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 John McCoy/Getty Images) /

11. 1973-1974 North Carolina State Wolfpack

We’re just shy of the top 10 now, which means we are hitting the cream of the crop in terms of basketball teams. The squad that just missed the top of the list is here in the form of the 1973-74 North Carolina State Wolfpack.

One of just two teams to win a championship other than UCLA between 1964 and 1975, the Wolfpack were absolutely stacked in 1974. Led by David Thompson and Tom Burleson, NC State lost only once in the regular season to the Bruins, going a perfect 12-0 in ACC play.

A 26-1 record following the ACC Tournament helped NC State earn a top seed in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region. The Wolfpack routed Providence and Pittsburgh to earn a spot in the Final Four and a highly anticipated rematch with UCLA.

The contest was extremely meaningful since the Bruins had won seven straight national championships, but their run came to an end when NC State prevailed 80-77 in double-overtime. The game marked the beginning of the end for the UCLA dynasty as the Bruins won the following year but only claimed one more championship after that.

NC State rode the momentum from slaying the Bruins into an easy win over Marquette to claim the program’s first title. The fact that the Wolfpack were the ones to essentially prevent nine straight UCLA championships guaranteed a lofty spot for them on the list of greatest college basketball teams of all time.