Connecticut joins elite group of best men's NCAA national champs. Who else is on the list?
Connecticut's 75-60 win against Purdue for the men's national championship makes this official: The 2023-24 Huskies are not only the best team in program history but one of the best in recent NCAA history.
It's clear that UConn deserves to be ranked among the upper crust of national champions since the men's tournament expanded in 1985. The Huskies secured a place in this elite group by rolling through this year's tournament to become the eighth program to win back-to-back championships.
They have company from some teams of the recent past. And any list of the best national champions since expansion has to include dominant teams from UNLV, Duke, Kentucky and more.
Here’s how USA TODAY Sports ranks the best of the best from the past 40 seasons of college basketball:
2024 Connecticut (37-3)
Notable players: C Donovan Clingan, G Stephon Castle, G Tristen Newton
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What the Huskies did in tournament play boggles the mind. UConn tore through opponents in the East Region, capped by a 25-point win against Illinois in the Elite Eight, and then topped Alabama by 14 points in the national semifinals and Purdue by 15 points on Monday night. This team was dominant from the very first seconds of the regular season and should be listed among the best teams in college basketball history, period.
1990 UNLV (35-5)
Notable players: F Larry Johnson, F Stacey Augmon, G Anderson Hunt
Like the Huskies, UNLV bulldozed every team in tournament play, beating six opponents by a then-record combined 112 points. That includes a 103-73 win against Duke that still stands as the largest margin of victory in the championship game. With NBA players across the board, the Rebels overcame a slow start and won 32 of their final 35 games.
1992 Duke (34-2)
Notable players: C Christian Laettner, G Bobby Hurley, F Grant Hill
The defending champs lost to only North Carolina and Wake Forest in a wire-to-wire run as the No. 1 team in the country. There were a few close calls in the tournament, including that famous Elite Eight win against Kentucky, but this Duke team is the best in school history and one of the best to ever come out of the ACC.
1996 Kentucky (34-2)
Notable players: G Tony Delk, F Antoine Walker, F Walter McCarty
Nine players from this behemoth would go on to play in the NBA, including three who were taken in the first round of the 1996 draft. Delk was the MVP of the tournament, but where the Wildcats stood out was in depth: Rick Pitino built one of the most-loaded rosters of the era, with waves of talent and athleticism designed to leave opponents in the dust. And Kentucky did just that, winning six tournament games by an average of 21.5 points and avenging an earlier loss to Massachusetts in the Final Four.
2021 Baylor (28-2)
Notable players: G Jared Butler, G Davion Mitchell, G MaCio Teague
Two of the many reasons why this Baylor team deserves to be remembered: One, the Bears went 28-2 and won the national championship amid the coronavirus pandemic, playing three games in all of March due to COVID-19 issues on the roster; and two, they beat an unbeaten Gonzaga team in the championship game. In fact, Baylor won five of six tournament games by double digits, with the closest win by nine points against Arkansas in the Elite Eight.
2007 Florida (35-5)
Notable players: C Joakim Noah, F Al Horford, G Corey Brewer
The Gators brought back all five starters and went back-to-back. Ranked No. 1 for most of the year, Florida dropped three of five in SEC play heading into the conference tournament but wouldn’t lose again, ripping off nine wins in a row including an 84-75 win against Ohio State in the championship game. Maybe the only SEC roster that could challenge 1996 Kentucky in terms of pure depth, the Gators had five players in double figures and an unstoppable mix of backcourt scoring and an intimidating frontcourt.
1995 UCLA (31-2)
Notable players: F Ed O’Bannon, F Charles O’Bannon, G Tyus Edney
The Bruins might’ve been a little lucky to get out of the tournament’s opening weekend thanks to Edney’s buzzer-beater against Missouri, but the 31-2 record speaks for itself. The most recent national champion in program history was actually a pretty young team, with Ed O’Bannon and center George Kidek the only seniors. But UCLA got a big boost from underclassmen such as Edney, Toby Bailey and J.R. Henderson to rank fourth nationally in scoring offense.
2008 Kansas (37-3)
Notable players: G Mario Chalmers, F Darrell Arthur, G Brandon Rush
Those 37 wins are the most in program history and tied for the second-most in NCAA history. KU would win 20 in a row out of the gate but wouldn’t take over at No. 1 until beating Memphis for the national championship. That was overdue recognition for a team that won all but seven games by a double-digit margin. With seven players who would play in the NBA and an unstoppable offense, these Jayhawks top the list of the best team of the Bill Self era and can make a very strong case for being the best in program history.
2018 Villanova (36-4)
Notable players: G Jalen Brunson, F Mikal Bridges, G Donte DiVincenzo
Four factors give the 2018 Wildcats the nod over the 2016 national champions. One, the 2018 team was a No. 1 seed in the tournament, compared to a No. 2 in 2016. Two, Villanova won the Big East tournament after failing to do so two years earlier. Three, this team was even more loaded than the 2016 version, with DiVincenzo thrown into the mix and Brunson and Bridges established as two of the best in the country. And four, the 2018 team was even more dominant in tournament play than the 2016 Wildcats, with all six wins coming by double digits.
