The 50 Most Badass College Basketball Teams of All Time

Intro

March Madness is here, cue the soundtrack! Sure, we like June for the Finals, and January for the NFL Playoffs, but for daytime viewing (i.e. a reason to go to bars at noon) and sheer "I've never heard of these players but this is the best game I've ever seen" excitement, you cannot beat March with both the NCAA and conference tournaments.

Over the years March has given us Cinderellas and shocking upsets, boneheaded gaffes and amazing plays. It's also given us its share of badass teams. Badass has a lot of connotations, not all of them "good" in the conventional hoops sense (you'll see a few squads that had spectacular flameouts on this list), but we think we know a badass team when we see one: a little swag, a little grit, and a certain something that, win or lose (but mostly win), sets them apart from the pack. So from teams that changed the game, to squads that everyone hated but you loved, to ones that clearly had more fun than the rest of the field, these are the 50 Most Badass College Basketball Teams of All Time.

2011 Connecticut Huskies

50. 2011 Connecticut Huskies

Key Players: Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 32-9
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Was UConn the best team in college basketball last seson? Not by a long shot. But as you'll see with a lot of the teams on this list, they were the one that wanted to win the 'chip the baddest. They showed it when they took the Big East tournament by winning five games in five days. They showed it when they beat Arizona and Kentucky in the tourney on their way to the title game. And they showed it when they manhandled Butler to win their first title since 2004. Ending your season on a three-week, 11-game winning streak? That's badass.

2001 Duke Blue Devils

49. 2001 Duke Blue Devils

Key Players: Shane Battier, Jason Williams, Carlos Boozer
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 35-4
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Yeah, yeah. We know you hate Duke. But even you have to admit that this team was absolutely loaded with talent. Aside from the three names listed above, the Blue Devils also had Mike Dunleavy, Jr. (don't laugh!), Chris Duhon, Nate James, and Reggie Love on their team. And they needed all hands on deck in the title game against an equally-loaded Arizona team, who gave them everything they could handle.

2010 Kentucky Wildcats

48. 2010 Kentucky Wildcats

Key Players: John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson
Finish: Lost in the Elite Eight
Record: 35-3
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

This team was too good for its own good. At times, they thought they could use pure athleticism and their God-given talent to win ball games. And, ultimately, that probably hurt them in the tournament when it came time to play tougher teams. But, still, they were a stacked squad that wasn't afraid to have fun. And if that meant letting John Wall dance all over the arenas before games? Then, so be it. This team wasn't afraid to be the bad guy.

1989 Michigan Wolverines

47. 1989 Michigan Wolverines

Key Players: Glen Rice, Rumeal Robinson, Loy Vaught
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 30-7
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

If not for the "Fab Five," this would be the team everyone talks about when they talk about Michigan basketball. But it almost didn't play out like that. After the end of the 1988-89 regular season, Wolverines head coach Bill Frieder announced he'd be leaving to take a job at Arizona State after the NCAA Tournament. Or, at least, that's what he intended to do. Instead, the Michigan AD asked him to leave ASAP and Steve Fisher, who later coached the "Fab Five," took over the team. Game over, right? But this team pushed on and shot the lights out in the tournament en route to a Final Four berth and, eventually, a W in the title game against Seton Hall. That's the way to make the best out of a bad situation. (Sidebar: We didn't forget about Glen Rice having a fling with Sarah Palin back in these days, either. Don't think that didn't help you get on this list, son!)

2006 George Mason Patriots

46. 2006 George Mason Patriots

Key Players: Jai Lewis, Tony Skinn, Will Thomas
Finish: Lost in the Final Four
Record: 27-8
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

There have been a lot of Cinderella teams in the NCAA Tournament over the years. But few of them have felt like they belonged deep in the tourney as much as George Mason did in '06. After CBS analyst Billy Packer criticized the NCAA selection committee for punching George Mason's ticket to the Big Dance, the Patriots managed to knock off Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State, and UConn before an experienced Florida team sent them packing. But they never really looked overmatched and they showed the physical and mental toughness of a champion. Bad. Ass.

