Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a ("There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven - A time to give birth, and a time to die; . . . .")

Gone but not forgotten. Among alums of three of this year's participants - Duke's Tony Moore (41), Florida's Major Parker (44) and Houston's Ken Spain (44) - helped give birth to tournament dreams as vital players for previous Final Four teams before perishing prior to reaching the age of 45. What many deem a full life is not always guaranteed.

The crown jewel of NCAA Tournament has been impacted long before coronavirus cancellation in 2020. Keith Smart, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player for 1987 national kingpin Indiana, returned to his NBA assistant coaching job near the middle of previous decade after battling a rare form of skin cancer spreading along the left side of his jaw. Smart's ailment surfaced as a question lingered following center Andrew Smith, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Butler's 2011 NCAA playoff runner-up, losing his fight against lymphoma: Would someone susceptible to conspiracy believe there is a Final Four curse; especially in wake of Smart's IU teammate (starting forward Daryl Thomas) dying of a heart attack several years ago at age 52 before fellow Hoosier forward Eric Anderson, a starter for 1992 F4 squad, passed away in late 2018 following a bout with pneumonia?

This topic also reared its ugly head several seasons ago when Michael Wright, leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for Arizona's 2001 national runner-up team including Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson and Luke Walton, was found dead with a skull fracture in New York City in the back seat of his Lexus SUV. Covered with garbage bags, the Chicago high school teammate of Kevin Garnett was 35. More than a year later, his roommate and an alleged accomplice were arrested for drugging and murdering him plus desecrating human remains.

Ranging from famous military battles to freak circumstances to mysterious disappearances to nuclear bombs to CIA activity to suicides, the existence of a Final Four curse is debatable although there is no denying a striking number of prominent national semifinal players and coaches died prematurely. For instance, Sid Tanenbaum, the second-leading scorer for NYU's 1945 national runner-up, was murdered on September 4, 1986, at the age of 60 when stabbed to death by a local woman in his Queens machine shop. According to police reports, Tanenbaum was assaulted because he chose to stop lending money to his attacker after previously assisting her numerous times.

Each Final Four participant in 1977 had a prominent player pass away by the age of 56. It was during a 31-year span from 1962 through 1992 when at least one F4 player died before 60 (Mike Masucci played for NCAA champion Kansas in 1987-88 before dying at 36 but was dismissed from squad before the playoffs commenced). Life expectancy in the U.S. for people born in 2017 is 78.5 years. Any tribute isn't enough when a man such as Smith is buried long before his time. Unspeakable tragedy also struck Butler several years ago when the six-month-old son of Emerson Kampen, a backup to Smith, died of a genetic disorder affecting the central nervous system. Six former Houston regulars are among the following lengthy list of additional Final Four participants (cited chronologically by tourney) passing away early (60 and younger), but the deceased left lasting memories:

• Three of Oregon's starting five on the first NCAA championship team in 1939 - guards Bobby Anet and Wally Johansen and center Slim Wintermute - all died in their 40s. Wintermute disappeared in Lake Washington in 1977, a case that never has been solved.

• Don Scott, who made a free throw for Ohio State's national runner-up in inaugural NCAA Tournament championship contest in 1939, died at the age of 23 on October 1, 1943, when U.S. Army Air Forces captain's B-26 Marauder bomber crashed in England while in training after football All-American halfback already completed nine bombing missions during WWII. Buckeyes center Bill Sattler died of a heart attack in his home on July 11, 1971, at the age of 54.

• Center Bill Menke, the third-leading scorer for Indiana's 1940 NCAA champion who supplied a team-high 10 points in the Hoosiers' national semifinal victory over Duquesne, later became a Navy pilot and served in WWII. In January 1945, he was declared missing in action (and presumed dead) when he didn't return from a flight in the Caribbean. Teammate Bill Torphy, also a member of IU's "Hurryin' Hoosiers" titlist coached by Branch McCracken, was killed in action in the hedgerows of Normandy, France, in summer of 1944 during more than two months worth of battles ensuing after D-Day invasion. Torphy, a forgotten member of national kingpin because he didn't receive a spot on 12-man traveling team during the national playoffs, is the subject of a documentary Not Pictured.

• Thomas P. Hunter, a three-year letterman who was a sophomore member of Kansas' 1940 runner-up, was killed in action against the Japanese on Guam, July 21, 1944, while fighting with the Ninth Marines as a first lieutenant. Hunter was elected posthumously as captain of the Jayhawks' 1945-46 squad that compiled a 19-2 record.

