Ranking 40 years of males’s NCAA Tournament champions, from 2024 UConn to 1985 Villanova | USAEMALL.com

This article is part of our Rankings & Tiers series, an evaluation across sport about the key players, front offices, teams, franchises and much more.

What better way to commemorate the 40-year anniversary of the NCAA Tournament’s expansion to 64 teams than to create a flawless, universally beloved ranking of every men’s basketball champion in that era?

That is, of course, impossible, but I took a stab at it nonetheless. For such a monumental task, I tried to tether myself to some objective guideposts, creating a numerical scoring system as a starting point. Multiple factors went into those scores:

1. Seed – No. 1 seeds received the most points. If you’re among the best teams ever, you’d likely have earned a top seed in your given year.
2. Regular season champions – It seems reasonable to say that if a team was one of the all-time greats, it would have been the best in its conference and won the regular season title. Half credit was given for sharing the crown.
3. Conference tournament champions – Winning this event earned an extra bonus. Teams that did not have a chance to play a conference tournament (some of the older Big Ten and Pac-10/Pac-12 squads) received half credit.
4. Overall win percentage – This one was pretty simple. The fewer losses, the better.
5. Difficulty of NCAA Tournament path – Teams that faced a more challenging path (based on the sum of seeds played) were given a slight reward.
6. Dominance of NCAA run – I summed each team’s total margin of victory over six NCAA Tournament games to approximate their dominance. The higher the margin, the better.
7. Talent – This measure was by far the most subjective. Was this roster loaded with stars and future NBA standouts? Or was it more of a strong college team without much shine beyond the title run?

Obviously, this entire system can be debated. There are no adjustments for the strength of a particular conference, so winning a loaded ACC is treated the same as winning a watered-down Big Ten.

But combining all of those factors led me to what I believe is a reasonable and defensible list. The best of the best separated themselves with their season-long dominance and emphatic victories in the NCAA Tournament, resulting in two top tiers of all-time greats.

A last note to all of the terrific teams of the 2019-20 season (I’m talking to you, Kansas and Dayton and San Diego State and Michigan State and Gonzaga and Baylor): You may insert yourself into this list wherever you see fit. That’s the beauty of the imagination.

Tier 5: Proof that March is mad

39. 1985 Villanova

Rollie Massimino’s incredible underdog story certainly got the expansion era off to a stirring start. In the first year with a 64-team field, No. 8 seed Villanova went on an incredible run through March and April, beating two No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds in one of the most incredible Cinderella title runs in the event’s history.

That run culminated in a monumental upset of Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown in the title game, during which the Wildcats shot an absurd 78.6 percent from the field, knocking off the larger-than-life Hoyas with patience and efficiency.

Of course, the 1985 Wildcats are remembered more for the long odds of their run than for their dominance, which is how they ended up last in these rankings. They remain the worst seed (No. 8) to win the NCAA title in the 64-team era, and their combined winning margin — just 30 points in six games — is also the lowest ever since the expansion. Their overall winning percentage (71.4 percent) is the second-worst ever, narrowly ahead of 1988 Kansas (71.1).

So while Massimino’s miracle squad may bring up the rear in this particular list, the 1985 Wildcats remain one of the most storied examples of the magic of March Madness.

38. 2014 UConn

Three years after Cardiac Kemba carried UConn to a national title, his old sidekick Shabazz Napier similarly put the team on his back. He certainly had some help — Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels each had some big moments — but this was Napier’s team, through and through.

The Huskies finished tied for third in the inaugural version of the American Athletic Conference, and they lost in the title game of the AAC tournament. They needed overtime just to escape an opening round NCAA Tournament matchup with Saint Joseph’s. They were led by Kevin Ollie, almost inarguably the most shocking NCAA champion coach of the past 40 years.

They did, however, face one of the toughest paths to a title ever, in part because they started as a No. 7 seed. En route to a championship, Ollie defeated Hall of Fame coaches Jay Wright, Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan and John Calipari. This Husky run was truly a lightning-in-a-bottle moment.

GO DEEPER

The March of UConn: At the top, on the edge and really uncomfortable

37. 1988 Kansas

Danny and the Miracles, as 1988 Kansas is now known, have some of the strongest branding of any title winner. Danny Manning carried a relatively anonymous supporting cast through the postseason, racking up 27.2 points per game in the Jayhawks’ six NCAA Tournament games.

Despite being an unheralded contender, Kansas stunningly took down two top-five teams, Duke and Oklahoma, at the Final Four. The Jayhawks had gone 0-3 against those squads during the regular season.

Though the Jayhawks’ run to a title was undoubtedly one of the more magical and captivating March moments ever, this team was clearly lacking relative to other champs. Kansas lost 11 games, finished third in the Big Eight and lost in the semifinals of the Big Eight Tournament. It was also one of the lowest seeds (No. 6) to ever win it all.

36. 1997 Arizona

Arizona’s claim to fame (aside from being the last Pac-10/Pac-12 school to win a title) is that it is the only team in the 64-team era to beat three different No. 1 seeds en route to a championship. Lute Olsen’s Wildcats bled out the sport’s bluebloods, knocking off Kansas, UNC and Kentucky on their surprising run.

