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No men’s basketball program this year will catch up with the all-time leader in most NCAA tournament titles.
But for the first time in four seasons, UCLA will not be a participant in March Madness. That means the Bruins’ record number of NCAA Division I tournament titles will remain at 11.
It also means several teams have a golden opportunity to make up some ground on UCLA at this year’s tournament, which tips off this week and ends with the championship game April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Kentucky, which ranks No. 2 all time with eight NCAA championships, earned the No. 3 seed in the South Regional. North Carolina, which is No. 3 all time with six titles, is the top seed in the West.
A look at the men’s and women’s matchups for the 2024 NCAA tournament, with Long Beach State men set to play Arizona in the first round on Thursday.
Connecticut and Duke are among the teams tied for fourth place all time with five titles — the defending champion Huskies are the No. 1 seed in the East, while the Blue Devils got the fourth seed in the South.
Here’s a look at the 15 men’s basketball programs with the most championships since the tournament began in 1939:
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3. North Carolina Tar Heels
Number of NCAA titles: 6
Years won: 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017
Seed this year: No. 1 in West Regional (vs. Howard-Wagner winner, Thursday at 11:45 a.m. PDT)
The women’s NCAA basketball tournament is more compelling than the men’s, and all eyes will be on USC and UCLA in their quests for a national title.
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9T. Cincinnati Bearcats
Number of NCAA titles: 2
Years won: 1961, 1962
Seed this year: NA
USC freshman star JuJu Watkins and the Trojans earned a No. 1 seed and will host Texas A&M Corpus Christi to open the women’s NCAA tournament.
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9T. Louisville Cardinals
Number of NCAA titles: 2 (a third title, in 2013, was later vacated by NCAA)
Years won: 1980, 1986
Seed this year: NA
For the record:
12:33 p.m. March 19, 2024An earlier version of this article omitted Louisville’s NCAA title from 1980.
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9T. Michigan State Spartans
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9T. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Number of NCAA titles: 2 (then known as Oklahoma A&M)
Years won: 1945, 1946
Seed this year: NA
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9T. San Francisco Dons
Number of NCAA titles: 2
Years won: 1955, 1956
Seed this year: NA
