NCAA Basketball: Ranking of 20 best college teams from last 20 years

By Joey Loose | Jun 25, 2022

Apr 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Frank Kaminsky (44) looses control of the ball between Kentucky Wildcats forward Trey Lyles (41) and Karl-Anthony Towns (12) in the second half of the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Championship semi-final game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /

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Memphis Tigers guard Derrick Rose Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

20. 2008 Memphis

At this point in time, Memphis basketball was in a fantastic place. They were far and away the best program in Conference USA, and by 2008 were in the middle of a winning streak of more than 50 games in conference play. Head coach John Calipari was already known as a recruiting wizard, with that 2008 team really standing out.

The Tigers finished the season 38-2, marching all the way to the national championship game before falling to Kansas. There were four future NBA players in their starting lineup, led by future NBA MVP and top draft pick Derrick Rose (14.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.7 apg) and talented shooting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts (18.1 pp, 4.1 rpg). The starting lineup also included Antonio Anderson and Joey Dorsey (who both had brief stints in the NBA), with important contributions from Robert Dozier and Doneal Mack.

Memphis won their first 26 games, earned a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, and eliminated Michigan State, Texas, and UCLA on their run to that national title game. The legacy of this team is a bit unfortunate, seeing as all the wins and Final Four appearance were vacated because of the Derrick Rose violations. However, this team and this program was one of the best of the era, and it’s this success that led Calipari to Kentucky just over a year later; believe me we’ll be seeing him again on this list.

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