Ranking all 85 men's national champions including 2024 UConn
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
John Gasaway,
ESPN Insider - Apr 9, 2024, 08:45 AM ET
UConn has achieved something truly exceptional with its 2024 men's national championship. Not only did the Huskies repeat as champions, they did so after losing three starters from last year's championship team.
Indeed, many repeat champions of yesteryear benefited from a higher degree of roster continuity. So congratulations, Dan Hurley, on finding a different path to a successful title defense.
Just where does UConn's 2024 team rank on the all-time list of men's national champions? We took a shot at coming up with an answer.
Starting with Oregon in 1939 and going right up to this year's Huskies, we've attempted to weigh the relative strength of every NCAA champion. Opinions will differ, and certainly the game has changed dramatically over the years. But here's what we have.
Presenting our ranking of all 85 national champions in men's tournament history.
85. Utah Utes, 1944 (22-4) - Arnie Ferrin and the Utes hold the distinction of being the only team to lose in the NIT -- back when it was possible to compete in both tournaments -- and then win the NCAA title the same year. How? When a car accident forced Arkansas to withdraw from the NCAA bracket, coach Vadal Peterson's group stepped in and won the championship.
84. Stanford Cardinal, 1942 (28-4) - Stanford won a national title just four years after hiring Indiana legend Everett Dean away from the Hoosiers. Howie Dallmar earned most outstanding player (MOP) honors and later returned to Palo Alto to coach his alma mater from the 1950s to the 1970s.
83. CCNY Beavers, 1950 (24-5) - The Beavers are the only team to win NCAA and NIT titles in the same season. CCNY is also the only NCAA champion that no longer plays at the Division I level, due to a point-shaving investigation in the early 1950s.
82. Oregon Ducks, 1939 (29-5) - Howard Hobson's "Tall Firs" claimed the first NCAA title with a 46-33 victory over Ohio State in Evanston, Illinois. Hobson went on to achieve historical renown at Yale by championing a 30-second shot clock as early as 1954.
81. Wisconsin Badgers, 1941 (20-3) - The Badgers prevailed on their home court by a combined margin of seven points against Dartmouth and Pitt before winning it all in Kansas City, Missouri, 39-34 against Washington State. MOP award winner John Kotz was coached by 34-year-old Bud Foster.
80. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Oklahoma A&M Aggies), 1945 (27-4) - Henry Iba's Aggies advanced with ease over Utah and Arkansas in Kansas City, Missouri. Then A&M had to work for a four-point win over hometown favorite NYU at Madison Square Garden in the title game.
79. Indiana Hoosiers, 1940 (20-3) - Marvin Huffman was named most outstanding player as Indiana claimed the first of five national titles. Branch McCracken, at 31, was the youngest head coach to win a men's NCAA tournament.
78. Wyoming Cowboys, 1943 (31-2) - Ken Sailors was one of the earliest practitioners of the jump shot, and his exploits won him MOP honors. Everett Shelton's Cowboys cruised to a 12-point victory in the title game over Georgetown.
77. Holy Cross Crusaders, 1947 (27-3) - Presaging post-pandemic champions of the early 2020s, Holy Cross featured a host of grizzled veterans well into their 20s. Head coach Doggie Julian added a talented teenager named Bob Cousy and minted a champion.
76. Oklahoma State Cowboys (Oklahoma A&M Aggies), 1946 (31-2) - Bob Kurland played in an era populated by rival big men such as 6-foot-9 Harry Boykoff of St. John's and 6-10 George Mikan of DePaul. The 7-foot Kurland was the tallest and most successful of them all, leading A&M to the first back-to-back title run in tournament history.
75. Villanova Wildcats, 1985 (25-10) - After losing the last game of the regular season by 23 at Pittsburgh, Rollie Massimino worried his team wouldn't even make the tournament. Luckily for Villanova, the field was expanded that very year. A 22-of-28 "perfect game" shooting performance (78.6%, the highest field goal percentage in NCAA men's Final Four history) by Ed Pinckney, Dwayne McClain, Harold Pressley and their teammates against mighty Georgetown in the final gave the Wildcats their first title.