• Dale Gentry, the fifth-leading scorer for Washington State's 1941 national runner-up, collapsed and died of a heart attack in 1963 at the age of 50 after completing arrangements for his 16-year-old son's funeral following injuries incurred in an auto accident.

• All 11 regulars on Pitt's 1941 Final Four team participated in World War II and one of them, guard Bob Artman, was killed in action.

• Center Ed Voss, the second-leading scorer for 1942 champion Stanford, died of polio in 1953 at the age of 31, a month after his 7-year-old son also succumbed to the disease. Cardinal teammate Jack Dana's wife, California socialite Renee Cohu, died of a sleeping pill overdose in the winter of 1970 at the age of 42 when the missing daughter of a former TWA president was found in a Miami Beach motel.

• Charles "Stubbie" Pearson, captain of Dartmouth's 1942 national runner-up and valedictorian of his class the same year, was killed in action on March 30, 1945, while dive-bombing a Japanese ship off the Palau Islands. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Teammate George Galbraith Jr., a backup forward, died in a training flight over Mississippi.

• Three of the top seven scorers for Kentucky's first NCAA Tournament and Final Four team in 1942 died during World War II - Mel Brewer (Army second lieutenant/25 years old in France), Ken England (Army captain of ski troop/23 in Italy) and Jim King (Army second lieutenant and co-pilot/24 in Germany).

• Bob Doll, an All-American for Colorado in 1942, died in September of 1959 at the age of 40 of an apparent suicide. A .45 caliber pistol he owned was discovered near his body found in the Rocky Mountains.

• Milo Komenich, leading scorer for Wyoming's 1943 NCAA titlist, died in 1977 at his home at the age of 56.

• Georgetown's Lloyd Potolicchio, who matched DePaul legend George Mikan's 11-point output in the 1943 national semifinals when the Hoyas eliminated the Blue Demons before bowing to Wyoming in title tilt, joined the Air Force. Potolicchio was boom operator Master Sergeant when killed in a refueling mission on January 17, 1966, in a B-52 crash off the coast of southern Spain. His KC-135 tanker was completely destroyed when its fuel load ignited, resulting in the B-52G breaking apart with B28RI hydrogen weapons falling to earth and plutonium contamination occurring near the fishing village of Palomares. In March 2009, Time magazine identified the Palomares accident as one of the world's "worst nuclear disasters." Teammate Bob Duffey, a backup swingman, was killed on November 13, 1944, in European theater combat.

• Curtis Popham, Texas' co-captain in 1943, was one of seven Longhorns lettermen since the mid-1930s to make the supreme sacrifice during WWII.

• Swingman Johnny Jorgensen, a teammate of Hall of Famer George Mikan on DePaul's 1943 Final Four team, died in mid-January 1973 at the age of 51.

• All-American Audie Brindley of 1944 runner-up Dartmouth died of cancer in 1957 at the age of 33.

• Swingman Joe Bradley, a regular for Oklahoma A&M's 1946 NCAA champion, was 58 when he died on June 5, 1987.

• Center John "Jack" Underman, the leading scorer for Ohio State's 1946 national third-place team, was an oral surgeon in Elyria, Ohio, when he died in an auto crash on October 23, 1969, at the age of 44.

• Frontcourter Frank Oftring, a key contributor for Holy Cross' 1947 champion and 1948 national third-place team, died on October 4, 1982, at the age of 58. Teammate Dermie O'Connell was 60 when perishing on October 5, 1988. Teammate Bob Curran, a regular for both squads, was 56 when he passed away on October 18, 1977.

• Center Gerry Tucker, the leading scorer for Oklahoma's 1947 national runner-up, died on May 29, 1979, at the age of 57.

• Forward Tom Hamilton, a regular as a freshman forward with Texas' 1947 national third-place club, died at the age of 48 on November 29, 1973, after suffering a brain hemorrhage prior to officiating a high school football game in Tyler, Tex. Hamilton, a first baseman briefly with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1952 and 1953, served as baseball coach and athletic director for St. Edward's (Tex.) at the time of his death.

• Center Bob Harris, the leading scorer for Oklahoma A&M's 1949 national runner-up, died of lung cancer on April 10, 1977 at the age of 50. Teammate Joe Bradley, A&M's second-leading scorer, passed away on June 5, 1987, at the age of 58.

