UConn basketball has undoubtedly cemented itself as one of the greatest programs in the history of college basketball.
But just how good has the Huskies’ run been? Can we consider them a dynasty? Are they the greatest team ever? Their sheer display of dominance prompted us to ask these questions and forced us to create a set of parameters to compare their success to various teams from the past.
Final Four rate: Number of Final Four appearances divided by number of years during run.
Title game rate: Number of title game appearances divided by number of years during run.
Championship rate: number of championships divided by number of years during run.
With players cycling in and out due to graduation and new factors like the transfer portal, we came up with the above averages to determine how dominant a program has been over the course of 20 years, 15 years, 10 years, and five years. You’ll see programs having multiple runs to better isolate the periods in which they experienced success.
So, while it remains difficult to dub a team a “dynasty”, the perspective below should give you better insight into just how dominant a program has been over a period of time.
For example, while UConn’s six titles span the last 25 years — that still means the Huskies have won a staggering 24% of the titles in that span and made 28% of the Final Fours. Not to mention they did it with three different head coaches and a plethora of NBA talent. Let’s take a look at each run below:
Greatest run of the 20th century
UCLA (1962-1976)- 15 years
- 13 Final Four appearances (1962, 1964-65, 1967-1976)
- Final Four rate: 86.7%
- 10 title game appearances (1964-65, 1967-73, 1975)
- Title game rate: 66.7%
- 10 championships (1964-65, 1967-1973, 1975)
- Championship rate: 66.7%
- 50-6 overall record in the tournament
- 20-3 in Final Four and national championship games
- 10-0 in national championship
- Head coach: John Wooden
- Notable players: Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Marques Johnson, Walt Hazzard, Rich Washington, Henry Bibby, Dave Meyers, Keith Wilkes, Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe
- Also made Final Four in 1980 (Larry Brown) and won title in 1995 (Jim Harrick)
Greatest run of the 21st century
UConn (1999-present)- 25 years
*While the 21st century technically started in 2001, we included UConn’s first title in 1999 to give a more holistic view of their dominance. Additionally, we excluded the 2020 season from calculations as there was no tournament that year.
- 7 Final Four appearances (1999, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2023-24)
- Final Four rate: 28%
- 6 title game appearances (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023-24)
- Title game rate: 24%
- 6 championships (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023-24)
- Championship rate: 24%
- 51-11 overall record in tournament
- 12-1 all-time in Final Four and national championship games
- 6-0 in national championship
- Head coaches: Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie, Dan Hurley
- Notable players: Ben Gordon, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier, Emeka Okafor, Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Adam Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, Tristen Newton, Donovan Clingan
Best 20-year runs
Duke (1986-2005)
- 10 Final Four appearances (1986, 1988-1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004)
- Final Four rate: 50%
- 7 title game appearances (1986, 1990-92, 1994, 1999, 2001)
- Title game rate: 35%
- 3 championships (1991-92, 2001)
- Championship rate: 15%
- Head coach: Mike Krzyzewski
- Notable players: Christian Laettner, Shane Battier, Grant Hill, Jason Williams, Bobby Hurley, Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer, Danny Ferry, JJ Reddick, Phil Henderson, Mike Dunleavy
- Also won titles in 2010 and 2015 (Mike Krzyzewski)
North Carolina (1991-2010)
- 9 Final Four appearances (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997-98, 2000, 2005, 2008-09)
- Final Four rate: 45%
- 3 title game appearances (1993, 2005, 2009)
- Title game rate: 15%
- 3 championships (1993, 2005, 2009)
- Championship rate: 15%
- Head coaches: Dean Smith, Roy Williams
- Notable players: Tyler Hansrough, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Danny Green, Eric Montross, Rashad McCants, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Raymond Felton
- Also won title in 2017 (Roy Williams)
Kentucky (1993-2012)
- 6 Final Four appearances (1993, 1996-98, 2011-12)
- Final Four rate: 30%
- 4 title game appearances (1996-98, 2012)
- Title game rate: 20%
- 3 championships (1996, 1998, 2012)
- Championship rate: 15%
- Head coaches: Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, John Calipari
- Notable players: Tony Delk, Tayshaun Prince, Jamal Mashburn, Anthony Davis, Scott Padgett, Keith Bogans, Ron Mercer, Antoine Walker, Wayne Turner, Jeff Shephard, Nazr Mohammed