Obviously, that feat is impossible for No. 1 seeds to accomplish (they can only play two others in a single tournament), but it is still impressive.

The Wildcats were young but loaded with talent in the backcourt. Mike Bibby and Jason Terry both developed into lottery picks, Michael Dickerson was also a first-round pick, and Miles Simon averaged 18 points per game and won Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four. Oh, and freshman walk-on/future head coach and ESPN analyst Josh Pastner was on this team, too!

It’s hard to rank Arizona much higher than this, though. The Wildcats finished fifth in the Pac-10 and lost nine games overall.

35. 2011 UConn

Jim Calhoun’s “worst” title team at UConn, the 2011 Huskies had a roller-coaster season. At the heart of everything was Kemba Walker, who went on one of the most incredible March heaters ever seen. “Cardiac Kemba” and his Huskies went 14-0 in tournament settings that year: 3-0 at the Maui Invitational, an astonishing 5-0 in five days at the Big East tournament (featuring an iconic Kemba stepback game winner) and, of course, 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament.

Despite Walker’s brilliance (and some help from second-in-command Jeremy Lamb), UConn had some major flaws in its profile. The Huskies went just 9-9 in the Big East, losing seven of their final 11 regular season games. They were barely even ranked (No. 21 in the AP Poll) entering the Big East tournament.

Additionally, 2011 UConn also played arguably the ugliest national championship game in history, a 53-41 rock fight against Butler in which the two teams combined to go 10 of 44 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc. That did not factor into this ranking, but maybe it should have.

34. 1989 Michigan

No champion of the last 40 years had a stranger coaching situation than the 1989 Wolverines. Just prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament, head coach Bill Frieder announced he would take the Arizona State coaching job at the conclusion of the season.

Legendary Michigan football coach Bo Shembechler, the athletic director at the time, swiftly dismissed Frieder and declared that “A Michigan man will coach Michigan!” Lead assistant Steve Fisher took over and led the Wolverines on a dramatic run to the national title.

Michigan squeaked by Illinois 83-81 in the national semifinal and then edged Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime for the championship. The Wolverines also finished just third in the Big Ten regular season standings; the dominance just is not there to rank highly on a list like this.

The wild coaching storyline overshadowed a talented roster led by eventual three-time NBA All-Star Glen Rice, who parlayed the national title into the No. 4 pick in the NBA Draft. Three other Wolverine champions were selected in the first round the following year, though none of that trio made the same kind of professional impact as Rice.

Tier 4: Memorable, but not elite

33. 2006 Florida

After a disappointing 5-6 stretch in January/February that doomed the Gators to third place in the SEC standings, they went on a tear in both the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Joakim Noah emerged as a national icon, a boisterous winner who dominated the paint along with frontcourt bash brother Al Horford. Corey Brewer was another future pro, and the backcourt of Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey filled their roles perfectly.

Florida’s handling of No. 1 seed Villanova in the Elite Eight emphatically announced the Gators’ arrival on the national stage. They did, however, benefit from getting to play two No. 11 seeds en route to the title, including Cinderella story George Mason in the Final Four.

Ultimately, 2006 Florida’s most noteworthy legacy is that it became 2007 Florida. Every key piece returned, and the 2007 version was clearly a “leveled up” edition of the reigning national champs.

32. 2023 UConn

This UConn squad is remembered most for its thorough drubbing of every opponent in its path. In an upset-filled NCAA Tournament, no opponent came within 13 points of the eventual national champion Huskies.

Their most impressive performance was a 28-point destruction of Drew Timme’s Gonzaga to reach the Final Four, en route to a combined margin of victory of 120 over six Tournament games, the fifth-highest total of the last 40 years.

This team was only a No. 4 seed, though, and the Huskies did not win the Big East regular season title nor even make the Big East tournament final. They lost six of eight games in late December/January and were one of just five champs to win less than 80 percent of their games, and they did not beat a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in their route to the championship.

Of course, this roster was the breeding ground for 2024’s juggernaut. Donovan Clingan flashed his incredible impact as a highly useful reserve, and Tristen Newton and Alex Karaban each started 38 of the Huskies’ 39 games.

31. 2003 Syracuse

Carmelo Anthony’s magical run through the 2003 NCAA Tournament was the first true “one-and-done” moment, two years before the NBA implemented the rule preventing players from jumping straight from high school to the pros.

Anthony’s preternatural scoring talents were the story of that Syracuse squad, even moreso than Jim Boeheim capturing his lone national championship. The hyper-talented freshman averaged 20.2 points per game during the NCAA Tournament and racked up double-doubles in each of the Orange’s final three victories, including a 33-point, 14-rebound explosion to beat Rick Barnes, TJ Ford and Texas in the Final Four.

As just a No. 3 seed, though, it’s hard to make the case that this Syracuse team lands among the all-time greats. The Orange did go 30-5 overall and shared the Big East regular season title with Pitt, but they fell to UConn in the Big East tournament semifinals.

Plus, the roster beyond Anthony was mostly nondescript. Gerry McNamara (who hit six 3s) and Hakim Warrick (who swatted away a game-tying 3 with seconds to go) starred in the title game, but McNamara never played in the NBA, and Warrick never rose above a solid role player.

