25) Murray State (came closest: 2012)
24) Creighton (came closest: 2021)
23) Western Kentucky (came closest: 1993)

Three of the most successful mid-major programs of the modern era, Murray State, Creighton, and Western Kentucky have struck heart in the fear of higher seeded, higher profile teams numerous times in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately for Murray State, the success has stopped there, as they are arguably the greatest team to not yet reach the Sweet 16. The Kentucky-based Racers have been knocked out in the first round in 11 of their 16 NCAA Tournament appearances. Of their five trips to the second round, 2022 was by far the most tailor made for another victory but the Racers were upset as a #7 seed by #15 seed St. Peter’s. Creighton finally made their Sweet 16 debut in 2021, in their 15th tournament appearance. Previously a mid-major powerhouse in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Bluejays transitioned to the Big East in ’13-’14 and were a #5 seed in the 2021 tournament, where they lost to top seed Gonzaga in the Regional Semifinals. Western Kentucky also made the transition to a bigger conference around that time, moving from the Ohio Valley Conference to Conference USA, but haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2013. Their most memorable modern era appearance came in 2008, when the Hilltoppers advanced out of the first round on a Ty Rogers buzzer beater and eventually reached the Sweet 16 but their closest brush with the Final Four was in 1993. Led by future NBA draftee Darnell Mee, seventh seeded Western Kentucky stunned #2 seed Seton Hall in the second round but lost an 81-78 squeaker against #3 seed Florida State in the Regional Semifinals. Unlike Murray State and Creighton, Western Kentucky does have a Final Four appearance in the pre-modern era, in 1971, though that appearance has been retroactively voided by the NCAA due to one of the players illegally signing with an agent before the tournament.

22) Clemson (came closest: 1990)

Of the eight charter members of the ACC in 1953, Clemson is the only one to never reach a Final Four, even in the pre-modern era. They’ve reached the Sweet 16 three times since 1985 and in each case lost a tight Regional Semifinal match-up against a #1 seed. The first and most painful instance came in 1990, when a killer front court of Dale Davis and Elden Campbell led the Tigers to a #5 seed and the Sweet 16 but they lost a thriller to Connecticut, eliminating a 19-point second half deficit only to lose on an improbable buzzer beater by Tate George. Clemson was back to that round as a #4 seed in 1997 and as a #5 seed in 2018, but lost in close games to Minnesota and Kansas, respectively. Of the eight ACC teams that have been in the conference since ’84-’85, Clemson’s 11 NCAA Tournament appearances are by far the lowest and they’re the only team out of that group without an ACC Tournament title. Probably their most disappointing result came in 1987, when All-American Horace Grant helped them secure a #4 seed in the NCAA Tournament but they were upset in the first round by Missouri State.

21) Vanderbilt (came closest: 1993)

Despite its inclusion in the SEC, athletics has typically been an afterthought at Vanderbilt, a private university in Nashville that’s renowned for its scientific research. In fact, it’s currently the only school in NCAA Division I without a dedicated athletics department. But the basketball program has had some highlights over the years, making 13 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1985 and reaching the Sweet 16 four times. ’92-’93 was the program’s peak, with All-American Bill McCaffrey leading the way to an SEC regular season title, a top 10 AP poll finish, and a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But the Commodores were stunned in the Regional Semifinals by #7 seed Temple, when future NBA All-Star Eddie Jones went off for 26 points in a 67-59 final result. Vanderbilt also reached the Regional Semifinals in 1988, 2004, and 2007, but have yet to advance to the Elite Eight. In fact, they’re the only current SEC program without a Regional Finals appearance in the modern era. Their recent history has also included numerous first round upsets: in 2008 at the hands of Siena, in 2010 to Murray State, and in 2011 against Richmond.

