The Running Rebels went on to defeat Duke in the national championship game that year, 103-73-—the highest-scoring championship game in modern tournament history. The previous high was 92 points set by Kansas in 1955.
In addition to being the most exciting basketball game ever played, the 1970 National Basketball Association Championship Game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics was also one of the highest-scoring games ever played in any sport. With its center court celebration and shouting match between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, it remains one of the most memorable games in NBA history. The final score was 76-76 after three quarters before the Lakers won their second consecutive title with a 122-119 victory over the Celtics.
Another famous high-scoring championship game took place in 2001 when the New York Yankees played against the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series. The series was tied 3-3 after six games but then started scoring at a record rate as each team scored more than one run in an inning several times during the next four games. In game seven, which ended in a 12-11 Yankees win, they scored 11 runs while the Mariners only managed to score two themselves. This season's World Series has averaged more than one run per inning so far with the Dodgers leading 4-1 after five games.
National titles won by college basketball teams
The graph depicts the all-time leaders in points scored in an NCAA Final Four game. With 58 points, Bill Bradley holds the record for most points scored in an NCAA Final Four game. As of March 15, 2019, the most points ever scored in NCAA Final Four games.
Bill Bradley played for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats from 1971 to 1974. During his time there, he led his team to national championships in 1972 and 1973. He was drafted first overall by the New York Knicks in 1974 but opted out of professional basketball to focus on track and field. At the Munich Olympics that year, he won the silver medal in the 10,000 meters race with a career best time of 29:11.90. He went on to have a very successful career as a college player and coach.
Another great player who led his team to multiple titles was Larry Bird of Indiana State University Indians. Bird was a five-time NBA MVP award winner and has been voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. As a student at Indiana State, he played from 1976 to 1979, leading his team to the NCAA Tournament each season.
In 1977, Bird helped the Indiana State team reach its highest point total ever, a then-school record 111 points. The ISU squad defeated Memphis State University 110-111 in Indianapolis during opening round play of the NCAA Tournament.
The game between Troy State and DeVry on January 12, 1992, is still the highest-scoring single game in NCAA history. After the game, seven statisticians labored for 57 minutes to finish the box score. The final total was 733 points.
Troy State won the game by a margin of 56 points. It was the only Division I game in 1992 with scores that high. The previous highest was also a Division I game - Indiana vs. Iowa in 1991 with 710 points.
The record will almost certainly not last long because there have been several other games since then have scored more than 700 points. The next highest-scoring game after 1992 is currently the record of 695 points set by Arizona State vs. Oregon in 2001. However, this mark is likely to be broken soon too because there have already been discussions about whether or not it should be illegal for players to touch the ball out of bounds during a rebound unless the player has the ball.
Even if this rule change does not happen, there are definitely teams who would like to see it done anyway. According to some sources, up to nine players on each team can be involved in a rebound attempt simultaneously. If this is true, then the maximum possible score in an NCAA game could be 969 points. Of course, no one really knows because no one has ever attempted to break this record.
Every national championship-winning college football team was fantastic, but I've attempted to rate every title-winning squad over the last 50 years by asking the following questions: What was the strength of their schedule? What was their track record? How dominating were their victories? Did they come out on top in their conference? Did they triumph in their bowl game?
The answers to these questions will help determine how highly you should rank each team. You can find the full list of champions here: http://espn.go.com/college-football/national-championship-list
I'll be updating this list regularly over time as more games are played during championship seasons. There have been some great teams that haven't won any titles yet, so don't feel bad if your favorite team isn't on here yet!
Also worth mentioning is that there are two ways to win the National Championship. You can either be best team in the country or winner of the College Football Playoff. These cases will be separately ranked.
Finally, I'll also be adding some additional notes for certain teams below. Make sure to check back soon for my latest update!
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