We Marred the Champions: Irish Eyes Smile Most vs. NCAA Playoff Kingpins
April 13th, 2015 - 17:13
Notre Dame, after defeating Duke twice this season, extended its significant lead in compiling the most all-time victories against teams in a season they went on to capture the NCAA championship. The Fighting Irish, boasting 14 such triumphs despite never winning a Final Four contest, are joined by Maryland (eight), Kentucky (seven), Louisville (seven), St. John's (seven) and Wake Forest (seven) as the only schools defeating more than six eventual NCAA playoff titlists. Louisville leveled Connecticut a total of five times in 2011 and 2014.
St. John's and Wake Forest (achieved feat twice) are among 16 different institutions to prevail in back-to-back seasons against eventual NCAA tourney kingpins. St. John's is the only school to upend three different NCAA-champions-to-be in as many consecutive years (Georgetown '84/Villanova '85/Louisville '86). Wake Forest knocked off four different North Carolina titlists in a 28-year span (1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009).
Michigan State, despite advancing to seven Final Fours under coach Tom Izzo, never has beaten an eventual NCAA champion. Other prominent universities with that dubious distinction include Arizona State, Baylor, Brigham Young, Butler, Colorado, Creighton, Dayton, Penn State, Saint Joseph's, San Francisco, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas-El Paso, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech and Xavier.
Surprisingly, Northwestern has notched three triumphs against NCAA titlists despite never participating in the national tourney. Additional schools with more wins against NCAA kingpins during the regular season than playoff victories include Bowling Green (one tourney triumph), Nebraska (winless), Niagara (two tourney wins), Texas-Pan American (never appeared) and Wright State (winless). DII Alaska-Anchorage is among the following alphabetical list of schools defeating NCAA DI champions-to-be:
| School (Total Wins vs. Eventual DI Titlists) | Pre-NCAA Tournament Victories Against National Champions-to-Be |
|---|---|
| Alabama (three) | Kentucky (won title in 1978), Arkansas (1994) and Florida (2006) |
| Alaska-Anchorage (one) | Michigan (1989) |
| Arizona (four) | Duke (1991), Kentucky (1998), Michigan State (2000) and Maryland (2002) |
| Arkansas (three) | Oklahoma A&M (1945), Duke (1991) and Florida (2006) |
| Auburn (one) | Kentucky (1958) |
| Boston College (two) | Villanova (1985) and North Carolina (2009) |
| Bowling Green (two) | Oklahoma A&M (1946) and Loyola of Chicago (1963) |
| Bradley (three) | Oregon (1939) and Cincinnati (1961 and 1962) |
| California (two) | UCLA (1995) and Arizona (1997) |
| UC Santa Barbara (one) | UNLV (1990) |
| Canisius (one) | CCNY (1950) |
| Cincinnati (three) | Marquette (1977), Louisville (1986) and Connecticut (2014) |
| City College of New York (one) | Oregon (1939) |
| Clemson (one) | Indiana (1981) |
| Connecticut (two) | Syracuse (twice in 2003) |
| DePaul (four) | Oklahoma A&M (1945 and 1946), Marquette (1977) and Georgetown (1984) |
| Detroit (one) | Marquette (1977) |
| Duke (five) | Kansas (1988), North Carolina (1993 and 2005), Maryland (2002) and Louisville (2013) |
| Duquesne (two) | Wyoming (1943) and Holy Cross (1947) |
| Florida (one) | Kentucky (1998) |
| Florida State (two) | Florida (2007) and North Carolina (2009) |
| Georgetown (five) | Villanova (twice in 1985), Duke (1991 and 2010) and Louisville (2013) |
| Georgia (one) | Villanova (1985) |
| Georgia Tech (five) | Kentucky (1958), North Carolina (1993 and 2005), Connecticut (2004) and Duke (2010) |
| Houston (two) | UCLA (1968) and Connecticut (2014) |
| Illinois (six) | UCLA (1965), Louisville (1980), Indiana (1987), Kansas (1988) and Michigan (twice in 1989) |
| Indiana (six) | Ohio State (1960), Michigan State (1979 and 2000), Michigan (twice in 1989) and Kentucky (2012) |
| Iona (one) | Louisville (1980) |
| Iowa (five) | UCLA (1965), Indiana (twice in 1981 and once in 1987) and Kansas (1988) |
| Iowa State (one) | Kansas (1988) |
| Kansas (four) | Louisville (twice in 1986), UNLV (1990) and Florida (2007) |
| Kansas State (six) | Kansas (1952, twice in 1988 and once in 2008), Indiana (1953) and California (1959) |
| Kentucky (seven) | Utah (1944), La Salle (1954), Ohio State (1960), Indiana (1981), Louisville (1986), Arkansas (1994) and Michigan State (2000) |
| Louisiana State (three) | Kentucky (1978), UNLV (1990) and Florida (2007) |
