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 Peyton Williams/UNC/Getty Images) /

8. 1956-1957 North Carolina Tar Heels

The easiest way to make the top-10 of our greatest college basketball teams of all-time is to go undefeated. Doing it against a stacked set of competitors ensures your place among the greatest of the greats, which is what the 1956-57 North Carolina Tar Heels did.

Head coach Frank McGuire assembled a very talented group of players, including National Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth as well as All-ACC team members Tommy Kearns and Pete Brennan. The Tar Heels relied heavily on McGuire’s New York ties, relying on some of the best basketball players from New York City to build a winner in Chapel Hill.

Rosenbluth powered the Tar Heels’ offense, averaging 28 points per game, and the veteran team stomped through the regular season without an issue. A perfect showing at the ACC Tournament guaranteed North Carolina’s ticket to dance with the Tar Heels bringing a 27-0 record into March Madness.

The tournament wasn’t easy for the Tar Heels, who played in arguably the most iconic Final Four in history. North Carolina needed to survive triple-overtime to take down Michigan State, earning themselves a date with Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas.

The Jayhawks had a clear home-court advantage with the Final Four being played in Kansas City, but the Tar Heels squeaked out a one-point victory in another triple-overtime thrill ride. A brilliant game plan allowed North Carolina to contain Chamberlain and cement their place in the history books.