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 Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

1. 1971-72 UCLA Bruins

The greatest college basketball dynasty of all time was UCLA’s run, so there wouldn’t be justice if one of those teams didn’t top the list of the greatest basketball teams of all time. Picking just one UCLA team to embody the dynasty was hard, but the 1971-72 Bruins were pretty special.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was off to the NBA at this point, but John Wooden had found the heir to him in the middle with Bill Walton. Entering his sophomore season, Walton was poised to become a star after guiding UCLA’s freshmen team to a perfect season the year before (at the time freshmen couldn’t play varsity level college basketball).

This Bruins’ team wasn’t simply good, they were outright dominant. Not only did the Bruins go undefeated, UCLA blew out its opponents by an average of 30 points per game, an unheralded level of mastery over the sport.

The closest game that the Bruins played came in the national championship when they won by only five over Florida State to win their sixth straight national title. Walton and Henry Bibby were both consensus First Team All-Americans, with Walton also taking home several National Player of the Year honors.

There will never be another college basketball powerhouse like UCLA, which merits all four of its entries on our countdown. It would take something truly special to outdo what the 1972 Bruins accomplished, but the beauty of college basketball is that one could emerge as soon as next year.

Next. Top 25 college basketball rivalries of all time. dark

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