30. 2017 North Carolina

Someone had to be the lowest-ranked No. 1 seed on this list. Three factors held the 2017 Heels back.

First, UNC did not win the ACC tournament and suffered seven losses on the season, a tough hit to the overall body of work. Second, it barely survived on multiple occasions in the Big Dance, needing a Luke Maye buzzer beater to down Kentucky in the Elite Eight and barely surviving a tough Oregon squad 77-76 in the Final Four. And finally, the roster lacked high-end talent relative to its national champion peers.

On the bright side, UNC played one of the toughest paths possible for a No. 1 seed (16-8-4-2-3-1) and won the ACC regular season title outright. The Heels also beat one of Mark Few’s best Gonzaga teams in the national championship.

An intangible plus for Carolina: It lost in the 2016 title game on Kris Jenkins’ buzzer beater, which means this core was oh-so-close to being back-to-back champions.

29. 1987 Indiana

Another team hurt slightly by not having a chance to win a conference tournament, Bob Knight’s last of three NCAA titles as a coach proved he could still get it done in the 64-team expansion era.

His 1987 Hoosiers shared the Big Ten regular season crown with archrival Purdue, just edging out Iowa and Illinois. All four schools finished in the AP poll’s top 11, evidence of how loaded the conference was.

Although the roster was top-heavy, Indiana did have some solid talent. Steve Alford is one of the best college guards of all time, twice earning first-team All-America honors while racking up nearly 2,500 career points. Three other Hoosiers saw brief stints in the NBA, though none stuck long-term.

The 1987 Hoosiers’ lasting legacy, though, is Keith Smart’s game winner to beat Syracuse in the national title game. A seemingly unorganized final possession ended in Smart’s pull-up jumper, creating an iconic March moment.

28. 1991 Duke

At long last, Mike Krzyzewski captured a national championship. In his 11th season at Duke, and after four previous Final Four appearances, his Blue Devils got over the hump.

That run included a stunning upset of previously undefeated UNLV as big underdogs in the national semifinal, snapping the Runnin’ Rebels’ 45-game winning streak. The Blue Devils followed it up with a win over Roy Williams and the Kansas Jayhawks to secure the title.

The Blue Devils’ 1991 run set the stage for one of the best college teams ever. All of Duke’s stars — Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill — returned to school in 1992 and tore through the best the country had to offer.

This squad was more of a plucky underdog. Yes, the Blue Devils won the ACC regular season, but they also lost seven games, including a 22-point shellacking at the hands of archrival UNC in the ACC tournament. This was also Coach K’s only national title team that was not a No. 1 seed.

Nolan Richardson (middle) led the Razorbacks to the Final Four in three of his 17 seasons, going all the way in 1994. (Doug Pensinger / Getty Images)

Tier 3: Rock-solid champs

27. 1994 Arkansas

The Razorbacks put together a solid case in the regular season, winning the SEC title by two games. Including a defeat to Kentucky in the SEC tournament semifinals, Arkansas lost just three games all season.

The Hogs suffered in this analysis because they had a weaker total win margin in the NCAA Tournament (just plus-67 in the six tournament games, a bottom-10 number among the champs) despite playing by far the weakest run of opponents for a champion in the last 40 years. In order, Arkansas beat seeds numbered 16, 9, 12, 11, 9 and 6 — not a single elite foe among them.

Of course, Arkansas can do nothing but beat the opponents in front of them. Only Duke in the title game actually got within seven points of the Hogs, so perhaps their overall dominance is being underrated.

Led by Corliss Williamson, the Hogs perfectly executed head coach Nolan Richardson’s “40 Minutes of Hell” style, with several unheralded guards helping Arkansas rank third nationally in steals.

26. 2013 Louisville

Yes, folks — the 2013 title goes to Louisville in our analysis. We are not in the business of vacating championships.

Rick Pitino’s Cardinals easily won the Big East tournament after sharing the regular season title. And they would have won it outright if not for an epic five-overtime loss at Notre Dame in early February.

Louisville then faced a relatively soft string of foes in the Big Dance, most notably getting to handle No. 9 seed Wichita State in the Final Four. The national title game was one to remember, though: Michigan’s Spike Albrecht was a flamethrower in the first half, but Louisville gunner Luke Hancock answered back with a barrage of his own and ended up winning the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player award.

The Cardinals also got dinged by my subjective talent ranking: No Cardinal, not even the electrifying Russ Smith (aka Russdiculous), made any impact in the NBA. This squad perfectly embodied Pitino’s vision of a terrifying defensive group where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.

25. 2004 UConn

Five years after his first title, Jim Calhoun returned to the sport’s apex. And once again, the Huskies squeaked past a loaded Duke team to get there, this time in the national semifinals.

For a No. 2 seed, UConn had tremendous college talent. Emeka Okafor fueled what was easily the country’s best two-point percentage defense, and Ben Gordon was a lethal long-range shooter who went No. 3 in the NBA Draft after Okafor went second.

The Huskies had four more players who would eventually get drafted in the first round. The 2004 tournament’s young role players would become a terrorizing unit of their own in 2006.

