands.

Duke Blue Devils – 5

Years: 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015

Devils won all titles under the tutelage of Mike Krzyzewski. Krzyzewski made teams that were remembered forever. The only coach to have won more titles than Krzyzewski is UCLA’s John Wooden. Coach K as he is fondly called is one of the greatest coaches to have entered college basketball. He was also the winnings coach of all time whose record was surpassed by Stanford Cardinal’s Tara VanDerveer recently this season.

Now that Coach K has retired and passed on the mantle to his junior Jon Scheyer, fans would want Scheyer to prove his mettle and win this year’s championship. Duke also have an exceptional player this season in the form of Kyle Filipowski and hence the team would also be on the analyst radar as they can notch some brilliant wins against their opponents. 

Indiana Hoosiers – 5

Years: 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987. 

The first two championships for the Hoosiers came during the years 1940 and 1953. They came with the head coach Branch McCracken on their side. McCracken with his first NCAA title win in 1940 became the youngest coach to win the title. He was just 31 years old then. He was again the coach during the 53 season when they defeated Jayhawks by a solitary point.

The other three wins were a result of the hard work of their head coach Bob Knight. During the time of his retirement, Knight held the record for most wins by an NCAA coach. Knight instilled a winning attitude in Hoosiers and was also a legend in the college basketball circuit.

University of Connecticut Huskies – 5

Years: 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023.

Huskies have also registered their name in this prestigious list tying with Indiana Hoosiers and Duke Blue Devils with 5 titles. The three coaches who helped the UConn win titles were Kevin Ollie, Jim Calhoun, and Dan Hurley. Huskies are the only team to advance to five national title games and win every time. Other teams with a minimum of three other appearances in the Final game have lost it at least once.

Last year, Dan Hurley helped them win a title and even in this season, his team has been growing strong. Fans would be wanting another win this season getting UConn their consecutive championship title. The way they have played this time has shown a collective team effort and the team looks to be going on their spree of winning games astoundingly during the March Madness.