On Monday night, a new team will enter the history books as NCAA men’s basketball national champions. In honor of the greatest tournament in sports, here is a ranking of the last 10 teams to cut down the nets.
10. 2017 UNC Tarheels
All 10 of these teams rightfully earned their championships, but someone still has to fill out the bottom. There’s a lot to like about this team, starting with ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson alongside point guard Joel Berry II. There’s a lot of nostalgia with this run, but North Carolina was ultimately clinging on for dear life.
The national championship game is also considered one of the worst in recent memory. Fifty-two total free throws were attempted, as the Tar Heels tallied more at the line than from behind the 3-point line in a 71-65 final over Gonzaga. On top of that, you’re destined for the bottom of this list if Duke takes two of the three matchups during the season. Shoutout to Luke Maye, though, whose Elite Eight buzzer-beater over Kentucky is one of the best moments over this time period.
9. 2025 Florida Gators
On one end, the Gators went 36-4 in a gauntlet of a Southeastern Conference that saw 12 teams make the NCAA Tournament. Todd Golden’s group entered just the second Final Four that featured all four No. 1 seeds and came out on top. Three Gators from this team got drafted to the NBA already in Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin, and a couple more should be on the way.
On the other hand, this was the chalkiest tournament in recent memory. There is something distasteful about a lack of upsets and no Cinderella story to chase. That’s what March is all about. But again, maybe that only proves how much Florida really earned it. Likewise, while this team was deep, the offense was absolutely nothing without Clayton Jr., especially in the later games of the tournament. If we were ranking tournament MVPs of the last ten years, this would be a different conversation, with Clayton Jr. near the very top.
8. 2019 Virginia Cavaliers
This team had the world’s greatest chip on their shoulder. A year prior, Virginia was the laughing stock of not just college basketball, but the entire world of sports after becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed, UMBC,in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Tony Bennett and his core of mostly returning players did not let the loss define their legacy.
The championship run felt real after defeating Carsen Edwards and Purdue in overtime in the Elite Eight. After dramatic free throws from Kyle Guy in the semifinal to defeat Auburn, the Cavaliers hoisted the trophy after a classic championship game that went to overtime against Texas Tech.
7. 2023 UConn Huskies
Connecticut won the first of back-to-back championships in one of the most chaotic tournaments of all time, featuring No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson upsetting Purdue and No. 9 seed FAU reaching the Final Four. UConn never played a seed higher than them in the entire tournament despite being a No. 4 seed.
This team was still very talented, with some great leadership from big man Adama Sanogo and sharpshooter Jordan Hawkins. Freshman Alex Karaban was a critical connective piece for this team as well, who is still at UConn and has a chance to bring a third championship in four years to Storrs, Connecticut. UConn was definitely underseeded, but took care of business.
6. 2022 Kansas Jayhawks
The thesis statement on this Kansas team is that there has never been a larger comeback in the history of the national championship game. Down 40-25 at halftime to No. 8 seed UNC, Kansas rallied all the way back for the 72-69 win. Championship game aside, this was the Final Four that the people wanted. With Duke and Villanova, this is the only Final Four in the last 10 years that featured four certified blue bloods, and it lived up to the hype.
Ochai Agbaji was the obvious tournament MVP with the season he had for the Jayhawks. The senior led the way with 18.8 points per game while shooting over 40% from the 3-point line.
5. 2015 Duke Blue Devils
The 2015 NCAA Tournament is the reason I’m a college basketball fan, and this Duke team was elite. The final of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski’s five championships was mostly led by some star freshmen who could put on a show. Big man Jahlil Okafor was the ringleader, who took home ACC Player of the Year in his lone collegiate season, and 23 points from Tyus Jones in the championship game were enough for tournament MVP.
The flaw of this run is what we didn’t get to see, and Wisconsin is to blame. If it weren’t for Frank Kaminsky and the Badgers' heroics, it could’ve been Duke in the championship game against the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats. Fans of the sport were yearning for a blue blood championship, and in a different world Duke might just fall short.
4. 2016 Villanova Wildcats
“Gives it to Jenkins for the championship. YES!”
This is the undisputed greatest moment in the history of college basketball. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the national championship, released with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock — the best possible ending to one of the all-time classic games.
This team was special, and the Wildcats walked in with a chip on their shoulder after losing to Seton Hall in the Big East Tournament championship. The run felt legit after a thrilling Elite Eight victory over No. 1 seed Kansas, followed up by a 44-point rout of Buddy Hield-led Oklahoma in the Final Four. Kris Jenkins was the hero in the championship, but Josh Hart, Ryan Arcidiacono and freshman Jalen Brunson were just as much the heart of this team.
3. 2021 Baylor Bears
The world asked for a classic March after COVID-19 stripped it away the year prior, and Baylor provided it. The Bears went 28-2 on the year and steamrolled to a national championship win over a previously undefeated Gonzaga team. The three-headed monster of Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague was too much for the rest of the country to handle.
This team was dominant, but the ranking reached this mark because of the hype. Jalen Suggs’ incredible half-court buzzer-beater in the semifinal over No. 11 seed UCLA gave Gonzaga real confidence to win this game, but Baylor shut the door. Butler took home tournament MVP after 22 points in the championship game.
2. 2024 UConn Huskies
The latter of Connecticut’s back-to-back championships was certainly a more dominant team. The Huskies had the best offensive efficiency in the country and cruised to the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness. Their smallest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament was a 14-point win against Alabama in the Final Four. In hindsight, it was always going to be UConn that took 2024’s crown.
The most impressive part of the dominance was the growth from the year before. Donovan Clingan took over as the starting center and was one of the most dominant players in the country. Freshman guard Stephon Castle filled the gap of the connective piece that the team needed, and is looking to be the best pro from Dan Hurley’s UConn tenure so far. The addition of Cam Spencer through the portal proved to be crucial, and 20 points in the national championship over Purdue clinched tournament MVP for Tristen Newton.
1. 2018 Villanova Wildcats
Villanova’s most recent championship team is an era-defining dominance. It led the country with 86.6 points per game, shot 50% from the field and 40% from the 3-point line. The Wildcats steamrolled through the NCAA Tournament — the closest margin of victory was 12 points against both West Virginia in the Sweet 16 and Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.
In the national championship game against Michigan, the world learned about Donte DiVincenzo. The man they call “The Big Ragu” dropped 31 points on 10-15 shooting off the bench, an all-time heat-check on the biggest stage. DiVincenzo was one of seven NBA players from this squad, including Mikal Bridges, Eric Paschall, freshman Collin Gillespie and, of course, Brunson, the 2018 Naismith Player of the Year. Brunson stands alongside Anthony Davis and Shane Battier as the only Naismith Player of the Year to cut the net in the same year since 2000.