NCAA Basketball: Ranking of 20 best college teams from last 20 years
By Joey Loose
15. 2010 Duke
It should come as no surprise that there’s never a shortage of talent at Duke, and this 2010 team was a certain example of that. The team that won Coach K his fourth national championship was also one of his best teams. Littered with talent up and down the roster, this team marched to the national title game and narrowly avoided one of the all-time upsets, all while three Duke legends led the charge.
Current head coach Jon Scheyer (18.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.9 apg) starred in his senior year, while juniors Kyle Singler (17.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Nolan Smith (17.4 ppg) also had a tremendous impact on his team. Frontcourt pieces like Brian Zoubek, Miles Plumlee, and Lance Thomas helped balance the roster, while future stars like Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly had situational roles on this title-winning team.
The Blue Devils marched to another national title, beating Purdue, Baylor, West Virginia, and Butler en route to that title. The trio of Scheyer, Singler, and Smith achieved legendary status for how this season progressed and ended, and Coach K surpassed mentor Bobby Knight with his fourth ring. There’s never been a struggle getting talented players to Durham, but this was one of those seasons where everything came together in a perfect way.