One and Done: NCAA Tournament Knocks the Wind Out of Win Crowd

March 2nd, 2014 - 21:33

Regal regular-season records persuade pollsters, arm alumni with arrogance and impress Division I committee members dispensing seeds in the NCAA Tournament. But Wichita State learned anew they don't guarantee postseason success because the "Road to the Final Four" is filled with potholes.

Over the first 37 seasons since the last undefeated team (Indiana '76), 21 schools entered the NCAA playoffs undefeated or with one setback. None of the squads in this group went on to win the national title. Only nine of these teams - Indiana State '79, UNLV '87, Temple '88, UNLV '91, Massachusetts '96, Duke '99, St. Joseph's '04, Illinois '05 and Memphis '08 - reached a regional final. Of the 19 entrants in this category since seeding was introduced, only four weren't accorded a #1 seed - Alcorn State '80, La Salle '90, Texas Tech '96 and Princeton '98. Wichita State joins the following chronological list of 22 schools entering the NCAA tourney either unbeaten or with only one setback since IU went undefeated in 1975-76:

Year School Coach Pre-Tourney Playoff Mark Eliminated By (Score)
1977 Arkansas Eddie Sutton 26-1 0-1 Wake Forest (86-80)
1977 San Francisco Bob Gaillard 29-1 0-1 UNLV (121-95)
1979 #1 Indiana State Bill Hodges 29-0 4-1 Michigan State (75-64)
1980 #8 Alcorn State Davey Whitney 27-1 1-1 Louisiana State (98-88)
1980 #1 DePaul Ray Meyer 26-1 0-1 UCLA (77-71)
1981 #1 DePaul Ray Meyer 27-1 0-1 St. Joseph's (49-48)
1981 #1 Oregon State Ralph Miller 26-1 0-1 Kansas State (50-48)
1982 #1 DePaul Ray Meyer 26-1 0-1 Boston College (82-75)
1987 #1 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian 33-1 4-1 Indiana (97-93)
1988 #1 Temple John Chaney 29-1 3-1 Duke (63-53)
1990 #4 La Salle Speedy Morris 29-1 1-1 Clemson (79-75)
1991 #1 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian 30-0 4-1 Duke (79-77)
1996 #1 Massachusetts John Calipari 31-1 4-1 Kentucky (81-74)
1996 #3 Texas Tech James Dickey 28-1 2-1 Georgetown (98-90)
1997 #1 Kansas Roy Williams 32-1 2-1 Arizona (85-82)
1998 #5 Princeton Bill Carmody 26-1 1-1 Michigan State (63-51)
1999 #1 Duke Mike Krzyzewski 32-1 5-1 Connecticut (77-74)
2004 #1 St. Joseph's Phil Martelli 27-1 3-1 Oklahoma State (64-62)
2004 #1 Stanford Mike Montgomery 29-1 1-1 Alabama (70-67)
2005 #1 Illinois Bruce Weber 32-1 5-1 North Carolina (75-70)
2008 #1 Memphis John Calipari 33-1 5-1 Kansas (75-68 in OT)
2014 #1 Wichita State Gregg Marshall 34-0 1-1 Kentucky (78-76)