20) BYU (came closest: 2011)

In their 120 years of basketball history, BYU has reached 30 NCAA Tournaments, produced seven All-Americans, and have been ranked in the final AP poll 11 times. But they’ve never reached the Final Four, even in the pre-modern era. In the modern era, they hold the record for most NCAA Tournament appearances, 19, without reaching the Elite Eight, and have only made the Sweet 16 once. That happened in 2011, when Jimmer Fredette was capping off arguably the greatest career in school history. The sharp-shooting guard was the reigning Naismith Award winner and NCAA scoring leader when BYU entered the 2011 tournament as a #3 seed. They easily handled Wofford and Gonzaga in the first two rounds but were no match in the Regional Semifinals for #2 seed Florida, losing 83-74 as Fredette was held to just 11-of-29 shooting from the field. The Cougars did reach the Regional Finals once in team history, when an incredible Danny Ainge coast-to-coast buzzer beater lifted them there in 1981. If you set aside Fredette and the ’10-’11 team, BYU otherwise holds a 4-18 record in modern era tournament games.

19) USC (came closest: 2001)
18) California (came closest: 1997)
17) Washington (came closest: 2005)

Of the 10 original Pac-12 schools, only four have made Final Four appearances in the modern era: UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, and Stanford. Oregon State, Arizona State, and Washington State have been mostly bad during that span, but USC, California, and Washington have combined for 38 NCAA Tournament appearances without a Final Four. California and Washington can actually both make the case as the best school without an Elite Eight appearance. USC has reached the cusp of the Final Four twice, both times losing in the Regional Final as a #6 seed to a #1 seed, vs. Duke in 2001 and vs. Gonzaga in 2021. Washington’s four Regional Semifinals appearances without a win ties Vanderbilt for the modern era record. This was no harm, no foul for the Huskies in 1998 and 2010, when they were just happy to make it that far as a #11 seed (though 1998 was a bitter pill in that their Regional Semifinal loss to Connecticut came on an unlikely buzzer beater put-back). But 2005 was a different story, as All-American Brandon Roy led Washington to a #1 seed only to get dominated in the Regional Semifinals by #4 seed Louisville in a 93-79 loss. California has just two Sweet 16 appearances and both of them came back in the ’90s. In 1993, they upset Duke in the second round as a #6 seed but were subsequently blown off the court by Kansas. They made it back to the Regional Semifinals in 1997 as a #5 seed and put up a fight against top seeded North Carolina but lost. The Golden Bears have just one NCAA Tournament appearance in the last decade, a first round upset as a #4 seed in 2016, at the hands of Hawaii.

16) Tulsa (came closest: 2000)

Led by a young, hotshot coach in Bill Self and deploying a high octane pressure defense, Tulsa made a thrilling run through the 2000 NCAA Tournament as a #7 seed, almost all the way to the Final Four. They pulled off consecutive upsets of #2 Cincinnati and #6 Miami to reach the Regional Final, where the Hurricanes were actually the higher seed, facing off against #8 seed North Carolina. Their defense was its typical suffocating self in that game but the Tulsa offense was a disaster, shooting just 37.3% from the floor in a 59-55 loss. That magical season capped off a seven year run where Tulsa made six NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 three times. But they couldn’t quite reach the Final Four and haven’t even come close since, with just four tournament appearances in the last 22 years, all of them ending before the Regional Semifinals. The year after their Cinderella run through the NCAA Tournament, the Golden Hurricanes did earn some postseason glory, winning the 2001 NIT Tournament.

15) Kansas State (came closest: 2010)

