The 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is getting closer to tipoff, and the nation’s best college basketball teams are jockeying for the best positions to set up a deep tournament run. Though the seeds have not been determined yet, college basketball fans can expect to see some familiar programs at the top of their bracket again this year.
Teams like Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky are – yet again – considered some of the top teams in the country. These storied programs will undoubtedly add another tournament berth to their rich histories of dozens of appearances in the Big Dance.
To determine the teams with the most March Madness appearances, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the NCAA’s Final Four Records Book. Appearances that were vacated due to NCAA sanctions were not considered.
There are 26 different NCAA men’s basketball programs that have made the tournament 30 times or more and a handful that have earned more than 50 spots in the Big Dance since it first began in 1939. Most of the teams on this list have at least one championship in their history, though nine schools have over 30 NCAA tournaments with no titles to show for it.
Some of the teams on this list have technically participated in the tournament more times than were listed but had some appearances vacated because of NCAA infractions. These infractions include student-athletes receiving impermissible benefits or schools violating recruiting rules, among other scandals. These are the scandals that rocked the sports world.
Click here to see the teams with the most March Madness appearances
25. BYU
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 30
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Dave Rose, 8 appearances
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25. West Virginia
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 30
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Bob Huggins, 10 appearances
21. Georgetown
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 31
> Championships: 1
> Most successful coach: John Thompson, 20 appearances
21. Illinois
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 31
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Lou Henson, 12 appearances
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21. Kansas State
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 31
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Jack Hartman, 7 appearances
21. Purdue
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 31
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Gene Keady, 17 appearances
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14. Arizona
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 33
> Championships: 1
> Most successful coach: Lute Olson, 22 appearances
14. Arkansas
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 33
> Championships: 1
> Most successful coach: Nolan Richardson, 13 appearances
14. Cincinnati
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 33
> Championships: 2
> Most successful coach: Bob Huggins, 14 appearances
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14. Marquette
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 33
> Championships: 1
> Most successful coach: Al McGuire, 9 appearances
14. Oklahoma
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 33
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Kelvin Sampson, 11 appearances
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14. Temple
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 33
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: John Chaney, 17 appearances
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14. UConn
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 33
> Championships: 4
> Most successful coach: Jim Calhoun, 17 appearances
12. Michigan State
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 34
> Championships: 2
> Most successful coach: Tom Izzo, 23 appearances
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12. Ohio State
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 34
> Championships: 1
> Most successful coach: Thad Matta, 9 appearances
11. Texas
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 35
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Rick Barnes, 16 appearances
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10. Notre Dame
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 36
> Championships: 0
> Most successful coach: Digger Phelps, 14 appearances
6. Indiana
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 39
> Championships: 5
> Most successful coach: Bob Knight, 24 appearances
6. Louisville
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 39
> Championships: 2
> Most successful coach: Denny Crum, 23 appearances
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6. Syracuse
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 39
> Championships: 1
> Most successful coach: Jim Boeheim, 33 appearances
6. Villanova
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 39
> Championships: 3
> Most successful coach: Jay Wright, 15 appearances
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5. Duke
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 43
> Championships: 5
> Most successful coach: Mike Krzyzewski, 35 appearances
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4. UCLA
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 48
> Championships: 11
> Most successful coach: John Wooden, 16 appearances
3. Kansas
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 49
> Championships: 3
> Most successful coach: Bill Self, 17 appearances
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2. North Carolina
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 51
> Championships: 6
> Most successful coach: Dean Smith, 27 appearances
1. Kentucky
> Total NCAA tournament appearances: 58
> Championships: 8
> Most successful coach: Adolph Rupp, 20 appearances
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