- Also made Final Four in 2014-15 (John Calipari)
Best 15-year runs
Louisville (1972-1986)
- 6 Final Four appearances (1972, 1975, 1980, 1982-83, 1986)
- Final Four rate: 40%
- 2 title game appearances (1980, 1986)
- Title game rate: 13.3%
- 2 championships (1980, 1986)
- Championship rate: 13.3%
- Head coach: Denny Crum
- Notable players: Milt Wagner, Darrell Griffith, Lancaster Gordon, Billy Thompson, Rodney McCray, Charles Jones, Derek Smith, Allen Murphy, Junior Bridgeman, Jim Price, Scooter McCray
- Also won title in 2013 (Rick Pitino)
Florida (1994-2008)
- 4 Final Four appearances (1994, 2000, 2006, 2007)
- Final Four rate: 26.7%
- 3 title game appearances (2000, 2006-07)
- Title game rate: 20%
- 2 championships (2006-07)
- Championship rate: 13.3%
- Head coaches: Lon Kruger, Billy Donovan
- Notable players: Corey Brewer, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey, David Lee, Matt Bonner, Brett Nelson, Teddy Dupay
- Also made Final Four in 2014 (Billy Donovan)
Kansas (2008-2022)
- 4 Final Four appearances (2008, 2012, 2018, 2022)
- Final Four rate: 26.7%
- 3 title game appearances (2008, 2012, 2022)
- Title game rate: 20%
- 2 championships (2008, 2022)
- Championship rate: 13.3%
- Head coach: Bill Self
- Notable players: Devonte’ Graham, Sherron Collins, Marcus Morris, Brandon Rush, Jeff Withey, Frank Mason, Tyshawn Taylor, Darrell Arthur, Christian Braun, Kelly Oubre Jr., Mario Chalmers
Best 10-year run
Kentucky (II) (1942-1951)
- 4 Final Four appearances (1942, 1948-49, 1951)
- Final Four rate: 40%
- 3 title game appearances (1948-49, 1951)
- Title game rate: 30%
- 3 championships (1948-49, 1951)
- Championship rate: 30%
- Head coach: Adolph Rupp
- Notable players: Alex Groza, Bill Spivey, Wallace Jones, Ralph Beard, James Line, Shelby Linville, Frank Ramsey, Cliff Barker, Skippy Whitaker, Bobby Watson, Cliff Hagan
- Also won title in 1958 (Adolph Rupp)
Best five-year run
Cincinnati (1959-63)
- 5 Final Four appearances (1959-1963)
- Final Four rate: 100%
- 3 title game appearances (1961-63)
- Title game rate: 60%
- 2 championships (1961-62)
- Championship rate: 40%
- Head coaches: George Smith, Ed Jucker
- Notable players: Oscar Robertson, Paul Hogue, Bob Wiesenhahn, Tom Thacker, Rob Bonham, George Wilson, Ralph Davis, Tony Yates, Dave Tenwick, Bill Whitaker, Carl Bouldin
Honorable Mentions
Ohio State (1944-1962)- 19 years
- 6 Final Four appearances (1944-1946, 1960-62)
- 3 title game appearances (1960-62)
- 1 championship (1960)
- Head coaches: Harold Olsen, Fred Taylor
- Notable players: Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, Larry Siegfried, Bob Knight, Mel Nowell, Arnold Risen, Paul Huston, Jack Underman, Robert Bowen, Don Grate, Joe Roberts
- Also made Final Four in 1939 and 1968
North Carolina (II) (1967-1982)- 16 years
- 7 Final Four appearances (1967-69, 1972, 1977, 1981-82)
- 4 title game appearances (1968, 1977, 1981-82)
- 1 championship (1982)
- Head coach: Dean Smith
- Notable players: Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Phil Ford, Charlie Scott, Rusty Clark, Al Wood, Walter Davis, Larry Miller, Bob McAdoo, Bill Bunting
- Also won title in 1957 (Frank McGuire)
Kansas (II) (1986-2003)- 18 years
- 6 Final Four appearances (1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2002-03)
- 3 title game appearances (1988, 1991, 2003)
- 1 championship (1988)
- Head coaches: Larry Brown, Roy Williams
- Notable players: Dan Manning, Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, Rex Walters, Scot Pollard, Jacques Vaughn, Richard Scott, Raef LaFrentz, Adonis Jordan
- Also made Final Four in 1971 and 1974 (Ted Owens)
UCLA (II) (1995-2008)- 14 years
- 4 Final Four appearances (1995, 2006-08)
- 2 title game appearances (1995, 2006)
- 1 championship (1995)
- Head coaches: Jim Harrick, Ben Howland
- Notable players: Toby Bailey, J.R. Henderson, Darren Collison, Aaron Afflalo, Ed O’Bannon, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Matt Barnes, Charles O’Bannon, Luc Mbah a Moute, Tyus Edney
- Also made Final Four in 2021 (Mick Cronin)
Michigan State (1999-2019)- 21 years
- 8 Final Four appearances (1999-2001, 2005, 2009-10, 2015, 2019)
- 2 title game appearances (2000, 2009)
- 1 championship (2000)
- Most recent Big Ten team to win the title (2000)
- Head coach: Tom Izzo
- Notable players: Andre Hutson, Durrell Summers, Draymond Green, Morris Peterson, Mateen Cleaves, Raymar Morgan, A.J. Granger, Jason Richardson, Goran Suton, Zach Randolph, Kalin Lucas
Villanova (2009-22)- 14 years
- 4 Final Four appearances (2009, 2016, 2018, 2022)
- 2 title game appearances (2016, 2018)
- 2 championships (2016, 2018)
- Head coach: Jay Wright
- Notable players: Jalen Brunson, Jermaine Samuels Jr., Josh Hart, Ryan Arcidiacano, Donte DiVincenzo, Collin Gillespie, Kris Jenkins, Mikal Bridges, Phil Booth, Eric Paschall, Daniel Ochefu
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