States of Success: Kentucky Surpasses California For Most National Titles
Kentucky (31), buttressed by Louisville ([NCAA DI) and Georgetown (NAIA), moved ahead of California (30) as the state with the most 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 and Ohio are the only states 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. Drury (Mo.) won the DII title but the state's headline school - Mizzou - never has reached the Final Four.
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:
State DI NIT DII DIII NAIA Total Kentucky 11 3 10 0 7 31 California 15 7 5 0 3 30 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 Missouri 0 1 2 2 8 13 Pennsylvania 2 6 2 3 0 13 Wisconsin 2 1 0 10 0 13 Kansas 3 1 1 0 6 11 Texas 1 2 0 0 7 10 Virginia 0 4 5 1 0 10 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 Massachusetts 1 1 1 3 0 6 Connecticut 3 1 1 0 0 5 Maryland 1 1 2 0 1 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 Washington 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 Wyoming 1 0 0 0 0 1
NOTE: Eight states - Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont - never have had a four-year school win a men's national championship.