Led by coaching titans Jack Gardner, Tex Winter, Cotton Fitzsimmons, and Jack Hartman, Kansas State was a powerhouse program from the late ’40s through the early ’80s, regularly making deep runs through the NCAA Tournament, including Final Four appearances in 1948, 1951, 1958, and 1964. Though the coaching pedigree has remained strong in the modern era (including Bob Huggins, Leon Kruger, and Dana Altman), the results have been much less historic. In three Regional Final appearances, the Wildcats have lost each time as the higher seed and betting favorite. The first came under Kruger in 1988, when Kansas State as a #4 seed upset top seeded Purdue in the Regional Semifinals but couldn’t finish the subsequent job, losing to their arch rival, #6 seed Kansas. 22 years later they were back, this time considering a legitimate title contender as a #2 seed but getting tripped up in the Regional Final again, this time by the Cinderella team from Butler. Maybe the cruelest was 2018, when Kansas State made a shocking run to the Regional Final as a #9 seed, somehow received a match-up with a lower seed in #11 Loyola-Chicago, but were run off the court in a 78-62 loss. While Kansas State has come up empty over the last 37 years, their in-state rival Kansas has reached the Final Four five times over that span, including a championship in 2008.

14) Boston College (came closest: 1994)

In their 11 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1985, Boston College has prevailed in the first round nine times, quite an impressive mark especially considering they were a #5 seed or lower in eight of those tourneys. But their March success decreases exponentially as the tournament wages on, with a 3-6 record in the second round, a 1-2 record in the Regional Semifinals, and an 0-1 mark in the Regional Final. That Elite Eight accomplishment came in 1994, when the Eagles made a magical run as a #9 seed, upsetting North Carolina and Indiana along the way. They put up a fight in the Regional Final but were ultimately overwhelmed but a much more athletic Florida team. The Eagles also made a Cinderella run in the first modern era tournament in 1985, reaching the Sweet 16 as a #11 seed before losing to Memphis. 2006 may have been Boston College’s biggest heartbreaker. Led by All-American Jared Dudley in their first season in the ACC, they advanced to the Regional Semifinals as a #4 seed and therein had an upset of top seed Villanova in their sights. But the Wildcats battled back to force overtime, where they won it on a controversial, last second goaltending call. The Eagles have made just two tournament appearances in the 17 years since, each of them early exits.

13) Wake Forest (came closest: 1996)

With an alumni register that includes Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, Muggsy Bogues, Josh Howard, and Jeff Teague, not to mention All-Americans Randolph Childress and Rodney Rogers, it’s almost inconceivable that Wake Forest is on this list. Even more incredible is that in addition to never reaching the Final Four, the Demon Deacons have been to the Sweet 16 just four times, and the Elite Eight just once, in 1996. Duncan was unsurprisingly on the roster for that one, leading Wake Forest to the Regional Finals as a #2 seed, where they were summarily dismissed by Rick Pitino’s powerhouse Kentucky team in an 83-63 blowout. The next season was Duncan’s senior year and he won the Naismith Award, but Wake Forest was upset in a second round game against Stanford. Duncan’s sophomore campaign also had ended in disappointment, with Wake Forest getting upset as a #1 seed by Oklahoma State in the Regional Semifinals. In Paul’s two years on campus, the Demon Deacons reached the Regional Semifinals in 2004, then were upset in the second round as a #2 seed by West Virginia in 2005.

“Qualifying for the NCAA Tournament has come relatively easy for Missouri, with 21 appearances in the last 37 years. But advancing through the tournament has been another story, with the Tigers clocking a 9-12 record in first round games.”

12) Tennessee (came closest: 2010)

Say what you will about Bruce Pearl, who was fired from Tennessee in 2011 after numerous recruiting and substance abuse policy violations, but his brief time as head coach was undoubtedly the most successful in program history. He led the Volunteers to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, something they had not accomplished before or since, and their one and only Elite Eight appearance, in 2010. Tennessee had reached the Regional Semifinals three prior times, losing in that round in 2000 under Jerry Green, then in 2007 and 2008 under Pearl. The ’09-’10 Volunteers entered the NCAA Tournament as a #6 seed but stunned Ohio State in the Regional Semifinals before losing to Michigan State in the Regional Final, on a last second free throw. The Volunteers have returned to the Sweet 16 twice since Pearl’s dismissal, making a surprise run as a #11 seed in 2014 and then making it in 2019 as a #2 seed. As much as March Madness has been disheartening for Tennessee, their basketball team has at least overshadowed their once vaunted football program, which has found only minor success in the 20+ years since Peyton Manning left campus.

