With the 2018 men’s college basketball national championship in the books, you may be finding yourself craving more. You aren’t alone. The 2018 tournament was an absolute blast to watch, largely in part because of how many upsets occurred. But number one seed Villanova managed to take home the title, their second one in three years. Villanova also won back in 1985.

Not many schools can brag that they have won three national championships. Currently, there is only one other school that has won three titles, the Kansas Jayhawks. As impressive as these accomplishments are there are a select few universities that have won even more championships. The top five teams have won an astounding five or more national titles since 1939 when the earliest version of the NCAAM Division I Basketball Tournament was implemented.

#5 Indiana Hoosiers

Coming in fifth on the list are the Indiana Hoosiers. Donning the nameless crimson and cream jerseys, this college basketball team has won five championships. Throughout the team’s history, the Hoosiers have never displayed the names of their players on the jerseys. The reason for this is to promote the mentality that the team is what’s important, not the player.

This team first approach began to show exciting results when the Hoosiers won their first championship in 1940 under head coach Branch McCracken, beating out Kansas 60-42. While team first was the mantra of Indiana, the 1940 championship team had some very talented players, including All-Americans Marv Huffman and Bill Menke.

Besides the undying loyalty and commitment from his players, another reason that heavily contributed to Indiana’s success was Coach McCracken’s implementation of a fast-break style offense. The Hoosiers ran this fast paced offense like professionals. In fact, McCracken’s teams would go on to be nicknamed the “Hurryin’ Hoosiers.”

1940 & ’53

The Hoosiers rode the momentum from their 1940 national championship through seasons to come, tallying up six perfect regular seasons. However, the team wouldn’t find itself back in the national title game until 13 years later in 1953. With Coach McCracken still at the reigns, the 1952-53 team’s success can be largely attributed to three-time All-American Don Schlundt. At 6-9, the big man averaged 25.4 points and 10 rebounds per game. He led the Hoosiers with 30 points and 10 rebounds in the 1953 title game. At the sound of the final buzzer, Indiana led by one point. The final score was 69-68.

This would be McCracken’s last championship during his tenure as head coach of the Hoosiers. Going along with the two titles, McCracken amassed 364 wins and four Big Ten titles. He retired in 1965.

1976

After a short stretch led by Coach Lou Watson from 1965-1971, Indiana would hire the coach that would lead them to the promise land three times in his 29 years with the school. 1971 marked the year that Indiana entered the legendary Bob Knight era. A basketball guru, Knight structured his coaching style with strict discipline being the cornerstone. It would take Bob Knight and his Hoosiers five years to make it back to the national championship. But what a season 1975-76 was. Indiana went undefeated going 32-0 beating out Michigan in the championship game. The Hoosiers won by 18 points for a final score of 86-68.

1981 & ’87

Knight and the Hoosiers team would bring back the title to Indiana two more times, in ‘81 and ’87. The 1981 team was stacked with talent, most notably future NBA hall of famer Isiah Thomas. Thomas was responsible for 23 of Indiana’s 63 points in the win over North Carolina in the Finals. 1987 marks Indiana’s last national championship to date. While senior guard Steve Alford notched the best performance with 23 points, it was Keith Smart who came up big to clinch the win. Smart took advantage of the space he had on the weak side and made a jumper with three seconds remaining. This was the second time Indiana became champions by a single point. The game ended with a final score of 74-73, Indiana over Syracuse.

#4 Duke Blue Devils

It was tough to decide where to rank Indiana and Duke considering both schools have won five national titles. Ultimately, I felt Duke earned the number four spot because they have won all five of their championships under the same coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Commonly known as Coach K, the Duke head coach has been a fixture at Duke since 1980. Coach K is currently leading the NCAA with 1,100 wins and is second all-time behind Harry Statham. He has also won the second most national championships, second only to John Wooden.

1991

The first of Duke and Coach K’s five titles came in 1991. At the start of the season, Coach K made it clear to his team that the goal was to win it all. Duke headed into the tournament with a 26-7 record, losing in the ACC championship game to its rival North Carolina. That would be Duke’s final loss of the season. The Blue Devils navigated their way through the tournament and found themselves in the biggest game of college basketball. On the opposite side of the court were the Kansas Jayhawks. Thanks to a combination of Coach K’s phenomenal coaching and basketball IQ and outstanding performances from Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, and Bill McCaffrey, Duke was crowned the honor of best team in NCAAM Basketball for the very first time.

1992

The hangover from the team’s first title run was short-lived. Coming in to the season, Duke already had something to celebrate. Four of the starters from the ‘91 championship team decided to return for the ’91-92 season. Game MVP Christian Laettner, along with Bobby Hurley, Thomas Hill, and Grant Hill were poised to repeat as men’s college basketball champions.

The road to the championship was extremely challenging this time around. The Blue Devils managed to defeat college basketball powerhouse Kentucky at the buzzer. The game ended with Duke ahead 104-103. The next game on the schedule for Coach K’s Blue Devils was Bob Knight and his Indiana Hoosiers. Duke found itself down five at halftime. The team came out firing in the second half with 13 straight points and transitioned that into a 21-3 run in the first 10 minutes of the half. The electrifying intensity of the Blue Devils led to them finding themselves in a familiar spot. Once again, they were competing for a chance to win the title.

The 1992 championship game matchup was set: Duke Vs Michigan. Duke replicated the strategy it used against Indiana. The team relied on its defense and held Michigan to 29 percent shooting from the field. When it was all said and done, Duke had a 20 point lead and celebrated a 71-51 victory. The Blue Devils earned their second title in two years.

2001

Duke wouldn’t reclaim the title again until 2001. After suffering a three point loss in the Final to Connecticut in 1999, Duke feverishly recruited in the next two offseasons, bringing in some skilled prospects. The team had an easier time in the tournament than in 1992. This time around, Duke would have to get through the Arizona Wildcats to win its third national championship. Throughout the duration of the game, both teams gave it their all. After Duke’s two point lead at the half, they came out and kept trying to pull away, but Arizona wasn’t having it. The Wildcats kept the game close. They were never able to take the lead however. The game ended with a Duke victory, 87-72.

2010

We need to fast forward to 2010 to see Duke back in the championship game. Even though Duke has cemented its place in college basketball as one of the most successful programs, the Blue Devils were not cut any slack in terms of game predictions. Coming into the title game, the Butler Bulldogs were red hot, winning 25 straight games. Led by the now Boston Celtics’ forward Gordon Hayward, the Bulldogs definitely earned their right to be facing off against Duke in the biggest game of the year. The game was a thriller from start to finish, with Butler coming up one play short of winning. As time expired, Hayward hurled a half-court shot. The crowd collectively held its breath as it left Hayward’s hand. But it wasn’t in the cards for Butler. The shot thudded off the backboard and rim. Duke went on to win 61-59.

This victory marked Duke’s fourth national title. It was also Coach K’s fourth, tying him with all-time great Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp.

2015

Five years later Duke was poised for another deep tournament run. With fantastic rookie talent like Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, the team never backed down from the bright lights. Anyone watching the championship game against Wisconsin would have probably thought that the Badgers were on pace to take home the trophy. Wisconsin was outplaying Duke in most regards, but the outstanding rookies responded. Okafor and Jones helped lead the team to a second half rally. The Blue Devils outscored Wisconsin by 14 points in the final 13 minutes and won the game by a score of 68-63. Duke and Coach K got their fifth championship. Coach K was solely in second place on the list of college basketball coaches with multiple championships, only behind John Wooden.

 

This is the first of a four article series on the most successful men’s college basketball programs. Stay tuned for the following installment.