1990 Loyola Marymount Lions

45. 1990 Loyola Marymount Lions

Key Players: Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble, Jeff Fryer
Finish: Lost in the regional finals
Record: 26-6
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Yo, you know how badass this team was back in 1990? They made an appearance on 'The Arsenio Hall Show' in the middle of an NCAA tournament run! Of course, they did so with heavy hearts following the passing of their teammate Gathers. But, still: This team enjoyed a run like no other team in the history of college basketball thanks to their unusual circumstance. They scored a ton of points in the tournament—149 against Michigan!—they turned a lot of heads, and they walked off the court after their loss to UNLV in the regional final with their heads held high. Just like Hank would've wanted them to.

1997 Cincinnati Bearcats

44. 1997 Cincinnati Bearcats

Key Players: Danny Fortson, Ruben Patterson, Kenyon Martin
Finish: Lost in the second round
Record: 26-8
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

As you'll soon notice, this is the one of the only teams featured on this entire list that didn't at least make it to the Final Four of the tourney. So, WTF are they doing here? Well, let's just say that we had a bit of thing for the way this team played ball. Almost to a man, guys on this Cincy team said that if Jerry Tarkanian was still at UNLV, they'd have gone there. These were kids who grew up watching the Runnin' Rebels. So they loved to push the ball, play hard-nosed D, and, most importantly, play their asses off every time they set foot on the court. Unfortunately, they were never quite as successful as they probably should have been. But, we sincerely wish there were more badass teams like this in college basketball right now.

2005 Illinois Fighting Illini

43. 2005 Illinois Fighting Illini

Key Players: Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head
Finish: National championship runner-up
Record: 37-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

No, that's not a misprint up there. The Fighting Illini really won 37 games in the '04-'05 season. In doing so, they tied an NCAA record for the most victories in a single season. And this team was fun as hell to watch. Consider this: Back in '05, Williams wasn't even the go-to guy on this team. That honor belonged to Brown, who was the most electrifying player in college hoops that year. That left D-Will to strategically pick teams apart with his NBA-level skills. No wonder this team got so used to winning all the time.

1954 Kentucky Wildcats

42. 1954 Kentucky Wildcats

Key Players: Frank Ramsey, Cliff Hagan, Lou Tsioropoulos
Finish: Did not participate in the NCAA Tournament
Record: 25-0
Video: None

Want to know how to turn an above-average team into a badass team? Throw them into the middle of a point-shaving scandal, give them a one-year suspension, let them continue to practice together, and then throw them back into the mix and see what happens. That's exactly what happened to this team and, as a result, legendary UK coach Adolph Rupp said the '54 Wildcats were "the finest team I have ever seen." They routinely blew teams out and beat the eventual national champs LaSalle by 13 during the regular season. Unfortunately, they didn't get to see their season through—the NCAA declared Ramsey, Hagan, and Tsioropoulos ineligible to play in the NCAA Tournament because they graduated before the tourney actually started—but history still remembers this team as one of the best to ever do it.

1992 Cincinnati Bearcats

41. 1992 Cincinnati Bearcats

Key Players: Nick Van Exel, Corey Blount, Anthony Buford
Finish: Lost in the Final Four
Record: 29-5
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Chalk this up as one of our personal favorites. The Bearcats weren't anywhere near as hyped as them, but they were basically a poor man's version of Michigan's "Fab Five." Led by Van Exel at the point, they had plenty of swagger, loved to run, and played with a chip on their shoulder the size of a boulder during their Final Four run—where, ironically enough, they lost to the Wolverines. Plus, they were coached by Bob Huggins, one of the most gangster-est coaches of all time! What wasn't to love about this team?

2003 Syracuse Orangemen

40. 2003 Syracuse Orangemen

Key Players: Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 30-5
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Even casual college hoops fans remember Carmelo Anthony leading the Orangemen to victory against Kansas in the title game back in '03. But not everyone remembers how bad things started for 'Cuse at the beginning of the season. Two of their guards transferred to other schools, another was suspended for a dozen games for participating in a non-sanctioned offseason league, and then they lost their first game of the year. But they fought back, went 13-3 in Big East play, got into the tournament, and got to work. 'Melo gets a lot of the credit for making it happen. But don't forget the rest of the team.

