4 college basketball teams with more than three nattys in the last 50 seasons ft. Kentucky
UConn's title run has entered some rare history. In the era of modern college basketball, there are few teams that can claim runs of multi-title success. In fact, there are only a few teams that have managed to win more than three championships within the last half-century. Here's the rundown.
College Basketball Teams with more than 3 titles in last 50 seasons
#1 Kentucky
The Wildcats can claim four titles under four different coaches within the last half century. In 1978, UK bested Duke for the school's fifth NCAA title. After a difficult run in the late 1980s, Rick Pitino brought Kentucky back to glory and won the 1996 national title over Syracuse. In the season after Pitino left for the Boston Celtics, Tubby Smith won the 1998 title over Utah.
Another relative dry spell followed, broken by John Calipari. In his third year on the UK job, Calipari led Kentucky to the 2012 title. That eighth crown leaves Kentucky only behind UCLA's 11 championships all-time.
#2 North Carolina
When Michael Jordan hit a shot late to win the 1982 crown for Dean Smith, it was just UNC's second ever. Smith won another in 1993 over Michigan and the Fab Five. Roy Williams was eventually lured over from Kansas and he ended a dry spell by winning three titles of his own.
In 2005, Williams and UNC bested Illinois for a title. Four years later, Williams and UNC outlasted Michigan State for another title. Williams's final crown came in 2017 over Gonzaga and Mark Few. With six titles, UNC is tied with UConn for third most ever.
#3 UConn
To say that UConn has had a productive quarter century would be an understatement. In 1999, Jim Calhoun and UConn beat Duke for the school's first ever NCAA title. They won another in 2004 over Georgia Tech. Then in 2011, Calhoun won his last title, outlasting Butler in an ugly 53-41 game.
Kevin Ollie won the 2014 crown for the Huskies over Kentucky. Since then, Dan Hurley added to the trophy case with the 2023 win over San Diego State and the 2024 win over Purdue. UConn is tied for third in all-time college basketball titles and nobody is close to their record over the last 25 years.
#4 Duke
The issue for Duke is can they win without Mike Krzyzewski. Coack K won five titles, starting with the 1991 win over Kansas after Duke dethroned unbeaten defending champ UNLV. In 1992, Duke repeated with a title win over Michigan and the Fab Five.
The Blue Devils won a 2001 title over Arizona, and Coach K won two late career titles in 2010 (over Butler) and 2015 (over Wisconsin). Jon Scheyer is now trying to recreate Duke's success, but bigger shoes to fill would be hard to imagine in college basketball terms.
Any college basketball teams you're surprised not to see on this brief list? Weigh in with your thoughts below in our comments section!