Worst of Times: Kansas State Avoided Setting Record For Most Losses in Row
March 15th, 2021 - 20:20
Kansas State came close by dropped 13 consecutive decisions, but averted matching all-time school record of 15 defeats in a row. At least the Wildcats didn't match or surpass the all-time longest losing streak by a current power-conference member - 27 by Syracuse in the early 1960s.
Jim O'Brien was the only individual to coach two current power-league members (Boston College and Ohio State) when they incurred their longest existing losing streak until BC dropped 20 in a row extending to the opener a couple of seasons ago. Former Big East Conference rival Rutgers incurred 15 consecutive reversals to end the 2014-15 season before St. John's bowed in 16 straight decisions in 2015-16. Mizzou wasn't the only Tigers' program in SEC sidelined by tranquilizing-inducing losing streak. LSU dropped 15 consecutive contests when former Tigers coach Johnny Jones frequently looked as strategically befuddled as a chief recruiter losing a satchel full of cash on a recruiting trip. Miserable season this year for North Carolina (14-19) included seven straight ACC setbacks en route to registering 12 reversals in a 14-game span. But at least the Tar Heels didn't set a school standard for most defeats in a row. The following list shows elite basketball schools Creighton, Duke, Iowa, Kentucky, Carolina, Purdue, UNLV, Utah and West Virginia never reaching double figures in consecutive setbacks:
| School (Longest Losing Streak) | Coach(es) | Date Started | Date Ended | Opponent Ending Streak | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona (16) | Fred Enke | 12-19-58 | 2-14-59 | Hardin-Simmons | 66-64 |
| Arizona State (15) | Herb Sendek | 12-22-2006 | 2-18-2007 | Southern California | 68-58 |
| Arkansas (10) | Lanny Van Eman | 1-9-71 | 2-20-71 | at Texas | 88-87 in OT |
| Auburn (13) | V.J. Edney | 12-13-46 | 2-8-47 | Florida | 36-30 |
| Baylor (17) | Harry Miller | 1-2-99 | 11-20-99 | Eastern Washington | 68-61 |
| Boston College (20) | Jim Christian | 1-2-2016 | 11-15-2016 | UMES | 73-57 |
| Brigham Young (21) | Roger Reid/Tony Ingle | 12-13-96 | 11-14-97 | at San Diego State | 73-59 |
| Butler (14) | Joe Sexson | 1-31-81 | 12-12-81 | Valparaiso | 85-76 |
| California (16) | Wyking Jones | 12-29-2018 | 2-28-2019 | Washington | 76-73 |
| Cincinnati (10) | Mick Cronin | 1-24-2007 | 2-28-2007 | Seton Hall | 70-67 in OT |
| Clemson (15) | Banks McFadden | 12-14-54 | 2-21-55 | Georgia | 105-94 |
| Colorado (17) | Tom Apke | 1-8-86 | 11-28-86 | Weber State | 73-57 |
| Connecticut (10) | John Donahue | 1918 | 1919 | Boston College | 46-27 |
| Connecticut (10) | Burr Carlson | 11-30-68 | 1-8-69 | Syracuse | 103-84 |
| Creighton (9) | Dana Altman | 1-23-95 | 2-23-95 | at Wichita State | 50-47 |
| Creighton (9) | Greg McDermott | 12-21-2014 | 1-28-2015 | St. John's | 77-74 |
| DePaul (18) | Jerry Wainwright | 12-31-2008 | 3-10-2009 | Cincinnati | 67-57 in Big East Tournament |
| Duke (8) | James Baldwin | 2-13-22 | 3-?-22 | Durham YMCA | 37-26 |