• Bill Erickson, a starting guard for Illinois' 1949 national third-place team, died on September 21, 1987, at the age of 59. Teammate Walt Kersulis, who led team in scoring with nine points in Eastern Regional final defeat against eventual champion Kentucky, died of leukemia in mid-April 1973 at the age of 46. Teammate Don Sunderlage, the Illini's sixth-leading scorer in 1949 and top point producer for another third-place squad in 1951, died in mid-July 1961 at the age of 31 following an automobile accident in Lake Geneva, Wis. Reserve guard Roy Gatewood was 36 when he perished suddenly at his family residence in the spring of 1961.

• Center Ed Roman, leading scorer for CCNY's 1950 titlist who was involved in a conspiracy to fix games, died of leukemia in early March 1988 at the age of 57.

• Guard Lucian "Skippy" Whitaker, who averaged 5.2 ppg as a junior for Kentucky's 1951 national champion, died in 1990 at the age of 59.

• Bob Ferrick, coach of Santa Clara's 1952 national fourth-place team, died of a heart attack in 1976 at the age of 56. Jack McMahon, the second-leading scorer for national runner-up St. John's, died on June 11, 1989 at 60.

• Don Schlundt, the leading scorer and rebounder for Indiana's 1953 NCAA champion, died of pancreatic cancer in October 1985 at the age of 52. Teammate Dick Farley, the Hoosiers' third-leading scorer, passed away from cancer in early October 1969 at the age of 37.

• Joe Cipriano, the second-leading scorer for Washington's national third-place team in 1953 before becoming Nebraska's all-time winningest coach, was 49 in late November 1980 when he died of cancer.

• Forward Bob Ames, who scored a total of eight points in three playoff games in 1955 for La Salle's national runner-up after being a member of the Explorers' 1954 NCAA titlist, was killed in Beirut in 1983 at the age of 49. A truck loaded with TNT on a suicide mission rammed into the facility where Ames, a father of six children, was staying while serving as a liaison trying to allay contacts among the Lebanese, Syrians and Israelis in hopes of calming the escalating discord. He joined the CIA and worked his way up the chain of command to become the Director of the CIA's Office of Analysis of the Near East and South Asia. "The Spy Who Loved Basketball" worked closely with both the Carter and Reagan administrations.

• Forward Jerry Mullen, runner-up in scoring and rebounding as captain for San Francisco's 1955 champion, died in September 1979 at the age of 45.

• Bucky O'Connor, coach for Iowa's 1955 Final Four club and 1956 runner-up, died in 1958 at the age of 44 in a highway accident near Waterloo. "The boy who has faith in God can look to the future without worry or strain," O'Connor told his players. "I firmly believe that the boys on our team who attend church are more likely to be successful because they can face their problems with hope and encouragement." Backup guard Lester "Babe" Hawthorne died of complications from cancer on September 20, 1994, at the age of 60.

• Jim Krebs, the leading scorer and rebounder for Southern Methodist's 1956 Final Four squad, was killed in 1965 at the age of 29 in a freak accident. While helping a neighbor clear storm damage, a tree limb fell the wrong way and crushed his skull.

• Roy Searcy, a backup forward for North Carolina's undefeated 1957 national champion, died of colon cancer on Christmas Eve 1994 at the age of 58.

• Forward Joe Kitchen, a member of Louisville's regular rotation for 1959 national fourth-place team, was 52 in 1991 when he died.

• John Cedargren, senior backup to All-American center Jerry Lucas for Ohio State's 1960 NCAA champion, died in 1966.

• Forward Al Filardi, the third-leading rebounder for NYU's 1960 national fourth-place squad, just turned 60 when he died in early August 1999.

• Gary Bradds, a backup to national player of the year Jerry Lucas for Ohio State's 1962 NCAA runner-up before earning the same award himself two years later, died of cancer in July 1983 when he was 40. Bradds was principal of an elementary school in Bowersville, Ohio, at the time of his demise.

• Frank Christie, Wake Forest's third-leading rebounder for 1962 national third-place team, was 50 in mid-October 1992 when he passed away following a brief illness.

• Vic Rouse, leading rebounder for Loyola of Chicago's 1963 NCAA champion, died in late May 1999 at the age of 56. He owned an educational consulting firm after earning three masters degrees and a PhD. Teammate Paul "Pablo" Robertson, a New York native averaging 5.1 ppg and 2.9 rpg when declared academically ineligible after the first semester, died in 1990 at the age of 46 after playing seven years with the Harlem Globetrotters.

