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NCAA Basketball: North Carolina the worst preseason No. 1 team of all time

Feb 19, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) and forward Pete Nance (32) react during the second half of the game against North Carolina State Wolfpack at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 19, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) and forward Pete Nance (32) react during the second half of the game against North Carolina State Wolfpack at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball Former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets basketball player Mark Price Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

14. 1985-86 Georgia Tech

Before this particular season began, Georgia Tech had been in the NCAA Tournament just twice, and one of those appearances had been an Elite Eight run the previous season. The talent returning from that run was a major reason these Yellow Jackets were the preseason favorite. It wasn’t just about the potential for success; this was a major breakthrough for basketball at Georgia Tech, a program often overlooked in the ACC throughout its history.

Their success was due to the play of seniors Mark Price and John Salley, who’d have some success at the next level. Price averaged greater than 17 points a game and Salley was a 6’11 center who was dominant on both sides of the court. Underclassmen Duane Ferrell and Tom Hammonds both averaged at least 12 points a game and saw time in the NBA, while Bruce Dalrymple, a somewhat unheralded junior guard, also averaged at least 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. Former New Mexico head coach Craig Neal was the main option off the bench.

The Yellow Jackets spent the entire season in the Top 10, but an early loss to Michigan pushed them off their top ranking. They’d lose two games apiece to Duke and North Carolina but still nabbed a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament after losing just six games. After an opening-round victory against 15-seed Marist, the Yellow Jackets fought hard to knock out 10-seed Villanova, the defending champion, before seeing their season end in the Sweet Sixteen.

They were upset by 11-seed LSU and didn’t even play a team with a single-digit seed in their limited postseason run. Bobby Cremins’ program would make a Final Four some four years later, but this was the team that was stacked with talent; they just couldn’t get the job done in the games that mattered most.