| Florida (14) | Don DeVoe | 1-17-90 | 2-27-90 | Louisiana State | 76-63 |
| Florida State (13) | Don Loucks | 1-10-48 | 2-21-48 | Florida Southern | 55-48 |
| Georgetown (9) | Jack Magee | 12-13-71 | 1-27-72 | William & Mary | 85-79 in OT |
| Georgia (13) | Harbin "Red" Lawson | 12-28-51 | 2-6-52 | Georgia Tech | 72-64 |
| Georgia Tech (26) | John "Whack" Hyder | 2-7-53 | 2-18-54 | South Carolina | 58-53 |
| Gonzaga (10) | Dan Fitzgerald | 1-19-90 | 2-23-90 | at San Francisco | 76-75 |
| Illinois (11) | Harv Schmidt | 1-12-74 | 2-23-74 | Iowa | 91-84 |
| Indiana (11) | Harry Good | 1-8-44 | 2-19-44 | at Minnesota | 48-47 |
| Indiana (11) | Tom Crean | 1-24-2010 | 3-6-2010 | Northwestern | 88-80 in OT |
| Iowa (8) | Rollie Williams | 2-15-30 | 12-23-30 | at Creighton | 28-22 |
| Iowa (8) | Dick Schultz | 1-7-74 | 2-11-74 | Purdue | 112-111 in 3OT |
| Iowa State (14) | Louis Menze | 1-2-37 | 12-3-37 | Simpson IA | 41-37 |
| Kansas (10) | Phog Allen | 1-21-48 | 3-12-48 | Iowa State | 61-54 |
| Kansas State (15) | E.C. Curtiss | 2-28-22 | 2-17-23 | at Nebraska | 17-14 |
| Kentucky (9) | George Buchheit | 1-25-23 | 2-23-23 | Sewanee TN | 30-14 |
| Louisiana State (15) | Johnny Jones | 1-7-2017 | 3-1-2017 | Tennessee | 92-82 |
| Louisville (19) | Laurie Apitz | 2-18-39 | 2-22-40 | Berea TN | 56-55 |
| Marquette (15) | Eddie Hickey | 1-8-64 | 3-7-64 | at Xavier | 98-95 |
| Maryland (22) | Howard Shipley | 3-1-40 | 2-22-41 | Washington College MD | 26-18 |
| Memphis (20) | Zach Curlin | 1-7-38 | 1-26-39 | Arkansas State | 53-45 |
| Miami FL (17) | Leonard Hamilton | 1-8-94 | 11-25-94 | Northeastern Illinois | 66-48 |
| Michigan (11) | Bill Frieder | 12-12-81 | 1-28-82 | Ohio State | 62-60 in OT |
| Michigan State (11) | Forddy Anderson | 1-9-65 | 3-1-65 | Purdue | 110-92 |
| Minnesota (17) | Clem Haskins | 1-10-87 | 11-30-87 | Western Illinois | 84-52 |
| Mississippi (16) | Robert "Cob" Jarvis | 12-30-75 | 3-1-76 | Vanderbilt | 81-72 |
| Mississippi State (14) | Paul Gregory | 1-7-55 | 2-26-55 | at Louisiana State | 84-80 |
| Missouri (13) | Kim Anderson | 1-10-2015 | 2-24-2015 | Florida | 64-52 |
| Missouri (13) | Kim Anderson | 12-10-2016 | 2-4-2017 | Arkansas | 83-78 |
| Nebraska (17) | Fred Hoiberg | 1-11-2020 | 11-25-20 | McNeese State | 102-55 |
| North Carolina (8) | Tom Scott | 12-20-50 | 1-11-51 | Wake Forest | 65-56 |
| North Carolina State (9) | Les Robinson | 1-25-92 | 2-22-92 | at North Carolina | 99-94 |
| North Carolina State (9) | Sidney Lowe | 2-9-2008 | 11-15-2008 | at New Orleans | 65-59 |
| Northwestern (20) | Maury Kent | 3-3-23 | 12-22-24 | Michigan State | 26-17 |
| Notre Dame (13) | Johnny Dee | 12-18-65 | 2-9-66 | Butler | 84-61 |
| Ohio State (17) | Jim O'Brien | 12-28-97 | 2-25-98 | at Wisconsin | 61-56 |
| Oklahoma (10) | Bob Stevens | 1-6-64 | 2-21-64 | Missouri | 86-84 |
| Oklahoma State (13) | James Pixlee | 1-24-20 | 1-14-21 | Oklahoma Baptist | 34-19 |
| Oklahoma State (13) | John Maulbetsch/George Roddy | 1-12-29 | 1-7-30 | Oklahoma | 28-22 |
