March Madness: Who has the most consecutive Sweet 16 appearances?

Reaching the Sweet 16 in March Madness is a big accomplishment, but which program has the record for the most consecutive appearances?

It’s one thing to be a consistent team in terms of making the NCAA Tournament. It’s another thing entirely for a program to make it to March Madness and then find reliable success once they get into the field of 68.

One of the best marks of a program achieving such a thing is advancing past the first weekend and getting to the Sweet 16. That means winning two games as the competition ramps up with each victory.

In the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the Gonzaga Bulldogs were able to do just that, making it seven Sweet 16 appearances in a row for Mark Few’s program.

Reaching that mark, though, left many fans wondering what the record for the most consecutive Sweet 16 appearances actually is and how close the Bulldogs are.

Most consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in March Madness

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are now tied for the most consecutive Sweet 16 appearances with nine from 2014 until the current tournament. They now tie two blue bloods in North Carolina and Duke.

The North Carolina Tar Heels first set the mark for the most consecutive Sweet 16 appearances with nine from 1985-93, a run that resulted in a National Championship for the illustrious program at the end in 1993.

That mark was then matched by the Heels’ biggest rival, the Duke Blue Devils, from 1998-2006. Duke also captured a title in that run with their net-cutting coming in 2001.

With the way things have gone of late for Gonzaga, though, it feels safe to say that they might challenge UNC and Duke for the all-time record.

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