| Louisville (seven) | North Carolina State (1983), Kentucky (1998) and Connecticut (twice in 2011 and three times in 2014) |
| Loyola of Chicago (two) | Kentucky (1949 and 1958) |
| Marquette (two) | Wisconsin (1941) and Connecticut (2011) |
| Maryland (eight) | Kentucky (1958), Marquette (1977), North Carolina State (twice in 1983), Villanova (1985), Duke (2001 and 2010) and North Carolina (2009) |
| Massachusetts (one) | Kentucky (1996) |
| Memphis (three) | North Carolina State (1983), Louisville (1986) and Syracuse (2003) |
| Miami FL (two) | Connecticut (1999) and Duke (2015) |
| Michigan (five) | Marquette (1977), Michigan State (1979), Indiana (1981), North Carolina (1993) and Arizona (1997) |
| Minnesota (five) | Indiana (1940 and 1953), Wisconsin (1941), Marquette (1977) and Michigan (1989) |
| Mississippi (one) | Kentucky (1998) |
| Mississippi State (two) | Arkansas (1994) and Kentucky (1996) |
| Missouri (one) | North Carolina State (1983) |
| Nebraska (one) | Kansas (1988) |
| New Mexico (one) | Arizona (1997) |
| New Mexico State (one) | UNLV (1990) |
| Niagara (three) | CCNY (1950) and La Salle (twice in 1954) |
| North Carolina (six) | Indiana (1981), North Carolina State (1983), Duke (1991, 1992 and 2001) and Connecticut (2004) |
| North Carolina State (five) | Louisville (1986), Duke (1991, 2010 and 2015) and Maryland (2002) |
| Northwestern (three) | Indiana (1940), Holy Cross (1947) and Michigan State (1979) |
| Notre Dame (14) | Kentucky (1948), Indiana (1953), UCLA (1971 and 1975), Michigan State (1979), Indiana (1981), North Carolina State (1983), Kansas (1988), Connecticut (2004 and twice in 2011), Louisville (2013), Duke (twice in 2015) |
| Ohio State (two) | Indiana (1940) and Michigan State (2000) |
| Oklahoma (five) | CCNY (1950), Kansas (twice in 1988), UNLV (1990) and Maryland (2002) |
| Oklahoma State (two) | Kansas (1952 and 2008) |
| Oregon (four) | California (1959), UCLA (1970 and 1995) and Arizona (1997) |
| Oregon State (two) | Oregon (1939) and Stanford (1942) |
| Pittsburgh (five) | Wisconsin (1941), Villanova (1985), Syracuse (2003) and Connecticut (2004 and 2011) |
| Providence (one) | Connecticut (2004) |
| Purdue (four) | Michigan State (1979 and 2000) and Indiana (1981 and 1987) |
| Rutgers (one) | Syracuse (2003) |
| St. John's (seven) | Georgetown (1984), Villanova (three times in 1985), Louisville (1986), Kansas (1988) and Connecticut (2011) |
| Saint Louis (four) | Kentucky (1949 and 1951), California (1959) and Cincinnati (1961) |
| Santa Clara (two) | Stanford (1942) and North Carolina (2005) |
| Seattle (one) | Texas Western (1966) |
| Seton Hall (one) | Cincinnati (1961) |
| South Carolina (two) | Florida (twice in 2006) |
| Southern California (four) | Stanford (1942), UCLA (1969 and 1970) and Arizona (1997) |
| Southern Methodist (three) | Kentucky (1958) and Connecticut (twice in 2014) |
| Stanford (six) | Oregon (1939), California (1959), UCLA (1975), Arizona (1997), Duke (2001) and Connecticut (2014) |
| Syracuse (six) | CCNY (1950), Villanova (1985), Connecticut (1999, 2004 and 2011) and Louisville (2013) |
| Temple (three) | Oklahoma A&M (1945), Kentucky (1948) and La Salle (1954) |
| Tennessee (three) | Florida (twice in 2006 and once in 2007) |
| Texas (two) | Michigan State (2000) and Kansas (2008) |
| Texas-Pan American (one) | Indiana (1981) |
| UCLA (five) | CCNY (1950), San Francisco (1955), North Carolina State (1974) and Arizona (twice in 1997) |
| Utah (two) | Ohio State (1960) and Louisville (1980) |
| Vanderbilt (four) | Kentucky (1951 and 2012), Indiana (1987) and Florida (2007) |
| Villanova (two) | Georgetown (1984) and Louisville (2013) |
| Virginia (five) | North Carolina (1982), North Carolina State (twice in 1983) and Duke (1991 and 2001) |
| Wake Forest (seven) | North Carolina (1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009), North Carolina State (1983) and Duke (1991 and 1992) |
| Washington (two) | UCLA (1975) and Arizona (1997) |
| Washington State (one) | Oregon (1939) |
| West Virginia (two) | Kentucky (1958) and Connecticut (2011) |
| Wichita State (three) | Cincinnati (1962), Loyola of Chicago (1963) and Marquette (1977) |
| Wisconsin (three) | Michigan State (1979), Michigan (1989) and Duke (2010) |
| Wright State (one) | Michigan State (2000) |
| Wyoming (one) | Holy Cross (1947) |
NOTE: During World War II, NCAA champions Stanford lost to the Athens Club in 1942, Wyoming lost at Denver Legion in 1943, Utah lost to Ft. Warren, Salt Lake AB and Dow Chemical in 1944 and Oklahoma A&M lost to NATTS Skyjackets in 1945.