All that praise aside, UConn did not even win the Big East in 2004, landing a game behind Pitt. The Huskies got the last laugh over the Panthers, though, knocking them off in the Big East tournament championship.

24. 2019 Virginia

A year after becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the opening round, the Cavaliers wrote the NCAA Tournament’s ultimate redemption story.

A talented nucleus of Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy and DeAndre Hunter led the charge, all eager to wipe away the memory of that infamous 2018 upset at the hands of UMBC (which Hunter missed with an injury). The 2019 season had several truly great teams, but after a wild postseason, Tony Bennett’s team was the last one standing.

Virginia’s overall resume is hurt by only sharing the ACC regular season title (with Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Duke) and losing in the ACC tournament semifinals. Plus, the Hoos’ NCAA Tournament run was the opposite of dominant. Their final three victories came in dramatic (some would even say lucky) fashion.

Against Purdue in the Elite Eight — an all-time display of shot-making by both teams — point guard Kihei Clark tracked down a long tap-out rebound off a missed free throw and hit Mamadi Diakite for a buzzer-beating jumper to send that game to overtime. In the Final Four, UVA survived a 14-0 Auburn run in the final five minutes thanks to a foul on a corner jump shot, after which Kyle Guy coolly buried three straight free throws to win. And in the national title game, Virginia again needed a game-tying shot, this time a corner three from DeAndre Hunter, to force overtime.

The banner hangs forever, of course, but repeatedly needing that level of late heroics is a limiting factor when comparing the Cavaliers side-by-side to other champions.

23. 2000 Michigan State

This year marks a quarter-century since a Big Ten school last won a men’s college hoops title, a stunning drought made all the more confusing by the amount of teams the league has sent to the Final Four in that span (15).

Thus, the legacy of the “Flintstones” lives on — that being the nickname given to Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and Charlie Bell, who hailed from Flint, Mich., played together since grade school and reached the pinnacle of college basketball together, earning Tom Izzo what remains his only national championship.

Michigan State had some strong accolades, sharing the Big Ten title with Ohio State (ignoring a couple of vacated OSU wins) and winning the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans did drop seven games during the season, though, including one of the worst losses you’ll ever see for a No. 1 seed: a 53-49 defeat in a strange road game at Wright State, which finished 11-17 on the season.

22. 1993 North Carolina

A year after Duke wrapped up back-to-back championships with one of the best college teams ever, legendary coach Dean Smith captured his second national title in Chapel Hill.

These Heels used the tough, physical duo of center Eric Montross and power forward George Lynch to batter foes into submission in the paint. They put together a strong regular season, wresting the ACC title from Duke, and only lost four games all year. Frustratingly, one of those was in the ACC tournament final to Georgia Tech. Still, UNC navigated an extremely difficult NCAA Tournament path, knocking off two No. 2 seeds and exacting revenge on No. 1 Michigan in the title game (UNC had lost to Michigan in Honolulu in late December).

UNC’s ranking in this exercise took a hit on the basis of talent. After Montross and Lynch, the Heels lacked true high-end pieces, and none of the guards were able to stick in the professional ranks.

21. 1986 Louisville

Denny Crum’s second national title team is one of our highest-rated No. 2 seeds on the list, in large part due to its outright regular season and conference tournament titles. It’s possible the Cardinals got slightly overrated here, as their dominance of the Metro Conference does not adjust for the caliber of the league, which sent only two other teams to the NCAA Tournament.

Notable Cardinals include Billy Thompson, an honorable mention All-American; senior guard Milt Wagner; and “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison, a true freshman starter who eventually blossomed into an All-American and No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft. And who can forget Kenny Payne, whose playing career far outshined his coaching tenure with the Cardinals.

Louisville’s NCAA Tournament run had some ups and downs, including a somewhat easier path in the Elite Eight (where it beat No. 8 seed Auburn) and Final Four (where it beat No. 11 seed LSU). The Cardinals then thwarted Coach K, Jay Bilas and Duke in a fantastic title game that saw Louisville narrowly prevail 72-69.

20. 2022 Kansas

Even Kansas fans would likely agree this was not one of Bill Self’s apex Jayhawk squads, but when it comes to the fickle, single-elimination NCAA Tournament, you never know who will actually reach the mountaintop.

Of course, this team was no slouch. The 2022 Jayhawks won the Big 12 tournament after sharing the regular season crown, earning a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance. Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun and Jalen Wilson have all carved out roles as NBA wings early on in their careers.

The Jayhawks’ path was not overly challenging, though, beating No. 10 seed Miami to go to the Final Four and No. 8 seed UNC in the national title game. Plus, those Heels led by 15 at halftime. Fortunately, Remy Martin caught fire in the second half, burying several crucial triples in the stunning comeback.

Had Martin been healthy all season, KU might have avoided some of its five Big 12 losses and won the conference outright. An injury asterisk makes sense here, considering how impactful Martin was at full strength.

19. 2015 Duke

This ranking could be controversial. In an epic college basketball season that featured Kentucky going 34-0 before the NCAA Tournament, an all-time great Wisconsin offense, plus terrific versions of Arizona, Villanova, Virginia and others, Duke rose to the top. The freshman trio of Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow, along with savvy veterans Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones, outlasted everyone else.