74. Kentucky Wildcats, 1948 (36-3) - Adolph Rupp was 46 when he won Kentucky its first NCAA title with a rotation featuring Alex Groza, Ralph Beard and Wallace Jones. The Wildcats beat defending champion Holy Cross by eight in the semifinals and then brushed aside Baylor in a 16-point victory in the final.
73. La Salle Explorers, 1954 (26-4) - With Tom Gola reigning as possibly the college game's most dominant player prior to Bill Russell, the Explorers were consistently outstanding throughout the first half of the 1950s. Ironically, their national title roster was regarded by coach Ken Loeffler as weaker than the 1955 team that lost in the final to San Francisco.
72. NC State Wolfpack, 1983 (26-10) - There might never be another run like this one, in which the Wolfpack won four of six games by either one or two points. The trend held true in the final against Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Houston. Lorenzo Charles caught and dunked Dereck Whittenburg's desperation heave in the final seconds to give Jim Valvano's team the 52-50 victory.
71. Kansas Jayhawks, 1988 (27-11) - Larry Brown's Jayhawks were inconsistent during the regular season and finished third in the old Big 8 Conference, but Danny Manning's 24 points per game hinted at miracles to come. Manning's iconic 31-point, 18-rebound double-double in the title game against top-seeded Oklahoma earned KU its second NCAA tournament title.
70. Kentucky Wildcats, 1949 (32-2) - In defending its title from the previous season, UK had the luxury of returning its nucleus of Alex Groza, Ralph Beard and Wallace Jones. Groza averaged 20 points that season, and the Wildcats won their three tournament games by a margin of 14 points.
69. Marquette Golden Eagles, 1977 (25-7) - "I had seven or eight teams better than" this group, Al McGuire would later say. The numbers bear him out, but it was indeed Butch Lee and Bo Ellis who captured the last title ever won by an independent program.
68. Kansas Jayhawks, 1952 (28-3) - Phog Allen, the legend who was coached by James Naismith himself, put the crowning touch on his career with the 1952 NCAA tournament title. Clyde Lovellette and six KU teammates (though not Dean Smith) went on to win a gold medal for the United States in that year's Helsinki Olympic Games. Allen would rank as the oldest coach to win it all until Jim Calhoun broke the record with UConn in 2011.
67. Kentucky Wildcats, 1958 (23-6) - Johnny Cox, Vernon Hatton and their teammates were dubbed the "Fiddlin' Five" by their coach. It wasn't necessarily a compliment: "We got fiddlers, that's all," said Adolph Rupp, "we don't have any violinists." The fiddlers were good enough though to defeat Elgin Baylor and Seattle by 12 points in the final to win UK its fourth title.
66. UConn Huskies, 2014 (32-8) - Once Kevin Ollie's group escaped overtime against Saint Joseph's in the round of 64, no other opponent came closer than six points against the Huskies. Overall No. 1 seed Florida fell to them in the national semifinal, and then Shabazz Napier and his teammates beat Kentucky 60-54 for the Huskies' fourth title in 15 years.
65. California Golden Bears, 1959 (25-4) - Denny Fitzpatrick and Darrall Imhoff powered Pete Newell's Golden Bears to a title despite 28 points from West Virginia's Jerry West in the title game. Imhoff tipped in the game-winner with 17 seconds remaining, and Cal prevailed 71-70.
64. Indiana Hoosiers, 1953 (23-3) - Branch McCracken won a second title with a team whose losses had come by a combined total of five points (in true road games at Notre Dame, Kansas State and Minnesota). Don Schlundt was the featured scorer for a rotation that averaged better than 80 points a game.
63. Kentucky Wildcats, 1951 (32-2) - Among all champions prior to the great San Francisco teams of the mid-1950s, Kentucky in 1951 stands out as possibly the strongest team. Illinois played the Wildcats close in the semifinals, but otherwise a rotation featuring Bill Spivey and sophomore Cliff Hagan was never seriously threatened in the bracket.
62. Arizona Wildcats, 1997 (25-9) - To this day, Lute Olson's group remains the only team to defeat three No. 1 seeds in a single bracket. (Coincidentally, the Wildcats would have duplicated this feat had they won their 2001 final against Duke.) Miles Simon put up 30 and Mike Bibby added 19 as Arizona prevailed in overtime 84-79 against Rick Pitino and defending champion Kentucky.
