Editor’s note: this list only includes seasons going back to ’84-’85, when the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams. 

28) ’00-’01 Stanford Cardinal

With a seven-year tournament drought and counting, Stanford fans would kill at this point for a season like ’00-’01. But the program was so successful at the time that a Regional Final loss felt like a major disappointment. Led by the Collins brothers, senior Jarron and junior Jason, and school’s first ever 1st-Team all-American, Casey Jacobsen, the Cardinal spent almost the entire season in the top five of the AP poll, including #1 overall seven times, and entered the NCAA Tournament with a 28-2 record. They earned the top seed in the West Region and cruised through the first three rounds, setting up a date with #3 seed Maryland in Anaheim. With Jacobsen having an off night, just 4-of-11 from the field, and both Collins brothers suffering with foul trouble, Stanford suffered its largest defeat of the season at the worst possible time. With an 87-73 blowout victory, Maryland advanced to the Final Four for the first time in program history while the Cardinal have reeled since, with only eight tournament appearances in the last 20 years, all of them ending in the Sweet 16 or earlier.

27) ’85-’86 St. John’s Red Storm

Though by March they were looking strong enough to merit inclusion on this list, expectations were pretty low for St. John’s coming into the ’85-’86 season. Sure, they had reached the Final Four in ’84-’85, but star Chris Mullin had graduated and was now in the NBA, as was stalwart center Bill Wennington. Into the void stepped two more local star products, Walter “The Truth” Berry from Harlem and Mark Jackson from Brooklyn. They led the Johnnies to something no other team in school history has accomplished before or since, the Big East regular season and tournament titles, capping off a 29-4 regular season, a #4 spot in the AP polls (from unranked in the pre-season), and a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. Berry was the Wooden Award winner while Jackson’s 9.1 assists per game led the nation but they ran into a buzzsaw in the tournament’s second round and his name was Chuck Person. The Auburn star dominated St. John’s with 27 points and 15 rebounds, almost single-handedly spurring an 81-65 upset blowout. Forgoing his senior season, Berry was a lottery pick later that summer but lasted just three years in the NBA before playing the rest of his pro career in Europe.

26) ’89-’90 Syracuse Orange

There were six future NBA players on this roster, highlighted by senior All-American Derrick Coleman. Hyper skilled, senior-laden, and expertly coached, the Orange started the season #3 in the AP poll and eventually moved up to #1 for six consecutive weeks early in the season. They struggled some down the stretch, losing four conference games in a competitive Big East but still came into the NCAA Tournament looking dangerous as a two seed. After blowing out Coppin State in the opening round, Syracuse barely survived #7 seed Virginia in the Round of 32, with a last-second blocked shot by Coleman securing a 63-61 win. In the Regional Semifinals, on the same Superdome court where they had played in the Final Four in 1987, Syracuse doomed themselves with poor free throw shooting, making just eight of 20 attempts from the foul line in an 82-75 loss to Minnesota. Coleman struggled in his final game as an amateur, shooting just 5-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-8 on free throws for 15 points. Just a few months later he was selected first overall by the Nets in the NBA Draft.

25) ’03-’04 St. Joseph’s Hawks

Led by a dynamic back court of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, St. Joseph’s were the first team to finish a regular season undefeated (27-0) since UNLV in ’90-’91, but still looked like an underdog heading into the NCAA Tournament. Critics pointed to their easy schedule in the mid-major Atlantic-10, playing only one ranked team all season. St. Joseph’s then looked shaky in the Atlantic-10 Tournament, getting upset by Xavier in the quarterfinal round. The Hawks were still granted a one seed and pulled off impressive wins over Texas Tech in the second round and Wake Forest in the Regional Semifinals, where star point guard Jameer Nelson outplayed Wake’s Chris Paul. Nelson was resplendent again in the Regional Final, finishing with a near triple-double, but St. Joseph’s was otherwise stifled offensively by Oklahoma State in a 64-62 loss. Nelson had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer but missed a pull-up jumper. With Nelson and West subsequently off to the NBA, St. Joseph’s has made just three tourney appearances in 16 years since, and has yet to return to the AP poll.

