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All-Time Sweet 16 Appearances by Schools in West

> UCLA leads all men's hoops programs in the region, followed by Arizona, Utah, and Gonzaga


  By SuperWest Sports Staff

March 24, 2026



As Arizona prepares to play in its 22nd all-time Sweet Sixteen on Thursday, we’ve compiled a list of all such appearances by schools in the West.

The region boasts 37 Sweet Sixteen teams, 29 of which have made two or more appearances, led by UCLA, Arizona, and Gonzaga.

But before we get to the list, for those who may be interested, a little history.

The NCAA recognizes Sweet Sixteen appearances since the first tournament, in 1939, even though only eight teams played the tournament from 1939 to 1950.

Between 1951 and 1952, there were sixteen teams in the tournament, so all could claim a Sweet Sixteen appearance.

The team counts fluctuated from 22 to 25 between 1953 and 1974, and some of those teams received byes to the Sweet Sixteen.

However, from 1975 to 1984, all teams were required to play at least one game before the Sweet Sixteen, and since 1985, all have been required to play at least two games.

Here is the list of participating schools from the region.

All-Time Sweet 16 Appearances by Schools in the West

# of AppearancesSchoolLast Appearance
36UCLA2023
22Arizona2026
16Utah2015
14Gonzaga2024
12San Francisco1979
10UNLV2007
8Oregon2021
7Washington2010
7Santa Clara1970
6BYU2025
6Oregon State2021
5USC2021
5ASU1995
5Stanford2014
5Colorado1969
5Idaho State1977
5Seattle1964
4Cal1997
4SDSU2024
4New Mexico State1992
4Wyoming1987
3Utah State1970
3Pacific1971
2New Mexico1974
2Weber State1972
2Saint Mary's2010
2CSU1969
2Nevada2018
2Loyola Marymount1990
1Montana1975
1Long Beach State1970
1WSU2008
1Montana State1951
1Fresno State1982
1Idaho1982
1Cal State Fullerton1978
1SJSU1951