Could Kentucky Be the Greatest College Basketball Team Ever?

John Calipari is often considered the best coach in modern day college basketball, but is also critiqued for not being able to win more titles with the amount of talent he brings to Lexington, KY each year. However, his squad this year has looked nothing shy of unbeatable so far.

First and foremost, in order to be a great team, it means you must win a national championship. Of course, the season isn't over yet, but assuming it plays out like everyone has predicted, the Wildcats will fulfill this pre-requisite.

The next qualification for a great team is winning a vast majority of their games. Kentucky is currently 22-0, with a victory over the Georgia Bulldogs tonight, and seem to be hitting their stride during the final month of the regular season. Winning every game isn't required to win a national championship in college basketball, but when a team doesn't lose, logic shows that that makes things much easier.

Now, in order for a team to be called the "greatest," they must be compared to the other great teams throughout history. While there are many teams that can be selected to compare and contrast, these three teams are from the past 25 years and are considered among the best teams of all time.

2011-2012 Kentucky Wildcats

The 2011-2012 team was one of the most dominant college teams of this generation. The Wildcats' average margin of victory that season was 17.79 point/game. They suffered two close losses, once early in the season to a tough Indiana team, and again in the SEC Tournament Championship Game to the Vanderbilt Commodores, 71-64. That team consisted of current NBA talent Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of the Charlotte Hornets, Terrence Jones of the Houston Rockets, and Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb who are both in the NBA Developmental League.

2002-2003 Syracuse Orangemen

Jim Boeheim's squad didn't boast the largest quantity of NBA talent, but was an incredibly difficult team to beat. Their record was 30-5, starting the season unranked, and even losing their first game of the season to the Memphis Tigers. So what was it that put this team in the "great" category? Carmelo Anthony, Boeheim's signature 2-3 defense, and clutch shooting from former guard Gerry McNamara. Sophomore Hakim Warrick was a force in the paint, preventing many easy looks at the basket, and was a threat on the offensive end, scoring 14.8 points/game.

1991-1992 Duke Blue Devils

This team made it to the Final Four to face off against the Kentucky Wildcats, and produced one of the most memorable moments in college basketball history: Christian Laettner's buzzer beater. Mike Krzyzewski assembled one of the most talented college basketball teams of all time during this season; Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, Thomas Hill, and Brian Davis led the Blue Devils over the Michigan Wolverines to win Coach K's second national championship (a Wolverines team who could have easily made this list had they won a national championship).

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So does the 2014-2015 Kentucky team compare to these great teams? Some would say so. They have plenty of size, plenty of depth, and more than enough NBA talent to take them all the way to a championship. Calipari uses a platoon-type approach when it comes to managing each game. His ten-deep players are all talented enough to play in the NBA. Top to bottom, this may be the best accumulation of talent on a single team in college basketball history, but can they finish out the season to solidify themselves as the greatest of all time?

Only time will tell.