Sizzling Scorers: Gonzaga's Drew Timme Was Top Scorer Entering Final Four

In 2016, Oklahoma's Buddy Hield, the nation's runner-up in scoring with 25.4 points per game, came close to duplicating one of the most overlooked achievements in NCAA Tournament history. In 1951-52, Clyde Lovellette of champion Kansas became the only player to lead the nation in scoring average (28.4 ppg) while competing for a squad reaching the NCAA tourney title game. Final Four luminaries averaging more than 30 ppg include Elvin Hayes (36.8/Houston '68), Oscar Robertson (33.7/Cincinnati '60 and 32.6/Cincinnati '59), Rick Mount (33.3/Purdue '69), Elgin Baylor (32.5/Seattle '58), Bill Bradley (30.5/Princeton '65) and Len Chappell (30.1/Wake Forest '62).

Lovellette, an 11-year NBA center who passed away two years ago, served as sheriff of Vigo County in his native Indiana (noted for raid on Terre Haute brothels). Gonzaga center Drew Timme (19 ppg) would have been gesture-ecstatic if the leading scorer among this campaign's national semifinalists "raided" the Final Four by joining Lovellette as the only other player cracking the 30-point plateau in the national semifinals and championship contest in the same season (33 against both Santa Clara and St. John's). However, only two top scorers entering the past 15 national semifinals wound up leading that specific Final Four in total points after Timme fell short of Jared Butler's 39 points for Baylor.

Hield was the first Final Four player since Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott to average in excess of 25 ppg. Only two other Final Four players notched higher scoring averages than Hield since the playoff field expanded to at least 32 teams in 1975 - Larry Bird (28.6 ppg for Indiana State '79 and Glen Rice (25.6 for Michigan '89). Rice scored 59 points in two Final Four games. The highest F4 total since him was accrued by Arizona guard Miles Simon with 54 in 1997. Timme joins the following list of individuals in the last 30 tourneys amassing the highest scoring average from a Final Four club since Scott's mark of 27.7 ppg in 1989-90:

Season	Top Scorer Among Final Four Participants	School	Average	Final Four's Two-Game Top Scorer
1989-90	Dennis Scott	Georgia Tech	27.7 ppg	Duke's Phil Henderson/UNLV's Anderson Hunt (49 points)
1990-91	Larry Johnson	UNLV	22.7 ppg	Duke's Christian Laettner (46 points)
1991-92	Christian Laettner	Duke	21.5 ppg	Duke's Bobby Hurley (35 points)
1992-93	Jamal Mashburn	Kentucky	21.0 ppg	Michigan's Chris Webber/ UNC's Donald Williams (50 points)
1993-94	Khalid Reeves	Arizona	24.2 ppg	Arkansas' Corliss Williamson (52 points)
1994-95	Bryant Reeves	Oklahoma State	21.5 ppg	UCLA's Ed O'Bannon (45 points)
1995-96	John Wallace	Syracuse	22.2 ppg	Wallace (50 points)
1996-97	Antawn Jamison	North Carolina	19.1 ppg	Arizona's Miles Simon (54 points)
1997-98	Antawn Jamison	North Carolina	22.2 ppg	Kentucky's Jeff Sheppard (43 points)
1998-99	Richard Hamilton	Connecticut	21.5 ppg	Hamilton (51 points)
1999-00	Morris Peterson	Michigan State	16.8 ppg	Peterson (41 points)
2000-01	Jay Williams	Duke	21.6 ppg	Duke's Shane Battier (43 points)
2001-02	Juan Dixon	Maryland	20.4 ppg	Dixon (51 points)
2002-03	Carmelo Anthony	Syracuse	22.2 ppg	Anthony (53 points)
2003-04	Ben Gordon	Connecticut	18.5 ppg	UConn's Emeka Okafor (42 points)
2004-05	Sean May	North Carolina	17.5 ppg	May (48 points)
2005-06	Glen Davis	Louisiana State	18.6 ppg	Florida's Lee Humphrey (34 points)
2006-07	Arron Affalo	UCLA	16.9 ppg	Ohio State's Greg Oden (38 points)
2007-08	Tyler Hansbrough	North Carolina	22.6 ppg	Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts (50 points)
2008-09	Tyler Hansbrough	North Carolina	20.7 ppg	UNC's Ty Lawson (43 points)
2009-10	Jon Scheyer	Duke	18.2 ppg	Duke's Kyle Singler (40 points)
2010-11	Kemba Walker	Connecticut	23.5 ppg	Butler's Shelvin Mack (37 points)
2011-12	Thomas Robinson	Kansas	17.7 ppg	Robinson (37 points)
2012-13	Russ Smith	Louisville	18.7 ppg	Louisville's Luke Hancock (42 points)
2013-14	Shabazz Napier	Connecticut	18.0 ppg	Kentucky's James Young (37 points)
2014-15	Frank Kaminsky	Wisconsin	18.8 ppg	Kaminsky (41 points)
2015-16	Buddy Hield	Oklahoma	25.4 ppg	Villanova's Josh Hart (35 points)
2016-17	Sindarius Thornwell	South Carolina	21.6 ppg	UNC's Justin Jackson/Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss (38 points)
2017-18	Jalen Brunson	Villanova	19.2 ppg	Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo (46 points)
2018-19	Jarrett Culver	Texas Tech	18.9 ppg	Virginia's De'Andre Hunter (41 points)
2018-19	Cassius Winston	Michigan State	18.9 ppg	Virginia's De'Andre Hunter (41 points)
2020-21	Drew Timme	Gonzaga	19 ppg	Baylor's Jared Butler (39 points)