At one time, undefeated men’s N.C.A.A. champions were not too unusual.
San Francisco was the first (1955-56), aided immeasurably by Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, and North Carolina matched that the next year. Then U.C.L.A. almost made perfection seem boring, with undefeated seasons in 1963-64 (Gail Goodrich and Walt Hazzard), 1966-67 (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and back-to-back in 1971-72 (Sidney Wicks and Henry Bibby) and 1972-73 (losing Wicks, but adding Jamaal Wilkes and Bill Walton). But after Indiana in ’76, perfection ceased.
Two teams did come close. Larry Bird’s Indiana State team of 1978-79 made it to the final undefeated before losing to Magic Johnson and Michigan State. In 1990-91, the reigning champion U.N.L.V. was No. 1 all year and didn’t lose until the final against Duke. Still, the long drought of undefeated teams has continued.
But in recent years there has been a renaissance of perfect regular seasons. Wichita State managed it in 2013-14 before losing in the second round of the tournament to Kentucky. A loaded Kentucky team in 2014-15 that included the one-and-done freshmen Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker fell to Wisconsin in the Final Four. And last season, Gonzaga made it to the final unblemished before losing to Baylor.
On the women’s side, perfect national champions are still a common occurrence. UConn alone has made perfect championship seasons a habit, accomplishing them in 1995, 2002, ’09, ’10, ’14, and ’16. The 1998 Tennessee and 1986 Texas teams have also done it in the N.C.A.A. era.
This year, Colorado is the last undefeated women’s team, but it is ranked only No. 22 because of a relatively weak schedule. That will change if it manages to beat No. 2 Stanford on Friday.