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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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 30: Head coach Jerry Tarkanian of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels talks with his player Greg Anthony #50 against the Duke Blue Devils during the NCAA Men’s Final Four Championship March 30, 1991 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tarkanian coached at UNLV from 1973-92. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 30: Head coach Jerry Tarkanian of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels talks with his player Greg Anthony #50 against the Duke Blue Devils during the NCAA Men’s Final Four Championship March 30, 1991 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tarkanian coached at UNLV from 1973-92. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

3. 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

You may be noticing a trend here as we hit yet another team that went undefeated in the regular season only to fall short in the Final Four. UNLV, which had won the national championship in 1990 with a triumph over Duke in the title game, built on their success with an excellent campaign the following year.

The Runnin’ Rebels ran roughshod over the Big West, averaging 97.7 points per game while holding their opponents to just 71 a night. Led by Larry Johnson, who averaged 22.7 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game, UNLV only won one game by less than double digits in the regular season as part of a 30-0 campaign.

The selection committee gave UNLV the top seed in the West Region, where they had little trouble getting back to the Final Four. The Rebels’ reward was a rematch with Duke, which led to another classic showdown, but this time the Blue Devils escaped with a 79-77 victory to end UNLV’s 45-game winning streak.

Duke went on to top Kansas 72-65 to claim the first national title of the Coach K era, and it also brought an end to UNLV’s brilliant reign atop the college basketball world. Johnson went on to become the top pick in the NBA Draft while coach Jerry Tarkanian was forced out in 1992 after being suspected of committing numerous rules violations.

The Rebels have only been to the NCAA Tournament only eight times since, with only one of those appearances extending beyond the first weekend, and you have to wonder how different things would have turned out if UNLV had won back-to-back titles.

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