2004 Connecticut Huskies

39. 2004 Connecticut Huskies

Key Players: Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Charlie Villanueva
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 33-6
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

In one of the stranger championship games, UConn won the title in '04 by beating a Georgia Tech squad that snuck into the championship game that year. But the game that everyone really remembers about the '04 tourney is the UConn/Duke matchup in the semifinals of the Final Four. With Duke up 8 with a little over three minutes left, the Huskies scored 12 straight points to earn a trip to the title game. Tenacious!

2001 Arizona Wildcats

38. 2001 Arizona Wildcats

Key Players: Richard Jefferson, Gilbert Arenas, Luke Walton
Finish: National championship runner-up
Record: 28-8
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Zona had an extra edge to them all season long after the death of head coach Lute Olson's wife at the start of the year. So we weren't surprised at all to see them end up in the '01 title game. This team was fun to watch because they played hard, shot the ball fairly well, had a great inside presence, and...oh, hell. They had Gilbert Arenas back when he was still Gilbert Arenas! That always made things interesting on the court.

2010 Butler Bulldogs

37. 2010 Butler Bulldogs

Key Players: Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack
Finish: Lost the national championship
Record: 33-5
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

When no one—and we mean no one (STFU if you claim you had the Bulldogs in the title game)—picks you to make the championship, and you not only nearly run the table, but do it in your own hometown, that's badass. Butler had an all-time great tourney run (two of 'em in fact), but it wasn't a true Cinderella—they were really that good. Taking Duke to the final seconds of the title game cements this squad on any list of the most badass teams in history.

1978 Kentucky Wildcats

36. 1978 Kentucky Wildcats

Key Players: Rick Robey, Jack Givens, James Lee
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 30-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

There have been a lot of great performances in title games over the years. But UK's Jack "Goose" Givens put on one of the best when he dropped 41 points against Duke to help the Wildcats kick the crap out of the Blue Devils. However, this season is also referred to by the Wildcats as "The Season Without Celebration" because Kentucky was so widely expected to win the title that year that a lot of the team's players and fans were almost letdown when it happened. Boo hoo, guys. You won! Go celebrate or something!

1985 Villanova Wildcats

35. 1985 Villanova Wildcats

Key Players: Ed Pinckney, Dwayne McClain, Harold Pressley
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 25-10
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

No one gave the Wildcats a chance to win against the Georgetown Hoyas in the '85 title game. No ooooooone! Yet, they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history when they shot an unbelievable 78.6 percent from the field and earned a two-point victory over Patrick Ewing & Co. It was the true definition of "March Madness."

1977 Marquette Golden Eagles

34. 1977 Marquette Golden Eagles

Key Players: Butch Lee, Bo Ellis, Jerome Whitehead
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 26-6
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Despite all the success Marquette has enjoyed over the years—14 Sweet 16 appearances, three Final Fours, and more than 30 players who have come up through the ranks and eventually played in the NBA—they have just one NCAA title. That's OK, though, because the one they've got featured a stellar group of guys led by the late Al McGuire, who promptly retired right after taking home the title in 1977. Talk about walking away on top.

1968 Houston Cougars

33. 1968 Houston Cougars

Key Players: Elvin Hayes, Don Chaney, Ken Spain
Finish: Lost in the Final Four
Record: 31-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Back in 1968, people were excited about this Houston team. How excited? Well, excited enough for their regular season game against UCLA—dubbed the "Game of the Century"—to be the first NCAA basketball game ever broadcast on primetime television. In that game, Hayes and the Cougars bested Lew Alcindor and UCLA in front of more than 50,000 people at the Astrodome in Houston. The Bruins did get the last laugh by beating Houston in the Final Four later on in the season. But you still can't deny that this is one of the best teams to ever lace 'em up in college basketball.

