Hot or Not? Half of NCAA Titlists This Century Lost in Power-League Tourney
Which cliche is most accurate? If a team is on a winning streak entering the NCAA Tournament, it has momentum on its side and is peaking at the right time. On the other hand, some observers contend a loss before the start of the playoffs is deemed a wake-up call. Michigan became the ninth champion in last 15 tourneys to enter playoffs on a losing note by dropping game in power-league tournament.
All of Duke's champions under coach Mike Krzyzewski entered the NCAA tourney with fewer than eight straight triumphs. Since the last undefeated team in Division I (Indiana was 32-0 in 1975-76), there have been 49 national champions. Twenty-six of those squads entered the tourney on a winning streak and 23 entered with a defeat. The longest winning streak of a champion-to-be in that span was by UCLA, which won 13 in a row in 1995 before posting six more triumphs in the playoffs. Louisville accounted for two of the other double-digit victory streaks for champions-to-be entering the playoffs.
Of the 26 aforementioned squads entering on a winning note, the average winning streak was same as Florida's six in a row last year. Following in reverse order is how those 49 post-unbeaten IU titlists entered the NCAA playoffs (including conference tournaments):