5. 2006-07 Florida Gators Record: 35-5 (13-3 SEC) Accomplishments: National champion, SEC champion, SEC tournament champion In its second consecutive run to the national championship -- something that has yet to be repeated since -- Billy Donovan's crew had few flaws. The Gators boasted the most efficient offense in America (41% clip from the 3-point line) and held opponents to just 62.6 points per game. Al Horford (13.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG), Corey Brewer (13.2 PPG) and Joakim Noah (12.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.8 BPG) all ended up being lottery picks in the 2007 NBA draft, too. College basketball's 25 best teams of the past 25 years
The way we blew through the NCAAT the year before, right after all the guys announced they were returning, I said on this board that the rest of the country would be playing for 2nd place.
I understand the inclination of only including National Champions, or National runner-up teams, on a "Top-25 best teams" list. However, the following teams were included, having not even advanced to the title game. Some did not even make the Final Four. 11. 2001-02 Duke Blue Devils (31-4) 18. 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats (38-1) 19. 2018-19 Duke Blue Devils (32-6) 20. 1999-2000 Cincinnati Bearcats (29-4) 24. 2019-20 Kansas Jayhawks (28-3) In which case, I think you would have to consider the 2014 Gators (36-3): SEC Champions (first SEC team to ever go 18-0 in the regular season) SEC Tournament Champions Final Four National #1 seed 3 losses on the season, to two teams (Uconn and Wisconsin) I'm not saying the 2014 Gators are one of the best 25 teams of the last 25 years ... but, they were better (and had a better resume) than several of the teams that did make the list. I mean, 2018-19 Duke at #19 with a 32-6 record and only won the ACC (no final four) ... how on earth can anyone claim that team was more impressive than the 2014 Gators?
Duke always gets a lot of love in these kinds of lists. The 2014 Gators were the best team in the country that year. They lost to UConn in the Final Four when BD got outcoached, which almost never happens.
I know that I most likely will get some "bacon" for saying this but as good as Scottie was as a defender he did struggle against opponents with truly elite quickness. Who wouldn't. Napier was one of those guys. Auburn also had super quick guards and we struggled against them on the road but pulled it out. I was at that game. Drove there the morning of from Gainesville and drove back after.