1980 Louisville Cardinals

32. 1980 Louisville Cardinals

Key Players: Darrell Griffith, Derek Smith, Rodney McCray
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 33-3
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

When the leading scorer on your team is nicknamed "Dr. Dunkenstein," you know you've got a badass team. And that's exactly what they used to call Darrell Griffith, who led the Cardinals to their first-ever national title by beating UCLA in the '80 title game. He had some help, though. Collectively, the team was known as the "Doctors of Dunk" and they could, as you might expect, thrown down. Fun.

1960 Ohio State Buckeyes

31. 1960 Ohio State Buckeyes

Key Players: Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, Mel Nowell
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 25-3
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Balance. That was the name of the game for the Buckeyes, who had five starters who averaged at least 11 points per game and who all ended up playing at least two years in the NBA. The best of the bunch on '60 was sophomore Jerry Lucas. He averaged 26 points and 16 boards per game on a team that won all of its NCAA Tournament games by at least 15 points and crushed California in the final by 20. See? Balance doesn't have to be boring. Oh, and if you're trying to be considered "badass," it helps when you've got Bob Knight on your bench as a reserve, too, like this one did.

1985 Memphis State Tigers

30. 1985 Memphis State Tigers

Key Players: Keith Lee, William Bedford, Vincent Askew
Finish: Lost in the Final Four
Record: 27-3
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

While most college basketball teams are made up of players from around the nation, the '85 Tigers were a mostly-anonymous collection of players from Memphis and neighboring West Memphis, Ark. That resulted in the team being hard-nosed, hungry, and most importantly, out to shock the world. They did it, too, by turning in a run to the Final Four. Unfortunately, that also led to plenty of problems after the Big Dance. Lee's star faded and he was in and out of the NBA almost immediately. Bedford got hooked on drugs and spent the next 25 years in and out of jail. And reserve guard Aaron Price got shot a couple years later in a carjacking. Triumph and tragedy—this badass team has endured plenty of both.

1972 UCLA Bruins

29. 1972 UCLA Bruins

Key Players: Bill Walton, Keith Wilkes, Henry Bibby
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 30-0
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Most teams are happy when they finish off a season undefeated and win a championship. Not this one! After UCLA beat Florida State by "only" five points in the national title game in 1972, Walton expressed his disappointment in the way the team finished off their season. "I'm really embarrassed," he said. "I can't believe how bad I played. I'd have to say it was one of my worst games. We should have beat these guys with ease. I guess I should be happy that we won, but in all honesty, I'm not." Damn, dude. Lighten up. You did WIN, after all! And weren't you smack dab in the middle of an 88-game win streak, too? SMH.

1996 Massachusetts Minutemen

28. 1996 Massachusetts Minutemen

Key Players: Marcus Camby, Donta Bright, Dana Dingle
Finish: Lost in the Final Four
Record: 31-1
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

When you think about college basketball powerhouses, you don't think about UMass. But back in the mid '90s, Marcus Camby took the college hoops world by storm as he won the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year Award while leading the Minutemen to the Final Four. Of course, all of the honors he earned for the school were later vacated when it was discovered that Camby accepted cash as well as "jewelry, rental cars, and prostitutes" from two sports agents. But, hey: That's just all part of being a badass, right?!

1987 Syracuse Orangemen

27. 1987 Syracuse Orangemen

Key Players: Rony Seikaly, Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman
Finish: National championship runner-up
Record: 31-7
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

At the start of the '87 season, this team wasn't supposed to accomplish anything. But they began by winning their first 15 games en route to a Big East crown and continued fighting—by engaging in a brawl with Providence during the NCAA Tournament!—on their way to the title game. They ended up losing to Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, but this ended up being a tough team filled with a bunch of future NBA players.

1979 Michigan State Spartans

26. 1979 Michigan State Spartans

Key Players: Magic Johnson, Greg Kelser, Jay Vincent
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 26-6
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

If for no other reason, this team was badass because they brought us the most-watched college basketball game ever when Magic and the Spartans squared off against Larry Bird and his undefeated Indiana State squad in the 1979 title game. But people forget that it wasn't only Magic holding down this team. Kelser was also a highly-respected player who ended up getting selected fourth overall in the 1979 NBA Draft.

