For the second consecutive season, the University of Connecticut took first place.
The Huskies made college basketball history on Monday by defeating Purdue to win the national championship in back-to-back seasons and the sixth title in school history. Emerging as a March Madness champion is already a difficult task, but Connecticut State becomes the first team in 17 years to repeat the national championship and the eighth school in the NCAA's 85-year history to win the sport. demonstrated its superiority in tournament.
Here are all the teams to ever win back-to-back national championships in men's basketball:
Oklahoma: 1945-1946
The first school to win back-to-back national championships in men's basketball was then known as Oklahoma A&M. The 1945 tournament was the school's first appearance in the eight-team tournament, and the Aggies defeated the University of Utah, the University of Arkansas, and New York University to win their first national championship.
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The following season, Oklahoma A&M went 31-2 and won the title, defeating Baylor, California, and North Carolina. Center Bob Kurland, credited with the first dunk in college basketball history, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player in both seasons.
Kentucky: 1948-1949
A few years later, a second consecutive national championship was achieved when Adolph Rupp's Kentucky team won it all.
In 1948, the Wildcats, led by the “Fabulous Five,” defeated Columbia, Holy Cross, and Baylor to win the school's first national title. The following season, Kentucky returned four starters from a prestigious lineup and defeated Villanova, Illinois, and Oklahoma A&M all by double digits to win the title. These are the first two of Rupp's four national championships as head coach of the Wildcats.
San Francisco: 1955-1956.
Led by the legendary Bill Russell and KC Jones, San Francisco won its first back-to-back national championship in 1955, and the second time after the tournament expanded to 24 teams. In the NCAA Tournament, the Dons defeated West Texas, Utah, Oregon State, Colorado, and La Salle to win their first national championship.
Russell and Jones returned the following season, and San Francisco posted a perfect 29-0 record, becoming the first undefeated team to win a national championship. The Dons defeated UCLA, Utah, SMU, and Iowa all in overwhelming fashion to repeat as champions.
Cincinnati: 1961-1962.
Although the Bearcats didn't win a title with Oscar Robertson, they won their first championship the season after his departure. Bob Wiesenhahn and Paul Hogue were the top two scorers in the national title game, defeating Texas Tech, Kansas State, Utah, and in-state rival Ohio State. The following season, with Hogue under center, the Bearcats won their second title, again defeating Creighton, Colorado, UCLA, and Ohio State in the national championship game. Cincinnati fell just short of winning their third consecutive championship, losing to Loyola Chicago in the 1963 finals.
UCLA: 1964-1965, 1967-1973
UCLA won its first national championship in 1964, beginning its reign as the kings of college basketball, and won it again in 1965.
After failing to win a championship in 1967, the Bruins won seven straight national championships from 1967 to 1973, completely scarring the college basketball world. Among them, he had three undefeated seasons, during which he had a combined record of 205 wins and 5 losses. All of these championship seasons were managed by John Wooden, along with the team's star players such as Lou Alcinder and Bill Walton. This is the only time the school has won at least three consecutive national championships.
Duke: 1991-92
It would be almost 20 years before the Blue Devils won a national championship in men's college basketball.
In 1991, second-seeded Duke advanced to the Final Four, defeating Northeast Louisiana, Iowa, Connecticut, and St. John's. In the semifinal matchup, the Blue Devils pulled off a shocking upset over undefeated UNLV and defeated Kansas in the national title game to earn their first championship and Mike Krzyzewski's first win in five games in his coaching career. won the championship.
The following season, Duke dominated with just two losses and Grant Hill took over as point guard after Bobby Hurley broke his foot midway through the ACC season. The top-seeded Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four by defeating Kentucky, thanks to miracle shots from Campbell, Iowa, Seton Hall, and Christian Laettner. Duke then defeated Indiana and Michigan to win the national championship game. This was the first consecutive victory since the tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Florida: 2006-07
The University of Florida, led by Billy Donovan, became the first team in the 21st century to win back-to-back national championships.
In 2006, the third-seeded Gators advanced to their third Final Four, defeating South Alabama, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Georgetown, and Villanova. Florida then defeated the Cinderella team of George Mason and then UCLA to win its first national championship.
The following season saw an entire surprising lineup return, including Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer, some of whom had delayed their NBA careers. Florida State returned to the Final Four by defeating Jackson State, Purdue, Butler, and Oregon State. There, the Gators defeated UCLA in a rematch of the national championship game in the second semifinal game, then defeated Ohio State in the title game.
Connecticut: 2023-24
Connecticut, the eighth school to win back-to-back championships, made it to the postseason unlike any other team.
In the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the fourth-seeded Huskies advanced to the Final Four, defeating Iona, St. Mary's, Arkansas, and Gonzaga. Connecticut State defeated Miami (Fla.) in the semifinals and then San Diego State in the title game to win its first title since 2014. All six wins were by 13 points or more.
Despite losing standouts Adama Sanago and Jordan Hawkins to the NBA, Connecticut was even more dominant in the regular season in pursuit of the No. 1 seed. The Huskies advanced to the Final Four with wins over Stetson, Northwestern, San Diego State, and Illinois. At Arizona State, the Huskies defeated Alabama and Purdue to win their sixth national title, tying them with North Carolina for the third-most wins in Division I. This time, all of the tournament wins were by at least 14 points.