The ultimate hoops prize: NC State, Duke, UNC have a combined 14 NCAA tournament titles

March Madness often brings celebration in North Carolina, particularly here in the Triangle.

Among North Carolina, Duke and NC State, 14 teams have won NCAA championships in men’s and women’s basketball. That is, of course, in addition to all of the ACC tournament titles between those three schools since the league was formed in 1953.

In the past 10 years alone, NC State’s women and Duke’s men each have three ACC tournament titles, while UNC’s men have one.

Over that same time frame both Duke and UNC have won men’s NCAA championships.

Here’s a look at every time a Triangle ACC team has won the biggest prize March Madness offers:

1957 UNC men

Coach Frank McGuire’s Tar Heels, with All-American forward Lennie Rosenbluth, captured the state’s imagination and attention with a 32-0 season that culminated in a triple-overtime win over Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas squad in the NCAA final.

1974 NC State men

Led by the magnificent David Thompson, coach Norm Sloan’s Wolfpack went 30-1 to end UCLA’s run of seven consecutive championships. Playing in Greensboro, N.C. State ousted the Bruins in the national semifinals and beat Marquette to claim the NCAA championship.

1982 UNC men

Having led the Tar Heels to six previous Final Fours without claiming a national championship, coach Dean Smith won his first NCAA championship. With James Worthy and Sam Perkins, UNC went 30-2 and won its final 16 games with freshman Michael Jordan providing the game-winning basket in the NCAA final against Georgetown.

1983 NC State men

A team that gave March Madness its magic, Jim Valvano’s Wolfpack won the ACC tournament as a No. 4 seed after going 8-6 in league regular-season play. From there, as a No. 6 regional seed, N.C. State won close game after close game, including a 54-52 win over top-ranked Houston in the NCAA title game on Lorenzo Charles’ buzzer-beating dunk to complete a remarkable 26-10 season.

1991 Duke men

After a decade building the Duke program to capture ACC championships and make regular Final Four appearances, coach Mike Krzyzewski piloted the Blue Devils to the school’s first NCAA championship as they defeated Kansas, 72-65, in the national final at Indianapolis. This after Duke beat previously undefeated UNLV, 79-77, in the national semifinal.

1992 Duke men

With All-Americans Christian Laettner and Grant Hill back from the 1991 title team, as well as point guard Bobby Hurley, the Blue Devils started the season No. 1 in the nation and entered the NCAA tournament as the top seed. It took Laettner’s memorable buzzer-beating shot to beat Kentucky in the East Region final before the Blue Devils toppled Indiana, 81-78, at the Final Four and rolled over Michigan, 71-51, in the NCAA final to complete a 34-2 season.

1993 UNC men

UNC kept the NCAA championship in the Triangle as it, too, beat Michigan’s Fab Five team in the NCAA title game. Garner’s Donald Williams was named the NCAA tournament’s most outstanding player after he scored 25 points in UNC’s 77-71 win over Michigan to give Dean Smith his second national championship.

1994 UNC women

Coach Sylvia Hatchell’s Tar Heels, who featured Charlotte Smith and future U.S. Olympic sprinter Marion Jones, rolled through a 33-2 season to win the Triangle’s first, and to this point only, NCAA women’s basketball national championship. Smith’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, taken after the ball was in-bounded with 0.7 seconds to play, lifted UNC past Louisiana Tech, 60-59, in the NCAA final at Richmond.

2001 Duke men

Led by All-Americans Shane Battier and Jason Williams, Duke returned to the top of the sport in Krzyzewski’s third national championship season. On the way to a 35-4 season, the Blue Devils rallied from a 22-point first-half deficit, which was 11 points at halftime, to beat Maryland, 95-84, in the Final Four semifinals. The Blue Devils topped Arizona, 82-72, in the NCAA final at Minneapolis.

2005 UNC men

Having returned to his alma mater following a successful coaching tenure at Kansas two years earlier, Roy Williams became a national champion as a head coach for the first time when UNC beat Illinois, 75-70, in the championship game at St. Louis. Led by Sean May’s 17.5 points per game, the Tar Heels had five players average double-figures for the season.

2009 UNC men

The Tar Heels completed a dominant run through the NCAA Tournament winning their games by an average of 19.8 points. UNC routed Michigan State, 89-72, at Detroit in the national final. All-American center Tyler Hansbrough, who became the program’s all-time leading scorer (2,872 points), led UNC to the title in his senior season while Wayne Ellington was the tournament’s most outstanding player.

2010 Duke men

Like UNC had done in 1993, Duke followed its rival’s NCAA championship with one of its own. All-American guard Jon Scheyer capped his Blue Devils career and delivered Krzyzewski another championship as Duke beat Butler, 61-59, in the final at Indianapolis. Junior Kyle Singler was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

2015 Duke men

A team built around one-and-done freshmen, including ACC player of the year Jahlil Okafor and tournament most outstanding player Tyus Jones, the Blue Devils went 35-4 to deliver Krzyzewski’s fifth and final NCAA championship. In the NCAA tournament final at Indianapolis, a 68-63 comeback win over Wisconsin, all of Duke’s second-half points were scored by freshmen.

2017 UNC men

One year after losing in the 2016 NCAA final to Villanova on Kris Jenkins’ 3-pointer as time expired, North Carolina vowed to achieve redemption and succeeded in doing so. With returning starters Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks and Joel Berry, the Tar Heels went 33-7 and defeated Gonzaga, 71-65, in the NCAA title game in Glendale, Arizona, as Berry won the tournament’s most outstanding player award.