The Walton Belt (2018-19 edition)

[JasonEvans]

We have tracked this in the past (https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?40837-The-Bill-Walton-Champion-2017-2018&highlight=walton).

With last night's beatdownof Villanova, the belt is currently held by Michigan. There is an excellent chance the belt finds its way in the ACC as Michigan plays UNC on Nov 28th. But, if it does it may not stay in the ACC for long as the Heels play both Gonzaga and Kentucky in December. If Michigan beats Carolina, the belt is very, very likely to stay in the Big Ten all year.

[OldPhiKap]

We have tracked this in the past (https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?40837-The-Bill-Walton-Champion-2017-2018&highlight=walton).

With last night's beatdownof Villanova, the belt is currently held by Michigan. There is an excellent chance the belt finds its way in the ACC as Michigan plays UNC on Nov 28th. But, if it does it may not stay in the ACC for long as the Heels play both Gonzaga and Kentucky in December. If Michigan beats Carolina, the belt is very, very likely to stay in the Big Ten all year.

Thanks for posting this Jason, agree with your analysis.

And personally I would rather it stay in the Big #? than to go through Chapel Hill or Lexington. Let them hold it safe for the ACC until March and April.

[Acymetric]

Not sure if this is worth it's own thread, but it might also be fun to follow the Basketball Imperialism map throughout the season (I seem to recall mostly just discussing it during the tournament last year).

https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/11/13/ncaa-basketball-imperialism-map-kansas-gains-land-big-12-vermont-win/

https://imgur.com/nz7336s
https://i.imgur.com/nz7336s.jpg

Duke is slowly staking a claim but has yet to make a major land grab so far.

[Green Wave Dukie]

The Imperialism map was fun to watch last March. I personally like the territorial take-over that has been made in the Southern part of Eastern North Carolina that stretches down to the Northern part of South Carolina.

[-jk]

I’ve completely lost track: anyone know who holds the Walton Belt?

-jk

[Blue KevIL]

I’ve completely lost track: anyone know who holds the Walton Belt?

-jk

Michigan became the belt holder by virtue of its win over Villanova.
The Wolverines remain unbeaten at 11-0, so the Walton Belt resides in Ann Arbor.

[bedeviled]

The Bill Walton Championship Belt (based on previous year's National Champion): As stated, currently belongs to Michigan who will surely take it into BigTen play.

However, during Pac-12 (ie Conference of Champions) games, Bill Walton may hype up the Corollary Title (based on current year's AP Preseason #1 (established here (https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?38853-The-Bill-Walton-Champion-2016-2017&p=927403#post927403))). Previously undefeated Kansas just lost the title to Bobby Hurley's ASU team! ASU will try to hold off Princeton on 12/29 before heading into the Pac-12 season.

[Reilly]

Could/should be called the Spurrier Belt on a Duke board:

"I've always felt that to be the true champion, you're supposed to beat the guy who was champion before. We're the ones who beat Clemson. ... Of course, as we all know, Virginia hasn't beaten Clemson in the history of the school, and I don't know if they ever will. If a guy wants to beat Mike Tyson, he's got to beat Mike Tyson. He can't beat Bonecrusher Smith and be the champ."

https://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-spurrier-post.html

[uh_no]

it's been quite the boring year....

But in the title bout of the century...nay year....nay day, wisconsin took the title.

Congratulations for claiming the belt. It's next up for grabs wednesday.

[uh_no]

michigan took their opportunity to reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs by taking the belt back from wisconsin. taking it twice in one year? That's the sign of a true walton champion.

[Neals384]

If he knew we let this thread lie idle while the belt changed hands twice!

2/12 Penn State beat Michigan (trivia, when was the last time a team with a losing record held the belt?)
2/16 Purdue beat Penn State

Purdue holds the belt.

[pfrduke]

If he knew we let this thread lie idle while the belt changed hands twice!

