Ranking the last 10 National Championship games

By Sam Federman

As tonight's national championship game between Florida and Houston looms, with potential to be one of the all-time greats considering the quality of both teams, it's worth a look back at the last ten deciders, seeing how they stack up.

The games are ranked on quality of game, quality of teams, the buildup and payoff of storylines surrounding the game, and how memorable the game itself was.

2016, Villanova 77, North Carolina 74
1. This one is a no-brainer for the top spot. Not only does it have the most memorable finish to a national championship game since in my lifetime, and arguably, of all time, but it was between the two best KenPom teams that season, and featured a plethora of runs and swings. North Carolina shot 11-17 from beyond the arc, and Villanova shot 8-14. Carolina led at half, and pushed a lead out to nine, but Villanova charged back, and swung its lead to 10 before UNC made a last push and tied the game on Marcus Paige's ridiculous three. All of that led to Kris Jenkins' iconic buzzer-beater, cementing this game's spot as the best national championship game of the last ten.
2019, Virginia 85, Texas Tech 77
1. Each of the last three games that Virginia played in the 2019 run are worthy of their own article entirely. The title game might've been the worst of the three, but it's still the second best title game of the last ten. It's the only one on the list to need an extra five minutes, and while Virginia -- KenPom's No. 1 team that year -- led for most of the game, the Red Raiders took the lead in the final minute, and the Hoos needed a corner three with the shot clock off by DeAndre Hunter to force overtime. 2019 was one of the most electric college basketball seasons in recent memory, and even if much of that electricity can be attributed to the phenomenon that was Zion Williamson, Virginia and Texas Tech delivered a worthy ending to the madness.
2017, North Carolina 71, Gonzaga 65
1. This was one of the most back-and-forth national titles games that I can remember. For nearly the entire second half, the margin was within one possession, including in the final minutes, when UNC took the last lead on a Justin Jackson and-1. From there, the Zags didn't score in the final two minutes, and Carolina grinded out a national championship win. That team was Mark Few's only unit to rank higher than 10th in defense, and it was number one in the country, much thanks to one of Few's few one-and-dones to that point, Zach Collins. But against a veteran UNC frontcourt, Collins fouled out in just 14 minutes, and the Heels controlled the paint on both ends for the win.
2015, Duke 68, Wisconsin 63
1. I'm still shocked that the 2015 title game didn't end with John Calipari cutting down the nets after a 40-0 season, but Duke and Wisconsin were both incredible teams that year as well, perhaps overshadowed by Kentucky's run at perfection. This game was extremely competitive from start to finish, with each team making runs in the second half. Wisconsin led by 9, but Duke held them to just two field goals over a nine minute span to claw back and eventually build a lead of its own that it would hold onto for the title.
2022, Kansas 72, North Carolina 69
1. This game would rank higher if the teams were better. It was a high-quality game, as Kansas made the biggest comeback in title game history, coming from 16 down in the first half to escape with a win, but it honestly just felt more like attrition on Carolina's end for that lead to erode. Caleb Love and RJ Davis were held to a combined 10-41 from the field, Armando Bacot hurt himself late, and the Heels were already merely an 8-seed punching above its weight. Meanwhile, Kansas was the weakest of the four one-seeds, winning the weakest region in the tournament, and two of the teams it defeated to get to this point were hampered by major injuries. There was much more of a storyline surrounding North Carolina beating Duke in the Final Four than anything around the title game itself, and for that reason, it's the lowest of the super competitive title games.
2021, Baylor 86, Gonzaga 70
1. From start-to-finish, there was never a question of who would win this game. The scoreboard is honestly doing Gonzaga a favor, but despite the non-competitive nature, the 2021 title game featured some of the highest quality basketball I can remember watching in a championship game. Additionally, these two teams are both all-time great level on KenPom, were the top two teams all year long, and had the added storyline of Gonzaga looking to go undefeated. But Baylor was too good. The Bears trailed 3-0 and 8-6 in the national semifinal against Houston, but didn't trail for the rest of their season after that. The swarming defense, the three-point spacing, and the crisp ball-movement makes this game memorable even though it wasn't close.
2024, UConn 75, Purdue 60
1. Zach Edey - the two-time reigning NPOY - against the reigning champs and best team in the country, UConn, was a fitting end to a two-year stretch of college basketball that those two defined. The first five minutes of this game were outlandishly good, but once UConn grabbed a six point lead going into the break, it felt like the game was over. And it was. However, this is a memorable game for capping off the most dominant two-year stretch of basketball I've ever seen from a team, as well as Edey's 37-point performance (granted, like 10 of those came in garbage time against Alex Karaban) marking the end of his illustrious career.
2014, UConn 60, Kentucky 54
1. Kentucky didn't lead for a second in the 2014 title game. This game was trending towards blowout territory with UConn up by 15 in the first half, but Kentucky cut the lead down to four at the break. Even then, the Cats couldn't break through, and the Huskies continued to hold Kentucky at arm's length through much of the contest. The game was definitely still in the balance until late though, when Kentucky cut the lead to one before back-to-back UConn threes gave enough breathing room to win it. While 2014 was more competitive than 2024 and 2021, the quality of team was significantly lower, and the quality of play itself wasn't close to as good.
2018, Villanova 79, Michigan 62
1. Jay Wright's 2018 NCAA Tournament run was his magnum opus. Dominant from start-to-finish, winning the last ten games of the season by double digits, including the title game. Donte Divincenzo's 31 point explosion off the bench is the most memorable part of this game, as the sophomore rose to the occasion on the biggest stage. The first half was competitive, but the Cats did what the Cats did best that year, and buried the Wolverines in the second. It has a fairly similar game-flow to the 2024 title game, but doesn't have the same storylines of the gigantism of Edey vs Clingan and UConn, even though it did cement a dynasty for Nova, and this group was an all-time great team.
2023, UConn 76, San Diego State 59
1. The 2023 Tournament had some tremendous games, but this was not one of them. UConn held the Aztecs without a field goal for what felt like eternity in the first half, building up a big lead, and cruised to a win. While SDSU did cut the lead to five in the second half, Jordan Hawkins quickly quelled any concern UConn would've had with a three. The Huskies were a clear favorite coming into the game, as the Aztecs are among the worst teams to make a title game in this span (still a super impressive run), but even then, the 2023 Huskies' dominance feels dwarfed now by the 2024 UConn run.