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 Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

18. 1983-1984 Georgetown Hoyas

Throughout the early 1980s, the most dominant program in college basketball was the Georgetown Hoyas. Led by future Hall-of-Famer Patrick Ewing, the Hoyas reached the national championship game three times in a four-year span but their only title came in 1984.

That season was Ewing’s junior year and Georgetown was two years removed from a brutal loss to North Carolina in the National Championship Game. A young Michael Jordan nailed the game-winning jumper for the Tar Heels, sending John Thompson‘s team home in a very disappointing fashion.

The Hoyas simply wouldn’t be denied in 1984, going 26-3 in the regular season and surviving a meat-grinder in the Big East Tournament. Toppling Providence, St. John’s and Syracuse earned Georgetown a conference championship and the top seed in the West Region for the NCAA Tournament.

Georgetown had to survive a very early scare, nearly bowing out in the first round before escaping ninth-seeded SMU by a point. That white knuckler was a wakeup call for the Hoyas, who flipped the switch and took care of business the rest of the way.

The Hoyas topped Akeem Olajuwon and Houston to claim their first national championship. Georgetown nearly repeated the following season, advancing all the way to the title game again before being taken down by Villanova in one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history.