The College Basketball Belt
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Belt records

Through November 12, 2026
744Reigns
2,543Belt games
162Programs have held it
142Title changes in the NCAA tournament

206 current Division I programs have never held the belt.

Most days holding the belt (all reigns)
  1. 1. UCLA2,325
  2. 2. Duke1,922
  3. 3. UConn1,570
  4. 4. Kentucky1,536
  5. 5. North Carolina1,375
  6. 6. Villanova1,145
  7. 7. Cincinnati983
  8. 8. San Francisco914
  9. 9. Louisville914
  10. 10. Indiana803
Most reigns
  1. 1. Duke28
  2. 2. North Carolina24
  3. 3. Kentucky23
  4. 4. UCLA19
  5. 5. Indiana18
  6. 6. Michigan18
  7. 7. Syracuse16
  8. 8. UConn16
  9. 9. Louisville15
  10. 10. Arizona15
Most defenses in one reign
  1. 1. UCLA, 1970–7186
  2. 2. UNLV, 1989–9034
  3. 3. Indiana, 1975–7631
  4. 4. San Francisco, 1954–5530
  5. 5. Ohio State, 1959–6026
  6. 6. Duke, 1998–9926
  7. 7. Cincinnati, 1961–6225
  8. 8. UCLA, 1967–6825
  9. 9. DePaul, 1979–8024
  10. 10. Arizona, 2025–2622
Most successful defenses (all reigns)
  1. 1. Duke179
  2. 2. UCLA140
  3. 3. Kentucky66
  4. 4. Indiana66
  5. 5. Michigan State57
  6. 6. Arizona51
  7. 7. North Carolina51
  8. 8. UConn48
  9. 9. Louisville46
  10. 10. Michigan45
Most defenses in one season
  1. 1. UNLV, 1990–9134
  2. 2. Indiana, 1975–7631
  3. 3. UCLA, 1971–7230
  4. 4. UCLA, 1972–7330
  5. 5. San Francisco, 1955–5627
  6. 6. California, 1959–6026
  7. 7. Ohio State, 1960–6126
  8. 8. Duke, 1991–9226
  9. 9. Duke, 1998–9926
  10. 10. Arizona, 2025–2626
Most belt games played
  1. 1. Duke243
  2. 2. UCLA193
  3. 3. Kentucky126
  4. 4. Indiana123
  5. 5. North Carolina117
  6. 6. Michigan State104
  7. 7. Michigan100
  8. 8. UConn92
  9. 9. Arizona88
  10. 10. Villanova86
Busiest seasons (title changes)
  1. 1. 2006–0721
  2. 2. 2012–1321
  3. 3. 1983–8419
  4. 4. 1989–9018
  5. 5. 1993–9418
  6. 6. 1994–9517
  7. 7. 2004–0516
  8. 8. 2005–0616
  9. 9. 1981–8215
  10. 10. 2008–0915
Longest waits since last holding it
  1. 1. Fordham27,701 days
  2. 2. Niagara27,686 days
  3. 3. Canisius27,684 days
  4. 4. Pennsylvania27,355 days
  5. 5. Detroit Mercy27,292 days
  6. 6. Oklahoma State26,972 days
  7. 7. La Salle26,172 days
  8. 8. Bowling Green23,655 days
  9. 9. Davidson22,162 days
  10. 10. New Mexico21,881 days
Most title takeovers from one team
  1. 1. Duke from North Carolina4
  2. 2. Wichita State from Cincinnati3
  3. 3. Illinois from Indiana3
  4. 4. Michigan from Illinois3
  5. 5. Kentucky from Duke3
  6. 6. Clemson from Maryland3
  7. 7. North Carolina from NC State3
  8. 8. Syracuse from North Carolina3
  9. 9. Houston from Baylor3
  10. 10. Syracuse from Georgetown3

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