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10 best Final Four teams of all time

By Nathaniel Reeves

Mar 4, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former UCLA Bruins player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar waves to the crowd at half time between the Washington State Cougars and the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former UCLA Bruins player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar waves to the crowd at half time between the Washington State Cougars and the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
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UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1968: Ferdinand Lewis ‘Lew’ Alcindor #33 of the UCLA Bruins is shooting a free-throw during an NCAA basketball game circa 1968. Alcindor played for the UCLA from 1965-69. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1968: Ferdinand Lewis ‘Lew’ Alcindor #33 of the UCLA Bruins is shooting a free-throw during an NCAA basketball game circa 1968. Alcindor played for the UCLA from 1965-69. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

1. 1968 UCLA Bruins 

Picking the best team from the Alcindor era at UCLA is a tough task, but the 1968 Bruins showed an unparalleled level of dominance at the Final Four stage.

The Bruins entered the year on a streak of three championships in four seasons, including a perfect 1967 campaign behind Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Alcindor averaged 26.2 points and 16.5 rebounds per game in 1968 en route to his second straight AP Player of the Year Award, with guard Lucius Allen also earning an All-American nod.

UCLA lost just one game during the regular season, a two-point loss at Elvin Hayes’ Houston team with Alcindor hobbled by injuries. After two wins to open the 1968 NCAA Tournament, the Bruins took advantage of a chance for revenge on the No. 1 Cougars in a 101-69 destruction in the National Semifinal.

That set up a championship game tilt against No. 4 North Carolina, which UCLA again won easily by 23 points. Alcindor went off for 34 points in the title game and helped limit the dominant Hayes to just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting the night before.

Related Story: Updated NCAA Tournament bracket

Wooden would go on to dominate college basketball for the better part of the next decade, but his 1968 team still stands out as the best Final Four squad UCLA has ever had.

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