11) Florida State (came closest: 2018)

While football has long reigned as king on the Tallahassee campus, Florida State’s basketball team has stolen the spotlight in recent years. With longtime coach Leonard Hamilton at the helm, the Seminoles have reached at least the Sweet 16 in in three straight NCAA Tournaments. They had reached the Regional Semifinals or further three times in the prior 30 tournaments combined. This current streak kicked off in 2018 with a surprise run to the Regional Final as a #9 seed, upsetting Xavier and Gonzaga along the way before falling to Michigan in a tight one. The Seminoles had just one Regional Final appearance previously, way back in 1993. With a roster anchored by Bob Sura, Sam Cassell, and dual sport star Charlie Ward, Florida State reached the Elite Eight as a #3 seed, but were blown away in the Regional Final by top seeded Kentucky. Though Florida State suffered a big loss to Michigan in the Regional Semifinals in 2021, they accomplished something unprecedented in school history: they lasted longer in the NCAA Tournament than any other ACC team.

10) Iowa (came closest: 1987)

There’s a history of success in the Iowa basketball program but most of it comes before the modern era. The “Fabulous Five” Hawkeyes reached back-to-back Final Fours in 1955 and 1956, losing in the latter to Bill Russell’s San Francisco in the National Final. There was another renaissance of the program under Lute Olson, who led them to the 1980 Final Four before departing for his signature job at Arizona. There’s been some pockets of success since Olson left but it’s been limited in March. The second round of the NCAA Tournament has been their particular bane. In their 20 modern era tournament appearances, Iowa has been defeated in the second round 11 times, culminating in their ultimate embarrassment in 2021, a second round upset blowout loss as a #2 seed to Oregon. Iowa’s lone Elite Eight appearance came as a #2 seed in 1987, when first year coach Tom Davis inherited a roster with six future NBA draftees, including B.J. Armstrong and Kevin Gamble. They put up a good fight in the Regional Final but were overcome by top seeded UNLV. The Hawkeyes returned to the Sweet 16 two more times under Davis in the ’90s but in the last 22 years since he retired, they’ve reached the tournament just nine times and never past the second round.

9) Alabama (came closest: 2004)

For a brief stretch in the mid to late ’80s, Alabama’s basketball team managed to outshine their football program. During an era when Crimson Tide football was solid but far from a national title contender, basketball coach Wimp Sanderson recruited top flight talent like Derrick McKey, Robert Horry, and Latrell Sprewell to Tuscaloosa. Over a a seven year stretch starting in 1985, Alabama reached the Sweet 16 five times but in each of those five cases their tournament run ended there, with a loss in the Regional Semifinals. That includes twice when they were upset by a lower seeded Cinderella, Providence in 1987 and Loyola Marymount in 1990. Ever since Sanderson re-signed in disgrace in 1992 following a sexual discrimination lawsuit, the program has mostly struggled but did finally reach the Elite Eight in 2004. That run to the Regional Final came as a #8 seed and included an upset of top seeded Stanford along the way.

8) North Carolina State (came closest: 1986)

When N.C. State made its miraculous run to the national title in 1983 under Jim Valvano, it was the second-to-last NCAA Tournament of the pre-modern era. Two years later, when the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Valvano’s Wolfpack almost made a repeat appearance, reaching the Regional Final as a #3 seed before losing to Chris Mullin and St. John’s. They returned to the precipice of the Final Four again in 1986, this time losing in the Regional Final as a #6 seed to top seeded Kansas. But the N.C. State program started a steady decline soon after that, in the wake of multiple recruiting scandals that forced Valvano to resign in 1990. They’ve reached the NCAA Tournament just 11 times in the last 32 years, and in 10 of those appearances they were a #7 seed or lower. The Wolfpack have managed three surprise Sweet 16 runs in that time: in 2005 as a #10 seed, in 2012 as a #11 seed, and in 2016 as a #8 seed, when they upset top seeded Villanova in the second round. Though they’ve failed to reach a Final Four in the past 37 years, N.C. State’s six Sweet 16 appearances are the third most amongst teams representing the ACC, trailing only Duke and North Carolina.

