Fansided

10 best Final Four teams that didn’t win the national championship

By Mike Phillips

02 APR 2005: Guard Luther Head (4) of Illinois drives the to the basket past Louisville's Taquan Dean (5) during the Division I Men's Final Four semi final game held the the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO. The University of Illinois went on to defeat Louisville 72-57 to advance to the championship game. Photo: Ryan McKee/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
02 APR 2005: Guard Luther Head (4) of Illinois drives the to the basket past Louisville's Taquan Dean (5) during the Division I Men's Final Four semi final game held the the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO. The University of Illinois went on to defeat Louisville 72-57 to advance to the championship game. Photo: Ryan McKee/NCAA Photos via Getty Images /
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04 April 2015: Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns (12) defends Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) during a NCAA Final Four game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Kentucky Wildcats, at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Adam Creech/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images)
04 April 2015: Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns (12) defends Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) during a NCAA Final Four game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Kentucky Wildcats, at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Adam Creech/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /

6. 2015 Kentucky Wildcats

We’ve now hit our second team that got to the Final Four with an undefeated record only to fall short of the title. The 2015 Kentucky Wildcats pulled off the feat in the modern era, which is full of one-and-done players, which makes the fact they didn’t win it all both impressive and shocking all at once.

John Calipari’s roster was loaded with talent as six players from this team were selected in that June’s NBA Draft, headlined by top pick Karl-Anthony Towns and lottery choices Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, and Devin Booker. That mix of talent led Kentucky to stomp through the regular season, entering the tournament as the top overall seed in the field and overwhelming favorites to cut down the nets in Indianapolis.

The Wildcats put together some jaw-dropping displays in March Madness, including a mind-blowing 78-39 rout of 5-seed West Virginia in the Sweet 16, before sneaking past Notre Dame to reach the Final Four. Next up for the Wildcats was a matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers, who had some future pros on their roster in Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker but still faced a significant talent disadvantage.

What Wisconsin lacked in talent it made up for in effort, dominating the glass to keep the game close. Dekker nailed a three with 1:44 to go to break a 60-60 tie, spurring an 11-4 run to end the game and Kentucky’s unbeaten season in one fell swoop.

Towns and Booker have gone on to become stars in the NBA, but college hoops fans were left to wonder what could have been with that Kentucky team. It may be a very long time before another team puts together the type of season Kentucky did in this era, and the fact that it ended without a title is still extremely disappointing to Wildcats’ fans.

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