1946 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys

25. 1946 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys

Key Players: Bob Kurland, Weldon Kern, A.L. Bennett
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 31-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Yeeeeeeeah, son! Bet you didn't see us hitting you with the 1946 NCAA champs, did you? Okay, we'll be honest and admit that we can't testify as to how badass this team was—or wasn't. But we do know that they won the title in 1945, lost a bunch of players from that team, and then proceeded to win their second title in a row the following year with almost a completely different squad. That's tough to do in any era. And, for that, we salute them. Especially when we consider that the team, which now goes by Oklahoma State, hasn't won a basketball title since then.

1957 North Carolina Tar Heels

24. 1957 North Carolina Tar Heels

Key Players: Lennie Rosenbluth, Tommy Kearns, Pete Brennan
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 32-0
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

This UNC squad was the first ACC team to ever win a 'chip. And they did it the hard way. Over the course of the season, they won seven games by five points or less. They went into overtime four times. In the national semifinal, they endured three overtimes to beat Michigan State. Then, tasked with the job of knocking off a Kansas team that featured Wilt Chamberlain in the middle, they went to triple overtime again to earn a victory. So, how'd they manage to do it? Kearns offered up an awesome explanation for it. "We're a chilly club," he said after the Kansas battle. "We play it chilly all the time. I mean, we just keep cool." They must have had ice in their veins to make it through that season undefeated.

1988 Kansas Jayhawks

23. 1988 Kansas Jayhawks

Key Players: Danny Manning, Archie Marshall, Kevin Pritchard
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 27-11
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

This team's nickname—"Danny and the Miracles"—might not sound very badass. But this squad shocked a lot of people when they spent the last 12 weeks of the regular season unranked—and then somehow managed to string together a series of wins against teams like Kansas State, Duke, and Oklahoma in the tournament. It helped solidify coach Larry Brown's place at Kansas (a.k.a. making him want to immediately leave to coach the San Antonio Spurs) and made Manning the No. 1 overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft. With the way the Jayhawks have been outperformed in the tournament the last few years, they wish they had the kind of luck the '88 team did right now.

1986 Louisville Cardinals

22. 1986 Louisville Cardinals

Key Players: Billy Thompson, Milt Wagner, Pervis Ellison
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 32-7
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Between 1971 and 2001, Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum racked up an impressive 675 wins, including two national championships and six Final Four appearances. A total of six players from the '86 roster ended up getting drafted by NBA teams, including three first-rounders. And although they weren't projected to win the 'chip this year, they got hot in the NCAA Tournament and reeled off six straight wins, including decisive victories against North Carolina, and over Duke in the title game.

2007 Ohio State Buckeyes

21. 2007 Ohio State Buckeyes

Key Players: Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Jr., Daequan Cook
Finish: National championship runner-up
Record: 35-4
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

First off, is this not the most exciting missed dunk you've ever seen? (Sidebar: Remember how badass Greg Oden was?) OSU coach Thad Matta got so amped up about it that he ran onto the court before he should have during a timeout. But, seriously: If this was the good old days and guys like Oden and Conley, Jr. had to play four years of college ball, there's no doubt in our minds that this team that featured five fabulous freshman (remind you of anyone?) could have won a couple of titles. They had talent, depth, a shitload of athleticism, size, and a whole bunch of other intangibles. It's just a shame they had to run into a much more experienced Florida team in the title game.

1962 Cincinnati Bearcats

20. 1962 Cincinnati Bearcats

Key Players: Paul Hogue, Tom Thacker, George Wilson
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 29-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

You'd think that if a program lost a guy like Oscar Robertson—like the Bearcats did in 1960—it'd completely fall off the map. Or, at the very least, fall off for a few years. Yet Cincy put together a mini-dynasty in the early '60s. Led by their All-American center Hogue, they won a 'chip in '61, another one in '62, and then made it all the way to the Final Four in '63. Not bad at all for a team who lost one of the greatest basketball players ever just a few years prior.

