Earning a spot in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is challenging. Stringing those appearances together is considerably more difficult.
As the regular season ended, not every March Madness streak continued after Selection Sunday.
Who Has the Longest Active NCAA Tournament Appearance Streak?
As the 2025 tournament was announced, some of the longest active NCAA Tournament streaks were at stake. The focus is on programs that have shown extraordinary consistency in prevailing tournament berths.
Michigan State and Gonzaga still lead the race, with impressive streaks highlighting their constant success in college basketball. Brad Underwood’s Illinois Fighting Illini also entered this exclusive list, strengthening their position as a rising force in college basketball.
While Illinois hit a milestone, two standout programs sit atop the benchmark for consistency.
Michigan State Spartans – 27 Straight Appearances
Tom Izzo owns the month of March. It’s been 26 years since he won the national championship, but the Michigan State coach is perhaps the most feared in the NCAA Tournament. Izzo is a March Madness giant because he consistently outperforms his seeding and leads the bracket with one of the best teams in the tournament.
This year’s team is one of his most prominent in decades and is built to compete throughout the tournament. Jase Richardson appears to be gaining strength by the day to add to an already extremely deep lineup.
Gonzaga Bulldogs – 26 Straight Appearances
In 25 seasons as Gonzaga’s head coach, Mark Few has made the NCAA tournament every year and has never won fewer than 23 games in a season.
The Zags went from a Cinderella story to a consistent challenger, with 26 consecutive tournament appearances from 1999 to now. Few’s program maintains the gold standard for sustained achievement outside the Power Six leagues.
Gonzaga earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament and progressed to the national championship. In 2022, the Bulldogs were again the No. 1 overall seed and advanced to the Sweet 16.
Other Prominent Programs With 5+ Consecutive Bids
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- Purdue Boilermakers (10)
- Tennessee Volunteers (7)
- Houston Cougars (7)
- Kansas Jayhawks (6)
- Baylor Bears (6)
- Illinois Fighting Illini (5)
List of schools who have an active streak of 5+ tournament appearances. At the end of the season, Brad Underwood’s Illini will join this small list. Truly blessed. pic.twitter.com/X0y2Kf4jrK
— Illiniwood (@BBallSchoILL) February 26, 2025
Michigan State received the No. 2 seed in the South Region while Gonzaga was placed in the Midwest Region with the No. 8 seed. Houston secured the No. 1 seed, Tennesee the No. 2, and Purdue the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region to keep their streaks alive.
Kansas, though they didn’t finish the year ranked in the top 25, earned the No. 7 seed in the West Region while Baylor secured the No. 90 seed in the East. Illinois cracked the list by earning the No. 6 seed in the Midwest.
Colgate, having made five straight postseason appearances in the Big Dance, had their streak dashed without earning a bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Illinois Joins the Club
With their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, Illinois basketball has firmly reestablished itself as a national contender under Brad Underwood. Consecutive top-seed finishes and deep tournament aspirations have reinforced the program’s standing among the nation’s elite.
Several teams with active streaks confront insecurity on Selection Sunday. Programs on the brink will need good finishes to keep their streaks alive and continue in the championship conversation.
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Persistent NCAA Tournament dominance is a sign of an esteemed program. As Illinois strives to join this exclusive class, March Madness will again be a testing ground for the nation’s most consistent teams.
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