2/12 Penn State beat Michigan (trivia, when was the last time a team with a losing record held the belt?)
2/16 Purdue beat Penn State

Purdue holds the belt.

In 2015, Missouri won the belt (CT to WV to LSU to Missouri) when it came into the game at 6-7, but was 7-7 after the win so it didn’t technically “hold” the belt with a losing record.

Before that, Duquesne won the belt on February 27, 2014 (Louisville to UNC to UAB to LSU to Rhode Island to Duquesne) with a 12-15 record after the game. It immediately lost the belt to Massachusetts in the next game.

[Neals384]

Minnesota beat Purdue, then Maryland beat Minnesota. Maryland (gag) holds the belt and will defend it vs. the winner of Rutgers - Nebraska.

[boligrafous]

Ugh, that belt's been spending too much time in the Big Ten.
There was a chance for the ACC to wrest it from their hands in November when UNC faced Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but as usual the Tarheels fell short in that event. Had they grabbed the belt, though, it would not have made it to ACC play. They would have coughed it up in December in their loss to Kentucky.

[JasonEvans]

Ugh, that belt's been spending too much time in the Big Ten.
There was a chance for the ACC to wrest it from their hands in November when UNC faced Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but as usual the Tarheels fell short in that event. Had they grabbed the belt, though, it would not have made it to ACC play. They would have coughed it up in December in their loss to Kentucky.

Whew... that goodness that did not happen as the ride through the SEC would have been a tough one for the belt. I was trying to track it and it would have changed hands like 7 or 8 times at least as SEC teams constantly would win the belt and then lose it the very next game. In just the past couple weeks the belt would have gone to LSU, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and finally Ole Miss (which would currently hold it).

I think bouncing around the Big Ten is far preferable to a fate that would have taken the belt to Athens, Columbia, and Oxford.

[Neals384]

Nebraska beat the Terps. Nebraska wears the belt. This is getting rediculous!

[Neals384]

Wisconsin beat Nebraska
Michigan State beat Wisconsin

Michigan State wears the belt to the NCAAT.

Perhaps now it can move to some other conference...:rolleyes:

[uh_no]

Wisconsin beat Nebraska
Michigan State beat Wisconsin

Michigan State wears the belt to the NCAAT.

Perhaps now it can move to some other conference...:rolleyes:

either way, would be nice for Duke to take it to minneapolis...

[-jk]

either way, would be nice for Duke to take it to minneapolis...

I want to bring it home for the summer!

-jk

[BLPOG]

(bringing the thread back to the first page)

With MSU's victories over Bradley and Minnesota, they will keep the belt into the second weekend. Their Sweet 16 match-up is against LSU on Friday.

[uh_no]

(bringing the thread back to the first page)

With MSU's victories over Bradley and Minnesota, they will keep the belt into the second weekend. Their Sweet 16 match-up is against LSU on Friday.

with the NCAA victors map, it's fun to watch....but I imagine the walton belt is just the entire country colored by whoever the current title holder is!

[Neals384]

Texas Tech wears the belt into the final game. This thread could be more interesting next year if the belt spends time in the ACC.

[Acymetric]

Has there ever been a year where the team with the Walton belt did not make the tournament? I think the only way this could happen is if a bottom feeder beat a belt holder in one of the final regular season games in a conference where the bottom teams don't make the tournament.

[EKU1969]

It would mean that a team from say the OVC, like either Belmont or Murray State won the belt (not horribly unlikely) but then lost their season finale to say Eastern Kentucky. EKU does not make the OVC tourney, thus holds onto the belt!😇😃

[Acymetric]

It would mean that a team from say the OVC, like either Belmont or Murray State won the belt (not horribly unlikely) but then lost their season finale to say Eastern Kentucky. EKU does not make the OVC tourney, thus holds onto the belt!😇😃

Don't one or two of the major conferences keep people out still? I know the old Big East did at one point.