2009 North Carolina Tar Heels

19. 2009 North Carolina Tar Heels

Key Players: Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 34-4
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

When you have not one, not two, not three, but four players come back to school rather than declare for the NBA Draft just a few months after going to the Final Four—including one nicknamed "Psycho T" (Hansbrough)—you just can't help but be badass. And that's exactly what Roy Williams had in '09. This team was focused on winning a 'chip and once they got to the tournament, they didn't let anyone stand in their way as they rolled off six victories by an average of 20 points.

2000 Michigan State Spartans

18. 2000 Michigan State Spartans

Key Players: Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, Jason Richardson
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 26-7
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

A year after losing to Duke in the Final Four, Tom Izzo rallied his team (led by Cleaves, Peterson, and Charlie Bell, a trio of players from hardscrabble, badass Flint, Mich., dubbed the Flintstones) together and got them to focus on playing tough Big Ten-style defense throughout the course of the season in order to not just make it back to the Final Four, but to win it. They hit some bumps in the road—how the hell did you guys lose to Wright State?!—but they also played ten ranked teams during the regular season to toughen them up. And, wouldn't you know it, it worked!

1967 UCLA Bruins

17. 1967 UCLA Bruins

Key Players: Lew Alcindor, Lucius Allen, Mike Warren
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 30-0
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

We could tell you about UCLA's undefeated season, John Wooden's exceptional coaching, or the fact that the Bruins dominated their opponents in the NCAA tourney. But, you know how we're gonna prove to you that this team was badass? By telling you that because of the Bruins—and, more specifically, because of Alcindor—the slam dunk actually got banned from college basketball after the 1966-67 season. How crazy is that?

1983 Houston Cougars

16. 1983 Houston Cougars

Key Players: Akeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Larry Micheaux
Finish: National championship runner-up
Record: 31-3
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Like watching players slam dunk? Then, Phi Slamma Jamma was definitely for you. They were quick, they were athletic, and they could jump through the roof. Unfortunately—for them, at least—they ran into a buzz saw in the title game in '83 and lost to Jim Valvano's Wolfpack. But watch clips of the Cougars' matchup with Louisville in the semis that year: There's no denying that Phi Slamma Jamma was one of the most entertaining teams of all time.

1994 Arkansas Razorbacks

15. 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks

Key Players: Corliss Williamson, Scotty Thurman, Corey Beck
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 31-3
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Know who we wouldn't want to get stuck playing in the NCAA Tournament? A team with a bunch of NBA prospects who play a style of uptempo ball called "40 Minutes of Hell." That's exactly what the '94 Razorbacks were. And, c'mon: They had President Bill Clinton attending all of their games and cheering them on! We feel sorry for whoever lost to them that year. Oh, wait. It was Duke, so...yeah. Nevermind.

1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack

14. 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack

Key Players: Sidney Lowe, Thurl Bailey, Dereck Whittenburg
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 26-10
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

The Cardiac Pack are best known for being one of the original Cinderella teams in the tournament and the "airball alley-oop" (R.I.P. Lorenzo Charles) that sealed their victory over the heavily-favored Houston Cougars in the title game. But the '83 State club was a badass and great team in its own right, winning 10 games that year against teams that were ranked No. 1 in the country at some point during the year. If you've never read the oral history of this NC State squad that Complex's own Jack Erwin put together a few years ago, do yourself a favor and check it out. This team was more than just Jim Valvano and a fortunate airball.

1964 UCLA Bruins

13. 1964 UCLA Bruins

Key Players: Walt Hazzard, Gail Goodrich, Kenny Washington
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 30-0
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

They say you never forget your first time. And we're sure that's especially true when you finish off your season with an unblemished 30-0 record. This team may not get much credit for contributing to UCLA's storied program like the Bruins teams led by Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton. But they were the team that helped turn UCLA into a force in college basketball.