61. Louisville Cardinals, 1986 (32-7) - Denny Crum's team won the first ever NCAA tournament to use a shot clock (and the last without a 3-point line) thanks to 25 points in the final from first-year star Pervis Ellison. The Cardinals defeated a Duke team starring Tommy Amaker, Johnny Dawkins and Jay Bilas.
60. Indiana Hoosiers, 1981 (26-9) - This tournament culminated with a showdown between Bob Knight's Hoosiers and Dean Smith's North Carolina Tar Heels. The Hoosiers won by 13 points behind 23 from tournament MOP Isiah Thomas. Despite carrying a 7-5 record on the first day of 1981, IU sailed through the bracket and posted an average margin of victory of 23 points.
59. UConn Huskies, 2011 (32-9) - Jim Calhoun's team finished tied for ninth in the Big East and figured to need a win or two in the conference tournament just to feel safe on Selection Sunday. Instead, the Huskies won five straight, then added six more victories in the NCAA tournament. UConn alternated between sensational offense supplied by Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb and, as Butler learned to its sorrow in the title game, incredible defense.
58. Duke Blue Devils, 1991 (32-7) - No one was looking at the Blue Devils as potential national champions after they were blown out 96-74 by North Carolina in the ACC tournament title game. But Christian Laettner, Bob Hurley, Bill McCaffery and Thomas Hill recovered. Duke stunned heavily favored UNLV in the national semifinal before giving coach Mike Krzyzewski his first title with a seven-point win over Kansas.
57. Michigan Wolverines, 1989 (30-7) - Legendary football coach Bo Schembechler made headlines as an athletic director in 1989 when his coach Bill Frieder came to terms with Arizona State. "A Michigan man will coach Michigan," Schembechler vowed prior to the tournament. That man was Steve Fisher. With Glen Rice averaging 31 points over six games, the Wolverines won by two over Illinois at the Final Four and then outlasted Seton Hall in overtime to capture a championship.
56. Florida Gators, 2006 (33-6) - All eyes were on Duke and UConn in 2006, and on a bracket drawn up perfectly for the two to meet in the finals. Then LSU shocked the Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 and George Mason eliminated the Huskies in the Elite Eight. With MOP Joakim Noah leading the way, Billy Donovan's No. 3 seed Gators beat the Patriots and then UCLA by 15 and 16 points, respectively.
55. Syracuse Orange, 2003 (30-5) - Jim Boeheim's No. 3 seed was ready for honorary Big 12 membership after defeating four of that league's teams on the way to a title. In addition to wins against Manhattan and Auburn, the Orange beat Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas to cut down the nets. The scoring of freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony made the difference, as did a potentially game-saving block against KU by Hakim Warrick.
54. Michigan State Spartans, 1979 (29-6) - Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser scored a combined 43 points to lead MSU to a 75-64 win over Larry Bird and previously undefeated Indiana State. The 1979 championship final remains the highest-rated telecast of any basketball game, pro or college, in the United States.
53. UConn Huskies, 2004 (33-6) - In its run to a second title in five years, UConn faced just one opponent that could play Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon into the 40th minute. That opponent was Duke in the national semifinal. Despite a late eight-point deficit and foul trouble for Okafor, Jim Calhoun's team won by a point and then defeated Georgia Tech 82-73 in the title game.
52. Louisville Cardinals, 1980 (30-3) - The Cardinals survived two overtime games to open play in the 1980 bracket, but from that point Denny Crum's group won its next three by 20, eight and five points, respectively. Darrell Griffith put up 23 in the title game against feisty No. 8 seed UCLA.
51. Indiana Hoosiers, 1987 (30-4) - Contrary to his image as an old-school traditionalist, Bob Knight embraced the 3-pointer in its first season. Steve Alford connected on 53% of his attempts from beyond the arc that year. Alford's 7-of-10 shooting on 3s in the final against Syracuse put Keith Smart in position to hit the game-winner from 2-point land.
50. Michigan State Spartans, 2000 (32-7) - Starting in early February, Tom Izzo's Spartans finished their season on a 15-1 run, with an overtime loss at Indiana supplying the only blemish. Mo Peterson, Mateen Cleaves, Charlie Bell and their teammates rolled through both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, winning all nine games by nine points or more.
