Which team has won the most NCAA men's basketball tournament titles?
For the record:
12:33 p.m. March 19, 2024: An earlier version of this article omitted Louisville’s NCAA title from 1980.
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.
Read more: The 2024 NCAA men's and women's basketball tournament brackets
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:
1. UCLA Bruins
Number of NCAA titles: 11
Years won: 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995
NCAA tournament seed this year: NA
2. Kentucky Wildcats
Number of NCAA titles: 8
Years won: 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012
Seed this year: No. 4 in South Regional (vs. No. 14 Oakland, Thursday at 4 p.m. PDT)
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)
Read more: Plaschke: With USC and UCLA leading the way, women’s tourney slam dunks on the men
4T. Connecticut Huskies
Number of NCAA titles: 5
Years won: 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023
Seed this year: No. 1 in East Regional (vs. No. 16 Stetson, Friday at 11:45 a.m. PDT)
4T. Duke Blue Devils
Number of NCAA titles: 5
Years won: 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015
Seed this year: No. 4 in South Regional (vs. No. 13 Vermont, Friday at 4 p.m. PDT)
4T. Indiana Hoosiers
Number of NCAA titles: 5
Years won: 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987
Seed this year: NA
Read more: It's madness at Long Beach State as Dan Monson heads to NCAA tournament on his way out
7. Kansas Jayhawks
Number of NCAA titles: 4
Years won: 1952, 1988, 2008, 2022
Seed this year: No. 4 in Midwest Regional (vs. No. 13 Samford, Thursday at 6:45 p.m. PDT)
8. Villanova Wildcats
Number of NCAA titles: 3
Years won: 1985, 2016, 2018
Seed this year: NA
9T. Cincinnati Bearcats
Number of NCAA titles: 2
Years won: 1961, 1962
Seed this year: NA
Read more: USC secures No. 1 seed and begins NCAA women's tournament journey at home
9T. Florida Gators
Number of NCAA titles: 2
Years won: 2006, 2007
Seed this year: No. 7 in South Regional (vs. Boise State-Colorado winner, Friday at 1:30 p.m. PDT)
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
9T. Michigan State Spartans
Number of NCAA titles: 2
Years won: 1979, 2000
Seed this year: No. 9 in West Regional (vs. No. 8 Mississippi State, Thursday at 9:15 a.m. PDT)
Read more: UCLA lands highest women's NCAA tourney seed in its history, but falls short of No. 1
9T. North Carolina State Wolfpack
Number of NCAA titles: 2
Years won: 1974, 1983
Seed this year: No. 11 in South Regional (vs. No. 6 Texas Tech, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. PDT)
9T. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Number of NCAA titles: 2 (then known as Oklahoma A&M)
Years won: 1945, 1946
Seed this year: NA
9T. San Francisco Dons
Number of NCAA titles: 2
Years won: 1955, 1956
Seed this year: NA
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