[pfrduke]

Don't one or two of the major conferences keep people out still? I know the old Big East did at one point.

Because I'm masochistic, I will, at some point over the next few days, track the belt from it's initial holder (the 1939 Oregon Ducks, winner of the 1st NCAA tournament) to present (presumably, Texas Tech).

[JasonEvans]

Because I'm masochistic, I will, at some point over the next few days, track the belt from it's initial holder (the 1939 Oregon Ducks, winner of the 1st NCAA tournament) to present (presumably, Texas Tech).

I have sporked pfr in advance for this... and if he fails to produce said results I will be very disappointed ;)

[pfrduke]

So, the early years of the NCAA are, to put it politely, a complete mess. I started with Oregon in the 1939-40 season and was able to track it into the 1943 season when Pittsburgh lost to Westminster which lost to Bethany and I'm sure it will shock no one to know that it's not easy to track down Bethany College basketball results from 1943. I then tried to start with Kentucky after it won the 1949 title - in that season the belt ended up with Siena (winner of the National Catholic Invitational Tournament) which then in 1950 lost to LeMoyne which lost to St. Francis (PA) which lost to Geneva College (where I think it ended the season) and, again, it will shock no one to learn that it's not easy to track down Geneva College basketball results from 1950-51.

So then I restarted with CCNY after it won the 1950 title, and lo and behold there is a clean and clear path from CCNY at the start of the 1950-51 season to UVA at the end of the 2018-19 season. Table in two posts below split up between 1951-79 and 1980-2019 (chart is too big for one post). Some notes:

Once CCNY won the title, the next four champions did not end the season with the belt. In 15 of the seasons from 1951-1979, the belt holder at the end of the year was not the NCAA champion. Since 1979, that number is 0 - the 1979 Wisconsin Badgers are the last team to hold the belt at the end of a season without winning the title. I may try to figure out paths if one assumes new belts are award to each champion and when those belts consolidate on the larger path (likely in the 1980 season at the latest).

Two teams defended a belt over an entire season - they won the title and then went undefeated the next year: 1955-56 San Francisco and 1972-73 UCLA.

There was a four-year run (the 1994-97 seasons) where the defending champion lost its opening game. Massachusetts was responsible for two of those dethronings.

In the 64-team era, there is one season where the belt changed hands each round of the tournament: in 2006, Iowa entered as Big 10 champion and belt-holder, then lost to Northwestern State, which lost to West Virginia, which lost to Texas, which lost to LSU (sigh), which lost to UCLA, which lost to Florida.

2007 is probably the weirdest modern year for the belt. Florida repeated as champions, but the belt went on a long frolic and detour through the Southern Conference and the Colonial before ending up back in Gainesville. It shares the record with 2013 for most times the belt changed hands (21 times) and holds the record for most individual teams to own the belt (19).

On the other end, the shortest path in the 64-team era is 1991 (UNLV-Duke).

[pfrduke]

1951
CCNY
Missouri
Nebraska
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Missouri
(no postseason)








1952
Missouri
Iowa
Indiana
St. John's
Holy Cross
Boston College
(no postseason)








1953
Boston College
Rhode Island
St. Joseph's
Western Kentucky
Idaho
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Colorado
Missouri
Kansas State
(no postseason)




1954
Kansas State
Indiana
Oregon State
Duke
Wake Forest
NC State
La Salle
Temple
St. John's
(no postseason)





1955
St. John's
Temple
Kentucky
Georgia Tech
Vanderbilt
Mississippi
Tulane
Alabama
Kentucky
Marquette
Iowa
La Salle
San Francisco