49. Duke Blue Devils, 2010 (35-5) - The last ever 65-team bracket featured a Duke rotation powered by the outside shooting of Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler and the offensive rebounding of Brian Zoubek. The Blue Devils defeated Butler 61-59 in the final and gave Mike Krzyzewski his fourth title when a last-second heave by Gordon Hayward just missed.
48. North Carolina Tar Heels, 2017 (33-7) - After Elite Eight and Final Four wins over Kentucky and Oregon by a combined three points, North Carolina's 71-65 victory over Gonzaga in the championship game was practically a blowout. Joel Berry came up big with 22 points and Justin Jackson contributed 16 despite an off night from the perimeter. Roy Williams joined John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, Adolph Rupp, Bob Knight and Jim Calhoun as the only coaches to win three or more championships.
47. Kansas Jayhawks, 2022 (34-6) - Bill Self's Jayhawks trailed North Carolina by 15 at halftime in the title game but quickly erased that deficit, holding on for a three-point victory. In an impressively balanced performance, Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, Remy Martin, David McCormack and Jalen Wilson all scored in double figures against the Tar Heels.
46. Cincinnati Bearcats, 1961 (27-3) - The highly anticipated pairing between Ed Jucker's Bearcats and defending champion Ohio State had to wait as the third-place game between Saint Joseph's and Utah went to four overtimes. When the finalists finally took the floor, Bob Wiesenhahn and UC negated a 27-12 double-double by MOP Jerry Lucas and posted a 70-65 victory over their in-state rivals.
45. Villanova Wildcats, 2016 (35-5) - Following a run to the 2009 Final Four, Villanova's next five tournament bids resulted in five first-weekend exits. "If we don't do something in the next few years the recruits are going to forget about '09," Jay Wright said in 2016. The Wildcats did something. Facing North Carolina in the final, Kris Jennings hit an iconic buzzer-beater off an assist from Ryan Arcidiacono to give Nova its second title.
44. Baylor Bears, 2021 (28-2) - Playing in the Indianapolis "bubble" in the first post-pandemic bracket, the Bears faced a favored Gonzaga team that entered the title game at 31-0 as the overall No. 1 seed. BU promptly outscored the Bulldogs 29-10 in the first 10 minutes and cruised to a 16-point victory. Jared Butler hit four 3s, Davion Mitchell displayed his usual lockdown defense and Mark Vital grabbed eight offensive boards.
43. Maryland Terrapins, 2002 (32-4) - The only blemish on an otherwise perfect February, March and April for the Terrapins was a four-point loss to NC State in the ACC tournament semifinals. Once Gary Williams got his team to the NCAA bracket as a top seed, it won every game by at least eight points. Juan Dixon put up 18 points and Lonny Baxter added 15 in the Terps' 64-52 win over Indiana in the title game.
42. Kentucky Wildcats, 1998 (35-4) - Reaching a third consecutive Final Four and winning a second title in three years didn't come easy for the "Comeback Cats." Tubby Smith's team was down by double digits in each of its final three tournament games, including a 17-point second-half deficit against top-seeded Duke in the regional final. Jeff Sheppard earned MOP honors and Scott Padgett notched 18 points in UK's 78-69 win in the final over Utah.ì
41. Virginia Cavaliers, 2019 (35-3)
Just one year removed from their historic loss to No. 16 seed UMBC, Tony Bennett's Cavaliers survived four consecutive close games against Oregon, Purdue, Auburn and Texas Tech to win it all. The games against the Boilermakers and the Red Raiders went to overtime, but a No. 1-seeded Virginia team powered by De'Andre Hunter, Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and Kihei Clark emerged victorious.
40. UCLA Bruins, 1995 (31-2) - The Bruins needed a legendary length-of-the-floor drive from Tyus Edney to escape Missouri in the round of 32. From that point, it was smooth sailing for Jim Harrick's group. Ed O'Bannon recorded one of the finest title-game performances of the modern era, as his 30-point, 17-rebound double-double stopped Arkansas one win short of defending its title.
39. Louisville Cardinals, 2013 (33-5) - A February defeat at Notre Dame in a five-overtime classic was the last time Peyton Siva and Russ Smith came up on the short end of a final score. Rick Pitino's overall No. 1 seeded Cardinals beat Michigan 82-76 despite a surprising 17-point eruption from Spike Albrecht. George Mason transfer Luke Hancock garnered MOP honors. (Louisville's title was vacated in 2018 in the wake of an NCAA investigation.)
