The best example of a mid-major team winning the NCAA Tournament is when UNLV clobbered Duke, 103-73, in the 1990 national championship game.
At the time, UNLV was part of the Big West conference. So yes, mid-major teams do occasionally emerge from March Madness as successful NCAA Basketball champions.
Keep that in mind the next time you’re checking out NCAA basketball championship odds, March Madness fans.
UNLV’s 1989-90 championship was part of the Rebels’ legendary 45-game winning streak, which is the longest and most impressive of any college basketball team across the last 40 years.
Before UNLV’s run, the most recent non-power champion was Marquette in 1977, which was independent at the time and not yet part of the Big East.
Prior to 1960, all kinds of random teams won the national championship, including La Salle, Oklahoma A&M, San Francisco and the City College of New York.
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