The last 25 NCAA Tournament champions

Mike Krzyzewski took home his fifth title last season on the backs of three superb freshmen: Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Tyus Jones. Duke won its fifth National Championship by taking care of business as a No. 1 seed, downing Robert Morris, San Diego State, Utah and No. 2 seed Gonazaga in its bracket. In a bit of a shocker, the Blue Devils then blew out Tom Izzo's Spartans in the semis, ultimately edging Wisconsin in the National Championship Game, in what was former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan's final NCAA Tournament game.

UConn is no Cinderella school, but unlike Duke in 2015, the Huskies were anything but favorites. Entering as a seven seed, few expected Kevin Ollie's squad to make the Final Four, let alone win the whole thing. But, again unlike Duke, senior point guard Shabazz Napier had a tournament for the ages en route to the MOP, reminiscent of another UConn point guard named Kemba Walker. In one of the most surprising runs in history, UConn upset two seed Villanova, three seed Iowa State and four seed Michigan State to make the Final Four, where Napier and Co. beat one seed Florida. In the title game, the Huskies went up against an eight seed in Kentucky, where Ollie's team edged Coach Cal's by six points.

One year before Napier's epic run, senior point guard Peyton Siva orchestrated a talented roster constructed by coach Rick Pitino. One of the top teams all season, the Cardinals earned a one seed and took care of business thanks to the likes of Siva, Russ Smith, Gorgui Dieng, Luke Hanock and Montrezl Harrell. Louisville didn’t face a test in its region, even against two seed Duke, but had to outlast upstart Wichita State in the semis and a game Michigan squad in the Final. Of course, the lasting image of Louisville’s tournament run was Kevin Ware’s horrific injury in that Elite Eight game vs. Duke, a truly traumatizing sight.

John Calipari finally got his long-awaited championship in 2012 thanks to "The Brow." Freshman Anthony Davis was an absolute force on both of the floor, taking home MOP for a Kentucky team that featured fellow freshmen Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, sophomores Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb, and lone senior Darius Miller. The top-seeded Wildcats ran through the field, winning every pre-Final Four game by double digits, before beating Louisville and Kansas by eight points each in the Final Four.

Yes, this was coach Jim Calhoun's third and final National Championship, but the 2011 NCAA Tournament was about one man and one man only: Kemba Walker. Walker had as impressive a tournament run as any small guard in history, carrying a three-seeded UConn team to the title. Along the way, the Huskies ran through lower seeds, upset two seed San Diego State, edged Arizona in the Elite Eight and nearly got ousted by Kentucky if not for the heroics of Walker. UConn then topped Butler in the final, and Kemba Walker finished off his masterpiece.

The most memorable thing about Coach K's fourth championship team has little to do with his team. Why? Because this was the National Championship Game that saw Butler's Gordon Hayward just miss hitting the single greatest game-winning shot in the NCAA Tournament history. However, the ball bounced out, the top-seeded Blue Devils won 61-59, and Kyle Singler took home MOP. Duke did it by running through the field up until that nail-biter vs. Butler, dominating in a way few teams do in March.

For his first title team, Roy Williams won with Matt Doherty's players. That was not the case in 2009. Seniors Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green were the leaders, while juniors Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson allowed Williams to run his fast-paced style at breakneck speed. As a top seed, UNC breezed through the field with an ease that's rare come March. The Tar Heels won every game by double digits, averaging a margin of victory of 21.8 points. That's absurd. Then again, that's what happens when you have such a talented, smart team.

March 2008 was supposed to belong to Derrick Rose, John Calipari and the Memphis Tigers. For most of tournament, it did. But then Mario Chalmers took the headlines away from the future NBA MVP with one of the most clutch shots we've ever seen in a title game. Chalmers' shot allowed Kansas to win in overtime, and the point guard took home MOP. While most will remember that title game and the horrid free throw shooting from Memphis, Bill Self's lone championship team to date was impressive in its own right. The Jayhawks had to overcome some guy named Stephen Curry to make it to the Final Four, where they routed North Carolina before toppling Memphis.