38. UConn Huskies, 2023 (31-8) - If all you saw were the Huskies' first 14 games and their final six, you'd wonder why this group isn't ranked a wee bit higher. It seems that in between the two bookends furnished by those 20 games, UConn was 11-8. Possibly what we saw in the NCAA tournament was the actual excellence that was there with this team all along. Adama Sanogo was superb at both ends of the floor, Jordan Hawkins rained 3s on opponents and Andre Jackson Jr. was relentless, tough and savvy. Eight losses? Ancient history. Winning six tournament games by an average of 20 points gets you a nice spot on this list.
37. Loyola Chicago Ramblers, 1963 (29-2) - Both the Ramblers and Cincinnati turned heads in the early 1960s by starting four Black players. All five Loyola players also logged plenty of minutes. In a title game that went to overtime, George Ireland did not make one substitution. All-American Jerry Harkness overcame a slow start to score 14 points, and the Ramblers denied UC's bid for a then-unprecedented third straight title when Vic Rouse tipped in Les Hunter's miss for the game-winner.
36. Florida Gators, 2007 (35-5) - When Billy Donovan returned all five starters from the 2006 national championship team, the Gators were expected to dominate the entire season. Instead, Florida dropped nonconference games to Kansas and Florida State and entered the SEC tournament having lost three of its past five. From that point, however, things went as expected. The committee rightly looked past the five losses and gave the Gators the No. 1 overall seed. Al Horford scored 18 points as UF defeated Greg Oden and Ohio State by nine for a second straight championship.
35. Arkansas Razorbacks, 1994 (31-3) - While Nolan Richardson famously christened his defensive style "40 minutes of hell," his team was elite on both sides of the ball. The Razorbacks reached the title game averaging 90 points per outing in the tournament. Grant Hill, Jeff Capel, Chris Collins and Duke stayed closer than any of the Hogs' previous five opponents, but Richardson got 53 combined points from Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman and Corey Beck in a 76-72 win.
34. North Carolina Tar Heels, 2005 (33-4) - Roy Williams repeated his appearance at the 2003 national championship game, only this time he was at the helm of North Carolina and not Kansas. His Tar Heels survived a close call against Villanova in the round of 32 and met 37-1 Illinois in the final. Sean May posted a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double and Raymond Felton added 17 points as UNC won its fourth championship 75-70.
33. UCLA Bruins, 1975 (28-3) - Amid the many superlatives of John Wooden's tenure at UCLA, his 1975 team might have been his most clutch group. The Bruins had to be. UCLA reached the title game after winning by three against Montana and by one in overtime against Louisville. In the final, Richard Washington went off for 28 points as the Bruins defeated Kentucky 92-85 in Wooden's final game before retiring.
32. Duke Blue Devils, 2015 (35-4) - Criticism of Mike Krzyzewski's young team peaked in January, when the Blue Devils gave up 177 points combined in back-to-back losses to NC State and Miami. From that point, Duke finished 21-2 (with both losses coming to Notre Dame). In a memorable 68-63 victory over fellow No. 1 seed Wisconsin in the title game, Tyus Jones scored 23 points and gave Coach K his fifth and final championship.
31. Cincinnati Bearcats, 1962 (29-2) - Ed Jucker's group became the fourth team to win two consecutive titles with its 71-59 victory over Ohio State. MOP Paul Hogue and teammate Tom Thacker powered the Bearcats with 22 and 21 points, respectively. UC's toughest challenge came in the semifinals, when it edged UCLA by two in John Wooden's first Final Four appearance.
30. North Carolina Tar Heels, 2009 (34-4) - No tournament opponent laid a glove on UNC as the Tar Heels won every game by at least 12 points. North Carolina's run reached its dominant culmination when the Heels put 55 points on the board in the first 20 minutes of an easy title-game win over Michigan State. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Tyler Hansbrough combined for 58 points as Roy Williams cut down the nets for the second time in four years.
29. UConn Huskies, 2024 (37-3) - UConn won a title in 2023 with Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson Jr. When all three departed, the Huskies turned right around and won it all again. Tristen Newton and Alex Karaban returned as starters, Donovan Clingan dominated as a rim-defender, first-year star Stephon Castle excelled and Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer fit in perfectly. UConn wore down opponents with constant screening and cutting on offense and a smothering D.