However, as great as this Duke team was — and as awesome as 2015 was as a year in college basketball — the Blue Devils’ resume falls a little short of the all-time greats.

Duke did not win the ACC regular season title, finishing a game back of Virginia. Duke did not win the ACC tournament, either; in fact, it lost to eventual champ Notre Dame in the semifinals. It’s hard to stack these Blue Devils up with other legendary champions if they could not prove themselves to be the best team in their own conference.

Of course, the roster was quite loaded for a college team. Okafor, though he did not end up an NBA star as expected, was an All-American interior force in college, and Winslow was drafted in the lottery for a reason. Jones remains a solid point guard option in the NBA, and Cook earned some professional minutes as well. Grayson Allen — a little-used role player who was arguably the MVP of the national title win over the Badgers — has also evolved into a key piece in the pros.

18. 2010 Duke

Placing 2010 Duke ahead of 2015 Duke will likely surprise many Blue Devils fans. However, before surviving one of the most famous near-misses in NCAA Tournament history, this Duke squad was impressively dominant.

The Blue Devils convincingly ran through the first five rounds of the NCAA Tournament, with only Baylor in the Elite Eight coming within single digits. They dismantled an impressive West Virginia squad (including current Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla) 78-57 in the national semifinal. And before the Big Dance, they shared the ACC regular season title and won the ACC tournament.

This roster was not loaded with staggering professional talent or depth, but it fit together perfectly. Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith handled the scoring; that trio rarely left the floor and accounted for 68.0 percent of the Blue Devils’ points. Meanwhile, the frontcourt group of Brian Zoubek, Lance Thomas and Miles Plumlee handled the dirty work, dominating the offensive glass and providing outstanding interior defense.

Gordon Hayward’s shot may have been the most memorable moment of the 2010 postseason, but Duke ultimately reigned supreme, capturing Coach K’s fourth of five titles.

17. 2002 Maryland

When players return to college citing “unfinished business,” 2002 Maryland should be one of the shining examples for how that mission can go right. In 2001, the Terrapins made the Final Four but fell to bitter ACC rival Duke in the national semifinal. Starting forward Terence Morris graduated, but four starters — including superstar guard Juan Dixon — and three reserves came back for another go-round.

That returning nucleus certainly finished its business. The 2002 Terrapins went 15-1 in the ACC, with the only loss coming at a mega-talented Duke team, and finished 32-4 overall. They won all six NCAA Tournament games by at least eight points, including a rousing semifinal matchup with a stacked Kansas squad.

Maryland did come up short in the ACC tournament, falling in the semifinals to No. 4 seed NC State. Plus, its overall talent level does not quite measure up to some of the elite champions; not even the brilliant Dixon ended up as a consistent starter in the NBA (shout out to Steve Blake’s gritty 13-year career as a role player, however).

Ultimately, this Maryland team was more about the cohesion of a group that played a ton of games together. Thus, though they went on a highly impressive run, these Terrapins land near the middle of the pack.

16. 1998 Kentucky

Rick Pitino jumped to the Boston Celtics in 1997, leaving college for a chance to build a legacy in the professional ranks. He left plenty in the cupboard, though, and Tubby Smith — hired away from SEC rival Georgia in May of ‘97 — was able to carry on Pitino’s major momentum in Lexington.

A dominant frontcourt led by Nazr Mohammed, Scott Padgett and Jamaal Magloire buried teams in the paint, and Kentucky led the country in both block rate and two-point percentage defense, per KenPom. That interior dominance helped Kentucky win the conference regular season and tournament titles.

Surprisingly given those crowns, Kentucky only received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That placement was a slight (and perhaps unfair) knock in this analysis.

One factor on which I had a hard time deciding: Should I discount this Wildcats team for being coached by Smith, who was much more of a journeyman than Hall of Famers Rick Pitino and John Calipari? I did not include coach mystique in my rubric, but it does somewhat influence how I view this Kentucky team.

15. 2005 North Carolina

One key item not factored into a broad “Did this team win its conference title?” criteria: the strength of that conference. If I were adjusting for that, 2005 UNC would get a sizable bump for winning an outright ACC title in a league that also included Duke (No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament) and Wake Forest (No. 2 seed).

The 2005 Tar Heels also beat a fantastic Illinois team in the national championship game, and they were overflowing with talent: their sixth man, Marvin Williams, was drafted No. 2 overall.

Sean May, Rashad McCants and Raymond Felton formed an outstanding trio of juniors that arrived as a heralded recruiting class back in 2002. Roy Williams did not bring in that group — shout out to Matt Doherty — but in his second season in Chapel Hill, Williams led it to a championship.

The knocks on these Heels: They did not win the ACC Tournament (and their loss was to Georgia Tech, not Duke or Wake), and they had a couple of close calls in the NCAA Tournament despite a path that did not feature a top-four seed until the title game.

14. 2016 Villanova

Kris Jenkins’ title-winning buzzer beater is one of the most memorable shots in NCAA Tournament history, and Jay Wright’s subtle “bang” to himself as the shot went in was a historically cool move.

