What if?

What if UCLA had won?

Real result: Notre Dame beat UCLA 71–70 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by January 25, 1974, 7 days later.

The alternate belt: Oregon State

What if UNLV had won?

Real result: Duke beat UNLV 79–77 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 5, 1992, 373 days later, after 10 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Rutgers → Seton Hall → Pittsburgh → UConn → St. John's → Notre Dame → DePaul → Memphis → Cincinnati → Michigan

What if Indiana had won?

Real result: Toledo beat Indiana 59–57 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by March 18, 1978, 473 days later, after 19 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Kentucky → Utah → Arizona → Wyoming → New Mexico → Arizona → Utah → New Mexico → Wyoming → Oregon State → Oregon → Georgia Tech

What if San Francisco had won?

Real result: Illinois beat San Francisco 62–33 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by February 18, 1962, 1,890 days later, after 35 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Western Kentucky → Pittsburgh → UConn → Dartmouth → Holy Cross → UConn → Colgate → Rutgers → Princeton → Yale → Princeton → Harvard

What if Ohio State had won?

Real result: Cincinnati beat Ohio State 70–65 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by December 2, 1965, 1,714 days later, after 27 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Wisconsin → Iowa → Saint Louis → Providence → BYU → Saint Joseph's → Villanova → Temple → La Salle → Pennsylvania → Columbia → Princeton

What if Duke had won?

Real result: UConn beat Duke 77–74 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by November 12, 1999, 229 days later, after 1 reign that never happened.

The alternate belt: Stanford

What if Cincinnati had won?

Real result: Wichita State beat Cincinnati 65–64 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by December 2, 1965, 1,021 days later, after 13 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Loyola Chicago → Georgetown → Drake → Wichita State → Bradley → Cincinnati → Miami (OH) → Vanderbilt → Tennessee → Alabama → Vanderbilt → Michigan

What if UCLA had won?

Real result: USC beat UCLA 46–44 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by March 24, 1972, 1,113 days later, after 23 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Oregon → Washington → Washington State → Gonzaga → Utah State → BYU → Hawai'i → Loyola New Orleans → Dayton → Louisville → Bradley → Murray State

What if Princeton had won?

Real result: Creighton beat Princeton 86–75 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 6, 2024, 379 days later, after 8 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Saint Joseph's → Charleston → Towson → Hofstra → Drexel → Hofstra → Charleston → Alabama

What if Creighton had won?

Real result: San Diego State beat Creighton 57–56 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by March 23, 2024, 363 days later, after 15 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Colorado State → Saint Mary's → Missouri State → Northern Iowa → Indiana State → Drake → Missouri State → Northern Iowa → UIC → Bradley → Northern Iowa → Illinois State

What if San Diego State had won?

Real result: UConn beat San Diego State 76–59 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 8, 2024, 371 days later, after 14 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: BYU → Utah → Arizona State → Washington → UCLA → Arizona → Oregon State → UCLA → Utah → Colorado → Oregon → Creighton

What if Iowa State had won?

Real result: Illinois beat Iowa State 72–69 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by November 27, 2024, 244 days later, after 1 reign that never happened.

The alternate belt: Auburn

What if Illinois had won?

Real result: UConn beat Illinois 77–52 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by March 15, 2025, 350 days later, after 8 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Alabama → Oregon → UCLA → North Carolina → Louisville → Georgia Tech → Virginia → Duke

What if Duke had won?

Real result: Houston beat Duke 70–67 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by February 16, 2026, 317 days later, after 5 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Texas Tech → Houston → Texas Tech → UCF → Houston

What if Houston had won?

Real result: Florida beat Houston 65–63 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 6, 2026, 364 days later, after 11 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Tennessee → Kansas → UConn → St. John's → UConn → Marquette → Xavier → UConn → St. John's → Duke → UConn

What if Arizona had won?

Real result: Michigan beat Arizona 91–73 · the game

The belt never finds its way back. Today it would belong to UCLA, not UConn.

The alternate belt: UCLA

What if Kansas had won?

Real result: Iowa State beat Kansas 74–56 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by March 13, 2026, 27 days later, after 4 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Cincinnati → Texas Tech → TCU → Kansas

What if Iowa State had won?

Real result: BYU beat Iowa State 79–69 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by March 13, 2026, 20 days later, after 3 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Texas Tech → TCU → Kansas

What if BYU had won?

Real result: UCF beat BYU 97–84 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by March 13, 2026, 17 days later, after 3 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: West Virginia → Kansas State → Kansas

What if UCF had won?

Real result: Baylor beat UCF 87–86 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by March 7, 2026, 7 days later, after 1 reign that never happened.

The alternate belt: Oklahoma State

What if Baylor had won?

Real result: Houston beat Baylor 77–64 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by March 14, 2026, 10 days later, after 3 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Arizona State → Iowa State → Arizona

What if Houston had won?

Real result: Arizona beat Houston 79–74 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by April 6, 2026, 23 days later, after 2 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Illinois → UConn

What if Michigan had won?

Real result: UConn beat Michigan 85–77 · the game

The belt never finds its way back. Today it would belong to Michigan, not UConn.