connecticut has won the most ncaa tournament championships.
connecticut has won the most ncaa tournament championships.
who has won the most ncaa tournament championships?
connecticut
in 1939, another national tournament was implemented by the national collegiate athletic association (ncaa). the location of the ncaa tournament varied from year to year, and it soon used multiple locations each year, so more fans could see games without traveling to new york. although the nit was created earlier and was more prestigious than the ncaa for many years, it ultimately lost popularity and status to the ncaa tournament. in 1950, following a double win by the 1949–50 ccny beavers men's basketball team (when the nit comprised 12 and the ncaa 8 teams), the ncaa ruled that no team could compete in both tournaments, and effectively indicated that a team eligible for the ncaa tournament should play in it. not long afterward, assisted by the 1951 scandals based in new york city, the ncaa tournament had become more prestigious than before, with conference champions and the majority of top-ranked teams competing there. the ncaa tournament eventually overtook the nit by 1960. through the 1960s and 1970s, with ucla leading the way as winner of ten ncaa tournament championships, a shift in power to teams from the west amplified the shift of attention away from the new york city-based nit. when the ncaa tournament expanded its field of teams from 25 to 32 in 1975, to 48 in 1980, to 64 in 1985, and to 68 teams in 2011, interest in the ncaa tournament increased again and again, as it comprised more and more teams, soon including all of the strongest ones. (expansion also improved the distribution of playing locations, which number roughly one-third the number of teams in the field.)
college basketball
the following year, the tar heels were ranked #6 in the ap preseason poll, having lost paige and johnson but retaining 2016 acc tournament mvp joel berry ii as well as forwards kennedy meeks and isaiah hicks. after early season losses to indiana and kentucky, the tar heels won their 31st acc regular season title. despite never being ranked #1 in the ap poll and losing to duke in the semifinals of the acc tournament, the heels earned a #1 seed in the ncaa tournament, where they advanced to their record 20th final four and 11th ncaa tournament title game. they beat gonzaga 71-65 to give williams his 3rd national championship, surpassing mentor dean smith for most ncaa tournament championships at carolina, and behind only john wooden, mike krzyzewski, and adolph rupp for most ncaa tournament championships overall. just as in the previous year, the tar heels finished with a 33-7 overall record and a 14-4 acc record.
north carolina tar heels men's basketball