It’s never easy to defend a national championship. But some teams do it better than others, and few have fared as poorly as this season’s North Carolina squad. They are on the verge of becoming just the 19th defending national champs to miss the following year’s Big Dance. So we pose the question: Where do they rank among the 10 worst defending champs, er, chumps.
10. 2008 Florida (24-12, NIT Semis)
The 2008 Florida Gators had a daunting task after back-to-back titles, losing all five starters (Taurean Green, Lee Humphrey, Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Joakim Noah). But they were on pace to make the Big Dance until losing eight their last 11 games of the season. They were even kicked out of their own gym by a disgusted Billy Donovan and told not to wear any Florida attire. The season ended in the semifinals of the NIT against UMass.
9. 1989 Kansas (19-12)
The 1989 Kansas team had a major obstacle in their way to a back-to-back title: postseason probation. Even if the Jayhawks were strong coming back, they wouldn’t have been able to play thanks to sanctions from the NCAA after former coach Larry Brown bought a plane ticket for a possible transfer.
But the chances at a repeat were slim and took a nose dive when they started the season 0-6. The Jayhawks set the dubious record for most losses by a champion (11). And the two major reasons for the team’s success, Brown and Danny Manning, had left after the championship season. Guess who got stuck with cleaning up that mess? None other than Roy Williams.
8. 1979 Kentucky (19-12): NIT First Round
While Kentucky fans expect Final Fours like they expect the sun to rise, the 1979 team had the challenge of following arguably the least celebrated national champion ever. Dubbed “The Season Without Celebration,” the 1978 team won a title and was still disliked. Good luck following that act.
With the loss of Rick Robey, Jack Givens (the previous year’s tourney MOP) and James Lee, Joe B. Hall and the Wildcats had little hope. The season ended on a disappointing note with a first round NIT loss.
7. 1984 NC State (19-14): NIT First Round
To this day the image of Jimmy Valvano running around the court looking for someone to hug after the 1983 championship is ingrained in our minds. Imagine how bad Jimmy V needed a hug the next season.
Thurl Bailey, Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg were gone thanks to graduation. It also didn’t help that North Carolina was returning Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins and Brad Daugherty, or that Virginia was still a Final Four quality team without Ralph Sampson. The season ended with a thud, as the Pack lost its final seven games and were bounced in the first round of the NIT.
6. 1987 Louisville (18-14)
While Denny Crum still had the 1986 NCAA Tournament MOP in Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison, he may not have realized how much he was losing in overall experience. Final Four vets Billy Thompson and Milt Wagner graduated and left the Cards without much needed experience.
Ellison wasn’t even an honorable mention at the end of the year. His poor play was magnified by the team’s tough schedule. To make matters worse, the Metro Conference allowed Memphis State (who was on probation) to play in the conference tournament. The Tigers beat Louisville by 23 points in the championship game, denying UL an automatic berth. Crum is still peeved about it.
Part II: #5-1
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