Ranking the 84 NCAA Champions (ESPN)

[JST390-2]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

[JST390-2]

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.

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.

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.

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. Jordan's shot was launched from a spot on the left side mirroring one on the right wing where Lamont Butler would hit a buzzer-beater for San Diego State in the Final Four 41 years later.

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.

 

[JST390-2]

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.

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.

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.

41. 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.

62. 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.

 

[JST390-2]

66. 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.

69. 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.

73. 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.

 

[UK90]

Ain’t no way there are 11 teams that should be ranked above 96 UK …nor 22 teams ahead of the 2012 crew.

but, then, I really couldn’t care less about the opinion on this of some millennial schmuck ESPN writer.

 

[CROCAT]

Wish our 1996 team coached by prime Pitino could have played that cheating POS Wooden and any of his bought and paid for Bruin teams - the Untouchables would have crushed them

 

[Big Cat fan]

The best teams I seen with my own eyes 2012 Kentucky 1996 Kentucky 209 UNC 2018 Nova.

 

[chroix]

I don’t think the old timey teams could hang with the athleticism of the 90s teams. They were first gen of the modern game. They might have better fundamentals but I think they’d get overwhelmed by the athleticism the same way they overwhelmed their contemporaries.

 

[Bluegrass79]

None of those teams would know what to do with 1996 Kentucky Wildcats. That pressure defense was something else my friends.
Go ahead and take the other 11 teams. Rick Pitino of 1996 I'll take over any coach ....ever. Ever.

Be the one time and the one game John wooden would have to pay attention to his opponent before the game. It is said that John wooden didn't pay attention to the other team. He believed if his team team done what it was supposed to do it didn't matter what the other team had going on.

Which is also the John Calipari philosophy. Coach Cal has talked about it before. He coaches like wooden when it comes to the opponent. It's why he doesn't like to change defense and make adjustments.
My way versus their way. As Coach Cal says "roll out the ball"

 

[onearmedjesus]

I don’t think the old timey teams could hang with the athleticism of the 90s teams. They were first gen of the modern game. They might have better fundamentals but I think they’d get overwhelmed by the athleticism the same way they overwhelmed their contemporaries.

If these modern teams had to follow the older rules, it would be a lot closer. 25 travelling calls and 1/2 their team would foul out.

 

[chroix]

If these modern teams had to follow the older rules, it would be a lot closer. 25 travelling calls and 1/2 their team would foul out.

I think they called it pretty tight in the 90s. You’re right about the way current players walk way more for sure.

 

[HagginHall1999]

Can't rank what you didn't see, JMHO.

Best teams I've seen in my 30+ years following sport, regardless of winning title.

1. 1996 UK
2. 2015 UK
3. 1994 Arkansas
4. 1996 UMass
5. 2012 UK
6. 2018 Nova
7. 1992 Duke
8. 2019 Duke
9. 1991 UNLV
10. 2000 Cincinnati

PS- did this on the fly so apologies for any egregious errors

 

[bbncal02]

Can't rank what you didn't see, JMHO.

Best teams I've seen in my 30+ years following sport, regardless of winning title.

1. 1996 UK
2. 2015 UK
3. 1994 Arkansas
4. 1996 UMass
5. 2012 UK
6. 2018 Nova
7. 1992 Duke
8. 2019 Duke
9. 1991 UNLV
10. 2000 Cincinnati

PS- did this on the fly so apologies for any egregious errors

2014-2015 was the best year of college basketball hands down in the last 10 years for sure and maybe of the post 2000 years

Monster teams. Us, Whisky, that insanely good Notre Dame team we had to fight off like rabid wolves in the E8, etc.

Compared to now, it's a joke.

 

[buster3.0]

Just think, if Cal could have finished the job in 2015 that team would probably be considered the greatest college basketball team of all time. Certainly a 40 win undefeated season would be a record never accomplished before and would probably have stood for 100 years. UK was on the brink of such an historical moment up until that fateful Wisconsin game.

 

[JonathanW]

I would flip flop their rank of 2012 and 1978. Granted I did not see the 78 team, so maybe I'm wrong.

And I while I understand why they put undefeated teams all at the top, with only a couple of non-undefeated teams ahead of some of them, I disagree with that. Because it is very possible the competition that year was just weaker (not as deep), or that it was better a year a team lost 1-2-3 games.
Maybe I'm wrong, but my understanding was that UCLA had a basic cake walk to the NCAA-T and in it until they got to the Final 4 many of those seasons.
I agree with others, although I'm sure we are all biased, that the 96 team has to be in the top 5 if not higher. They still hold the highest tournament scoring margin, and their only 2 losses that season came to 2 other Final 4 teams.

I would also like to see a ranking of top non-champions. I image at the top of that list would be the IU team we beat in mid-70's, the 91 UNLV team, and our 15 team. And I do think a lot of those teams would be better than many of the champions, because I think more years than not (especially the past 30-40 years) the best team does NOT win the championship. Meaning if you could play the same tournament 100 times, the one that won it would not have the most wins out of the 100 possible wins. But they just got hot at the right time, or got a few more breaks to go their way. So while "luck" isn't the main factor, it is still "a factor".

 

[BBNinSC]

I w

The best teams I seen with my own eyes 2012 Kentucky 1996 Kentucky 209 UNC 2018 Nova.

I would bet 2015 UK would beat every one of those teams

 

[JonathanW]

I w

I would bet 2015 UK would beat every one of those teams

I loved the 2015 team. But the 1996 team beats them 6-7 out of 10 games. Now IF they have Poythress (so no injury, & get the platoon back), then it's close, real close.

 

[BBNinSC]

I loved the 2015 team. But the 1996 team beats them 6-7 out of 10 games. Now IF they have Poythress (so no injury, & get the platoon back), then it's close, real close.

I'd pay to see it.