The Ultimate 64: Deciding the greatest all-time NCAA champion - South Region

The Ultimate 64 is an undertaking which will determine the greatest NCAA tournament champion of all time from a field made up exclusively of NCAA tournament champions.

The teams will be judged based on record, quality of wins, overall talent, star power and entertainment value, among other criteria.

The teams have been divided into regions based on their geographical location. Next up: The South Region.

Ultimate 64 Schedule

Midwest Region
West Region
East Region
South Region
Final Four

South Region

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Round of 64

Eleven of 16 teams in the region come from the state of Kentucky, with the University of Kentucky holding the bulk of those spots (eight), while the final three went to Louisville. The Wildcats put five teams through to the next round, but the Cardinals weren't so lucky. ... Not a single upset in the first round in a very top-heavy region. ... While Michigan's Fab Five of the early '90s is better remembered, Kentucky's original Fabulous Five of the late '40s, coached by Adolph Rupp, won back-to-back championships. ... After winning the first championship in the history of the program in 2006, Florida returned all five of its starters in 2007 to repeat the feat. That team was led by its front court, powered by current NBA All-Star Al Horford and defending NBA Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah.

Round of 32

After guiding Kentucky to a 69-7 record from 1995-97, head coach Rick Pitino left for greener pastures with the NBA's Boston Celtics. Tubby Smith took over in 1997 and guided the Wildcats to its seventh national championship in his inaugural season. While many of Pitino's recruits remained for the 1998 title run, that team paled in comparison to the 1996 squad, which won its tournament games by an average margin of 21.5 points. ... According to Vegas, if the 2012 title-winning Kentucky squad faced this year's edition, Anthony Davis's 2012 squad would be favored.

Sweet Sixteen

Dominating the bracket through each round, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see Kentucky occupy three of the final four spots in the East. ... The inspiration for the movie "Glory Road," the 1966 Texas Western Miners overcame a lot on their path to a national championship. Coach Don Haskins fielded the first all-black starting five in a national title game and won, defeating Rupp's all-white Kentucky team in the final. If the Miners can raise themselves above that, they can raise themselves above The Brow.

Elite Eight

No team has ever been better assembled to employ Rick Pitino's scheme of press defense and bombing away from three than the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats. That squad compiled a tournament record combined margin of victory of 129 points, dominating in the month of March in a way no team did before or since. Five players on that team went on to be first-round selections in the NBA.

Images courtesy Sports Illustrated.