Michigan State has become an NCAA Tournament mainstay under Tom Izzo, reaching the tournament in every season since his third year on the job.

The Spartans are dancing once again this March. They were placed as the No. 2 seed in the South Region, giving them their highest seed in the tournament since 2019.

As Michigan State’s consecutive tournament appearances streak increased to 27 on Sunday, Izzo and the Spartans are on the precipice of making history. Where does their consecutive tournament appearances streak rank all time? Let’s take a look.

(Note: Vacated tournament appearances not counted)

Most consecutive NCAA Men’s Tournament appearances of all-time

T9. Texas (14; 1999-2012)

Rick Barnes helped Texas reach new heights in the modern era, instantly bringing the Longhorns back to the NCAA Tournament in his first year on the job. That began a streak of 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, which included six Sweet 16 trips and four Elite Eight appearances.

Texas also reached the Final Four once during the streak, making it there in 2003 behind star guard TJ Ford. LaMarcus Aldridge and PJ Tucker nearly got the Longhorns back to the Final Four in 2005, but they lost to LSU in overtime in the Elite Eight. 

Of course, that streak included Kevin Durant’s lone season in Austin. However, Texas didn’t make it past the first weekend with the National Player of the Year on its roster, getting upset by USC in the second round in 2007. Texas made it to the Elite Eight in the following season, but only won two tournament games in the final four years of the streak.

John Thompson etched himself as a college basketball icon during the 1980s, consistently coaching a Georgetown team that was a national title contender. During Georgetown’s 14-year tournament appearance streak, the Hoyas reached the Elite Eight six times and three Final Fours.

Georgetown played in the national championship game in each of those Final Four trips. After losing to North Carolina on Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot in the final seconds of the 1982 title game, Patrick Ewing and Georgetown avenged that loss in 1984 by beating Houston in the title game. Ewing, Thompson and Georgetown reached the title game again in the following season, but were upset by Villanova. 

While Georgetown didn’t make the Final Four again after those trips during the streak, Alonzo Mourning’s arrival helped the Hoyas win a Big East title and extend the streak to 14 years.

T9. Arizona (14; 1985-98)

Lute Olson made Arizona one of the premier programs on the West Coast in the 1980s and ’90s, technically helping the Wildcats play in an NCAA Tournament game in 25 straight seasons (1985-2008) as head coach. However, its 1999 and 2008 appearances were vacated.

Still, Arizona was able to contend for titles for much of Olson’s tenure. It made the Final Four three times during the course of the streak, winning the national championship in 1997. That team had a handful of players who went on to be drafted, with Mike Bibby and Jason Terry leading the way. 

8. Kentucky (17; 1992-2008)

A true sign of a blue blood might be its ability to sustain success over multiple coaches. That’s what Kentucky did between the 1990s and through the late 2000s, with Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie each coaching the Wildcats over the course of the streak.

Kentucky returned to prominence under Pitino, making it to at least the Elite Eight in five of the first six tournament appearances in the streak. It won the national title in the 1995-96 season and nearly went back-to-back in 1997, losing to Arizona in overtime of the title game.

Following Pitino’s departure in 1997, Smith had the Wildcats still playing at a national championship level. They won the national championship in Smith’s first year and made three more Elite Eight appearances in the following seven seasons. 

As Smith failed to make it out the first weekend in his final two seasons at the helm, he resigned to take the job at Minnesota. Gillispie extended Kentucky’s streak in his first season, but it ended in his second year in Lexington, leading to his firing. 

7. Indiana (18; 1986-2003)

After a rare hiccup under Bobby Knight in 1985, the Hoosiers began one of the longest tournament appearance streaks ever. In the second season of the streak, Indiana won its third national championship under Knight, with Steve Alford and Keith Smart leading the way.

Indiana only made the Elite Eight twice and one Final Four in the 13 seasons following that title win, with Knight’s tenure in Bloomington coming to an unceremonious end in 2000. Mike Davis helped extend the streak for a few seasons after he took over, leading Indiana to a surprise title game appearance in 2002. But the Hoosiers’ consecutive tournament appearances streak ended in 2004, with Davis resigning in 2006.

6. Wisconsin (19; 1999-2017)

Wisconsin might not be viewed as much of a basketball power compared toF the other schools on this list, but Bo Ryan brought a strong level of consistency during his 15 seasons as head coach. After taking over in 2001, Ryan led the Badgers to a tournament appearance in each full season he was the head coach, making the Sweet 16 seven times.

