5 best NCAA basketball teams that never won the national championship

2. Best NCAA basketball teams to never win a national championship:1998-99 Duke Blue Devils were Mike Krzyzewski’s best team that didn’t win it all

It wouldn’t be a college basketball list if Duke wasn’t mentioned at least once. The Blue Devils’ entrant to this list comes here in the form of their 1998-99 squad which was simply elite.

Just seven years after winning his second national championship, head coach Mike Krzyzewski assembled a roster more than capable of adding a third ring to his collection. Led by stars like Elton Brand and Shane Battier, Duke dismantled their opponents throughout the season.

The Blue Devils only lost one game in the regular season, a two-point defeat against Cincinnati at the Great Alaska Shootout in late November. The winning never stopped after that as Duke absolutely rolled, with one of the big highlights being a 23-point victory over bitter rival North Carolina in the ACC Tournament final.

With how dominant the Blue Devils were there were huge expectations of a national championship. Duke wasn’t pushed at all in the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament, never winning by less than 17 points, and they topped Michigan State by six in the Final Four to set up a date with UConn for the title.

Oddsmakers installed the Blue Devils as 9.5 point favorites but the Huskies pulled the upset, winning by three to claim the school’s first championship. The game remains the biggest upset in terms of point spread in the history of the national championship game.