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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Jim Calhoun University of Connecticut Huskies (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /

13. 2004 Connecticut

Five years after Richard Hamilton’s impressive run, the Huskies earned coach Jim Calhoun his second national title in 2004. These Huskies didn’t win the regular-season title in the Big East but really made things count when the calendar hit March, marching to the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament titles with a deep and talented roster.

A 14-1 start was heavily aided by future NBA players Ben Gordon (18.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.5 apg) and Emeka Okafor (17.6 ppg, 11.5 rpg), the two stars of this Huskies squad. Young pieces like Rashad Anderson (11.2 ppg) and Charlie Villanueva (another future NBA name) played an important role. The starting lineup also featured Taliek Brown (6.5 apg) and talented young big man Josh Boone.

The road to that title was unconventional, beating the 6, 7, and 8 seeds in their upset-heavy region, but they earned it after a hard-fought win over Duke in the Final Four. The Huskies took care of Georgia Tech (yes they made a title game once) to cut down the nets and earn the second piece of Calhoun’s dynasty. The NBA talent on this team was impressive and it all came together when it mattered the most, leading the Huskies to nine straight postseason wins and their place in history.

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