28. UCLA Bruins, 1970 (28-2) - Three programs made their first ever Final Four appearances in 1970: New Mexico State, St. Bonaventure and Jacksonville. The returning team was of course UCLA, which defeated Artis Gilmore and the Dolphins 80-69 for a fourth consecutive national championship. Sidney Wicks was awarded MOP honors after a two-game outburst, during which he totaled 39 points and 34 rebounds against NMSU and Jacksonville.
27. Georgetown Hoyas, 1984 (34-3) - In the next-to-last tournament played without a shot clock, Patrick Ewing and Georgetown survived a stall by SMU in the round of 32 and escaped 37-36. From there, John Thompson's team made short work of UNLV, Dayton, Kentucky and Houston to win it all. The victory over the Cougars was helped along when Hakeem Olajuwon played 19 minutes with four fouls. As the final seconds ticked down, Thompson sought out his longtime friend and Big East founder Dave Gavitt and said, "How about that Big East now?"
26. North Carolina Tar Heels, 1993 (34-4) - Dean Smith's Tar Heels survived overtime against Cincinnati in the Elite Eight before avenging a 1991 Final Four loss to Kansas with a 10-point victory. That set up a showdown in the final with Michigan and the Fab Five. UNC's 77-71 win was sealed in the final seconds when Chris Webber signaled for a timeout the Wolverines did not have. On paper, Donald Williams was the Heels' third-leading scorer but he was named most outstanding player after totaling 50 points against the Jayhawks and UM.
25. Villanova Wildcats, 2018 (36-4) - The Wildcats recorded the most decisive six-game run to a title since North Carolina's dominant sweep nine years earlier. Jay Wright's group stunned fellow No. 1 seed Kansas by draining 18 3s en route to a 95-79 victory in the national semifinal. That season's Wooden Award winner Jalen Brunson had to share the postseason spotlight with MOP Donte DiVincenzo, who erupted for 31 points in a 79-62 win over Michigan. Villanova won every tournament game by at least 12 points.
24. Kansas Jayhawks, 2008 (37-3) - First Kansas was pushed to the limit in the Elite Eight by sophomore Stephen Curry in a two-point win over Davidson. Then the Jayhawks jumped out to such a decisive first-half lead over North Carolina that CBS analyst Billy Packer famously declared the national semifinal "over." (He was right.) Finally, Bill Self's team won it all over Memphis in overtime after a Mario Chalmers 3 at the end of regulation. The Jayhawks' title run, however, did not lack for drama. To this day, 2008 is the only bracket where every No. 1 seed advanced to the Final Four.
23. Kentucky Wildcats, 2012 (38-2) - One amazing shot by Indiana's Christian Watford and the Wildcats' own desultory showing against Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament title game were all that prevented UK from entering the field of 68 undefeated. John Calipari's group wasn't hampered by its youth, though, winning every tournament game by at least eight points. Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague all became first-round picks in the 2012 NBA draft.
22. UTEP Miners (Texas Western), 1966 (28-1) - The school then known as Texas Western became the first program to win a national title with five Black starters. Don Haskins' Miners defeated an all-white Kentucky team featuring Pat Riley, 72-65, thanks to 51 combined points from Bobby Joe Hill, Dave Lattin and Orsten Artis.
21. Duke Blue Devils, 2001 (35-4) - Nothing was going to stop the Blue Devils after they erased a 22-point deficit to defeat Maryland in the national semifinal. Against Arizona in the championship game, Mike Dunleavy, Jay Williams and MOP Shane Battier together totaled 55 points in Duke's 82-72 victory.
20. UConn Huskies, 1999 (34-2) - The Vegas line on the 1999 national championship game between UConn and Duke had the No. 1-seeded 33-2 Huskies as 9.5-point underdogs. Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin and Co. then proceeded to make the oddsmakers look foolish with a 77-74 victory over the mighty Blue Devils. Hamilton riddled Duke with made shots to the tune of 27 points and UConn won its first title.
