How Often Does This Happen in College Basketball?
How many times has a team repeated as NCAA Tournament champs? The answer is 13 and UCLA has done it the most—seven times. And of those seven times, six were a string of wins from 1967 through 1973. The tournament started in 1939 with eight teams. And of the 13 times a team has repeated, only Duke and Florida have done it since the field expanded to 64 or more teams.
The fact is the number of teams involved in the modern tournament makes it very tough for anyone to repeat. But it is possible. Florida did it just a few years back Here’s what to look for when it comes to champions repeating in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Returning Veterans Who Could be Pros
If a team wins with a bunch of talented juniors who could turn pro but decide to return to try for the repeat that’s a great sign. When that happens, when a team is a veteran club that has done it before, the team has a great chance of winning it all again.
In addition to those returning seniors, a team that has a host of solid juniors will have a very good chance of repeating. A deep bench certainly helps too. All of this helps create team chemistry, which is essential to their success.
Same Head Coach
It’s a big help if the team has the same head coach. This is especially true if the coach has been to the finals other times and taken his team deep into the tournament numerous times. If a team that’s won it all has to adjust to a new man at the helm, they will be hard pressed to repeat.
Stellar Regular Season and Tournament
If the champs sputter and stall during the regular season, then chances are there’s something going on to make that happen. Or if they go into their tournament and falter, then you have to doubt their chances of repeating a second time.
Good Health
A team needs to have good health. That is essential. The tournament is tough and grueling and a healthy group of players who can play at peak efficiency is important. If a minor role player is a question mark, that’s not a big deal but an injury to a starter or a significant bench player can greatly hurt a club’s chances.
Are they a One Seed?
If the team is not a one seed, you have to wonder if they can do it again. If they are not a one seed, it does not preclude them from being contenders. But one seeds have a much better chance of repeating than twos, threes, fours, etc.
The NCAA Basketball Champs Are?
The next team to win the championship is most likely not to be the club that won it the year before. The odds are simply against even the best of teams taking two titles straight. One major problem facing any club is the fact that March Madness is a single elimination tournament and in that format, with every opponent gunning for you, one misstep spells disaster. But if all of the above criteria are met a team has some chance of doing it all again.