24) ’91-’92 Ohio State Buckeyes

’91-’92 was supposed to be an all-time great season for Ohio State but instead they became a mere footnote in the storied season of their biggest rival. Led by Lawrence Funderburke and All-American Jim Jackson, the Buckeyes won 23 games, spent the entire season in the AP top 10, and cruised to the Big 10 title. They had swept their two regular season match-ups against Michigan, but by the time the arch rivals matched up again in the Southeast Regional Final in Lexington, Kentucky, the freshman Fab Five had fully come of age. Chris Webber finished with 11 rebounds and a game high 23 points, including a tip-in late in regulation that forced overtime, where Michigan prevailed, 75-71. Jackson finished with 20 points in the game but also nine turnovers and soon after declared early for the NBA Draft, where he was selected fourth overall by the Mavericks. Ohio State slumped for the next few seasons, missing seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments, but eventually did reach the Final Four in 1999 under new coach Jim O’Brien.

23) ’08-’09 Oklahoma Sooners

Jeff Capel had big shoes to fill when he took over as Oklahoma’s coach in 2006 at the age of 31. His two predecessors, Billy Tubbs and Kelvin Sampson, had both guided the Sooners to Final Four appearances, and the pressure was on the young Capel to keep the tradition alive. His efforts in ’08-’09 were boosted by the emergence of sophomore Blake Griffin, who would end the season winning every major individual accolade, including the Naismith Award, 1st-Team All-American, and the nation’s leading rebounder. Also featuring Blake’s older brother, Taylor, in the front court, Oklahoma finished the season 27-5. They were granted a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament but done no favors by the selection committee, who slotted them into the South region, which was headlined by consensus title favorites North Carolina. Sure enough, the top two seeds met in the Regional Finals and despite 23 points and 16 rebounds from Griffin, the Sooners fell to the eventual champion Tar Heels, 72-60. Griffin would soon be the top pick in the NBA Draft, with Taylor also getting selected in the second round. Two years later, Capel was fired by Oklahoma after back-to-back losing seasons.

22) ’16-’17 Kansas Jayhawks

It’s a given that Kansas would appear multiple times on this list, as they’ve been a consistent title threat since the mid ’80s and therefore bound by probability to occasionally blow it. The most recent example was in ’16-’17, when the nation’s top recruited freshman Josh Jackson joined a lineup that already featured preseason All-American Frank Mason III. The Jayhawks won 18 straight early on, including an upset of then #1 Duke, and then finished the regular season atop the AP poll themselves, with a 28-3 record. Mason earned the Naismith Award while Jackson was Big 12 Rookie of the Year but an upset loss to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals would prove ominous. After averaging 96 points per game in their first three NCAA Tournament wins, Kansas went ice cold in the Regional Final against Oregon. As Jackson struggled with foul trouble, the Jayhawks shot just 35% from the field and 5-of-25 on three-pointers in a 74-60 loss. It was especially stunning that the Jayhawks lost the game in Kansas City, which is less than an hour’s drive from campus. Though they lost Jackson and Mason that summer to the NBA, Kansas rallied in 2018, returning to the Final Four for the third time under coach Bill Self.

21) ’93-’94 Purdue Boilermakers

Every now and then, the purposefully indiscriminate manner in which teams are slotted into the NCAA Tournament bracket sets up an unfairly weighted Regional Final match-up. Maybe the most egregious example came in 1994, when Purdue and Duke were the top two seeds in the Southeast Region but arguably also the two best teams in the country, led respectively by the nation’s two best players in Glenn Robinson and Grant Hill. While Duke was seeking its sixth Final Four appearance in a seven year stretch under Coach K, this was a new level of expectations for the Boilermakers. Robinson led the nation in scoring at 30.3 points per game and earned the Wooden and Naismith awards while leading Purdue to a 26-4 record and the Big 10 title. It was difficult enough having to face Duke in the Regional Final in Knoxville, Tennessee but rendered even more arduous by Robinson suffering a strained back in a Sweet 16 victory over Kansas. The star forward struggled against the Blue Devils, finishing with a season low 13 points before fouling out and could only watch as Duke prevailed 69-60. Robinson opted out of his senior season and was drafted first overall by the Bucks (Hill went third to Pistons). Purdue has returned to at least the Sweet 16 eight times since, but have still yet to break through to the Final Four.

20) ’96-’97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons

In sharp contrast to the five titles of his NBA career, Tim Duncan found nothing but disappointment in the NCAA Tournament. Wake Forest lost in the second round in his freshman season, were upset in the Regional Semifinals as a #1 seed in his sophomore season, and lost in the Regional Final in his junior season. Heading into Duncan’s senior campaign, expectations reached a fever pitch for Demon Deacons fans who hadn’t seen their team reach the Final Four for 35 years. Duncan lead the NCAA in rebounding and earned every individual award imaginable while leading Wake Forest to a 22-5 record and a three seed in the tournament. But with his teammates unable to contribute enough offensively, Duncan faced constant double teams and even triple teams in a second round matchup against Stanford. He still finished the game with 18 points and 20 rebounds but didn’t get enough from his teammates to avoid the upset, losing 72-66 to the Cardinal. Ever since Duncan moved on to the NBA, Wake Forest has struggled and their Final Four drought is now 49 seasons and counting.