| Oklahoma State (13) | George Roddy | 1-10-30 | 1-5-31 | Grinnell IA | 23-16 |
| Oregon (22) | George Bohler | 12-22-21 | 2-20-22 | Nevada | 33-29 |
| Oregon State (25) | Jay John/Kevin Mouton/Craig Robinson | 12-22-2007 | 11-30-2008 | at Fresno State | 62-54 |
| Penn State (17) | Bruce Parkhill | 1-21-84 | 12-5-84 | Navy | 66-63 |
| Pittsburgh (10) | Charles "Buzz" Ridl | 12-7-68 | 1-28-69 | West Virginia | 90-87 |
| Providence (12) | Lawrence Drew | 2-5-49 | 3-9-49 | Clark MA | 46-45 |
| Purdue (8) | Ray Eddy | 1-12-52 | 2-11-52 | Wisconsin | 78-67 |
| Purdue (8) | Ray Eddy | 1-5-63 | 2-4-63 | Michigan State | 103-81 |
| Rutgers (16) | Craig Littlepage | 12-23-87 | 2-18-88 | Penn State | 65-61 |
| St. John's (16) | Chris Mullin | 12-18-2015 | 2-17-2016 | DePaul | 80-65 |
| Seton Hall (15) | John Colrick/Honey Russell | 2-5-36 | 1-22-37 | St. Peter's | 30-23 |
| Seton Hall (15) | P.J. Carlesimo | 1-2-85 | 3-2-85 | Connecticut | 85-80 |
| South Carolina (15) | Absalon "Rock" Norman | 1-12-31 | 1-8-32 | Clemson | 31-23 |
| Southern California (16) | Bob Boyd | 1-8-76 | 12-1-76 | Idaho | 104-64 |
| Stanford (11) | John Bunn | 1-15-32 | 12-23-32 | at Utah | 41-37 |
| Syracuse (27) | Marc Guley | 2-22-61 | 3-3-62 | at Boston College | 73-72 |
| Temple (11) | Don Casey | 12-10-75 | 1-26-76 | Dickinson PA | 89-55 |
| Tennessee (14) | W.H. Britton | 2-21-27 | 12-28-28 | South Carolina | 29-20 |
| Texas (15) | Thurman "Slue" Hull | 12-4-54 | 2-5-55 | Arkansas | 75-74 |
| Texas A&M (17) | Melvin Watkins/Billy Gillispie | 1-10-2004 | 11-19-2004 | North Carolina A&T | 89-56 |
| Texas Christian (24) | Johnny Swaim/Tim Somerville | 12-11-76 | 12-3-77 | Wayland Baptist TX | 67-53 |
| Texas Tech (20) | Gerald Myers | 1-4-90 | 11-25-90 | Nevada | 81-69 at Anchorage |
| UCLA (14) | Pierce "Caddy" Works | 12-28-37 | 1938-39 opener | L.A. City College | 44-28 |
| UNLV (9) | Michael Drakulich | 12-5-58 | 1-14-59 | at Nellis AFB | 52-47 |
| Utah (9) | Vadal Peterson | 12-30-35 | 2-1-36 | at Utah State | 35-34 |
| Vanderbilt (14) | Josh Cody | 2-15-35 | 1-9-36 | Auburn | 47-27 |
| Villanova (10) | John "Rube" Cashman | 1927-28 | season finale | Alumni at Rosemont | 33-18 |
| Virginia (13) | Billy McCann | 1-9-60 | 2-27-60 | Washington & Lee VA | 86-59 |
| Virginia Tech (18) | Gerald "Red" Laird | 12-29-54 | 2-21-55 | The Citadel | 88-53 |
| Wake Forest (22) | Murray Greason | 1-26-43 | 1944-45 | Catawba NC | 41-38 |
| Washington (13) | Lorenzo Romar | 1-21-2017 | 11-10-2017 | Belmont | 86-82 |
| Washington State (18) | Kelvin Sampson | 12-30-89 | 11-28-90 | BYU-Hawaii | 112-81 |
| West Virginia (9) | Marshall Glenn | 1-12-37 | 2-17-37 | Penn State | 36-31 |
| West Virginia (9) | Gale Catlett | 12-28-2001 | 1-30-2002 | Providence | 89-81 |
| West Virginia (9) | Drew Catlett/John Beilein | 2-2-2002 | 11-22-2002 | Delaware State | 59-46 |
| Wichita State (14) | Kenneth Gunning | 1-10-50 | 12-5-50 | Oklahoma Baptist | 53-45 |
| Wisconsin (14) | John Powless | 1-8-76 | 3-1-76 | at Ohio State | 91-79 |
| Xavier (13) | Dick Campbell | 1-29-73 | 12-1-73 | Aquinas MI | 88-48 |