NCAA basketball: 25 best college basketball teams of all time

NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 02: (L-R) Darius Miller #1, Anthony Davis #23, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist #14, Terrence Jones #3 and Marquis Teague #25 of the Kentucky Wildcats walk on the court in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks in the National Championship Game of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on April 2, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

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Best college basketball teams of all time

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

13. 2011-2012 Kentucky Wildcats

Our second appearance for the Kentucky Wildcats is also their most recent championship team. The 2011-12 Wildcats were a dominant force from the start of the season until the bitter end, resulting in one of the most memorable title-winners in recent memory.

Coach John Calipari built his team on the strength of an outstanding freshman class headlined by Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The pair of future pros joined forces with the likes of Darius Miller, Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague to build a team that was absolutely loaded.

Kentucky stampeded through the regular season, falling only to Indiana at Assembly Hall to go 30-1, including a perfect 16-0 in the SEC. The Wildcats surprisingly fell in the SEC Tournament final to Vanderbilt, but it didn’t affect their standing in the NCAA Tournament.

The selection committee gave the Wildcats the top seed in the South Region, which rolled through the bracket to reach the Final Four. Matchups against in-state rival Louisville and Kansas were tighter, but Kentucky scored a pair of eight-point wins to clinch the championship.

Davis was also one of the most dominant college basketball players of the decade, sweeping the National Player of the Year Awards and winning the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. The Wildcats came close to another title in 2015 but Kentucky’s 2012 title-winners absolutely deserve to be on this list.