Wade is half of No-10 (photo. Mannion)

What’s the basis for your decision when picking teams in the tournament? Which uniform you like better? Fiercest mascot? For years my make-or-break criteria has been the backcourt. The ‘08 Dance was a perfect example of that, as superior guard play was the determining factor between wins and losses. Jason Richards and Stephen Curry propelled Davidson to the depths of John Thompson III’s mind. And the two teams with the best backcourts in the nation faced off in the National Championship - the triumvirate of Sherron Collins, Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson proved to be the most tenacious group in the nation defensively, and Derrick Rose/CDR can get buckets with any pairing.

Though those Tigers don’t have anything but some regional championship tee-shirts and hats to show for their run to the championship game, that combination of Rose and Douglas-Roberts goes down as one of the best backcourts in the last ten years. Even though CDR earned 1st Team AP All-American honors and Rose made the 3rd Team AP All-American, they’re nowhere near the top of the list. We pored over the top 15 backcourts of the last 10 years, and could only slate them as high as No-11.

The Top 15 Backcourts 1998-2008:

1 - 2000-01 Duke Blue Devils: Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
Truthfully, this tandem takes top honors because no one was better than Jason Williams. After much debate in the office, we determined that Dunleavy did in fact play the two. Most often, Coach K put out a lineup of Boozer at the five, Battier at the four, Nate James at the three, then Dunleavy and J-Will. They beat Arizona 82-72 in the final to go 35-4 for the ‘chip.
Williams: 21.6 ppg, 6.1 apg, 2 spg, 47.3 FG%
Dunleavy: 12.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 47.4 FG%

2 - 1998-99 Connecticut Huskies: Khalid El-Amin and Richard Hamilton
Thanks to 27 points from Rip and two clutch free throws by El-Amin with 5.2 seconds left in the National Championship, the Huskies stunned Elton Brand/Trajan Langdon’s allegedly unbeateable Duke team. UConn finished 34-2 on the season for Jim Calhoun’s first title.
El-Amin: 13.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.6 spg
Hamilton: 21.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg

3 - 1999-00 Michigan State Spartans: Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, and Charlie Bell
The Flintstones went 32-7, 15-0 at home and ended up having a permanent place in Tom Izzo’s family - he named his son Steven Mateen Izzo.
Cleaves: 12.1 ppg, 6.9 apg, 1.4 spg, 42.1% FG
Bell: 11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.2 spg
Peterson: 16.8 ppg, 6 rpg, 42.5 3FG%

4 - 2001-02 Maryland Terrapins: Steve Blake and Juan Dixon
The Terps only national title came on the heels of this ridiculous tandem, who piloted Maryland to a 32-4 record. Juan Dixon saved his best for the Dance, where he averaged 25.8 points per game.
Blake: 8 ppg, 7.9 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.6 spg
Dixon: 20.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 46.9 FG%, 2.6 spg

5 - 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini: Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head
They didn’t have the muscle to hang with Sean May, Marvin Williams and the Tar Heels in the championship, but this trio carried Illinois through the Big Ten to a 37-2 record, 15-1 at home.
Williams: 12.5 ppg, 6.8 apg, 43.3 FG%
Brown: 13.3 ppg, 4.5 apg, 1.8 spg
Head: 15.9 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.8 apg, 41 3FG%

6 - 1997-98 Arizona Wildcats: Mike Bibby and Miles Simon
Though their NCAA Championship season came a year earlier, and thus one year too early for our parameters, Bibby and Simon reached personal high’s this 30-5, Sweet 16 season:
Bibby: 17.2 ppg, 5.7 apg, 2.4 spg
Simon: 17.2 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.5 rpg

7 - 2004-05 UNC Tar Heels: Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants
Roy Williams’ first championship can’t be attributed to the frontcourt alone. This duo could really fill it up when they had to. Both McCants and Felton nearly touched the 30-point plateau at different points in the season.
Felton: 12.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.9 apg, 2 spg, 44 3FG%
McCants: 16 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 48.9 FG%

8 - 2004-05 Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Chris Paul and Justin Gray
The third group from the Class of ‘05 features the single most talented player in CP3. It’s for that reason that Paul and Gray are the first pair in our list not to make waves in the Tournament. They went 1-1 in the Dance as part of a 27-6 year.
Paul: 15.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6.6 apg, 2.4 spg, 47.4 3FG%
Gray: 16 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 spg, 40.5 3FG%

9 - 1999-00 UCLA Bruins: Earl Watson and Baron Davis
After being the second set of true freshmen to ever start in the backcourt during the 1998-99 season, Watson and Davis had a disappointing finish to their sophomore season when the 12-seed Detroit Mercy stunned UCLA 56-53. Both guards have since made up for that loss in the League.
Watson: 13.3 ppg, 4.6 apg, 1.6 spg
Davis: 15.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.1 apg, 2.5 spg, 48.1 FG%

10 - 2002-03 Marquette Golden Eagles: Dwyane Wade and Travis Diener
Ask Indiana about these two. They are pretty much the reason that IU just inked Tom Crean to an 8-year deal.
Diener: 11.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.6 apg
Wade: 21.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.4 apg, 2.2 spg, 50.1 FG%

11 - 2007-08 Memphis Tigers: Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts
They’re arguably the most efficient duo in this group. Taken together, they made nearly 51% of their attempts from the field - a ridiculous number for two guards.
Rose: 14 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.2 spg, 47.1 FG%
Douglas-Roberts: 17.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 55.4 FG%

12 - 1997-98 North Carolina Tar Heels: Vince Carter, Ed Cota, and Shammond Williams
The 34-4 Heels made the Final Four on the heels of Naismith winner Antawn Jamison’s 22.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per night. But the combination of Cota, Carter and Williams was no joke. These numbers are kind of crazy…
Williams: 16.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 91.1 FT%
Cota: 8.1 ppg, 7.4 apg, 1.6 spg
Carter: 15.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 59.1 FG%

13 - 1999-00 Ohio State Buckeyes: Michael Redd and Scoonie Penn
The No-3 seeded Buckeyes fell to Miami (FL) in the Sweet 16, but their junior southpaw had already showed enough to make the jump to the League.
Penn: 15.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.2 spg
Redd: 17.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 43.6 FG%

14 - 2005-06 Villanova Wildcats: Randy Foye, Allan Ray, and Kyle Lowry
Before falling to National Champions Florida, the best team in the Big East made their living off of these three. Foye, Ray and Lowry were 1-2-3 in scoring for ‘Nova.
Lowry: 11 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 spg
Ray: 18.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.2 spg
Foye: 20.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 41.1 FG%

15 - 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks: Delonte West and Jameer Nelson
The last team to go undefeated during the regular season. If that isn’t enough, this squad produced two legit NBA point guards.
West: 18.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.7 apg, 51 FG%
Nelson: 20.6 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.7 rpg, 3 spg, 47.5 FG%