As the defending champs, Florida entered the season with a target on its back, particularly after the entire core from the 2006 team decided to return to Gainesville. It proved to be a wise choice, as Corey Brewer (tournament MOP), Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Taurean Green were able to repeat, giving them and coach Billy Donovan back-to-back titles. Florida's biggest test came in the National Championship Game, where it faced off against freshmen sensations Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr., but the experienced Gators were simply too much for Ohio State.

Billy Donovan had already made Florida a national player, but 2006 cemented its status as a basketball school. It was the season in which Joakim Noah started his love-hate relationship with fans, while the talent oozed out in bunches with Al Horford, Taurean Green and Corey Brewer joining Noah. The Gators proved they perhaps deserved better than the three seed they were given, upsetting two seed Ohio State and one seed Villanova to get to the Final Four. There, Noah led Florida past Cinderella George Mason, and the Gators trounced UCLA in the Final to give Donovan his first championship team.

Entering the 2005 season, a talented Tar Heels roster was seen as a cast of underachievers under coach Matt Doherty. That's why UNC lured alumnus Roy Williams back home from Kansas. All Williams did was take Rashad McCants, Sean May and Ray Felton and make them whole. Along with freshman Marvin Williams and senior Jawad Williams, the loaded Tar Heels earned a one seed. They faced tests against Villanova in a game that was highlighted by a phantom traveling call on Villanova's Allen Ray, and Wisconsin, but they then blew out Michigan State to face an Illinois team led by Deron Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown. In the battle of top-seeded heavyweights, UNC edged Illinois, and Roy Williams finally got the monkey off his back — at his alma mater, no less.

It's easy to forget now given his fairly innocuous NBA career, but Emeka Okafor was a dominant force in college. Never was this more evident than the 2004 NCAA Tournament, in which Okafor took home MOP for the champion Huskies. UConn entered as a two seed and proceeded to defeat everyone its path by double digits to get to the Final Four. There, UConn had to defeat a Duke team led by Chris Duhon, Luol Deng, Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick, followed by a Georgia Tech squad with the likes of Will Bynum and Jarrett Jack. Of course, UConn had no shortage of talent, with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva joining Okafor.

Sure, 2003 saw longtime coach Jim Boeheim earn his first National Championship, but this team was about one person above them all: Carmelo Anthony. Anthony had arguably the greatest tournament for a freshman ever, taking home Most Outstanding Player and leading the Orange to the promised land. Minus a scare vs. Auburn in the regional semifinals, Cuse won every game by double digits, knocking off two No. 1 seeds in the process, to get to the title game vs. Kansas. There, the third-seeded Orange edged the Jayhawks, with Melo, fellow freshman Gerry McNamara and sophomore Hakim Warrick doing the heavy lifting.

Juan Dixon and Steve Blake formed one of the best backcourts in NCAA history, and with help from frontcourt stars Lonnie Baxter and Chris Wilcox, Gary Williams' team earned a one seed. The Terrapins proceeded to take out everyone in their path, including a murderer's row of blue bloods: Kentucky, UConn, Kansas and Indiana. Dixon was named MOP, and Gary Williams became a legend at his alma mater in the process.

Coach K’s 2001 title team was one of his deepest, led by senior and tournament MOP Shane Battier. He had NBA talent up and down the roster, from sophomores Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy and Jay Williams to freshman Chris Duhon and back to Battier. As a one seed, Duke defeated every opponent by double digits to earn Coach K’s third title.

Given how tough his teams always are in March, you'd think coach Tom Izzo would have multiple National Championship. However, he has just one, and it came in 2000, when the Spartans, led by seniors Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson, earned a one seed and took care of business. Along with future NBAers junior Charlie Bell and freshman Jason Richardson, MSU cruised through its opponents, winning every tournament game by at least 11 points. Cleaves, the heart and soul of the team, took home MOP, as the Spartans downed Syracuse, Iowa State, Wisconsin and Florida en route to the title.

They say the NCAA Tournament is dominated by guard play, and Jim Calhoun's first National Championship team is exhibit A. The backcourt duo of point guard Khalil El-Amin and shooting guard Richard Hamilton led UConn to a one seed and continued to carry the Huskies through the bracket. In defeating Iowa, Gonzaga, Ohio State and Duke, a pre-face mask Richard Hamilton was brilliant, taking home tournament MOP.