19) ’88-’89 Oklahoma Sooners

It had been 32 years since Oklahoma’s last NCAA Tournament bid when Billy Tubbs took over as coach in 1980. By the end of the decade, the Sooners were making their seventh straight appearance and one year removed from a National Final loss to rival Kansas. Three seniors returned from that ’87-’88 squad, led by All-Americans Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock, and anything less than a 1989 national title would have been disillusioning. Not only did Oklahoma fall well short of those expectations, they almost became the first #1 seed to ever get upset in the first round, barely surviving against #16 seed East Tennessee State. Suddenly, a team that won 26 games and spent much of the regular season #1 in the AP poll looked extremely vulnerable. Sure enough, Oklahoma fell to Virginia two rounds later in the Regional Semifinal, a swift end to a promising season. While Cavaliers freshman Bryant Stith took over that game, Blaylock struggled with an eye injury suffered during the first half that limited his vision.

18) ’99-’00 Duke Blue Devils

Long before Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish, Duke had another dynamic freshman trio in ’99-’00 with Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Mike Dunleavy. It was a new era for Coach K, valuing underclassmen talent alongside veteran returnee All-American Shane Battier. The Devils finished the season 27-4 and ranked #1 in the final AP poll, but it was against a deceptively easy schedule, winning just five of those games against ranked opponents. The lack of tested experience really showed in a Regional Semifinal loss to Florida. Already looking like a team a destiny when a Mike Miller buzzer beater allowed them to escape a first round upset attempt from Butler, Florida fell behind early and often to Duke but kept coming back. With Williams (shot 6-of-20), Dunleavy (scored just four points), and Boozer (fouled out) all struggling or unavailable, the Gators scored the last 13 points of the game to win 87-78. All three star freshman (and Battier) returned for Duke in ’00-’01 and earned their redemption, winning the third national title of the Coach K era.

17) ’95-’96 Connecticut Huskies

An epic Big East Tournament final win over Allen Iverson and Georgetown capped an incredible ’95-’96 season for Ray Allen and Connecticut. They won 29 of their final 30 games, spent nine consecutive weeks in the AP top five, and Allen earned UPI Player of the Year. Following Regional Semifinals or Regional Final losses in 1990, 1991, 1994, and 1995, UConn fans were eager to see the team make its first Final Four appearance in program history. Instead, that honor went to their Sweet 16 opponent, Mississippi State. Led by unheralded shooting guard Darryl Wilson, who scored 27 points while hounding Allen defensively, the #5 seeded Bulldogs came away with a 60-55 upset. Future lottery pick Erick Dampier added 15 points and four blocks for Mississippi State, while Allen struggled, shooting just 9-of-25 from the field as the Huskies shot just 25.4% collectively. Though Allen left that summer for the NBA and the ’96-’97 season ended without even an NCAA Tournament bid, Connecticut would soon after not just make their Final Four debut, but win the championship in 1999.

16) ’05-’06 Villanova Wildcats

Sporting a hotshot young coach in Jay Wright, two All-American seniors in Randy Foye and Allan Ray, and a #1 seed for the first time in school history, Villanova seemed primed for big things in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. But it was a rough March for top seeds, with all four of them coming up short of reaching the Final Four. The Wildcats’ tormentor was Florida, more specifically Joakim Noah, who finished the 75-62 Regional Final upset with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and five blocks. Ray and Foye struggled from the field all game, stifled by Florida’s pressure defense, as did sophomore guard Kyle Lowry. They shot just 24.7% from the field as a team, with Ray especially struggling, shooting 5-of-19. It was a rough end to a stellar season for Villanova, who had spent all but one week in the AP top five and finished with a 25-4 record. Wright did lead them to the Final Four three years later and eventually to national titles in 2016 and 2018.