The highest-rated champion of any non-No. 1 seed, these Wildcats received a considerable bump for a huge 124-point cumulative win margin in the NCAA Tournament, all while facing the toughest path (by far) for a No. 1 seed or a No. 2 seed champion. They also won the Big East regular season title, though they lost by a basket to Seton Hall in the conference tournament final.

You could definitely argue that the Cats’ 44-point shellacking of Oklahoma in the Final Four is skewing their total margin of victory. But that game also exhibited the terrifying ceiling of this squad, and it avenged a 23-point loss to the Sooners on Dec. 7, 2015, in Honolulu.

That Final Four victory even foreshadowed the dominance of the 2018 team, which was led by this squad’s role players (Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Phil Booth, even the redshirting Donte DiVincenzo and Eric Paschall).

Tier 2: Definitely dominant

13. 1999 UConn

Duke’s 1999 squad is the only team in the KenPom era to clear the Everest-esque peak of plus-40 in Net Rating, and the Blue Devils were the heavy, heavy favorite to win the title.

The ‘99 Huskies were no slouch either, though. Led by future NBA champion shooting guard Rip Hamilton and bowling ball point guard Khalid El-Amin, the Huskies won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. Their 34-2 overall record is eye-popping, and their winning percentage of 94.4 is tied for the second-best mark for a champion in the 64-team era.

It speaks to how impressive that Duke team was that despite those incredibly impressive accolades, the Huskies were still 9.5-point underdogs in the championship game.

Before that game, UConn’s path was not overly imposing; the Huskies beat No. 10 seed Gonzaga (the first ever Zags team to make a run) in the Elite Eight and then got No. 4 seed Ohio State in the Final Four. But the Big East dominance places these Huskies on the fringe of the top 10.

12. 1990 UNLV

Jerry Tarkanian’s run in the desert set the bar extremely high for all future UNLV coaches. The 1990 title team may have been slightly inferior to the 1991 version that started 34-0 before losing in the Final Four, but these Runnin’ Rebels were stuffed with NBA talent and showed it on the biggest stage.

UNLV survived a scare in the Sweet Sixteen, barely edging plucky No. 12 seed Ball State 69-67. The Rebels hit the gas pedal after that, though, blitzing Duke in the national championship 103-73. That 30-point margin remains, by far, the biggest title game blowout in the 64-team tournament era.

The Rebels’ overall grade in this analysis was hurt a bit by two things. First, they faced one of the weakest paths to a title ever, facing three double-digit seeds while not playing a single No. 1 or No. 2 seed. Second, they shared the Big West regular season title with New Mexico State (outright titles were given a boost).

The talent on this squad — all of which returned for that 1990-91 campaign — was staggering. Larry Johnson was the No. 1 pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, while Stacey Augmon (No. 9) and Greg Anthony (No. 12) were not far behind. All three had long, successful NBA careers.

Remarkably, none of that trio earned the 1990 tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award; that actually went to guard Anderson Hunt, who erupted for 49 points over the two Final Four games in Denver, Colo.

11. 2021 Baylor

If there was any team I wanted to bump up on circumstantial grounds, it was this Baylor team. For the entire 2020-21 season, it was clear these Bears were one of the two best teams in the country. They got off to a 17-0 start, with just two opponents even getting within single-digits. They seemed destined to meet fellow juggernaut Gonzaga in one of the most highly anticipated championship games in history.

But the 2020-21 season was far from normal, and a COVID-19-related shutdown for most of February threw off Baylor’s rhythm. The Bears did not look the same coming out of that stoppage, barely edging an Iowa State team that went winless in Big 12 play before taking their first loss at Kansas. Baylor also fell in the Big 12 tournament semifinals to Cade Cunningham-led Oklahoma State.

But then the NCAA Tournament started, and Baylor rediscovered its elite identity on both ends of the court. The Bears led by double-digits for essentially the entire 80 minutes of the Final Four, blasting Houston and dominating that long-awaited showdown with Gonzaga.

Despite being arguably the best shooting team to win a title (they shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc as a team to lead Division I), the Bears’ calling card was their suffocating defense. Guard Davion “Off Night” Mitchell and forward/linebacker Mark Vital fueled a relentless unit. Had health and safety protocols not thrown a wrench into Baylor’s season, these Bears could have been the first undefeated champion since 1976 Indiana.

10. 1995 UCLA

Before his trailblazing lawsuit against the NCAA, Ed O’Bannon was a terror on the court, racking up 20.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for the national champion Bruins. He and younger brother Charles O’Bannon formed a dynamic duo on the wing, and senior floor general Tyus Edney controlled the game as an extension of coach Jim Harrick. Big man George Zidek also became a first-round draft pick following the Bruins’ championship run.

Per official NCAA records, UCLA went 32-1, but the Bruins actually lost two games; a home loss to Cal was later deemed a Golden Bears forfeit due to NCAA infractions. However, the game happened, so it counts as a loss in this analysis.

UCLA is the highest-ranked team on this list to get the somewhat unfair penalty of not winning a nonexistent conference tournament. Had the Bruins won a hypothetical Pac-12 tournament, they would have flirted with Tier 1.

