False Starts: Temple Among Four Schools Suffering Most 1st-Round Defeats

North Carolina A&T State appeared in the NCAA playoffs the most times (nine) without winning a tournament game until prevailing in a First Four outing three years ago. But N.C. A&T still has a long way to go to join the ranks of "quick-exit" schools such as West Virginia with as many as 14 opening-round defeats.

Connecticut, after absorbing nine opening-round losses in 17 years from 1951 through 1967, had the most opening-round setbacks for an extended period. But the Huskies didn't incur an opening-round reversal for 28 years until suffering two in a recent five-year span. Similarly, St. John's suffered eight opening-round losses in a 20-year stretch from 1973 through 1992.

Maryland was the first school to incur at least 10 NCAA Tournament defeats but never absorb an opening-round setback until the Terrapins lost to Santa Clara in 1996. Temple, losing in overtime against Iowa, incurred its fifth first-round reversal in the last nine seasons to rank fourth on the following list of schools most prone to sustaining an opening-round defeat:

School (Playoff Losses) NCAA Tournament Opening-Round Defeats
Brigham Young (32) 19 (1950-57-65-69-72-79-80-87-90-92-95-01-03-04-07-08-09-14-15)
Princeton (28) 16 (1952-55-60-63-69-76-77-81-89-90-91-92-97-01-04-11)
Utah State (20) 16 (1939-63-71-75-79-80-83-88-98-00-03-05-06-09-10-11)
Temple (32) 15 (1944-64-67-70-72-79-90-92-95-98-08-09-10-12-16)
Missouri (26) 14 (1944-78-81-83-86-87-88-90-93-99-00-11-12-13)
St. John's (31) 14 (1961-68-73-76-77-78-80-84-88-92-98-02-11-15)
West Virginia (27) 14 (1955-56-57-58-62-65-67-83-86-87-92-09-12-16)