The NCAA Tournament is popular for its underdogs and Cinderella stories, but there are a number of programs that are consistent bets to make the Big Dance every season. These teams tend to have historic coaches who recruit and develop players well, along with respected brands that help them lore talent in the transfer portal.
With March Madness set to start on Thursday, we took a look at 10 NCAA programs that have made the Tournament more than anyone (vacated appearances excluded):
The Spartans earned a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament this season, which is their highest rank since 2019, when they ended up making the Final Four. They are one of the deepest teams in the nation, but recently freshman Jase Richardson has stood out as their top offensive player.
He is the son of former Spartan Jason Richardson, who, ironically, was a freshman the last time Michigan State won the National Championship in 2000. Richardson is one of the best Spartans of all time, as well as Magic Johnson and Draymond Green.
The Orange haven’t made the NCAA Tournament in four seasons. They last made the Final Four in 2016, but their peak came in the early 2000s, specifically in 2003, when freshman Carmelo Anthony led them to a national title. Anthony, a soon-to-be NBA Hall of Famer headlines the history of talent that went through Syracuse.
Louisville experienced some pretty rough seasons following Rick Pitino’s firing in 2017, but the program has been one of the most successful in the sport. It made the tournament in 23 of Denny Crum’s 30 seasons as head coach, having plenty of success in the 1970s and ’80s. The Cardinals played in six Final Fours under Crum, winning the national championship twice (1980, 1986).
As Crum started to slip in the late 1990s, Pitino came in and brought Louisville back to one of the top programs in the sport after a few seasons. It made the Final Four again in 2005, which was the first of three Final Fours in Pitino’s tenure. The Cardinals won the national championship in 2013, although that win was later vacated. The 2025 tournament will mark Louisville’s first tournament appearance since 2019 and just its second since Pitino’s firing.
Villanova’s peak years as a program have happened more recently, winning two titles in three seasons (2016, 2018). But it had plenty of success that predates that. Rollie Massimino turned Villanova into one of the Big East’s elite programs in the conference’s early years during the 1980s, making the tournament in sven straight seasons. In the sixth year of that span, Villanova went on a Cinderella run that culminated with a surprise national championship, defeating Georgetown.
The Wildcats still had some tournament success in the late 1980s through the 1990s. But once Jay Wright established himself at Villanova, the program reached new heights. It made the tournament in all but one possible season between 2005-22, playing in eight Sweet 16s, five Elite Eights and four Finals Fours. Two of those Final Four trips ended with a title.
Villanova hasn’t made it to the tournament since Wright’s sudden retirement at the end of the 2022 season.
The Hoosiers were tournament mainstays during Bob Knight’s 29-year tenure as Indiana’s head coach, going dancing in all but four of those seasons. Indiana won three of its five national championships over that stretch, with two of those title wins predating Knight’s time as head coach. It also went to five Final Fours and eight Elite Eights during Knight’s tenure
Indiana has had some tournament success in the post-Knight years, but it hasn’t been as dominant and consistent. It made the national championship game in 2002, losing that game to Maryland. It hasn’t made the Final Four since then and has only been in the tournament twice since its last Sweet 16 appearance in 2016.
Duke has one of the deepest histories in college basketball, but it might have its best team ever in 2025. These Blue Devils are athletic and can switch 1-through-5 with ease. They’re one of eight teams in the last 25 years to have a top-5-rated offense and defense. Cooper Flagg, the unanimous No. 1 overall pick and the Player of the Year favorite, leads this team on both ends. Flagg suffered an ankle sprain in the ACC Tournament, and his health may be the only thing stopping this team from bulldozing to the title. That being said, the Blue Devils still won the ACC Tournament without him and he’s expected to be back for the NCAA Tournament.
Duke has had a pretty seamless transition of power since Mike Krzyzewski passed the reigns along to Jon Scheyer in 2022, which is saying something as Krzyzewski led the Blue Devils to five national titles over his 32 years as the head coach, with their last one coming in 2015.
Duke has produced some of the best NBA talent of recent history, including 2024 NBA Champion Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram
The Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament in 2024, but restocked their roster using the transfer portal and earned a 7-seed, this season. UCLA lacks star talent, but head coach Mick Cronin is always capable of getting the best out of his team when it matters most. These Bruins play tough half-court defense and have one of the deepest rosters in the country.
Cronin took one of the best UCLA teams of recent memory to the Final Four in 2021, but UCLA’s gone through five different coaches since winning its last National Championship, in 1995. Tyus Edney and Ed O’Bannon were the stars of that group, but the Bruins have some of the deepest history of any program. They’ve won 11 National Championships, three of which came with Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and two of which came with Bill Walton. Recent stars to play at UCLA include Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and 2024 NBA Champion Jrue Holiday.
The Jayhawks have been the epicenter of turmoil for the last two seasons, since getting center Hunter Dickinson in the transfer portal. With him as the hub, they play slowly offensively and struggle to switch on defense. They were the No. 1 ranked team in the pre-season Associated Press Top 25, but ended the season un-ranked and earned a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Jayhawks slide started one year after they won their last National Championship, which was 2022. Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji, two guys that have gone on to be impressive glue guys in the NBA, led that team to glory. Kansas has produced additional NBA talent such as Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Paul Pierce.
The Tar Heels, somewhat controversially, snuck into the NCAA Tournament this season as one of the “Last Four” in. Their led by a bevvy of guards, including the experienced R.J. Davis, and the not-so-experienced Ian Jackson. Both can score with the best of them, while Seth Trimble and Elliott Cadeau are some of the best perimeter defenders in the country.
North Carolina last won the NCAA Tournament in 2017 under Roy Williams, and it came a year after they lost on a buzzer-beater to Villanova. The Tar Heels, led by Joel Berry and Justin Jackson, avenged that loss and earned Williams’ his third national title.
Williams coached a number of elite college players such as Berry, Jackson, Marcus Paige and Tyler Hansbrough. Some of the best NBA players from UNC include Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Vince Carter.
In the first year of the post-John Calipari era, head coach Mark Pope led the Wildcats to a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky had to traverse a nasty injury-bug to get there, as it lost guard Jaxson Robinson for the season and have been without their starting point guard, Lamont Butler, for multiple stretches, as well. The Wildcats are 4-5 without Butler, who re-aggrivated a shoulder injury during the SEC Tournament. Pope, though, seems confident he’ll be ready to go for the NCAA Tournament, and with him at the helm, the Wildcats could make a deep run.
Kentucky last won the National Championship in Calipari’s third season in 2012. The Anthony Davis-led Wildcats went 30-1 in the regular season, before running the gambit in the NCAA Tournament. Davis is one of three No. 1 overall NBA draft picks that Kentucky has produced, with the others being Karl Anthony-Towns and John Wall. Along with Wall, the Wildcats are known for their history of guard talent, including De’Aaron Fox, Tyler Herro and Jamal Murray.
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