1956
San Francisco














1957
San Francisco
Illinois
Kentucky
Tulane
Mississippi State
Florida
Vanderbilt
(no postseason)







1958
Vanderbilt
Minnesota
North Carolina
West Virginia
Duke
Virginia
Maryland
Temple
Kentucky







1959
Kentucky
Vanderbilt
Mississippi State
(no postseason)











1960
Mississippi State
Memphis
Dayton
Duquesne
St. Bonaventure
Bradley
(NIT)









1961
Bradley
Houston
Miami
Saint Louis
Providence
(NIT)










1962
Providence
Depaul
St. Bonaventure
Detroit
Loyola (Chi.)
Marquette
Saint Louis
Bradley
Cincinnati







1963
Cincinnati
Wichita State
Bradley
Duquesne
(no postseason)










1964
Duquesne
Pittsburgh
Wisconsin
Cincinnati
Utah
Utah State
Utah
Arizona
Utah
Arizona State
Utah State
San Francisco
UCLA



1965
UCLA
Illinois
Saint Louis
Missouri
SMU
Memphis
Indiana
Illinois
Michigan
Ohio State
(no postseason)




1966
Ohio State
UCLA
Duke
West Virginia
Richmond
Davidson
Syracuse
Duke
Kentucky
Texas Western





1967
Texas Western
New Mexico
New Mexico State
Villanova
Princeton
Louisville
Cincinnati
Saint Louis
Louisville
Wichita State
Tulsa
Marquette
Southern Illinois
(NIT)


1968
Southern Illinois
Iowa
Drake
Saint Louis
Wichita State
Drake
Wichita State
Saint Louis
North Texas
Bradley
Long Island
Notre Dame
Dayton
(NIT)


1969
Dayton
Louisville
Tulsa
Louisville
Drake
UCLA










1970
UCLA
Oregon
Washington
Washington State
(no postseason)










1971
Washington State
Gonzaga
Utah State
BYU
Hawaii
Loyola (LA)
Dayton
Louisville
Bradley
Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Western Kentucky
Austin Peay
(no postseason)


1972
Austin Peay
Texas-Pan American
Florida State
Houston
Jacksonville
Providence
Pennsylvania
North Carolina
Florida State
UCLA






1973
UCLA















1974
UCLA
Notre Dame
UCLA
Oregon State
USC
UCLA
NC State









1975
NC State
Wake Forest
Maryland
Clemson
NC State
Clemson
Maryland
NC State
North Carolina
Syracuse
Kentucky
UCLA




1976
UCLA
Indiana














1977
Indiana
Toledo
Western Michigan
Alabama
Tennessee
UCLA
Washington
Stanford
Washington State
Washington
(no postseason)




1978
Washington
Utah State
Utah
Colorado State
Arizona
Arizona State
UTEP
Arizona
Utah
Notre Dame
Duke
Kentucky




1979
Kentucky
Indiana
Michigan State
Illinois
Ohio State
Michigan State
Wisconsin
(no postseason)








Bold font indicates where the belt was consolidated with split belts awarded to intervening champions (see later post on the topic).

[pfrduke]

1980
Wisconsin
Depaul
Notre Dame
Missouri
LSU
Louisville
















1981
Louisville
Depaul
Old Dominion
Rhode Island
St. Bonaventure
Penn State
Memphis
Florida State
Cincinnati
Louisville
Arkansas
Indiana










1982
Indiana
Kentucky
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Virginia
Maryland
NC State
North Carolina













1983
North Carolina
St. John's
Boston College
Syracuse
St. John's
Pittsburgh
Villanova
Syracuse
Connecticut
Villanova
St. John's
Georgia
NC State









1984
NC State
Virginia Tech
Richmond
VCU
South Alabama
Old Dominion
Charlotte
Jacksonville
UAB
South Florida
VCU
Richmond
James Madison
William & Mary
Navy
Richmond
Indiana
Virginia
Houston
Georgetown


1985
Georgetown
St. John's
Georgetown
Villanova


















1986
Villanova
Lamar
LSU
Alabama
Kentucky
NC State
Maryland
Clemson
Virginia
North Carolina
Duke
Louisville










1987
Louisville
Northeastern
Iowa
Ohio State
Purdue
Indiana
Purdue
Michigan
North Carolina
Syracuse
Indiana











1988
Indiana
Kentucky
Auburn
Georgia
Vanderbilt
LSU
Alabama
Mississippi
Auburn
Georgia
Kentucky
Villanova
Oklahoma
Kansas








1989
Kansas
Seton Hall
Syracuse
Villanova
Seton Hall
Pittsburgh
Villanova
Syracuse
Georgetown
Syracuse
Georgetown
Duke
Seton Hall
Michigan








1990
Michigan
Arizona
Oregon
UAB
BYU
California
Arizona
UCLA
Stanford
Arizona
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
Providence
Connecticut
Georgetown
Syracuse
Connecticut
Duke
UNLV



1991
UNLV
Duke




















1992
Duke
North Carolina
Virginia
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Duke
















1993
Duke
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Florida State
Duke
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Southern
George Washington
Michigan
North Carolina









1994
North Carolina
Massachusetts
Kansas
Temple
Georgia Tech
Maryland
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Charlotte
George Washington
Rhode Island
George Washington
Temple
Massachusetts
Maryland
Michigan
Arkansas




1995
Arkansas
Massachusetts
Kansas
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan State
Indiana
Illinois
Michigan
Michigan State
Purdue
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Iowa
Indiana
Missouri
UCLA




1996
UCLA
Santa Clara
Villanova
Temple
Cincinnati
UAB
Memphis
Louisville
Tulane
Cincinnati
Marquette
Cincinnati
Mississippi State
Syracuse
Kentucky







1997
Kentucky
Clemson
Minnesota
Alabama
San Jose State
UNLV
Hawaii
Fresno State
Air Force
UNLV
Colorado State
SMU
Utah
Kentucky
Arizona







1998
Arizona
Duke
Michigan
Indiana
Michigan State
Illinois
Purdue
Iowa
Illinois
Purdue
Michigan
UCLA
Kentucky









1999
Kentucky
Pittsburgh
Maryland
Kentucky
Duke
Connecticut

[pfrduke]

2000
Connecticut
Iowa
Stanford
Arizona
USC
Oregon
Arizona
Oregon State
Arizona State
Stanford
North Carolina
Florida
Michigan State


















2001
Michigan State
Indiana
Michigan
Illinois
Penn State
Indiana
Illinois
Ohio State
Iowa
Kentucky
USC
Duke






















2002
Duke
Florida State
NC State
Duke
Maryland
NC State
Duke
Indiana
Maryland




























2003
Maryland
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisville
Saint Louis
UAB
Louisville
Butler
Oklahoma
Syracuse


























2004
Syracuse
Charlotte
Alabama
Xavier
Duquesne
George Washington
Richmond
Dayton
St. Joseph's
Xavier
Duke
Connecticut






















2005
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Miami
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Florida State
Duke
Maryland
Clemson
Georgia Tech
NC State
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Duke
Michigan State
North Carolina










2006
North Carolina
Illinois
Iowa
Michigan State
Michigan
Iowa
Northwestern
Illinois
Michigan
Ohio State
Iowa
Northwestern State
West Virginia
Texas
LSU
UCLA
Florida












2007
Florida
Kansas
Depaul
UAB
VCU
Appalachian State
Elon
Chattanooga
Wofford
Charleston
Appalachian State
Furman
Georgia Southern
Elon
Georgia State
George Mason
Northeastern
Drexel
VCU
Pittsburgh
UCLA
Florida


2008
Florida
Florida State
Butler
Cleveland State
Green Bay
Wright State
Illinois State
Drake
Western Kentucky
UCLA
Memphis
Kansas






















2009
Kansas
Syracuse
Cleveland State
Wright State
Butler
Green Bay
Youngstown State
Cleveland State
Wichita State
Southern Illinois
Bradley
Northern Iowa
Purdue
Connecticut
Michigan State
North Carolina












2010
North Carolina
Syracuse
Pittsburgh
Georgetown
Syracuse
Louisville
Georgetown
Notre Dame
West Virginia
Duke


























2011
Duke
Florida State
Clemson
Virginia
Miami
Duke
Virginia Tech
Boston College
Clemson
North Carolina
Duke
Arizona
Connecticut




















2012
Connecticut
Central Florida
Harvard
Connecticut
Seton Hall
South Florida
Marquette
Notre Dame
St. John's
Pittsburgh
Connecticut
Syracuse
Cincinnati
Louisville
Kentucky
















2013
Kentucky
Duke
NC State
Maryland
North Carolina
NC State
Virginia
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Wake Forest
Boston College
Florida State
NC State
North Carolina
Duke
Maryland
North Carolina
Miami
Marquette
Syracuse
Michigan
Louisville


2014
Louisville
North Carolina
UAB
LSU
Rhode Island
Saint Louis
Duquesne
Massachusetts
Saint Louis
St. Bonaventure
St. Joseph's
Connecticut






















2015
Connecticut
West Virginia
LSU
Missouri
Auburn
Florida
Georgia
South Carolina
Arkansas
Kentucky
Wisconsin
Duke






















2016
Duke
Kentucky
UCLA
North Carolina
Louisville
Duke
Louisville
Miami
Virginia Tech
Miami
Virginia
North Carolina
Villanova




















2017
Villanova
Butler
Creighton
Marquette
Providence
Villanova
Butler
Seton Hall
Villanova
Wisconsin
Florida
South Carolina
Gonzaga
North Carolina
















2018
North Carolina
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Michigan State
Michigan
Villanova
































2019
Villanova
Michigan
Wisconsin
Michigan
Penn State
Purdue
Minnesota
Maryland
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Texas Tech
Virginia

[Indoor66]

My Lord! Too much time on someone's hands.

[rsvman]

Impressive.

[Acymetric]

Wow, impressive work. You've inspired me to follow up on what I was curious about, and a little more. I'm not interested to see how often the belt was "in dispute". This would be years where the belt did not eventually pass to the NCAA champion.

For example, at the start of the 1952 season, the belt would be disputed with CCNY and Kentucky (ew, bad year) laying a claim. This will take a fair bit of time I think, so we'll see how it goes. I may not go as far back as 1951 in the interest of not doing tons and tons of work.

[BLPOG]

Tremendous work. Regrettably, I'm unable to spork.

[Neals384]

This curmudgeon must point out that Bill Walton was born in November 1952. Maybe that explains why it was so hard to track the belt before that.:cool:

[Reddevil]

Tremendous work. Regrettably, I'm unable to spork.

Gotter done. Of course I could not help but think, "Wasn't the NIT the bigger championship some of that time?" (Ducks)

[Truth&Justise]

Mighty impressive!

Particularly neat when a team loses the belt and then wins it back later in the year. In both 2002 and 2011, Duke started out with the belt, lost it, regained it, lost it again, and then somehow got it back for a third time.

Even more fun: NC State managed to win the belt twice in 2002, and then promptly lost it to Duke both times! And 2013 looks like a particularly wild year, with the ACC teams trading it back and forth, with multiple teams holding it multiple times.

[TruBlu]

Gotter done. Of course I could not help but think, "Wasn't the NIT the bigger championship some of that time?" (Ducks)

Nope. I checked. The Oregon Ducks never won the NIT. (Just kidding)

[kako]

Can't spork, so thanks for the work!

9F

[Neals384]

Don't one or two of the major conferences keep people out still? I know the old Big East did at one point.

No major conferences do that, but quite a few others do:



Conference
Teams
Conference
Tournament
Invites


America East
9
8


Atlantic Sun
9
8


Big West
9
8


Conference USA
14
12


Horizon
10
8


Ivy
8
4


Northeast
10
8


Ohio valley
12
8


Southland
13
8


Summit
9
8


Sun Belt
12
10


SWAC
10
8


WAC
9
8



Eight of these conferences had at least one team in the kenpom top 100 this past season, so the belt going to there and ending up "retired" is not inconceivable. In fact, it could have happened this past season.

Michigan held the belt when they played UNC on 11/28/19. Michigan won, but suppose UNC had won, and then won their next 4 games (in fact, they lost to UK) before facing Harvard on Jan 2. UNC won that one, but suppose they had lost to Harvard - then the belt would reside in the Ivy for the rest of the regular season. Here's what would have happened next:

On 1/12, Dartmouth beat Harvard
On 1/26, Harvard beat Dartmouth
On 2/9, Cornell beat Harvard
On 2/16, Yale beat Cornell
On 2/23, Harvard beat Yale
On 3/8, Cornell beat Harvard
On 3/9, Cornell beat Dartmouth to complete its season and retire the belt. Cornell finished 7-7 in the Ivy and missed the conference tournament on a tie-breaker.

[pfrduke]

On 3/9, Cornell beat Dartmouth to complete its season and retire the belt. Cornell finished 7-7 in the Ivy and missed the conference tournament on a tie-breaker.

Cornell then played in one of the lower-rank postseason tournaments (CBI, I think, but maybe CIT), and lost to Robert Morris, which lost to Presbyterian, which lost to ultimate tournament winner Marshall. So Marshall would carry the belt in that unlikely scenario. (This happened in the season-wide imperialism map - not all land was consolidated in the NCAA tournament because Cornell held some at the end of the regular seasons, as did Troy, which failed to make the Sun Belt tournament).

[Neals384]

Cornell then played in one of the lower-rank postseason tournaments (CBI, I think, but maybe CIT), and lost to Robert Morris, which lost to Presbyterian, which lost to ultimate tournament winner Marshall. So Marshall would carry the belt in that unlikely scenario. (This happened in the season-wide imperialism map - not all land was consolidated in the NCAA tournament because Cornell held some at the end of the regular seasons, as did Troy, which failed to make the Sun Belt tournament).

Thanks for the correction.

[pfrduke]

Ok, so let's look at split belts - what happens when the NCAA champion did not pick up a belt during the course of the season and is awarded its own. We'll give each one of those belts a year designation and mark when the titles get reunified. The "original" belt in this context refers to the one awarded to CCNY in 1950. These charts end at the point in time when the belts are consolidated; for everything after that, consult the original.

1951 belt, awarded to Kentucky, consolidates with original in 1952 after Kansas beats Kansas State (Kansas took the original from Oklahoma State a little over a week earlier):



1952
Kentucky
Minnesota
Washington
Idaho
Washington
Washington State
Washington
Wyoming
Colorado
Iowa State
(no postseason)


1953
Iowa State
Bradley
Nebraska
Kansas
Kansas State
Kansas







1952 belt, awarded to Kansas, ends up with the 1953 champion (Indiana - so no separate 1953 belt) and consolidates with the original belt early in 1954 when Indiana beats Kansas State (which had ended the prior season holding the original belt with no postseason play):



1953
Kansas
Rice
Colorado State
New Mexico
Wyoming
BYU
Santa Clara
Washington
Kansas
Indiana


1954
Indiana












1954 belt, awarded to La Salle, consolidates with the original in December of the next season after Kentucky takes out Utah



1955
La Salle
Utah
Kentucky



1957 belt, awarded to North Carolina, never changes hands before it consolidates with the original when North Carolina beats Minnesota early in 1958.

1959 belt, awarded to California, ends up with the 1960 and then 1961 champions (so no separate belts for those years), and consolidates with the original belt late in 1962 in Bradley.



