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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SAN ANTONIO, TX – April 2: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate after defeating the Michigan Wolverines during the 2018 NCAA Men’s Final Four Championship game at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

12. Villanova (2018)

Once again, Villanova returned to the championship forefront in 2018, as they became the most recent team to walk out victoriously from March Madness and secure their place in college basketball history.

It’s not like the 2018 team resembled the 2016 squad, either, aside from Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo taking larger roles. That’s with the rise of Jalen Brunson and Omari Spellman. Those four players and others were dynamite three-point shooters that catapulted Jay Wright to his second title in three years.

This Wildcats team was dominant in the regular season and mostly rolled through their competition. It was not the toughest of the 2000s teams that marched to cutting the nets down, but each win came by double-digit points. Even the Final Four win over No. 1 Kansas.

The championship game moved down a few pegs in difficulty, as well, against a talented but flawed Michigan team that faced Loyola-Chicago in the Final Four and never had to defeat a seed higher than No. 6.

So while any title victory is impressive, Villanova’s was not as rigorous as the rest. They were benefited by a chaotic first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but also reigned supreme over their competition by a wide margin.

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