• Guard Denny Ferguson, a regular for Duke's 1963 national third-place team and 1964 runner-up, died from cancer in 2001 at 58. He was a professor at Cornell.

• Bill Buntin, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer (behind Cazzie Russell) for Michigan's Final Four teams in 1964 and 1965, collapsed and died during an informal workout one day after his 26th birthday in May 1968.

• Forward Jamie Thompson, the third-leading scorer for Wichita's 1965 fourth-place team who tallied 36 points when the Shockers were eliminated in the national semifinals by eventual champion UCLA, died in January 2006 at the age of 60.

• Guard Bobby Joe Hill, the leading scorer for Texas Western's 1966 NCAA titlist, passed away from a heart attack in December 2002 at the age of 59.

• Guard Rudy Waterman, Dayton's third-leading scorer for 1967 national runner-up, died at 34 in mid-February 1981 after shooting himself and falling into a coma upon developing bacterial meningitis while hospitalized in New York. He had been fired from his job as a sales representative for a Midwest aluminum company. Flyers coach Don Donoher's son, Gary, died in New York at age 27 in August 1988 from AIDS-related complications.

• Ken Spain and Theodis Lee, starting frontcourters with All-American Elvin Hayes for Houston's team that entered the 1968 Final Four with an undefeated record, each died of cancer. Spain, who overcame cancer after he was first diagnosed with it in 1977, died of the disease 13 years later in October 1990 when he was 44. Lee, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters, was 33 when he passed away in March 1979, one week after the illness was diagnosed. Teammate Don Kruse, a center for the Cougars' national third-place team in 1967, died in the spring of 2004 at the age of 59.

• Dave Sorenson, second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer as a sophomore for Ohio State's national third-place team in 1968, died in 2002 at the age of 54 because of cancer.

• Herm Gilliam, leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for Purdue's 1969 national runner-up, died of a heart attack in 2005 at the age of 58.

• Maury John, national coach of the year in 1969 when directing Drake to a national third-place finish, died of cancer in 1974 at the age of 55. Guard Gary Zeller, the Bulldogs' sixth-leading scorer, died in 1996 at 48. Al Williams, the team's third-leading rebounder, died in summer of 2007 at 59 from liver cancer.

• UCLA's John Vallely scored a game-high 29 points in the Bruins' 1969 Final Four semifinal victory against Drake and collected 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 1970 NCAA championship game win against Jacksonville. His daughter, Erin, died of rhabdomyosarcoma (disease primarily found in children where cancer makes up cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles) in fall of 1991 at the age of 12.

• Steve Patterson, one of UCLA's top three rebounders for NCAA kingpins in 1970 and 1971 after serving as Lew Alcindor's understudy for another titlist in 1969, died in 2004 at the age of 56 because of lung cancer.

• Point guard Vaughn Wedeking, third-leading scorer for Jacksonville's 1970 runner-up, died in the summer of 2009 at the age of 60 after suffering from Alzheimer's for several years.

• New Mexico State backup guard Milton Horne, who averaged 4.4 ppg for 1970 national third-place team, died in 2001 at the age of 52.

• Howard Porter, Villanova's leading scorer and rebounder for 1971 runner-up, was trying to trade money and crack cocaine for sex with a prostitute in St. Paul in May 2007 when the probation officer was beaten to death at the age of 58, according to murder charges filed several months later.

• Pierre Russell, a starting forward for Kansas' 1971 fourth-place finisher, died in mid-June 1995 at the age of 45. Teammate Greg Douglas, a backup forward, passed away in 2005 at the age of 57.

• Reggie Royals, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer for Florida State's 1972 runner-up, passed away in mid-April 2009 at the age of 58.

• Forward Mike Lawhon, Louisville's third-leading scorer for the Cardinals' 1972 national fourth-place team, died in early April 2004 at the age of 53. Lawhon was an orthopedic surgeon who passed away while attending a medical conference.

• Larry Finch, Memphis State's leading scorer for 1973 runner-up, died in early April 2011 at the age of 60. Finch suffered the first of multiple strokes 10 years earlier. In early September 2014, his daughter (Shanae), suffering from Crohn's disease, collapsed and died at the age of 39. Teammate Ronnie Robinson, the Tigers' second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, passed away in early May 2004 at the age of 53 from congestive heart failure. Third-leading rebounder William "Wes" Westfall, a juco recruit, died at 54 in his hometown of St. Louis.