Ryan finally got over the hump to lead Wisconsin to the Final Four in 2014, the first of two straight appearances. It nearly beat Duke for the title in 2015, with Ryan resigning early on in the following season.

Greg Gard helped Wisconsin extend the streak for a couple of more seasons following Ryan’s departure, making the Swwet 16 in both years.

5. Duke (24; 1996-2019)

Arguably the height of Mike Krzyzewski’s 42-year tenure as Duke’s head coach came in the early 1990s, winning two national titles and reaching the Final Four six times in a seven-year stretch.

However, Krzyzewski kept the ball rolling well after Grant Hill and Christian Laettner left Durham. As Krzyzewski a good portion of the 1994-95 season due to a back issue that caused Duke to miss the tournament, the Blue Devils continued another streak of excellence. They reached the title game in 1999 and won it all in 2001.

There was a bit of a title lull for Duke in the ensuing nine seasons, only making the Final Four once during that time. But it won it all again in 2010. As the one-and-done era took over college basketball around that time, Krzyzewski embraced that, with his final title team being led by freshmen in 2015.

Duke’s streak came to an end in 2021, going 13-11 that season.

4. Gonzaga (26; 1999-2025)

While Michigan State has the longest active consecutive tournament streak appearance, Gonzaga isn’t that far behind. After Dan Monson coached the Zags to the Elite Eight in 1999, Mark Few took over and the program hasn’t looked back.

Under Few, Gonzaga has transformed from a mid-major to one of the top programs in the sport, with several top NBA prospects spending time there in recent years. While Gonzaga hasn’t won a title in the streak, it came close in 2017, reaching the title game that year. It made the title game again in 2021.

Gonzaga has made it to the Sweet 16 13 times over the streak. Ahead of the 2025 tournament, it’s won at least one tournament game in each of the last 16 tournaments. 

T2. North Carolina (27; 1975-2001)

Dean Smith helped UNC become one of the game’s blue bloods over his 36 seasons as head coach, serving as its head coach in all but four seasons of the streak.

UNC made the Final Four seven times over the 27 straight seasons it made the tournament, winning the title twice. Both title wins were memorable, but for completely different reasons. In 1982, Michael Jordan’s jump shot in the final seconds gave Smith his first title win. Eleven years later, UNC was able to secure a title win thanks to Chris Weber’s timeout blunder in the final seconds of its win over Michigan.

Bill Guthridge was able to keep the streak going when he replaced Smith in 1997, making the Final Four twice in three years. Following Guthridge’s retirement, Matt Doherty was only able to extend the streak for one more season before missing the tournament two years in a row. He was fired after the 2002-03 season.

T2. Michigan State (27; 1998-2025)

Tom Izzo has made plenty of history at Michigan State already, becoming the winningest coach in Big Ten history in February. He’s close to making even more history, too.

Michigan State’s current streak of 27 straight tournament appearances is only short of the record. The Spartans have also been one of the best teams in the tournament since Izzo took over as head coach, going 56-25 in the tournament games ahead of the 2025 tournament.

Izzo has led the Spartans to eight Final Four appearances, with 26 of his first 29 recruiting classes of four-year players experiencing a trip to the Final Four. Michigan State has also won a title during the streak, winning it all in 2000.

1. Kansas (28; 1990-2017)

When you have three consecutive Hall of Famers coach your program, it’d be difficult to not make history.

Kansas currently holds the record for the longest consecutive tournament appearances of all time. The record began in Roy Williams’ second season as head coach as he replaced Larry Brown. While Williams didn’t make the tournament in his first year as head coach, the Jayhawks were a title contender for much of his 15 seasons as head coach. Kansas made it to the Final Four on four occasions with Williams, losing in the title game in 1991 and 2003.

Williams left Kansas following the 2003 title game loss to become the head coach of UNC, but the Jayhawks didn’t take any steps back with Bill Self. The streak continued in his first 14 seasons, reaching the Elite Eight four times.

Kansas has consistently remained one of the top programs throughout Self’s 22 seasons as head coach. The only reason why the streak came to an end was due to recruiting violations in the 2017-18 season, which led to Kansas’ trip to the Final Four trip from that year being vacated. Had that not occurred, the streak would be at a whopping 35 straight.

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