March Madness: Ranking every national champion from this century

18. Duke (2010)

Never count Duke out of any season. They always sit near the top of college basketball and find their way into championship contention. Of course, the occasional Lehigh swoops in and makes their March Madness a nightmare, but other seasons have resulted in the events of 2010.

From top to bottom, this Blue Devils team did not seem like the team of future NBA stars; it did have some pro talent, but no player rose above a part-time starter. No one was flashy, tripping players like Grayson Allen or stealing headlines. This was a quiet team of solid college players that teamed together under a legendary head coach.

At 35-5, Duke was a No. 1 seed but not the top-ranked team. Still, they blew through their competition, with a 78-71 win over Baylor in the Elite Eight as the closest scare.

Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith shot their way through the tournament, while the Plumlees and Brian Zoubeck cleaned the glass. All seemed smooth, efficient and effective for the 2010 Duke squad until the faced the mid-major Butler Bulldogs in the National Championship game.

This unit was one Gordon Hayward heave away from disappearing out of the college basketball history books — mere inches from forgetting this talented but storyline-less team.

They were still deserved of the National Championship and fulfilled all the NCAA Tournament asked of them, but the road was hardly daunting in a weak year at the top for college basketball, and this team drifts into the background of the Duke rosters that won March Madness in the 2000s.