• Maurice Lucas, leading scorer and rebounder for Marquette's 1974 national runner-up, died in 2010 at the age of 58 from bladder cancer. Teammate Jerry Homan, a backup frontcourter, had a son, Luke, pass away in the fall of 2006 when the UW-LaCrosse student's body was recovered in the Mississippi River after last seen celebrating Oktoberfest (UW-L teammate Austin Scott was charged with two counts of obstructing officers for lying to authorities during the death investigation).

• Danny Knight, the leading scorer and rebounder for Kansas' 1974 Final Four team, was 24 when he died in June 1977, three weeks after sustaining injuries in a fall down the steps at his home. Knight had been suffering headaches for some time and doctors attributed his death to an aneurysm in the brain. Teammate Norm Cook, the Jayhawks' second-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer as a freshman, was 53 in 2008 when he died after suffering from paranoid schizophrenia most of his adult life.

• Dan Hall, a frontcourt backup from Kentucky's historic recruiting class as a freshman for UK's 1975 NCAA Tournament runner-up, died of an apparent suicide at age 58 the first full week in January 2013. Hall subsequently transferred to Marshall, where he averaged 10.4 ppg and 5.6 rpg in 1976-77 and 1977-78. UK teammate G.J. Smith, a reserve forward, died in late summer 2012 at the age of 59 because of a heart attack.

• Bob Parker, a backup center who scored a total of 14 points in two Final Four outings for Syracuse's 1975 national fourth-place team, passed away in January 2006 at the age of 51. Fellow reserve Larry Arrington perished from cancer in spring of 2013 at the age of 59.

• Mark Haymore, a member of Indiana's unbeaten club in 1976 before transferring to Massachusetts, died in late November 2004 at the age of 48. The frontcourter had a history of heart problems.

• John Robinson, Michigan's second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for 1976 runner-up, died in late September 2012 at the age of 56.

• The remains of former UCLA forward Gavin Smith, who scored 14 points for the third-place Bruins at the 1976 Final Four, were found in a rural desert area of Southern California in early November 2014. Police had been probing Smith's mysterious disappearance 2 1/2 years earlier. Smith, a 57-year-old movie executive for Fox, was driving a black 2000 four-door Mercedes E Class when he vanished at night. Most media outlets focus on Smith's connection to UCLA but he actually made a hoop name for himself playing with Hawaii, where he finished 16th in the nation in scoring in 1976-77 by setting a Rainbows' single-season record (23.4 points per game). Teammate Brett Vroman, a backup center for UCLA, had a son, Jackson, 34, found dead at the bottom of a friend's swimming pool in Hollywood in late June 2015 after previously playing for Iowa State.

• Center Jerome Whitehead, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Marquette's 1977 NCAA titlist, was 56 in mid-December 2012 when he was found dead because of chronic alcohol abuse. Teammate Gary Rosenberger, a guard who was the fourth-leading scorer in coach Al McGuire's swan song, passed away in the fall of 2013 at the age of 57 due to complications from a heart attack and stroke.

• Tom Zaliagiris, North Carolina's top reserve guard for 1977 runner-up, died in late January 2007 at the age of 50 because of a bacteria infection. Redshirt center Geoff Crompton, who went on to play in the NBA, died of leukemia in 2002 at the age of 46.

• Forward Glen Gondrezick, the leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for UNLV's 1977 third-place club, died in late April 2009 at the age of 53 due to complications stemming from a heart transplant he received the previous September. Teammate Lewis Brown, the third-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer for UNLV, spent more than 10 years homeless on the streets of Santa Monica, Calif., before passing away in mid-September 2011 at the age of 56. According to the New York Times, family members said the 6-11 center used cocaine with the Rebels. "Drugs were his downfall," said his sister. Murray State transfer Larry Moffett, UNLV's second-leading rebounder, passed away in early May 2011 in Shreveport, La., at the age of 56. He previously was a cab driver in Las Vegas.

• Guard Chad Kinch, the third-leading scorer for UNC Charlotte's 1977 national fourth-place team as a freshman, died at his parents' home in Cartaret, N.J., from complications caused by AIDS. He passed away at 35 on April 3, 1994, the day between the Final Four semifinals and final in Charlotte. The host school happened to be UNC Charlotte. It was the second time Kinch's parents lost a son. Sixteen years earlier, Ray Kinch, a Rutgers football player, was killed in a house fire. UNCC teammate Lew Massey, the 49ers' runner-up in scoring and rebounding, died in mid-January 2014 at the age of 57.

