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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27 Jan 1999: Elton Brand #42 of the Duke Blue Devils tries to guard Brendan Haywood #00 of the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels 89-77.
27 Jan 1999: Elton Brand #42 of the Duke Blue Devils tries to guard Brendan Haywood #00 of the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels 89-77. /

5. 1999 Duke Blue Devils

Blue Devils’ fans have nothing to complain about with five titles in the Mike Krzyzewski era, but this edition of Duke should have been the sixth. Duke absolutely crushed the competition during the regular season, losing only once in the non-conference schedule, a two-point defeat against Cincinnati in the Great Alaska Shootout.

That Blue Devils’ squad featured a number of future NBA players, including Elton Brand (17.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg), Corey Maggette, and Shane Battier. Duke routinely blew out teams on their way to a No.1 seed in the East Region, and they ran into little difficulty on the road to the Final Four.

That Final Four brought a matchup with Michigan State, and the Blue Devils escaped 68-62 against a Spartans’ squad that would go on to win the championship the very next year. That set up a showdown with the Connecticut Huskies, who were making their first Final Four and title game appearance in school history.

Oddsmakers were very high on Duke, installing the Blue Devils as nine and a half point favorites over UConn in the matchup. The Huskies, who had put together an excellent season of their own, weren’t intimidated and knocked off Duke to claim the first of three national championships for head coach Jim Calhoun.

In terms of just point spreads, Duke’s loss to UConn is the biggest upset in championship history. There will be bigger upsets in terms of ability still to come on this list.

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