March Madness is about to get underway, which means that we’re about to witness more intense action from the nation’s finest Division I programs. As we wait for the tournament to tip off, now’s a good time to revisit the greatest collegiate basketball programs of all-time.
Join us as we count down the 10 best teams in NCAA men’s basketball history below. Afterwards, check out a couple more of our special features on the Top 10 March Madness Moments and Buzzer Beaters in celebration the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
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- 2016 NCAA March Madness Expert Picks
The Top 10 Men’s Basketball Teams in NCAA History
10. 1973-74 North Carolina State Wolfpack
Led by stars David Thompson (26 points, 8 rebounds per game for the season) and Tommy Burleson (18.1 PPG, 12.2 RPG), the North Carolina State Wolfpack won their first-ever national title beating Marquette in the 1974 championship game.
While NC State wasn’t as dominant all throughout as most of the other entries on this list, the team has one claim to fame that other schools never accomplished during their time. The Wolfpack became the first team in nearly eight years to defeat the UCLA Bruins in the NCAA Tournament, effectively ending UCLA’s run of seven-consecutive national championships.
Hey, when you topple a dynasty and win all the marbles as well, you definitely deserve a spot on this here countdown.
9. 1956-57 North Carolina Tar Heels
College basketball’s Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth shone the brightest for this Tar Heels team, which eked out a 54-53 triple-overtime victory for the ages against Wilt Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks in the national title game.
8. 1981-82 North Carolina Tar Heels
From one North Carolina team to another we go, this time with the Tar Heels of the 1981-82 season – Michael Jordan’s freshman season.
Apart from getting a first glimpse of His Airness, who sank the game-winning bucket in the closing seconds of the championship game against Georgetown, UNC pretty much had as great a season as they come. The team sported a healthy 30-2 record for the season and saw 12 of their players from this group get drafted into the NBA, including the likes of James Worthy and Sam Perkins.
7. 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils
In 1992, the Duke Blue Devils became the first team to win back-to-back national titles since UCLA’s seven-season title run.
This Duke team was stacked, with standouts Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill putting on quite a show for the Durham faithful. And let’s not forget the Blue Devils’ heinous superstar in Christian Laettner, who won nearly every major individual award that season. Laettner also became the ultimate villain in NCAA lore after his unforgettable buzzer beater in the Elite Eight showdown against Kentucky.
6. 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers
The last team to go undefeated throughout the entire season to date, the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers turned out to be fiery head coach Bobby Knight’s first and finest title run.
The Hoosiers won their contests during this campaign by average of 18 points, which fittingly and coincidentally was the same margin of victory in their championship game over Michigan.
5. 1955-56 San Francisco Dons
The San Francisco Dons won their second-straight national title with flair, as they also became the first team in NCAA men’s basketball history to go unbeaten for the entire season.
Basketball Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell’s 26-point and 27-rebound night against Iowa in the title game was certainly mind-boggling, but he was already an absolute beast during the regular season, where he averaged about 20 points and 21 boards per contest.
Furthermore, the Dons saw little to no resistance during their run at the Big Dance as well, having won each tourney game by no less than 11 points.
4. 1967-68 UCLA Bruins
From this point on in this list of ours, it’s pretty much going to be all about John Wooden and his UCLA Bruins.
Wooden’s team from the 1967-68 season did lose one of their 30 games played to Houston, but the Bruins got their sweet revenge by mauling the Cougars in the National Semifinals by 32 points en route to their coach’s fourth championship with the school and the second of their historic seven-consecutive national title victories.
Well, that’s what having one of the greatest basketball players who ever lived in Lew Alcindor will do for you. If you haven’t heard of this Alcindor fella before, maybe you know him better as none other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
3. 1995-96 Kentucky Wildcats
Before we dip back into UCLA’s pool of greatness, it’s also worth noting that the Kentucky Wildcats of the 1995-96 season is arguably the deepest team on this countdown.
This Wildcats team had no particular superstar solely deserving of the spotlight, yet their vastly-talented roster still saw five players (Antoine Walker, Walter McCarthy, Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson and Tony Delk) end up as first-round picks in the NBA draft.
Here’s what this formidable Kentucky core accomplished: a 34-2 record with no losses in conference play, a 27-game win streak (school record), and a plus-21 point differential for the whole season.
2. 1971-72 UCLA Bruins
By now, you’ve got to be exhausted from our constant reiteration about that seven-year stretch of UCLA. To put things into perspective on just how dominant the Bruins have been in the 60’s and 70’s, just look at their 1971-72 season.
John Wooden no longer had the services of Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar at this point in time, yet that season’s Naismith College Player of the Year in Bill Walton more than proved to be the former’s worthy successor indeed.
Together with All-American Henry Bibby, Walton and the Bruins never lost a contest at all during that season to give wooden his sixth-straight national title, and they even did so by winning their games by a whopping average of 32 points.
1. 1972-73 UCLA Bruins
Following that already remarkable 1971-72 season, Wooden and the Bruins would up the ante even more by ultimately securing their unprecedented run at national championship wins to seven-consecutive seasons in 1973.
UCLA finished with yet another 30-0 record that year and won each of their games in the NCAA tournament in double-digits. And while their plus-22 point differential pales in comparison to their mark from the previous season, the team’s main man in Bill Walton was far from relinquishing his status as the best player in college basketball.
Walton averaged 20 points and 17 rebounds during that ‘72-’73 season, which is pretty meek considering his own lofty expectations and potential. However, the soon-to-be NBA legend save his best for last. Walton scored a staggering 44 points with just one missed shot in 22 attempts during UCLA’s 87-66 victory over Memphis State in the national title game.
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