19. UNLV Runnin' Rebels, 1990 (35-5) - From 1990 to 1991, Jerry Tarkanian's team won 45 games in a row, the fourth-longest streak in men's Division I history. The Rebels began the run late in the 1989-90 season, and reached victory No. 11 with a 30-point win over Duke in that year's NCAA final. "I think it's the best a team has ever played against me," then-43-year-old Mike Krzyzewski said after the game. "I'm in awe." Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt and their teammates remained undefeated all the way to the 1991 Final Four, when the Blue Devils turned the tables with a 79-77 victory.
18. North Carolina Tar Heels, 1957 (32-0) - The Tar Heels became just the second undefeated team to win the NCAA tournament with a dramatic triple-overtime victory over Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas. UNC's leading scorer Lennie Rosenbluth fouled out with 1:45 remaining in regulation, but Joe Quigg sank two free throws in the third extra session for the 54-53 win. In later years when North Carolina head coach Frank McGuire was introduced as a "national championship winning coach," he often opened his remarks with two words: "One point."
17. Kentucky Wildcats, 1978 (30-2) - With 41 points on 18-of-27 shooting (and no 3-point line), Jack Givens recorded quite possibly the most dominant title-game performance of any player not named Bill Walton. Kentucky needed most of those points, too, as Joe B. Hall's Wildcats posted a 94-88 win over Duke. UK's balanced rotation also featured Rick Robey and Kyle Macy.
16. Duke Blue Devils, 1992 (34-2) - Christian Laettner's iconic buzzer-beater against Kentucky in the Elite Eight presaged more drama to come. Duke then edged Bob Knight and Indiana 81-78 in the national semifinal before posting a 20-point win over Michigan and the Fab Five in the championship game. Mike Krzyzewski became the first coach to win back-to-back titles since John Wooden.
15. UCLA Bruins, 1971 (29-1) - At the 1971 Final Four, Villanova gave Wooden one of the few close games he ever experienced in a championship final. The Wildcats even forced Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, Henry Bibby and their teammates to stall late in the first half to lure Jack Kraft's team out of its zone defense. Nevertheless, the Bruins prevailed 68-62 behind 29 points from Steve Patterson.
14. Ohio State Buckeyes, 1960 (25-3) - In what still stands as one of the most dominant runs through the bracket in the event's history, Fred Taylor's Buckeyes won their tournament games by an average of better than 19 points. With two future Basketball Hall of Fame inductees on the roster in John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas, Taylor had more than enough talent on hand to turn away Cal 75-55 in the title game.
13. UCLA Bruins, 1965 (28-2) - The defending national champions lost their season opener to Illinois and then went 28-1 the rest of the way. Gail Goodrich and Keith Erickson returned from the previous season and fueled a fast-paced attack that averaged 100 points per 40 minutes over the tournament's first four games. In the national title game, Wooden's group defeated Cazzie Russell and Michigan 91-80.
12. Kentucky Wildcats, 1996 (34-2) - They were known as The Untouchables. This, despite the fact that Tony Delk, Antoine Walker and Co. dropped neutral-site games to UMass (coached by 36-year-old John Calipari) and to Mississippi State in the SEC tournament title game. Rick Pitino's team then breezed through its NCAA bracket, posting an average margin of victory of 21 points. The Wildcats won their rematch against Marcus Camby and the Minutemen in the Final Four before defeating John Wallace and Syracuse 76-67 for UK's sixth banner.
11. San Francisco Dons, 1955 (28-1) - San Francisco entered the 1954-55 season unranked and unnoticed, and an early-season loss at UCLA seemed to confirm that assessment. Then Phil Woolpert's team won its next 25 games. Phog Allen caught his first glimpse of Bill Russell at the 1955 Final Four and proclaimed him the most exciting player the coach had seen in 45 years. The Dons easily defeated Tom Gola and defending champion La Salle 77-63 to win the championship.
10. UCLA Bruins, 1964 (30-0) - John Wooden always credited assistant coach Jerry Norman for the zone press the Bruins used to such devastating effect. Then again it was an offense fueled by future NBA talent like Gail Goodrich, Walt Hazzard and Keith Erickson that propelled UCLA past Duke 98-83 in the championship game. The win marked the first of what would be an incredible 10 titles under Wooden.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels, 1982 (32-2) - Dean Smith's 1982 championship team featured one of the most illustrious rotations in ACC history: Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Matt Doherty and Jimmy Black. Worthy was the leading scorer, but it was first-year star Jordan who drilled the game winner in the final against Georgetown with 15 seconds remaining. UNC won its second title, and Roy Williams, the 1982 team's 31-year-old assistant coach, would one day win the program its fourth, fifth and sixth championships.
