Since 2014 we have been keeping track of those NCAA Men’s Division I college basketball programs that have never made it to the Sweet Sixteen in all the years since the tourney was first expanded to 64 teams back in 1985. Our beloved SLU being among them, we have renewed our vigil for ten years running in the hopes the Billikens could survive and advance twice, in one year. Alas, they have not. But nobody’s perfect, certainly none of us at What’s A Billiken – we have been rooting so hard for N.C. State this year, for the scrappy underdog to make it to the Sweet Sixteen for their first time ever…not realizing that when they started calling themselves “N.C. State” a few years ago we somehow forgot that “North Carolina St.” made SIX trips to the Sweet Sixteen between 1985 and 2015. WTH, indeed.

Anyway, with no one to add this year, these are the NBK Graduates.

2023
(9) Florida Atlantic – #26
(15) Princeton – #112

2022
(15) Saint Peter’s – #118

2021
(5) Colorado – #17
(5) Creighton – #19
(12) Oregon St. – #85
(15) Oral Roberts – #152

2019
(3) Houston – #15
(4) Virginia Tech – #11

2017
(7) South Carolina – #31

2014
(11) Dayton – #56