1956 San Francisco Dons

12. 1956 San Francisco Dons

Key Players: Bill Russell, Hal Perry, K.C. Jones
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 29-0
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Back in the '50s, Bill Russell was a beast. OK, OK, so you already knew that. But did you know that his college squad managed to reel off 55 straight wins and win two straight titles in 1955 and 1956? And, in '56, they had to do without the services of the All-American guard KC Jones during the tournament, making the feat all that much more impressive. So, how'd USF manage it? By getting 50 rebounds total from Russell in the semifinal and final games. Unbelievable.

1982 North Carolina Tar Heels

11. 1982 North Carolina Tar Heels

Key Players: Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, James Worthy
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 32-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

See the "Key Players" bullet point. Now, tell us: Do you really need us to explain why this team was so badass?

1974 North Carolina State Wolfpack

10. 1974 North Carolina State Wolfpack

Key Players: David Thompson,Tom Burleson, Moe Rivers
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 30-1
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Featuring Thompson a.k.a. Michael Jordan before there was a Michael Jordan, the Wolfpack of 1972-1974 was one of the best teams in college basketball history. The '72-'73 squad actually went 27-0, but were prevented from participating in the NCAA Tourney because of a dubious probation. The '73-'74 team lost to UCLA in their third game of the season—and then won every contest for the rest of the year, avenging their only loss of the season by beating Bill Walton and UCLA in the semifinal of the 1974 Final Four. That year State bested Maryland 103-100 in overtime to win the ACC title in a game that many folks feel is the greatest college basketball game in the history of the sport. In fact, it was so good that it's often cited as the single reason that the NCAA Tournament expanded to 32 teams (at the time only one team from each conference went to the NCAA Tourney, thus Maryland, a top 5 team in their own right, were denied a spot). Changing the game? That's definitely badass.

1996 Kentucky Wildcats

9. 1996 Kentucky Wildcats

Key Players: Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Walter McCarty
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 34-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Five players on the 1995-96 Kentucky squad—Walker, Delk, McCarty, Derek Anderson, and Ron Mercer—were selected in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft. So, it should come as no surprise that this team coasted to a 'chip in the '96 title game, winning their six NCAA Tournament games by an average of 21 points. And, even more impressively, head coach Rick Pitino got each and every player to buy into his system, earning him the praises of other top-flight coaches. "Rick's done a phenomenal job," Providence coach Pete Gillen said at the time. "How does he keep Ron Mercer happy playing 12 minutes a game? This guy was maybe the No. 1 high school player in the country last year, according to some magazines or newspapers or gurus. Rick's got to be the greatest psychologist since Sigmund Freud...He could sell freaking snow to the Eskimos. It's unbelievable." It certainly was.

1984 Georgetown Hoyas

8. 1984 Georgetown Hoyas

Key Players: Patrick Ewing, Michael Jackson, David Wingate
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 35-3
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

The Hoyas reached the NCAA championship game three times in four years with Ewing at center—and this was the year they won it. How? With good old hard-nosed defense and, of course, a healthy dose of Ewing in the paint. Although he failed to score more than 10 points against Kentucky or runner-up Houston in the Final Four, he still took home the Most Outstanding Player award thanks to his post presence. And the rest of the team was solid, too, limiting opposing teams to under 40 percent shooting throughout the regular season. It wasn't always pretty. But, hey: Who said it had to be?

2007 Florida Gators

7. 2007 Florida Gators

Key Players: Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 35-5
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

After winning the 'chip in 2006, guys like Horford and Noah very well could have split and left school for the NBA. But they realized they had a chance to do something pretty special and decided to stay in school for one more year instead. Their gamble paid off and, despite a few late season setbacks, they finished the business that they came to handle by knocking off Ohio State in the title game. Way to see this one through, fellas. But, yo: What was with the ridiculous dance move you pulled out after you won it all, Joakim?

