La Salle University Athletics

Led by former National Player of the Year and first-year head coach Tom Gola, the 1968-69 men's basketball team put together an unforgettable 23-1 season that resulted in a No. 2 ranking in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Led by four players who would go on to play professionally - Ken Durrett, Larry Cannon, Bernie Williams and Roland "Fatty" Taylor - the Explorers upended a number of regional and national powers throughout the year.

Squaring off against a Niagara team led by All-American Calvin Murphy, the shorthanded La Salle team, playing without two starters, traveled to upstate New York and received key contributions from reserves Ed Szczesny and Fran Dunphy in an 88-73 win. La Salle went on to defeat Penn State and Indiana in the early-season Quaker City Tournament, falling to South Carolina in the final, 62-59. 

The loss to the Gamecocks would be the only blemish on an otherwise perfect slate, and sparked a run of 15 consecutive wins to close out the year. Led by Durrett's 27 points, La Salle defeated city rival Temple, 101-85, to set the stage for what is widely considered the most highly anticipated Philadelphia Big 5 matchup in history against Villanova at The Palestra two weeks later. In front of a raucous crowd, the Explorers knocked off the eighth-ranked Wildcats, 74-67, and also defeated another Top 10 squad, Duquesne, less than two weeks later. 

Though ineligible for postseason play, La Salle raked in a number of major postseason awards. Gola was named the country's top coach by both the Philadelphia and New York media. Durrett, in his first year of eligibility, was named Big 5 Player of the Year after averaging 20.0 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. He was joined on the All-Big 5 First Team by Cannon and Williams. Cannon also picked up Second Team All-America accolades as he averaged 18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists per outing. 
 
The team, widely considered as the greatest college basketball team in Philadelphia Big 5 history, was previously honored with induction into the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 2016.