Elite School Individual Single-Game Scoring Standards in NCAA Tournament

If you peer around the corner, someone better can always be found. Did you know NCAA playoff scoring highs for Arizona State's James Harden (10), Auburn's Charles Barkley (23), Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin (16; DNP as senior because of broken leg), DePaul's Mark Aguirre (34), Duke's Grant Hill (25)/Kyrie Irving (28)/Christian Laettner (31), Florida State's Dave Cowens (11), Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning (23), Houston's Clyde Drexler (21)/Hakeem Olajuwon (29), Illinois' Eddie Johnson (19), Indiana's Isiah Thomas (30)/Mike Woodson (26), Kansas' Paul Pierce (27)/Jo Jo White (22), Kentucky's Karl Anthony-Towns (25)/Rex Chapman (30)/John Wall (19), Marquette's Jimmy Butler (15), Louisville's Pervis Ellison (25)/Wes Unseld (25), Maryland's Len Elmore (14)/Buck Williams (19), Memphis' Penny Hardaway (24), Miami's Dick Hickox (17)/Shane Larkin (17), Michigan's Phil Hubbard (22), Michigan State's Magic Johnson (29)/Morris Peterson (21), Missouri's Anthony Peeler (28), North Carolina's Vince Carter (24)/Antawn Jamison (21)/Michael Jordan (27), Notre Dame's Adrian Dantley (34), Ohio State's John Havlicek (25)/Jim Jackson (24)/Clark Kellogg (14), Oklahoma's Ryan Minor (24), South Carolina's Alex English (22), Syracuse's Derrick Coleman (19), Temple's Mark Macon (32), Tennessee's Bernard King (23), Texas' LaMarcus Aldridge (26)/Kevin Durant (30), Texas A&M's John Beasley (13)/Sonny Parker (14)/Robert Williams (13), UCLA's Reggie Miller (32)/Russell Westbrook (22), Utah's Tom Chambers (26)/Keith Van Horn (27) and Villanova's Ed Pinckney (24) all are more than 10 points fewer than all-time single-game tournament record for their respective alma maters? Incredibly, the highest-scoring NCAA tourney game for luminaries Martin (40 fewer than UC's all-time mark), Drexler (28), Dantley (27), Wall (25), Coleman (24), Butler (22), Harden (22), Kellogg (22), Westbrook (22), White (22), Hickox (21), Larkin (21) and Peterson (20) are at least 20 points lower than the existing standard for their school.

Among power-conference members and mid-major universities reaching Final Four at some point in their history, an average of two players annually set school NCAA playoff single-game scoring records the previous six years. Only two freshmen - Massachusetts' Marcus Camby in 1994 and Oregon's Tajuan Porter in 2007 - hold the existing NCAA playoff scoring standard for their school among the 109 universities in question. Six individuals among these schools - Gabe DeVoe (Clemson), Juan Dixon (Maryland), Jim McDaniels (Western Kentucky), Glenn Robinson (Purdue), Byron Scott (Arizona State) and Reggie Williams (Georgetown) - established their NCAA tourney single-game marks against Kansas.

Teddy Allen shattered New Mexico State's playoff record with 36 points against Connecticut in opening round last year. Penn State was tied by playoff newbie Northwestern six years ago for the lowest HG (high game) among schools in this category (25 by Jesse Arnelle twice in the mid-1950s until Andrew Funk scored 27 points in opening-round win against Texas A&M this year). After Funk's barrage of eight three-pointers, there were 18 schools in the following alphabetical list to have their existing NCAA playoff single-game scoring mark set more than 60 years ago: