The 1975 UCLA Bruins were the last team to win the men’s NCAA title in their home state.
SAN ANTONIO — The Houston Cougars’ home-state advantage may end up being the story of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Tournament if they hold off the Florida Gators to win their first championship.
Unsurprisingly, there was a sea of red Monday night at the Alamodome, which sits just a 3-hour drive from the University of Houston campus—making for an easy trip for the Cougars faithful.
A handful of men’s college teams in history have won NCAA glory in their home state, but it hasn’t happened in 50 years. The Butler Bulldogs came close to pulling off the storybook ending in 2010 before Gordon Hayward’s missed shot heard ’round the world assured a 61-59 victory for Duke.
The last men’s team to win a championship in their home state? That would be UCLA, which bested Kentucky for the 1975 championship in San Diego.
Should Houston maintain their halftime lead over the Gators, they’d become just the seventh team ever to manage the feat.
Here are all the instances it’s happened in NCAA men’s college basketball history:
- 1950: The CCNY Beavers beat the Bradley Braves in New York City
- 1958: The Kentucky Wildcats beat the Seattle Chieftains in Louisville, Kentucky
- 1968: The UCLA Bruins beat the UNC Tar Heels in Los Angeles
- 1972: The UCLA Bruins beat the Florida State Seminoles in Los Angeles
- 1974: The North Carolina State Wolfpack beat the Marquette Warriors in Greensboro, North Carolina
- 1975: The UCLA Bruins beat the Kentucky Wildcats in San Diego
Houston led at halftime, 31-28.