Given his nomadic nature over the years, it's easy to forget Tubby Smith has a championship to his name. He does, as his 1998 Kentucky team led by NCAA Tournament MOP Jeff Sheppard took its two seed all the way to the title. Sheppard highlighted a roster that included Nazr Mohammed, Wayne Turner, Scott Padgett and Jamaal Magloire, and the Wildcats had to get through UCLA, Duke and Stanford to get to the National Championship Game. They topped Duke by just two and Stanford by a lone point, then were able to defeat Andre Miller, Michael Doleac and Utah in the Final.

Only one team in the history of the NCAA Tournament has defeated three No. 1 seeds and won it all. That team was the 1997 Arizona Wildcats, Lute Olson's lone title team. Senior Miles Simon was the leader and the MOP, but it was freshman Mike Bibby's coming-out party that propelled the Cats to the title. With the help of Michael Dickerson and Jason Terry, Arizona took down one seed Kansas in the regional semifinal, No. 1 UNC in the national semis and No. 1 Kentucky in the National Championship Game, doing the unthinkable in the process.

Given all the future NBA talent on his lone national title team while coaching Kentucky, it's no wonder Rick Pitino took a stab at the NBA. The 1996 Wildcats were loaded with seniors Tony Delk and Walter McCarty, junior Derek Anderson, sophomore Antoine Walker, and freshmen Ron Mercer and Nazr Mohammed, all of whom played in the Association. The Wildcats defended their one seed and defeated San Jose State, Virginia Tech, Utah, Wake Forest, fellow one seed UMass and Syracuse to win it all.

UCLA hadn't maintained the success John Wooden established back in the day, but Jim Harrick returned the school to championship status in 1995 thanks to a pair of brothers and a pair of talented point guards. Ed O'Bannon earned MOP, while his brother Charles played an integral role, as did freshman point guard Toby Bailey. However, were it not for the miraculous heroics of the speedy Tyus Edney against Missouri in the second round, the Bruins would never have been able to take down UConn, Oklahoma State and defending champion Arkansas. Coincidentally, Bailey had to pick up for Edney in the title game vs. the Razorbacks, as the man who gave us that iconic coast-to-coast buzzer-beater was injured in the title game.

Nolan Richardson's "40 Minutes of Hell" Razorbacks gave opponents a combined 240 minutes of hell in the '94 tournament. Arkansas wore down North Carolina A&T, Georgetown, Tulsa, Michigan, Arizona and Duke to win the school’s only NCAA Tournament Championship. Future NBA talent Corliss Williamson was named MOP, and Richardson's defense hounded opponents for years.

It's not as if the Tar Heels were chopped liver, earning a No. 1 seed and featuring talents such as Eric Montross, George Lynch, Donal Williams and Dante Calabria, but Dean Smith's second and final title team is forever overshadowed by what the opponent did in the National Championship Game. That was the title game that match UNC up against Michigan's Fab Five, a game that goes down in infamy for Chris Webber's timeout blunder. However, what this team accomplished shouldn't be forgotten, as the Heels took down Arkansas, a pair of two seeds in Cincinnati and Kansas, and, of course, the favored Wolverines.

Duke earned back-to-back titles in style, defeating Michigan's Fab Five in the title game and taking down blue bloods Kentucky and Indiana as well. The victory over Kentucky came on a last-second turn-around jumper by Laettner off a perfect inbound baseball pass from Grant Hill. The buzzer-beater goes down as one of the greatest shots in March Madness history. With a big bull's eye on its back, Duke got the job done thanks to the experience of Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley (MOP), Grant Hill and Co. Duke was already disliked thanks to the antics of Laettner and its '91 title, but the back-to-back championships forever cemented the Blue Devils' reputation as the college basketball program to hate.

Christian Laettner became public enemy No. 1 in the 1990-91 season, and he thrived off it. In fact, it motivated him so much that Laettner earned MOP by leading the Blue Devils to Mike Krzyzewski's first National Championship. Along with Hurley, Hill and Co., Duke took down Louisiana-Monroe, Iowa, UConn and St. John’s to get to the Final Four. Facing the heavily favored UNLV squad led by Wooden Award winner Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony and Stacey Augmon, Duke upset the Rebels thanks to Laettner’s 28 points. Duke then outlasted Kansas to win it all.