7) Iowa State (came closest: 2000)

Based on the quirks of the selection committee making blind assignments into the bracket, sometimes Regional Final match-ups are stacked with two Final Four worthy teams. Such was the case in 2000 for Iowa State, who was arguably the second best team in the country but drew the overall best team in their region in Michigan State. Led by prized recruits Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Fizer, the Cyclones cruised through the tournament to that point but were no match for top seeded and eventual national champ Michigan State, losing 75-64. What did they do for an encore in 2001? Suffer one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, losing to #15 seed Hampton in a first round stunner. The shell shocked Cyclones reached the NCAA Tournament just once in the ensuing decade before eventually making return appearances to the Sweet 16 in 2014, 2016, and 2022.

6) Notre Dame (came closest: 2015)

Now primarily seen as a football school, Notre Dame was additionally a basketball powerhouse from the ’50s through the ’70s, reaching the Final Four three times during that span. They’ve remained competitive in the modern era, with 18 tournament appearances in 37 years, but have yet to return to their heyday of Final Fours. They came close in 2015 and 2016, making back-to-back Regional Final appearances. Newly minted as an ACC member (following 18 years in the Big East, which was preceded by almost an entire century as an independent), the Fighting Irish made a thrilling run through the 2015 tournament as a #3 seed. They almost upset #1 overall seed and undefeated Kentucky in the Regional Final, holding the Wildcats on the ropes but blowing a late lead and getting defeated, 66-64. Notre Dame’s return appearance to the Elite Eight in 2016 came as a #6 seed but this time they were no match in the Regional Final for North Carolina, losing 88-74. Though the men’s team has fallen on hard times the last few years, missing the last four NCAA Tournaments altogether, the women’s team light up the campus with a national championship in 2018, keyed by back-to-back tournament buzzer beaters from star point guard Arike Ogunbowale.

5) Pittsburgh (came closest: 2009)

The stars seemed perfectly aligned for Pittsburgh to make its Final Four debut in 2009. Led by All-American DeJuan Blair, the Panthers cruised to a 28-4 record in a highly competitive Big East and a top seed in the tournament’s East region. Awaiting in the Regional Final was conference rival Villanova, a prime position for Pitt to exact some revenge for one of their four regular season losses. But in one of the greatest games in tournament history, Scottie Reynolds hit the winner with under a second left to lift Villanova to a 78-76 win. This outcome seems to have altered the course of both programs in divergent directions. The Wildcats lost in the National Semifinal that year but have since won two national titles, rounding out into one of the nation’s top programs. Pittsburgh has concurrently slipped into mediocrity, making just five tournament appearances in the 13 years since, with no return trips to the Sweet 16. The Panthers had made prior appearances in the Regional Semifinals in 2003 as a #2 seed, in 2004 as a #3 seed, and in 2007 as a #3 seed, but lost in definitive fashion each time.

4) Missouri (came closest: 2009)

Qualifying for the NCAA Tournament has come relatively easy for Missouri, with 21 appearances in the last 37 years. But advancing through the tournament has been another story, with the Tigers clocking a 9-12 record in first round games. Six of those 12 losses have come as the higher seed, including devastating upsets as a #4 seed in 1987 (to Xavier), as a #3 seed in 1990 (to Northern Iowa), and as a #2 seed in 2012 (to Norfolk State). The Tigers made a Cinderella run of their own in 2002 as a #12 seed, reaching the Regional Final before losing to conference rival Oklahoma. They also reached the Elite Eight as a #1 seed in 1994 (when they were blown out by Arizona) and as a #2 seed in 2009 (when they lost a close game to Connecticut). That 2012 loss to Norfolk State seems to have cursed the Missouri program, or maybe it was their subsequent offseason move from the Big 12 to the SEC. Either way, they’ve reached the tournament just three times in the last nine years, suffering first round losses in each of them.