15) ’85-’86 North Carolina Tar Heels

They made the Final Four in 1981 and they won the title in 1982 behind freshman phenom Michael Jordan but for the rest of the ’80s, it was one NCAA Tournament disappointment after another for North Carolina. In Jordan’s final two seasons, they were knocked off in the Regional Final in 1983 and the Regional Semifinals in 1984. They kept it up after he left campus, with a Regional Final loss in 1985 to eventual Cinderella champion Villanova. All five starters from that UNC team returned in ’85-’86, including eventual #1 overall draft pick Brad Daugherty, and they cruised early, winning 21 consecutive games by an average margin of 26 points. There were cracks down the stretch however, slipping them to a vulnerable #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the Tar Heels took some solace in losing in the Regional Semifinals to Louisville, marking a second consecutive tournament in which they lost to the eventual national champions. It was ultimately part of a stretch of eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments where North Carolina fell in the Regional Semifinals or Regional Final, which they finally broke with a Final Four appearance in 1991.

“At the moment, it seemed like just a tough break for Indiana, but it was ultimately the beginning of the end for [Bobby] Knight’s reign in Bloomingdale.”

14) ’88-’89 Arizona Wildcats
13) ’97-’98 Arizona Wildcats

Though these two seasons came a decade apart for Arizona, they had a lot in common. Both disappointments came a year after a Final Four appearance, in the latter case a national title. Both featured a veteran, battle-tested team that was expected to build on, or at least repeat, that previous year’s success. And both cruised along in the regular season, with the ’88-’89 team finishing 27-3 and as the #1 team in the nation, while the the ’97-’98 team was 27-4 and #4. In 1989, they had the misfortune of facing an under-seeded UNLV team (#4 seed) in the Regional Semifinals, and Anderson Hunt gave the Runnin’ Rebels a 68-67 upset with a buzzer beating three-pointer. Arizona lost Wooden Award winner Sean Elliott to the NBA that summer and struggled for the next few seasons, ultimately revived with a surprise Cinderella title run through the 1997 NCAA Tournament. All five champion starters returned in ’97-’98, led by Mike Bibby and Jason Terry, and they cruised through the first three rounds of the 1998 tournament. Waiting in the Regional Final was Utah, whose coach Rick Majerus deployed an archaic triangle-and-two defense that completely discombobulated Arizona. After averaging 90+ points per game during the regular season, Arizona was shut down completely by Utah in a shockingly lopsided 76-51 loss. It was arguably the most disappointing loss in Arizona’s tournament history, even more so than their first round upset as a #2 seed in 1993.

12) ’15-’16 Michigan State Spartans

Only one team on this list had their incredible season end in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and it was unsurprisingly one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Led by All-American senior Denzel Valentine, Michigan State finished ’15-’16 with a 29-5 record and a Big-10 Tournament title, and were considered a sneaky Final Four pick in a wide open bracket. Instead, they became just the eighth #2 seed to get upset in the first round of the tournament and it was in decisive fashion, in a 90-81 loss to Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders never trailed the entire game and shot an incredible 11-of-19 from three-point range, while Valentine finished with 13 points and 12 assists but six turnovers. At the time, it was the only NCAA Tournament loss in Izzo’s long career (since 1996) in which the Spartans lost to a team seeded more than five spots below them. After disappointing early exits in 2017 and 2018, Michigan State bounced back in 2019, making their eighth Final Four appearance under Izzo.

11) ’92-’93 Indiana Hoosiers

This just may have been the loss that broke Bobby Knight. Sure, the legendary coach’s Hoosiers teams had disappointed a couple times in recent tournaments past, but this ’92-’93 squad seemed primed to return them to glory. Bringing back the top four scorers from the ’91-’92 team that reached the Final Four, Indiana spent the entire ’92-’93 season in the AP top five, including five weeks at #1, and suffered just three losses all season, two of them against fellow top five opponents. Led by consensus National Player of the Year Calbert Cheaney, the Hoosiers cruised to the Regional Final, where a seemingly nondescript Kansas opponent awaited. But the Jayhawks had a secret weapon: A virtual home crowd, as the game was played in Kansas City, just a four hour drive from their Lawrence campus. Though Cheaney stepped up with 22 points and nine rebounds, Kansas shot 59.6% from the field and got double-digit scoring from all five starters in an 83-77 upset. It was ultimately the beginning of the end for Knight’s reign in Bloomingdale. They made just one Sweet 16 appearance in his final seven seasons as head coach before he was dismissed in 2000.