9. 2018 Villanova

Part of me expected the 2018 Wildcats to rank higher in this exercise. They were, after all, one of the most dominant NCAA Tournament teams ever, blitzing a strong collection of foes by a combined 106 points. No opponent got closer than 12 points, and Villanova’s demolition of fellow No. 1 seed Kansas in the national semifinal (in which it jumped out to a 22-4 lead) was stunning to behold.

However, the Wildcats did not even win the Big East that season, ending up a game back of champion Xavier. A midseason injury to starting guard Phil Booth is partially to blame, and connoisseurs of context might push this team up higher as a result; I would have no issue with that adjustment.

This Villanova team was, after all, loaded with talent. Jalen Brunson was the National Player of the Year and is now an NBA All-Star, and Mikal Bridges was also an All-American via several publications. Donte DiVincenzo was a laughably overqualified sixth man in hindsight, as was seventh man Collin Gillespie, a future Big East Player of the Year. Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall both saw time in the NBA.

The Wildcats are remembered as one of the elite early adopters of a five-out offense. Everyone could bury a 3 at any moment, and it is no surprise that they rank among the most efficient offensive attacks in the history of Ken Pomeroy’s college basketball ratings.

8. 2008 Kansas

Winning a title is, in itself, an incredible accomplishment. But doing so the way Kansas did — in overtime, after an outrageously clutch game-tying three-pointer from Mario Chalmers — might have been just a little sweeter. That shot prevented John Calipari from winning a title at Memphis; he left for Kentucky just one year later.

The 2008 Final Four is also notable for being the first to feature all four No. 1 seeds. In a mini-tournament of the true elites of that season, Kansas emerged victorious, and its obliteration of UNC in the national semifinal fueled the Tar Heels’ pursuit of their own title in 2009.

But before that loaded Final Four, Kansas actually faced one of the easiest region paths ever — at least by seed. The Jayhawks beat No. 12 seed Villanova in the Sweet 16 and No. 10 seed Davidson in the Elite Eight, though it feels foolish to label any postseason run that features a clash with Steph Curry as “easy”. Kansas barely survived that brush with all-time greatness, edging Davidson 59-57.

The Jayhawks got a slight knock in the nebulous “talent” rating portion of this analysis. Though seven players from the roster did play in the NBA, none developed into a star.

7. 2007 Florida

The third back-to-back title winner on this list is more than deserving of the top 10. Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer formed the nucleus of Billy Donovan’s juggernaut, but the Gators also returned Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey, giving them the rare distinction of bringing back all five starters from a national championship squad.

The preseason No. 1 team in the country, Florida started somewhat slowly, losing twice in the first month of the season, including at unranked Florida State. The Gators also ended slowly, losing three of their final five regular-season contests, all to unranked teams. But when it got down to business, the Gators reminded everyone of their dominance.

They steamrolled through the SEC tournament, winning three games by a combined 59 points, then enduring some spirited challenges in the NCAA Tournament but won every game by at least seven points. That included topping Greg Oden, Mike Conley and a wildly talented Ohio State team in the championship game.

6. 2001 Duke

A vintage Coach K Duke squad, these Blue Devils combined a senior star (forward Shane Battier) with an elite underclassman (Jay Williams) and filled in the gaps around those two with more future NBA players plus a veteran leader or two.

The roster is one of the most talented of any on this list. Williams and Battier were a devastating duo, and both became top-six picks in the NBA Draft (although Williams stuck around another season). Mike Dunleavy Jr., himself a top-three pick in 2002, and Carlos Boozer, a future two-time NBA All-Star, constituted the supporting cast. Chris Duhon, a freshman starter at point guard, also played in the NBA for a decade.

The most iconic ‘01 Duke moment actually came in January. Trailing 90-80 at Maryland late, Williams led The Miracle Minute as the Blue Devils stunningly forced OT and escaped with a 98-96 win.

The 2001 Blue Devils received small knocks for winning just a hair under 90 percent of their games (four total losses) and sharing the ACC regular season title with North Carolina. Fortunately, Duke got the last laugh against those Heels by trouncing them in the ACC tournament final 79-53.

5. 2012 Kentucky

John Calipari’s lone champion in Lexington, this loaded squad had a relatively comfortable run through the 2012 NCAA Tournament. No opponent — including archrival Louisville in the Final Four — came closer than eight points. Calipari’s Cats also posted the highest overall winning percentage (95.0) of any title winner in the past 40 years.

As in 1996, Kentucky bulldozed through the SEC with a spotless 16-0 mark and did not post a losing record against any team. It swept two regular-season meetings with Vanderbilt before falling to the Commodores in the SEC tournament final, and it avenged an early-season loss at Indiana (the Wat Shot) by sending the Hoosiers packing in the Sweet 16.

The Wildcats had a staggering six players selected in the 2012 NBA Draft, including the unmatched feat of having the No. 1 pick (Anthony Davis) and the No. 2 pick (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist). That helped Kentucky tie for the highest talent rating I assigned to any champion.

This team fell just short of the elite tier by missing out on the SEC tournament crown and showing slightly lesser dominance in the Big Dance. Although no one got particularly close, Kentucky did not win a single game by more than 16 points, and its combined winning margin of 71 was a pedestrian number compared to many other champions.

