Roy Williams: The 900 Win Club

In beating Florida State Roy Williams becomes the fourth Men's basketball coach in Division I to win 900 career games. Joining Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, and Bob Knight. Here's a recap of his most memorable victories.

Number 1: November 25, 1988 - Kansas 94, Alaska-Anchorage 81

Williams began his career with a win in the Great Alaska Shootout. The 1988-89 season was the only year Kansas had few that 20 wins under Williams. The Jayhawks finished that year 19-12.

Number 3: December 3, 1988 - Kansas 100, Loyla (IL) 80

About a week later Williams secured his first win at home in the infamous Allen Fieldhouse. From 1994-98 the Jayhawks won 62 consecutive home games at The Phog.

Number 10: January 7, 1989 - Kansas 127, Iowa State 82 

First conference win. This was a recurring theme as Williams went on to win nine regular season titles in 15 years.

Number 12: January 14, 1989 - Kansas 75, Kansas State 74

Williams considered a road win as stealing their brownies. Well, the first patch of brownies were stolen as Kansas defeated their in state rival for Williams' first conference road win in Bramlage Coliseum.

Number 49: March 16, 1990 - Kansas 79, Robert Morris 71

This was the first of many NCAA Tournament wins (79 to be exact) for Williams. The Hall of Fame head coach is 29-0 in the first round, coached 105 games, and clinched 13 number 1 seeds.

Number 76: March 30, 1991 - Kansas 79, North Carolina 73

Fitting that Williams' first Final Four win would be against his alma mater and mentor in North Carolina and Dean Smith. Williams has went on to eight more Final Fours and won another eight games in the Final Four.

Number 100: March 13, 1992 - Kansas 84, Colorado 66

Williams coached his 100th win in the first round of the Big Eight tournament in 1992. He would go on to win the conference tournament in '92, '97, '98, & '99.

Number 102: March 15, 1992 - Kansas 66, Nebraska 57

First conference tournament championship - March 15, 1992 vs Oklahoma State.

Number 200: January 27, 1996 - Kansas 88, Nebraska 73

Williams stated that he wanted to be a really good team on the road, so It's fitting that he won his 200th game in a true road game at Nebraska. 

Number 300: February 20, 1999 - Kansas 60, Oklahoma 50

Three years later, Williams secured his 300th career win in his 11th season at Kansas. The wins were piling up, but critics wondering if Williams could ever win the big one. 

Number 400: January 15, 2003 - Kansas 98, Wyoming 70

The last milestone victory for Williams as the Kansas Jayhawks head coach. 

Number 418: April 5, 2003 - Kansas 94, Marquette 61

Why is number 418 highlighted? It was Williams' last victory as the head coach of the Jayhawks, and in came in the Final Four against a superstar in the embryonic stages of his career, Dwyane Wade.

Number 419: November 22, 2003 - North Carolina 90, Old Dominion 64

Williams' first win as the head coach of North Carolina, there's officially a new era in Chapel Hill.

Number 463: March 6, 2005 - North Carolina 75, Duke 73

Probably the most important win for Tar Heels fans everywhere. Williams' first win against their biggest rival, the Duke Blue Devils. This marked the new reign of North Carolina basketball, and ended the 3 game losing streak to team in Durham.

Number 470: April 4, 2005 - North Carolina 75, Illinois 70

In just his second season in command at UNC, Williams finally won the big one! It was the schools’ first championships post-Dean Smith, and Williams was no longer "the best coach to never win a championship."

Number 500: December 9, 2006 - North Carolina 94, High Point 69

It just took Williams four seasons at UNC to win his 500th game. He became the fastest coach to 500 wins.

Number 594: April 6, 2009 - North Carolina 98, Michigan State 72

Williams’ second career National Championship win (this time with his own recruits) came in domination fashion. The Tar Heels outscored their opponents by 121 points during the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Number 600: November 29, 2009 - North Carolina 80, Nevada 73

It only took Williams three additional seasons to win another 100. However, this season snapped Williams' 20 straight NCAA Tournament appearance streak. The Tar Heels finished the 2009-10 season with a 20-17.

Number 700: March 22, 2013 - North Carolina 78, Villanova 71

Not only did Williams notch his 700th career win, but he also kept his first round spotless in the NCAA Tournament.

Number 800: January 16, 2017 - North Carolina 85, Syracuse 68

Williams won his 800th game in fewer seasons than any other coach.

Number 900: February 24, 2021 - North Carolina 78 , Florida 70

Williams officially becomes the fourth head coach to win 900 in Division I Men's basketball. Williams reached this feat in 1,161 games. Krzyzewski got his 900th win in 1,183 games. Jim Boeheim got his 900th win in 1,251 games and Knight got his 900th win in 1,269 games.

Williams is the fastest coach to reach 900 wins in games and seasons (33) in NCAA history. 482 of Williams' victories come as the head honcho of North Carolina (443 of them at the Smith Center.)

Fans and alums everywhere will now wait 4-6 years to see if Williams can reach the pinnacle of 1,000 career wins.


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