There are plenty of reasons Kansas’ basketball tradition is considered one of the greatest in the nation: Lawrence has been graced with great players, great coaches and great games for longer than a century. But the most impressive figure in the Jayhawk record books could be 13. Kansas’ 13 Final Four appearances are tied for the fourth most in college basketball.

1940 – The Jayhawks made their first foray into Final Four basketball in the second year of the NCAA Tournament’s existence. Kansas, coached by Phog Allen, played its way past USC in the national semifinal before losing to Branch McCracken’s Indiana Hoosiers in the title game.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: INDIANA

1952 – Kansas made up for an 11-season Final Four drought by blowing past its competition in the 1952 NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks won by an average of 12 points per game in the tournament, including a 17-point dispatching of St. John’s to take the championship. Clyde Lovellette dominated the final game for Kansas, scoring 33 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: KANSAS

1953 – As defending national champions, Kansas made another trip to the championship game. But the Jayhawks couldn’t pull off a victory against Indiana without Clyde Lovellette. The Hoosiers won their second NCAA title in their second championship matchup against the Jayhawks.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: INDIANA

1957 – Wilt Chamberlain’s Jayhawks came excruciatingly close to winning a national championship in 1957, falling to North Carolina by one point in three overtimes. Chamberlain notched a double-double in the national final, but four Tar Heels scored in double digits in the 54-53 North Carolina victory.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: NORTH CAROLINA

1971 – Kansas won two close games to find its way to the Final Four before UCLA knocked the Jayhawks into the third-place game, 68-60. The Dave Robisch-led Jayhawks didn’t have much luck in the consolation game, falling to Western Kentucky by two points.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: UCLA

1974 – Kansas couldn’t make it out of the national semifinal in 1974, as Marquette spanked the Jayhawks by 13 points. North Carolina State used a bit of home court advantage to its favor in the Final Four, defeating Marquette, 76-64, in Greensboro, N.C.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: NORTH CAROLINA STATE

1986 – Larry Brown took the Jayhawks to the Final Four in his third year as head coach, but Duke stymied Kansas in the national semifinal. The 1986 tournament marked the third straight Final Four in which the Jayhawks did not advance to the championship game.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: LOUISVILLE

1988 – Several decades of hard luck turned around in 1988, thanks to Danny Manning and the Miracles. Manning’s Jayhawks entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed but ran their way past Xavier, Murray State, Vanderbilt and Kansas State en route to the Final Four. The Jayhawks defeated Duke in the semifinal before overcoming conference-foe Oklahoma, 83-79, in the championship.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: KANSAS

1991 – Roy Williams’ first trip to the Final Four as Kansas’ head coach didn’t result in a championship, but the No. 3 seed Jayhawks surprised the nation during their run through the brackets. Mark Randall, an underrated big man, led the Jayhawks’ streak, which ended in a championship-game loss to Duke.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: DUKE

1993 – Kansas dominated its way through the 1993 NCAA Tournament before meeting its match in North Carolina. The Tar Heels, who eventually won the national championship, defeated the Jayhawks by 10 points in New Orleans.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: NORTH CAROLINA

2002 – After flirting with a loss against Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Kansas turned on the jets and advanced to the 2002 Final Four in Atlanta. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, a phenomenal Maryland Terrapin squad full of future NBA stars awaited them. Maryland defeated Kansas by nine points and eventually won the title.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: MARYLAND

2003 – The Jayhawks’ most recent trip to the Final Four was one of the program’s most frustrating. An uber-talented Kansas team fell to Hakim Warrick and Carmelo Anthony’s Syracuse team in the national championship, 81-78. To add insult to injury, coach Roy Williams bolted for North Carolina shortly after the end of the season.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: SYRACUSE