Most NCAA Final Four appearances by team and coach

These are the teams and coaches that have made it to the NCAA Final Four the most times. My favorite college basketball team, the Syracuse Orange, has made four Final Fours. Three of those appearances are under current Hall of Fame head coach, Jim Boeheim, but both the number of total appearances and the number of appearances for Boeheim fall well short of making these lists.

This season Kentucky head coach John Calipari has taken his 3rd team to a Final Four. Calipari has also taken the University of Massachusetts (1996) and Memphis University (2008) to the Final Four but both those appearances were eventually vacated by the NCAA for violations. Calipari also falls far short of making this list. His next opponent is the University of Connecticut whose head coach Jim Calhoun has just made his 4th Final Four.

I'm familiar with both Calipari and Calhoun. Calipari was the head coach of my favorite NBA team the New Jersey Nets for 184 games where he had a lousy record (72-112) and convinced Nets management to not draft Kobe Bryant in 1996. Calhoun was the head coach at Northeastern University when I went there in the 1980's and took the team to the NCAA Tournament a number of times while I was there.

Most Final Four Appearances by Team

T-1. North Carolina - 18

The North Carolina Tar Heels fell one game short this season of holding the record for most Final Four appearances all to themselves. The Tar Heels have gone on to win 5 championships.

T-1. UCLA - 18

The UCLA Bruins have made it to the Final Four 18 times though the NCAA vacated their 1980 trip for infractions. The Bruins have gone on to win a record 11 NCAA Championships.

3. Duke - 15

The Duke Blue Devils have made the Final Four 15 times and won 4 championships.

4. Kentucky - 14

This year marks the 14th time that the Kentucky Wildcats have made the Final Four. Kentucky has gone on to win 7 championships and will be gunning for their 8th this year.

5. Kansas - 13

The Kansas Jayhawks fell just one game short this season of making its 14th Final Four appearance by losing to #11 seed Virginia Commonwealth. Kansas has won 3 NCAA Championships.

6. Ohio State - 10

The Ohio State Buckeyes have made it to the Final Four 10 times and won one championship in 1960.

Head Coaches with Most Final Four Appearances

1. John Wooden - 12

John Wooden took UCLA to 12 Final Fours and won 10 NCAA Championships including 7 in a row from 1967 to 1973.

T-2. Mike Krzyzewski - 11

Mike Krzyzewski has taken Duke to 11 Final Fours and won 4 NCAA Championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010).

T-2. Dean Smith - 11

Dean Smith took the University of North Carolina to 11 Final Fours and won two NCAA Championships in 1982 and 1993.

4. Roy Williams - 7

Roy Williams took the Kansas Jayhawks to 4 Final Fours and the North Carolina Tar Heels to 3 Final Fours. He has won two championships at North Carolina in 2003 and 2009.

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