10) ’93-’94 North Carolina Tar Heels

A 1993 North Carolina national title, their first in 11 years, seemed to buoy coach Dean Smith with elite recruiting classes for the remainder of the decade. Heavily hyped freshman Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse were the first wave, hitting campus in the immediate aftermath of that title, joining returning starters Eric Montross and Donald Williams. The regular season had its ups and downs but the Tar Heels finished strong, winning the ACC Tournament and finishing #1 in the final AP poll. They entered the NCAA Tournament as the consensus favorites, expected to win back-to-back titles in the immediate wake of rival Duke accomplishing the feat. Instead, it was all just to set up arguably the biggest second round upset in tournament history, as the #9 seed Boston College shocked UNC 75-72. It was a frustrating game for the Tar Heels on several levels, including starting point guard Derrick Phelps sitting out the second half after taking a hard foul from BC’s Danya Abrams, leading to the normally composed Smith storming the court to confront him. Wallace and Stackhouse came back strong in their sophomore seasons, leading UNC back to the Final Four in 1995.

9) ’09-’10 Kansas

We just called Boston College’s 1994 defeat of North Carolina arguably the biggest second round upset in NCAA Tournament history, and this Kansas team is the reason we had to use the “arguably” qualifier. Featuring eight future NBA players, led by center Cole Aldrich, the Jayhawks started the ’09-’10 season #1 in the AP poll and ended it there, falling out of the top position only briefly, and never lower than #3. They lost just two games all season, both on the road, and had two All-Americans in Aldrich and Sherron Collins. But it all became moot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where Kansas was shocked by #9 seed Northern Iowa. Not only did the Panthers upend the Jayhawks, they led almost the entire game, holding off a late Kansas rally for a 69-67 victory. Collins had a tough final game of his collegiate career, finishing with just 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting, plus five costly turnovers, while Aldrich had a respectable 13 points and 10 rebounds.

8) ’12-’13 Indiana

For the heavyweight Bob Knight rosters that fell short in the NCAA Tournament, this Tom Crean led team was Indiana’s best of the modern era. Junior Victor Oladipo and sophomore Cody Zeller were both All-Americans and the highly hyped Hoosiers were #1 in the country for the first six weeks of the season and then again for essentially all of February. But as much as things changed at Indiana, there was still a holdover in store from the Knight era, where a Hoosiers team took the floor for a tournament game looking woefully unprepared for their specific opponent. After averaging 78.6 points per game during the season and never less than 56 in a single game, the Hoosiers were stifled by Syracuse’s patented zone defense, shooting just 34% from the field in a 61-50 loss in the Regional Semifinals. Oladipo and Zeller were selected #2 and #4 overall in the subsequent NBA Draft and Indiana missed the tournament altogether in 2014.

7) ’02-’03 Arizona

In the wake of winning the 1997 national title, Arizona coach Lute Olson went on a recruiting tear, cresting in the ’02-’03 season. Incoming star freshmen Andre Iguodala and Hassan Adams joined a vaunted veteran core of Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Luke Walton, Will Bynum, and All-American point guard Jason Gardner. The Wildcats spent 13 out of a possible 19 weeks in the #1 AP poll spot and finished the regular season 27-2 but like several other teams on this list, were ominously eliminated early in their conference tournament. They survived a scare in the NCAA Tournament second round, outlasting #9 seed Gonzaga in double overtime, en route to a Regional Final showdown with Kansas. Nothing in particular went wrong for Arizona in that matchup, they just got outplayed by an impressive opponent led by Kirk Hinrich, who finished with 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a 78-75 Kansas upset. Arizona has been a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament just once since, in 2014, when they also lost in the Regional Finals.

6) ’18-’19 Duke

This was not quite the greatest Duke team to fall short of the Final Four but it was certainly close. After losing his entire starting lineup from the year before to the NBA, Coach K didn’t rebuild he reloaded, landing three of the nation’s top five recruits, plus the #13 recruit as a cherry on top. Relying on so many freshmen seemed risky but Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish answered the call. Duke finished the regular season 26-5 despite Williamson missing significant time with a knee injury, won the ACC Tournament, and entered the NCAA Tournament as the #1 overall seed. They just barely survived upset bids from #9 seed Central Florida in the second round and #4 seed Virginia Tech in the Regional Semifinals before their luck ran out against Michigan State in the Regional Final. A veteran laden Spartans team neutralized everyone but Williamson (who finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds) in 68-67 upset, with Barrett missing key shots and free throws late. Williamson was soon after the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, with Barrett and Reddish following him later in the lottery.