3) Temple (came closest: 1991)

Part of the storied Philadelphia “Big 5” programs, Temple reached the Final Four in 1956 and 1958 but fell on hard times soon after. The team was revived under legendary coach John Chaney, who took over and rebuilt it just as the modern era of the NCAA Tournament was starting. Temple participated in 17 of the first 18 tournaments after it expanded to 64 teams in 1985, a mark matched only by Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Kansas, and Indiana. Over that span, the Owls reached the Sweet 16 five times and each time won their Regional Semifinal but they hold an 0-5 record in the subsequent Regional Finals. Their first Elite Eight appearance came in 1988 when they entered the tournament as the #1 overall seed but lost by 10 points in the Regional Final to Duke. But the most heartbreaking Regional Final loss came a the end of a Cinderella run as a #10 seed in 1991, when a Mark Macon buzzer beater came up just short against top seeded North Carolina. Those five Elite Eight appearances without a Final Four trip for Temple are the all-time record, as no one else on this list has made it more than three times. They are also the only school with five or more Regional Semifinals games played without a loss. The only reason Temple isn’t higher on this list is because they’ve struggled in the wake of Chaney’s 2006 retirement, making just eight tournament appearances in the last 15 years, all of them first or second round losses.

2) Xavier (came closest: 2004)

A longtime former rival of Temple in the Atlantic-10 conference, Xavier has had an almost polar opposite experience with the NCAA Tournament than the Owls. The Musketeers were a tournament mainstay in its early days but reached the Sweet 16 just once in their first 13 appearances. Things shifted in 2001 with the hiring of Thad Motta, who became the first of three consecutive head coaches to lead Xavier to a Regional Final. Motta’s chance came in 2004 and it was the only time Xavier really came close to winning the game and advancing to the Final Four, as they lost a tight game against Duke, 66-63. Xavier’s other two Regional Final trips ended in blowouts, with a 19-point loss to UCLA in 2008 (under coach Archie Miller) and a 24-point loss go Gonzaga in 2017 (under coach Chris Mack). Now part of the Big East since 2013, the Musketeers seemed primed to break their Final Four drought with powerhouse seasons in ’15-’16 and ’17-’18. But both ended in early tournament disappointment, as Xavier was upset in the second as a #2 seed in 2016 (by Wisconsin) and as a #1 seed in 2018 (by Florida State). Xavier’s 26 NCAA Tournament appearances are the second most without a Final Four appearance, as are their eight Sweet 16 trips.

1) Purdue (came closest: 1994)

No one has made more NCAA Tournament appearances (27), more second round appearances (20), or more Sweet 16 appearances (10) without reaching the Final Four than Purdue. It’s almost stunning to see their name on this list considering the success the program has had in the modern era. But this seemingly snake bit team has had a brutal recent history when it counts most. Of note: there’s been five times when the Boilermakers lost a second round game as the higher seed, a mark only Kansas and Cincinnati have matched. The worst case scenario was 1996, when Purdue entered the tournament as a #1 seed but barely survived the first round against #16 seed Western Carolina before getting easily defeated in round two by Georgia. Two years prior to that, coach Gene Keady had one of the all-time greatest rosters to fall short of the Final Four, as his Glenn Robinson led team came up just short in the Regional Final against Duke. Keady brought the Boilermakers back to the Regional Final as a #6 seed in 2000 but lost to Big 10 rival Wisconsin. His replacement, Matt Painter, has led Purdue to a top four seed in the tournament six times but as far as the Regional Final only once, in which they lost to eventual national champion Virginia in 2019. Purdue does have a Final Four appearance in its overall history, reaching the National Final in 1969, where they lost to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and UCLA. Painter’s Purdue teams have been one of the best programs in the country over the last few years and enters the 2023 tournament as a #1 seed, so perhaps this curse will be soon broken.