4. 2009 North Carolina

The 2009 Tar Heels get some credit for winning an outstanding ACC, separating from a pack that included strong versions of Duke, Wake Forest and Florida State, among others. North Carolina also warrants praise for rolling to Roy Williams’ second of three titles in Chapel Hill after being the first unanimous preseason No. 1 in the history of both the AP poll and the Coaches Poll.

The Heels won every NCAA Tournament game by at least 12 points en route to the fourth-highest total postseason margin of victory in the 39-champ sample. That was despite facing one of the toughest paths for a No. 1 seed in history. Even putting seeds aside, UNC’s last four opponents in the NCAA Tournament were all in the KenPom top 13; the Heels won those games by an average of 16 points.

This UNC team was led by Tyler Hansbrough, one of the best college players ever. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all carved out long NBA careers, and reserve big men Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller both developed into first-rounders down the line, as well.

Tier 1: The G.O.A.T. debate

3. 1996 Kentucky

The Wildcats make three appearances on this list, and while the 2012 team was dominant as well, the 1996 version was Kentucky’s best to win a title. (And oh, what could have been in 2015.)

UK ran through the SEC, going 16-0 and winning just one conference game by fewer than 13 points. A hiccup against Mississippi State in the SEC tournament final knocked them a tiny bit in my evaluation, but the Cats responded by torching their four foes in the Midwest region of the NCAA Tournament by an average of 28.3 points.

This roster was loaded, with four picks in the 1996 draft who went on to long NBA careers. Star forward Antoine Walker went sixth overall, while first-team All-American Tony Delk and Swiss Army knife Walter McCarty were taken 16th and 19th, respectively. Current Wildcats head coach Mark Pope was a second-rounder. As if that was not enough, three future first-rounders (Derek Anderson, Ron Mercer, Nazr Mohammed) made up the supporting cast.

Another differentiator about these Wildcats: No team has true bragging rights against them. They only lost two games all season (to UMass in Detroit and to Mississippi State in the SEC tournament), and they beat both those squads in separate meetings. They waxed the Bulldogs in Starkville in early January, and they got revenge against John Calipari, Marcus Camby and the Minutemen in the national semifinals.

2. 1992 Duke

I strongly considered bumping these Blue Devils to the top overall spot, and they will surely have an ardent army of supporters. They went 38-2 and won both the ACC regular season and tournament titles. And they never got blown out: The Blue Devils’ only two losses all season were by margins of four and two points.

Ultimately, 2024 UConn’s utter dominance against all comers in the postseason — including another No. 1 seed, Purdue, in the national title game — just barely elevated the Huskies to No. 1. In contrast, ’92 Duke needed one of the most iconic plays in men’s basketball history — Grant Hill’s full-court pass and Christian Laettner’s picturesque pirouette jumper — to even reach the Final Four. After that 104-103 overtime thriller against Kentucky, the Blue Devils barely escaped another No. 2 seed in the national semifinals, beating Indiana 81-78.

That epic Elite Eight showdown with the Wildcats could be a divisive item. Should generating an iconic March moment with such a memorable play actually make the case for Duke as the greatest champ of the past four decades, rather than against it? Obviously, my opinion shades towards the latter, but that Laettner jumper was an all-timer.

Those tiny, tiny blemishes aside, this Blue Devils team was loaded. It had the National Player of the Year in Laettner, a future No. 3 pick in Hill and one of the best college point guards ever in Bobby Hurley. Having Mike Krzyzewski, a five-time champ and arguably the best coach in NCAA history, on the sideline is simply another cherry on top.

1. 2024 UConn

What are the chances the best champion of the past 40 years was actually last year’s? Remarkably, it might actually be the case.

The Huskies check every box you could ask for in a dominant team. They won the Big East regular season title by four games in a conference that featured a No. 2 seed (Marquette) and a No. 3 seed (Creighton). They also won the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. They went 37-3 overall, and against a respectable run of opponents in the Big Dance (i.e., no upstart Cinderellas), they won every game by 14 or more points. The Huskies accumulated the largest total margin of victory (plus-140 points in six NCAA Tournament games) for any of the 39 champions ranked in this exercise. In UConn’s final 13 games, only two opponents even came within single digits. That is dominance on full display.

UConn lost only once all season at full strength. One NBA lottery pick, Stephon Castle, missed the Huskies’ loss at Kansas, and fellow top-10 selection Donovan Clingan managed just 14 minutes before sitting out the remainder of a loss at Seton Hall.

From a talent perspective, UConn is right up there with any champion. Clingan, aka “Kling Cong,” is arguably one of the best college rim protectors ever, and Castle was an easy one-and-done NBA prospect. Point guard Tristen Newton, the Huskies’ third NBA Draft choice on the roster, was a consensus first-team All-American and a returning starter from the 2023 UConn title team. Forward Alex Karaban was also a key starter on that 2023 team, and shooting guard Cam Spencer posted the highest individual offensive rating in the country (per KenPom).

Like the squad that came in as first runner-up, this Huskies team was a back-to-back title winner — only the third such squad to accomplish that feat in this 40-year span. Whether that means anything toward the search for the “best” champion is debatable, but it certainly did not hurt.

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