NCAA basketball: Ranking every national champion this century: Is Baylor the best?

11. Villanova Wildcats, 2016

Final Record: 35-5 | Def. North Carolina 77-74

Villanova winning the national championship in 2016 will always be remembered for the finish in the title game. After a talented North Carolina team tied the game up in the final moments, the Wildcats made history with one of the most iconic buzzer-beaters in March Madness history as Kris Jenkins sank a long 3-pointer to give his team the opportunity to cut down the nets.

While that triple is the lasting image of this Villanova team, though, they were impressive throughout as this was the culmination of Jay Wright’s work with the Wildcats. They won the Big East for the third-straight year but had NCAA Tournament demons to overcome as they hadn’t made it to the Sweet 16 in either of the previous two years.

As a No. 2-seed in the tournament, Villanova faced a gauntlet as they never faced worse than a No. 3-seed from the Sweet 16 on. But they dismantled Miami and Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 and national semifinal, respectively, while they outlasted Kansas in the Elite Eight and, as mentioned, gave us a thriller to beat North Carolina.

The overall talent at Villanova wasn’t as great as it would be two years later for Wright but the team itself and the unbelievable ending to the season mean the Wildcats earned plenty of respect for their performance in the 2015-16 campaign.