8. NC State Wolfpack, 1974 (30-1) - David Thompson, Tom Burleson, Monte Towe and the Wolfpack did what no team had been able to do for eight years. NC State won a national title despite not being named UCLA. Norm Sloan's group beat the Bruins 80-77 in double-overtime in the Final Four and then brushed aside Marquette in the final. Remarkably, the 6-foot-4 Thompson averaged 26 points and shot 55% from the field (all 2s, of course) despite playing in an era when dunks were banned.
7. UCLA Bruins, 1969 (29-1) - The day after being taken to double-overtime by USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, the Bruins lost to the Trojans 46-44 at Pauley Pavilion. That would prove to be the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record, as Lew Alcindor (as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was then known) averaged a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double for the season -- his lowest career averages for both stats. UCLA defeated its coach's alma mater, Purdue, 92-72 to give Wooden his fifth championship ring.
6. UCLA Bruins, 1967 (30-0) - With Lew Alcindor making his debut, the Bruins were challenged only twice in the course of the entire season. In February, USC held the ball and took the game to overtime before losing 40-35. Two weeks later, Oregon followed the same strategy even more faithfully, only to fall 34-25. Dayton made a run to the national final, but the Flyers' 15-point loss matched the lowest margin of defeat recorded by any UCLA tournament opponent.
5. San Francisco Dons, 1956 (29-0) - By 1956, the Dons were so dominant they rolled to a second consecutive title despite the absence of future Hall of Famer K.C. Jones. The NCAA ruled Jones ineligible for the postseason because he played one game in 1953-54 before suffering a ruptured appendix. Nevertheless, Bill Russell and San Francisco defeated Iowa by 12 in the title game, becoming the first NCAA champion to finish undefeated. In all, Phil Woolpert's program recorded 60 consecutive wins.
4. UCLA Bruins, 1968 (29-1) - Quite possibly the greatest team in NCAA history to not go undefeated, UCLA came up short 71-69 in the so-called Game of the Century against Elvin Hayes and Houston before a crowd of 52,000 at the Astrodome. The loss was avenged with emphasis when Alcindor and the Bruins smashed the Cougars 101-69 in the Final Four. A ban on dunking was instituted across college basketball in 1967-68 in apparent fear of Alcindor's dominance. The prohibition wasn't lifted until 1976-77.
3. Indiana Hoosiers, 1976 (32-0) - Bob Knight's Hoosiers announced their intentions right at the start of 1975-76, with a 20-point win over No. 2-ranked UCLA in a made-for-TV event in St. Louis. IU was tested in overtime contests in December and early February, but the team appeared to gain strength as the season progressed. By the time the tournament arrived, Indiana was winning its games by an average of 13 points. While Knight's prowess was plain to see at age 35, the Hoosiers were also blessed with elite talent. Kent Benson, Scott May, Quinn Buckner and Bob Wilkerson were all selected at No. 11 or higher in the two ensuing NBA drafts.
2. UCLA Bruins, 1973 (30-0) - Bill Walton cemented his status as one of the greatest college players of all time with 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting in the 1973 title game against Memphis (then known as Memphis State). In a season where the average NCAA field goal percentage was 44.8, Wooden's top three scorers -- Walton, Jamaal Wilkes and Larry Farmer -- shot a combined 57% from the floor. No NCAA tournament opponent came within 10 points of the Bruins.
1. UCLA Bruins, 1972 (30-0) - The average -- average -- final score of a UCLA game in 1971-72 was 95-64. The Bruins finished their season 30-0, with just two games decided by single digits (one of which was an 81-76 victory over Florida State in the national championship game). Walton made his debut and averaged a 21-point, 16-rebound double-double for the season. Henry Bibby joined Walton on the consensus All-American first team. Surprisingly, just one opponent tried to hold on to the ball against UCLA in this pre-shot-clock era. Notre Dame hosted Wooden's team in January, and the Fighting Irish attempted just one shot in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Irish lost 57-32.
Commenti
Posta un commento