5) ’99-’00 Cincinnati

Once a powerhouse in the late ’50s and early ’60s, the Cincinnati program was floundering when Bob Huggins took over as head coach in 1989 and started bringing in elite recruiting classes. His apotheosis came in ’99-’00, when highly prized recruits Kenny Satterfield and DerMarr Johnson joined senior All-American Kenyon Martin in the lineup. The Bearcats finished the regular season 28-2 and #1 in the AP poll but during a Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal game, Martin broke his leg and was lost for the season. The reigning consensus National Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year could only watch helplessly as Cincinnati was subsequently defeated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Tulsa. Martin was the #1 overall pick that summer and recovered fully for his rookie season en route to a solid NBA career, while Satterfield and Johnson struggled at the next level. Huggins remained as coach for five more seasons in Cincinnati and failed to advance past the Sweet 16.

4) ’05-’06 Duke

With a new NBA Draft age eligibility rule looming, a floodgate of the nation’s top high school seniors of 2005 opted to turn pro. One major exception was Josh McRoberts, who was rated as the #1 prospect in the country and opted to attend Duke over declaring for the draft. Along with another highly touted freshman in Greg Paulas, McRoberts teamed up with seniors J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams to lead Duke to a 30-3 regular season record. Duke was #1 in the AP poll for 14 weeks out of a possible 19, while Redick earned the Naismith and Wooden Awards and Williams was named National Defensive Player of the Year. But the Blue Devils ran into a buzzsaw in the Regional Semifinals, getting upset 62-54 by #4 seed LSU. Williams held his own in the paint against Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas but Redick struggled in his final collegiate game, shooting 3-of-18 from the field. McRoberts stayed through his sophomore year at Duke, which ended even quicker, with a first round tournament loss.

3) ’09-’10 Kentucky

A 2010 Regional Final match-up between Kentucky and West Virginia was a real contrast in modern era NCAA program building. First year coach John Calipari was in brazenly full embrace of elite one-and-done talent, building his roster around freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Daniel Orton. All four of those players would be first round picks in the subsequent NBA Draft, while West Virginia had just one future NBA draftee, eventual second round pick Devin Ebanks. But a Wildcats team that had averaged nearly 80 points per game during the regular season was stifled by Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers and their pressure defense in a 73-66 upset. Kentucky missed its first 20 three-point attempts of the game, while Wall and Cousins committed five turnovers each. Undeterred, Calipari brought led a new crop of five star recruits to the 2011 Final Four, and then another group of freshman to the 2012 title.

2) ’96-’97 Kansas

It’s hard to overstate how good this Kansas team was. Led by All-American upperclassmen Raef Lafrentz and Jacque Vaughn, along with future NBA legend Paul Pierce, they never dipped below #2 in the AP poll and spent the final 15 weeks at #1. They won 32 games, 23 of them by a double-digit margin and 14 of them by 20 points or more, including two in the Big 12 Tournament. They lost just one game all season and that was in double overtime against Missouri. Even more incredible, unlike many of the other teams on this list, the Jayhawks didn’t even particularly struggle in their NCAA Tournament loss, they just got outplayed. It’s no coincidence that they’re also the only team on this list that lost to the eventual NCAA champions, falling to Arizona in the Regional Semifinals. For these Kansas seniors, which also featured Scot Pollard and Jerod Haase in addition to Vaughn, they were the winningest class in school history but also the first since 1981 to go four years without a Final Four appearance.

1) ’01-’02 Duke

A decade after they had repeated as champions in 1991 and 1992, it seemed like perfect symmetry for Duke and Coach Krzyzewski to repeat the feat in 2001 and 2002. Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon, and Mike Dunleavy were all holdovers from that ’00-’01 title team, while freshman Daniel Ewing and transfer Dahntay Jones solidified the roster. They started the season #1 in the AP poll and held that spot for eight straight weeks and 13 overall, never falling further than #3. Williams was named consensus National Player of the Year and Dunleavy joined him on the All-American team. Duke fans likely weren’t losing sleep over Regional Semifinal opponent Indiana, and sure enough the Blue Devils were running away with it in the first half, opening up a 17 point lead. This dissipated in a hurry in the second half though, as Hoosiers star Jared Jeffries led a massive comeback. Indiana took their improbable first lead of the game with exactly one minute remaining, setting up a wild finish. Trailing by four in the final seconds, Williams made an incredible offensive rebound, then nailed a three-pointer while being fouled. But his game tying free throw was off the mark, as was Boozer’s potential game winning tip-in, ending Duke’s season earlier than anyone expected. Few tears were shed for the Blue Devils and rightfully so, as they returned to the Final Four two years later and eventually won another championship in 2010.