10 most unlikely college basketball national champions

10. Indiana, 1980-81

Talk about turning it on when it matters most. Bobby Knight's second NCAA championship team did just that, thanks to the play of a guard named Isiah Thomas. The Hoosiers opened the tournament as the No. 3 seed with nine losses — five of which came in December. However, Indiana's closest margin of victory during the Big Dance was 13 points in the title-game win over second-seeded North Carolina. That came after it downed No. 1 LSU by 18 in the semifinal.

9. Michigan, 1988-89

The Wolverines were poised for big things in 1988-89 and spent roughly half the campaign ranked in the top 10. However, they took seven losses into the NCAA Tournament, and before the event began, coach Bill Frieder announced he was leaving at the conclusion of the season to coach Arizona State. Athletic director and legendary football coach Bo Schembechler made Frieder leave right then and there. Assistant coach Steve Fisher took over, and Michigan caught fire behind Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson, claiming the school's first national title with an overtime victory over upstart Seton Hall.

8. Notre Dame (women), 2017-18

Now, how could a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament be deemed an unlikely champ? Well, of the four top seeds, the Irish had the most losses (three) entering the tournament after being hit hard by injuries during the regular season. Connecticut, meanwhile, was undefeated and once again looked invincible. However, Arike Ogunbowale had other ideas. The Irish guard hit two of the greatest game-winning shots in tournament history, first against UConn in the national semifinal and then vs. Mississippi State for the national title.

7. Syracuse, 2002-03

Syracuse's only national champion won 30 games and never lost consecutive contests all season. However, with one senior on the team, Jim Boeheim's squad was not given much chance as the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Then, freshman phenom Carmelo Anthony took his game to another level from the Sweet 16 on, averaging 24.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and going 7-of-13 from three-point range in wins over Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.

6. Tennessee (women), 1986-87

After three previous trips to the Final Four and a runner-up finish in 1984, Tennessee's time atop the women's college basketball mountain had arrived. Pat Summitt's Lady Vols suffered six losses during the regular season, and though it seemed like a matter of time before they would claim their first national title, this did not seem like the year. Tennessee, however, shunned that theory by upsetting top-seeded Long Beach State in the national semifinal and then blowing out perennial power Louisiana Tech — which had won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the teams — 67-44 in the final.

5. Arizona, 1996-97

A team with Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Michael Dickerson and Jason Terry should be really good, and ultimately the Wildcats were. However, they went 11-7 against Pac-10 competition and earned a fourth seed in the NCAA Tournament. The same Arizona team that dropped its final two games heading into the Big Dance stormed to the program's first national championship thanks to victories over three No. 1 seeds: Kansas in the Sweet 16, North Carolina in the national semifinal and Kentucky in the championship game.

4. Connecticut, 2013-14

UConn's fourth national championship and second in four seasons was historic, in the sense that the national championship game participants — the seventh-seeded Huskies and No. 8 Kentucky — totaled the highest seed (15) for a final. UConn entered with eight losses but reached the American Athletic Conference Tournament title game, so it was an improved squad. Then it knocked off No. 2 seed Villanova, third-seeded Iowa State, No. 4 Michigan State and top-seeded Florida en route to becoming the first seventh seed to win the tournament.

3. Kansas, 1987-88

Saddled with high expectations prior to the season, the Jayhawks lost two of their first three games and endured a four-game losing streak during the campaign. They entered the tournament with 11 losses but won three of their first four games by double digits. Then, they beat Duke in the national semifinal and got 31 points and 18 rebounds from Danny Manning in a title-game win over Oklahoma, as "Danny and the Miracles" gave Larry Brown his only collegiate national championship.

2. North Carolina State, 1982-83

The story is well-known, and it's a good one. The Wolfpack had 10 losses entering the ACC Tournament and needed to win the event just to reach the Big Dance. They did, beating Michael Jordan's North Carolina Tar Heels and a Ralph Sampson-led Virginia squad along the way. After needing two overtimes to beat Pepperdine in the first round, NC State eventually made it to the Final Four. A heavy underdog against Houston's Phi Slama Jama in the title game, the "Cardiac Pack" struck again, stunning the Cougars on Lorenzo Charles' last-second dunk of a Dereck Whittenburg miss. We can still see Jimmy V searching for someone to hug in celebration.

1. Villanova, 1984-85

Two years after NC State pulled off its improbable run to a national title, Villanova went one step better. Like the Wolfpack, these Wildcats were guided by a charismatic head coach in Rollie Massimino and had 10 defeats entering the tournament. As the No. 8 seed, 'Nova won its first three tournament games by a combined nine points, and when it somehow reached the national title game, Big East rival and No. 1 seed Georgetown was waiting. All the Wildcats did was shoot a remarkable 78.6 percent and hold the advantage on the defensive boards to pull out a 66-64 victory and become the lowest seed to win the title in what's considered the greatest championship game upset in NCAA Tournament history.