Louisville Championship Facts

Louisville wins its 3rd National Championship and its first since 1986.  Louisville is now 3-0 in the Championship Game.  They tie Connecticut with the most Championships without ever losing a in the Championship Game.

Rick Pitino becomes the first coach to win a championship for two different schools.  He also won for Kentucky in 1996.

The 27-year gap between championships is the second longest gap between successive championships in tournament history.

• Kansas – 36 (1952 to 1988)
• Louisville – 27 (1996 to 2013)
• North Carolina – 25 (1957 to 1982)
• Indiana – 23 (1953 to 1976)
• Michigan State – 21 (1979 to 2000)
• Kentucky – 20 (1958 to 1978)
• UCLA – 20 (1975 to 1995)
• Kansas – 20 (1988 to 2008)

The Big East now has a 5-game winning streak in the Championship Game and is 7-5 overall.
The Big Ten now has a 5-game losing streak in the Championship Game and is 10-14 overall.

This is the 11th championship for the state of Kentucky which ties North Carolina for the 2nd most behind California with 15.  Teams from Kentucky are 11-5 in the Championship Game.

Teams ranked #2 in the AP Poll are now 15-4 in the Championship Game.  (Louisville finished #2)

Louisville is 4-0 when playing in the State of Georgia.  That ties Louisiana State and Virginia for the best record in Georgia.

Michigan is 6-2 when playing in the State of Georgia.  The 6 wins is the most of any team in Georgia.

Louisville becomes the 6th team to win 70 NCAA Tournament games.

Final Four Postgame Facts

A Big Ten team has played a Big East team two previous times in the National Championship Game.  The Big Ten team won the previous two, both by one point.

• 1987 – Indiana 74 Syracuse 73
• 1989 – Michigan 80 Seton Hall 79 (OT) 

It has been 20 years since either Louisville or Michigan has played in the Championship Game.  The last time both teams in Championship game had not played in the previous 20 years was 2000 when Michigan State (previous was 1979) defeated Florida (1^st appearance).

 

This will be the third time that a #1 seed has faced a #4 seed in the Championship Game.  All 3 times, Rick Pitino has coached the #1 seed.

• 1996 - #1 Kentucky defeated #4 Syracuse 76-67
• 1997 - #4 Arizona defeated #1 Kentucky 84-79 (OT)

Louisville is in the National Championship Game for the 3^rd time and the first time since 1986.  Rick Pitino is in the National Championship Game for the 3^rd time, but his first with Louisville.

Rick Pitino becomes the 5^th coach to take two different schools to the National Championship Game.  Games won in bold.

• Frank McGuire (1952 – St. John’s; 1957 – North Carolina)
• Larry Brown (1980 – UCLA; 1988 – Kansas)
• Roy Williams (1991, 2003 – Kansas; 2005, 2009 – North Carolina)
• John Calipari (2008 – Memphis; 2012 – Kentucky)
• Rick Pitino (1996, 1997 – Kentucky; 2013 – Louisville)

Rick Pitino will attempt to become the first coach to win a Championship for two different schools.

Louisville is 3-7 in National Semifinals, but is 2-0 in National Championship games.

Louisville is now 3-0 vs. #9 seeds in the tournament.

Louisville is 3-0 when playing in the state of Georgia.

With Wichita State losing, teams seeded #9 or lower are now 0-5 in the National Semifinals.  Wichita State's 4-point loss is the closest margin of defeat by a team seeded #9 or lower.  The previous low was 8 by #11 VCU in 2011.

Since 2010, 7 of the 8 National Semifinal games have been decided by single digits.  The exception was Duke over West Virginia 78-57 in 2010.

Wichita State is now 0-2 in National Semifinal games.

Michigan is in National Championship Game for the 6th time and the first time since 1993.  John Beilein is in the National Championship Game for the first time.

Michigan is 6-1 in National Semifinal Games; Syracuse is 3-2.

Michigan has the longest current winning streak in National Semifinal games with 6.  It is also tied with Duke for the third longest winning streak in National Semifinal games.  Only UCLA (9) and Kentucky (7) have had longer winning streaks in the National Semifinals.

Michigan is 6-1 when playing in the state of Georgia; Syracuse is 1-3.

Syracuse is now 2-8 vs. the Big Ten.  Both times that they have defeated a Big Ten team, they lost to another one later in the tournament.

Past Final Four Results

Here are the past Final Four results for this year's Final Four:

1959 - Louisville - Fourth Place
Lost to West Virginia 94-79
Lost to Cincinnati 98-85

1964 - Michigan - Third Place
Lost to Duke 91-80
Defeated Kansas State 100-90

1965 - Michigan - Second Place
Defeated Princeton 93-76
Lost to UCLA 91-80

1965 - Wichita State - Fourth Place
Lost to UCLA 108-89
Lost to Princeton 118-82 

1972 - Louisville - Fourth Place
Lost to UCLA 96-77
Lost to North Carolina 105-91

1975 - Louisville - Third Place
Lost to UCLA 75-74 (OT)
Defeated Syracuse 96-88 (OT)

1975 - Syracuse - Fourth Place
Lost to Kentucky 95-79
Lost to Louisville 96-88 (OT) 

1976 - Michigan - Second Place
Defeated Rutgers 86-70
Lost to Indiana 86-68

1980 - Louisville - National Champions
Defeated Iowa 80-72
Defeated UCLA 59-54

1982 - Louisville - Semifinalist
Lost to Georgetown 50-46

1983 - Louisville - Semifinalist
Lost to Houston 94-81 

1986 - Louisville - National Champions
Defeated Louisiana State 88-77
Defeated Duke 72-69 

1987 - Syracuse - Second Place
Defeated Providence 77-63
Lost to Indiana 74-73

1989 - Michigan - National Champions
Defeated Illinois 83-81
Defeated Seton Hall 80-79 (OT)

1992 - Michigan - Second Place
Defeated Cincinnati 76-72
Lost to Duke 71-51

1993 - Michigan - Second Place
Defeated Kentucky 81-78 (OT)
Lost to North Carolina 77-71 

1996 - Syracuse - Second Place
Defeated Mississippi State 77-69
Lost to Kentucky 76-67

2003 - Syracuse - National Champions 
Defeated Texas 95-84
Defeated Kansas 81-78 

2005 - Louisville - Semifinalist
Lost to Illinois 72-57


2012 - Louisville - Semifinalist
Lost to Kentucky 69-61