1960
California
USC
California
Ohio State




1961
Ohio State
Cincinnati






1962
Cincinnati
Wichita State
Bowling Green
Toledo
Drake
Bradley



1963 belt, awarded to Loyola (IL), finishes the 1964 season with NIT champion Bradley (so 1964 ended with the NCAA and NIT champions each holding separate belts) before consolidating in Indiana in 1965. Interestingly enough, St. Louis separately held the original belt and then the 1963 belt during the 1965 season.



1964
Loyola (IL)
Georgetown
La Salle
Duquesne
Villanova
St. Joseph's
Dayton
Depaul
NYU
Army
Bradley
(NIT)


1965
Bradley
Saint Louis
Indiana












1965 belt, awarded to UCLA, never changes hands before UCLA consolidates it with the original belt with an early season victory over Ohio State.

In 1967, things start to get a little interesting. The 1967 belt is awarded to UCLA. UCLA has one loss in the 1968 season, to Houston, which it avenges in the NCAA tournament, so there is no separate 1968 belt. UCLA also has only one loss in the 1969 season and is the 1969 champion (inheriting the original belt with that championship); however UCLA's one loss is the last game of the regular season to USC, which does not make the postseason, so the belts still do not consolidate. In 1970, the 1967 belt wanders through the West Coast Athletic Conference (now the WCC), ending up in San Francisco, which does not make the postseason. The original belt also ends up with a team out of the postseason (Washington State), so the 1971 season starts with three belts at play - the original (Washington State), 1967 (San Francisco), and 1970 (UCLA) belts. The 1967 belt ends up with UCLA at the end of the year (so there's no separate 1971 belt), but after it lost the 1970 belt to Notre Dame in its only loss of the season. The 1970 belt wanders through the Big Ten after Notre Dame loses it to Indiana, ending the 1971 the season with Northwestern (which, I think it goes without saying, is not in the postseason). It then goes on a big journey in 1972 before Providence takes it from Seton Hall in early March, consolidating it with the original belt and bringing it into the NCAA tournament. Those consolidated belts get to Florida State, which UCLA beats to consolidate them, finally, with the 1967 belt. That win for UCLA finishes off a 30-0 1972 season, featuring sophomore center Bill Walton. Fitting that Walton brings an end to the only triple-Walton belt we've seen.

1967 belt path:



1968
UCLA
Houston
UCLA










1969
UCLA
USC
(no postseason)









1970
USC
Seattle
UC-Santa Barbara
UNLV
Santa Clara
San Francisco
Santa Clara
UNLV
Pacific
San Francisco
(no postseason)


1971
San Francisco
Stanford
BYU
USC
UCLA








1972
UCLA













1970 belt path:



1971
UCLA
Notre Dame
Illinois
Iowa
Indiana
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Michigan State
Northwestern
(no postseason)





1972
Northwestern
Kentucky
Indiana
Ohio
Michigan
Toledo
Ohio
Miami (OH)
Dayton
Niagara
Fairfield
Colgate
Seton Hall
Providence



Will cover the last two split belts (1977, 1979) in a separate post.

[pfrduke]

Last two:

1977 belt, awarded to Marquette, quickly ends up in the SEC and gets passed around from team to team until landing in Kentucky, which consolidates it with the original belt in the national title game (sigh).



1978
Marquette
Louisville
Georgia
Auburn
Tennessee
Mississippi
Vanderbilt
LSU
Florida
Mississippi State
Auburn
Vanderbilt
Mississippi
Kentucky



1979 belt, awarded to Michigan State, briefly ends up with Louisville (ultimate 1980 champion) but doesn't stay there, instead ending the season in the NIT with Virginia. Virginia holds it for 22 straight wins in 1981 before a one-point loss at Notre Dame. The belt then ends up in the NCAA tournament where it consolidated with the original belt in Indiana, the 1981 champion.



1980
Michigan State
St. John's
Tennessee
Louisville
Utah
UNLV
Hawaii
UTEP
Michigan
Virginia
(NIT)


1981
Virginia
Notre Dame
Depaul
St. Joseph's
Indiana









It's been only one, unified belt ever since.