State's Evidence: Ohio Has Multiple National Titles at Each Level
It shouldn't be much of a surprise that Ohio became the first state to feature four schools among the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Division I bracket expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. After all, Ohio is the only state with at least two national titles from each level of four-year college men's basketball - NCAA Division I, NIT, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Illinois is the only other state to boast at least one champion from all five levels. Among the 12 states amassing a total of more than 10 national crowns, Missouri is the only one in that group without a Division I championship.
The biggest surprise among states never to capture a national title is Iowa. Following is how states stack up by national titles including the NIT and various levels of small-college basketball through Wisconsin-Whitewater's DIII success last week:
| State | DI | NIT | DII | DIII | NAIA | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
| Kentucky | 9 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 28 |
| Ohio | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| North Carolina | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| Illinois | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 15 |
| New York | 2 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 15 |
| Indiana | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| Missouri | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| Kansas | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Virginia | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Texas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| Michigan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Alabama | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Maryland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Utah | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| West Virginia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Colorado | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Louisiana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| New Jersey | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
NOTE: Eight states - Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont - have never had a four-year school win a men's national championship.