Revisiting 11 loaded NCAA-basketball teams that failed to win it all

College basketball is full of excitement and drama. Whilewinning a national championship is the ultimate goal for everyteam, there have been many loaded squads that came upshort.

While the teams on this list didn’t win a title, they are stilloften mentioned among the best teams in the history of collegebasketball. Here are the best college-basketball teams that failedto win it all.

11. 1965-66 KentuckyWildcats

The 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats were coached by Adolph Rupp andtheir talented roster included future NBA stars Pat Riley and LouieDampier. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 27-2 andadvanced to the national championship game, where they faced theTexas Western Miners. In a game that would later be immortalized inthe movie "Glory Road," the Miners upset the Wildcats, 72-65.

10. 2006-07 Ohio StateBuckeyes

Led by future No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden and longtimeNBA point guard Mike Conley, the Buckeyes were hoping to win theirsecond national championship in program history. Ohio State,traditionally a football school, finished the season 35-4 andranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes advanced to the nationalchampionship game, where they faced a loaded Florida Gators squadthat was led by future NBA All-Stars Joakim Noah and AlHorford.

In the national championship game, Oden avoided the foul troublethat had plagued him earlier in the tournament and put up adominant 25 points and 12 rebounds. However, it wasn’t enough, asthe Gators defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 behind Horford's 18 points,12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Four players from theBuckeyes' roster would go on to play in the NBA: Conley, Oden,Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter.

9. 2004-05 IllinoisFighting Illini

The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini were a dominant force incollege basketball. Coached by Bruce Weber and led by Dee Brown andDeron Williams, the Illini won their first 29 games of the seasonand finished with a 37-2 record.

Illinois advanced to the national championship game, where theyfaced the North Carolina Tar Heels (who were led by Raymond Felton,Sean May, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams). Despite a valianteffort, the Illini fell just short, losing 75-70. Five of theirplayers would go on to play in the NBA: Williams, Brown, LutherHead, Roger Powell and James Augustine.

8. 2007-08 MemphisTigers

Yes, John Calipari has back-to-back teams on this list. CoachCal’s 2007-08 Memphis Tigers were absolutely loaded and they wereled by Derrick Rose, who would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the2008 NBA Draft and the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. ChrisDouglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Antonio Anderson were also keycontributors who eventually had stints in the NBA.

The Tigers finished the season with a record of 38-2 and theyadvanced to the national championship game, where they faced theKansas Jayhawks. Despite a strong effort, the Tigers were unable toovercome the Jayhawks. Memphis missed a number of late free throws,which opened the door for Mario Chalmers to hit one of the most memorablebuzzer-beaters in modern NCAA Tournament history and forceovertime. Kansas would go on to win, 75-68.

7. 1974-75 IndianaHoosiers

Led by head coach Bob Knight, the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiersfinished the season with a record of 31-1 and advanced to the FinalFour, where they faced the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite a strongeffort, the Hoosiers were upset by the Wildcats, 92-90.

The Hoosiers would have eight players who would go on to play inthe NBA: Scott May, Steve Green, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, JohnLaskowski, Bob Wilkerson, Tom Abernethy and Wayne Radford.

6. 1996-97 KansasJayhawks

The 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks featured a pair of future NBA stars(Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz) and one of the best coaches incollege-basketball history (Roy Williams). The Jayhawks finishedthe season with a record of 34-2 and advanced to the Final Four,where they faced the Arizona Wildcats.

Pierce put together a monster performance — 27 points, 11rebounds, 3 threes, 2 blocks and 2 steals on 69.2/60/100 shootingsplits — but it wasn't enough to defeat Mike Bibby’s Wildcats. TheJayhawks lost 85-82 in overtime. In addition to Pierce andLaFrentz, Kansas had four other players go on to the NBA: ScotPollard, Billy Thomas, Jacque Vaughn and Ryan Robertson.

5. 2014-15 KentuckyWildcats

The 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, coached by John Calipari,featured quite the collection of young, high-upside talent. Led byfuture NBA superstars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, theWildcats finished the season with a perfect record of 38-0.

Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, where they faced theWisconsin Badgers and were ultimately upset 71-64. In total, awhopping nine Wildcats would go on to play in the NBA: Towns,Booker, Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, AndrewHarrison, Tyler Ulis, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.

4. 1984-85 GeorgetownHoyas

The 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas, coached by John Thompson, were apowerhouse team that featured future NBA star Patrick Ewing. TheHoyas finished the season with a record of 35-3 and advanced to thenational championship game, where they faced the VillanovaWildcats.

In one of the biggest upsets in college-basketball history, theWildcats defeated the Hoyas 66-64. In addition to Ewing, Georgetownhad four other players who went on to play in the NBA: ReggieWilliams, Bill Martin, David Wingate and Michael Jackson.

3. 1992-93 MichiganWolverines

The prior season, the Fab Five took college basketball by storm,with bald heads and baggy shorts. They started five true freshmenand had a great season, making it all the way to the nationalchampionship game, where they were handled by a veteran Duke squadthat was led by Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley,losing 71-51.

In the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines were widely regarded asthe most talented team in the country and they were the favoritesto win it all. Unfortunately, they fell short to North Carolina inthe national championship game in one of the most memorable endingsin sports history. Future No. 1 pick Chris Webber called a timeoutthat Michigan didn’t have, as they lost 77-71. Michigan had fiveplayers who would later play in the NBA: Webber, Jalen Rose, JuwanHoward, Jimmy King and Eric Riley (plus Rob Pelinka would go on torun the Los Angeles Lakers' front office).

2. 1982-83 HoustonCougars

Led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler,the 1982-83 Houston Cougars were known as "Phi Slama Jama" fortheir high-flying style of play. The Cougars were a dominant forceon both ends of the court. They advanced to the Final Four, wherethey faced the N.C. State Wolfpack. Despite a 20-point lead in thesecond half, the Cougars were upset by the Wolfpack, 54-52. Inaddition to the superstar pairing of Olajuwon and Drexler, Houstonalso had two other players who would go on to play in the NBA:Michael Young and Larry Micheaux.

1. 1990-91 UNLV Runnin'Rebels

The 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels are one of the greatest collegebasketball teams of all-time, despite not winning the nationalchampionship. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Rebels had anincredible season, finishing with a record of 34-1.

Led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, the Rebelsplayed an up-tempo style of basketball that was both thrilling andeffective. In the Final Four, they lost a close game to the DukeBlue Devils, who would go on to win the national championship.Johnson, Augmon and Anthony would go on to thrive in the NBA, andtwo other Rebels would also make it to the league (Elmore Spencerand Eyric Gray).

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