1976 Indiana Hoosiers

6. 1976 Indiana Hoosiers

Key Players: Scott May, Kent Benson, Tom Abernethy
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 32-0
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Did you see the Hoosiers' record following the 1975-76 season? 32 and 0. That's just about all we have to say, isn't it? They were perfect in the regular season, perfect in the NCAA Tournament, and perfect in the championship game, where they stomped Michigan 86-68. Say what you want about Bobby Knight—and, heaven knows, there's plenty to say about him—but you can't say that he wasn't one hell of a coach back in '76. He's the last head coach in men's college basketball to lead a team to an undefeated season. And we can't even begin to hate on him for that.

1966 Texas Western Miners

5. 1966 Texas Western Miners

Key Players: Bobby Joe Hill, David Lattin, Orsten Artis
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 32-1
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Know what's badass? Overcoming racial sterotypes and years of racial tension to win a national championship! Which is exactly what the Miners did in 1966. After legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp came out and said that his squad would never lose to a team consisting of five black starters, the Miners came out and whooped on the Wildcats in the championship game. It was so bad, in fact, that after Rupp's death in 1977, his biographer Russell Rice revealed that he never got over the loss. "He carried the memory of that game to his grave," he said. We—and all of the other diehard college basketball fans out there—are sure glad he did.

1968 UCLA Bruins

4. 1968 UCLA Bruins

Key Players: Lew Alcindor, Lucius Allen, Ken Heitz
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 29-1
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

To be honest, we could pick any of John Wooden's UCLA teams featuring Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and place them at No. 4 and feel comfortable with our decision. So we'll defer to Wooden here. He selected the '68 squad—who lost to the Houston Cougars in the "Game of the Century" in the middle of the season only to avenge their loss in the Final Four with a 32-point win—as his favorite of the bunch. "I've never come out and said it," he once revealed, "but it would be hard to pick a team over the 1968 team." Thanks to the presence of Alcindor and his 26 points and 16 boards a game, it's hard to argue with that.

1993 Michigan Wolverines

3. 1993 Michigan Wolverines

Key Players: Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose
Finish: National championship runner-up
Record: 31-5
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

Surprise! The "Fab Five" are not the No. 1 team on our list of badass teams. But, for the record, they very well could be. After making plenty of headlines during their freshman season in 1991-92, this team had the experience, the talent, the swagger, and those knee-high black socks on their side when they started their sophomore season. And they were every bit as dominant as we thought they'd be in the months leading up to the 1993 NCAA Tournament. The only knock against them? Webber's tragic timeout that caused them to lose in the title game. If they had a title to their name—or, rather, a vacated title to their name (SMH)—they'd be No. 1 here. But regardless of where they rank, there's no question that this team was badass.

1992 Duke Blue Devils

2. 1992 Duke Blue Devils

Key Players: Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 34-2
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

When Duke won their second consecutive title in decisive fashion by beating the Michigan Wolverines and the "Fab Five" by a score of 71-51, they became the first team since 1973 to win back-to-back national championships. And they also capped off an expectation-filled season in which they took the best shots from a handful of different teams, including several nationally-ranked opponents in the NCAA Tournament, and handled all but two of them. Love 'em or hate 'em, this was one of the best college basketball teams of all-time—and undoubtedly the best of the past 25 years.

1990 UNLV Runnin' Rebels

1. 1990 UNLV Runnin' Rebels

Key Players: Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony
Finish: Won the national championship
Record: 35-5
Video: CLICK HERE TO WATCH A CLASSIC MOMENT

103 to 73. Let us say that again: 103-73. That was the final score of the 1990 National Championship Game in which the Runnin' Rebs absolutely crushed the hopes, dreams, and souls of the Duke Blue Devils and their fans. Led by Jerry Tarkanian, this team was talented—and they knew it. They fired up threes. They threw down dunks. And, probably most impressively, they ran the fast break with such efficiency that Duke could've shot 100 percent from the field in that championship game and we're pretty sure that they still would have lost. Did UNLV spit the bit in the semifinal game the following year, allowing Duke more than a measure of sweet revenge? Yes, despite having three players picked in the top half of that year's NBA draft, they did. But, for one shining moment, this team of badasses, with their badass coach, and repping a badass town, simply ran the pretty boy Blue Devils right out of the frickin' building. And what's more badass than that?