March Madness: Ranking every national champion this century

March Madness: Ranking every national champion from this century

02 APR 2001: Duke University basketball team celebrates with head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the championship trophy after the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four Championship game held in Minneaplois, MN at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Duke defeated Arizona 82-72 for the championship. Ryan McKee/NCAA Photos via Getty Images /

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Members of the Maryland Terrapins basketball team including head coach Gary Williams (center) and Juan Dixon (right) wave to their fans following the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. The Terrapins of Maryland went on defeat the Indiana Hoosiers 64-52 for the championship title. Photo: Ryan McKee/NCAA Photos via Getty Images /

13. Maryland (2002)

In 2002, Maryland encapsulated college basketball with winning the National Championship. They represent an outlier in the teams to win March Madness this century, but that doesn’t mean their team or road to the Final Four was diminished.

The Terrapins offered a triple threat for their title-winning squad: Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox. None of them became household NBA names, but they carried this team to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Dixon was the star — averaging 20.3 points per game. He did so as the senior leader and carried this into March Madness, including a 33-point outing against No. 1 Kansas in the Final Four.

As the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, along with defeating the Jayhawks, Maryland proved their worth. They took down quality Kentucky and Connecticut teams, which contributed to the eventual showdown with No. 5 Indiana, with the remnants of what Bob Knight left behind, in the National Championship Game.

It was a quality Maryland team that had star talent leading the way. Their success was difficult to argue with, and it places them among the top teams of the millennium.

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