• Mike Phillips, the starting center for Kentucky's 1978 NCAA champion, died in late April 2015 at the age of 59 following a fall at his home.

• Point guard John Harrell, a point guard for Duke's 1978 runner-up after transferring from North Carolina Central, died of an aortal aneurysm at age 50 in the summer of 2008.

• Orlando Woolridge, a backup freshman in 1978 when Notre Dame made its lone Final Four appearance before he became a scoring specialist in 13 NBA seasons, died at the end of May 2012 at the age of 52 because of a chronic heart condition.

• Curtis Watkins, DePaul's second-leading scorer and rebounder for 1979 national third-place team, died in June 2008 at the age of 51 due to a blocked artery.

• Matt White, the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for Penn's 1979 Final Four squad as a senior, was fatally stabbed in mid-February 2013 by his wife, who told police she had caught him looking at child pornography. White, the Quakers' all-time leader in field-goal shooting (59.1%), was 55.

• Derek Smith, the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer as a sophomore forward for Louisville's 1980 NCAA champion, died of a heart ailment at age 34 on August 9, 1996, while on a cruise with his family. He was the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder for the Cardinals' 1982 Final Four team before averaging 12.8 ppg and 3.2 rpg in the NBA with five different franchises. His son, Nolan, became a starting guard for Duke's 2010 NCAA titlist.

• Drake Morris Jr., the 29-year-old son of the third-leading scorer for Purdue's 1980 national third-place team, was shot to death in northwest Indiana in the middle of the night in late August 2011.

• Iowa's Kenny Arnold, who battled cancer for more than 30 years after undergoing surgery for a malignant brain tumor in 1985, passed away in late April 2019 at the age of 59. Chicago native was the second-leading scorer (13.5 ppg as sophomore) and assists leader for the Hawkeyes' 1980 national fourth-place team coached by Lute Olson.

• Mike LaFave, a freshman forward on Indiana's titlist in 1981 before transferring to Ball State, died at age 46 from a sudden heart attack in 2009. Teammate Steve Bouchie passed away at age 59 from a heart attack during 2020 Fourth of July weekend.

• Center Greg Cook, third-leading rebounder and fifth-leading scorer for LSU's national fourth-place team in 1981, died in mid-March 2005 from congestive heart failure at the age of 46. Guard Mark Alcorn, a St. Louis transfer whose cancer was detected in late 1980 when the Tigers competed in Great Alaska Shootout, died in early 1982 at the age of 23. Assistant coach Rick Huckabay, who tagged along from high school with the Tigers' leading scorer (Howard Carter), died of cancer in 2006 at 60 after directing Marshall to the NCAA playoffs three times in a four-year span from 1984 through 1987.

• Cecil Exum, a member of North Carolina's 1982 NCAA titlist - coach Dean Smith's first national champion in his seventh Final Four - died in early July 2023 at the age of 60 after he was in intensive care with lung complications.

• Rob Williams, leading scorer for Houston's 1982 Final Four team, died of congestive heart failure at the age of 52 in March 2014 after suffering a stroke 15 years earlier that left him blind in his left eye and partially paralyzed on his left side. Williams denied rumors he was too high on cocaine to play up to par against North Carolina in the national semifinals (0-for-8 field-goal shooting). But Williams admitted he used drugs. "Cocaine came later but I started out smoking weed (in junior high)," Williams said. "I was always a curious type of fellow, so I wanted to see what cocaine was about. So I tried it. And to tell you the truth, I liked it."

• Lorenzo Charles, the second-leading rebounder for N.C. State's 1983 champion, provided one of the tourney's most memorable moments with a game-winning dunk against heavily-favored Houston in the final. Working for a limousine and bus company based in Apex, N.C., he was killed in June 2011 when the charter bus the 47-year-old was driving with no passengers aboard crashed along Interstate 40 in Raleigh. Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano also was 47 in the spring of 1993 when he passed away because of cancer. Backup forward Quinton Leonard died of a heart attack in the spring of 2006 at the age of 44.

• Renaldo Thomas, a member of Houston's Phi Slama Jama clubs finishing national runner-up in 1983 and 1984, died in 2021 at the age of 57.

• Lamar Heard, tri-captain and steals leader for Georgia's 1983 Final Four squad, was 55 when he died in 2017. Terry Fair, the Bulldogs' leading rebounder and second-leading scorer in their initial NCAA playoff appearance, perished in late January 2020 at the age of 59. Teammate Troy Hitchcock, a 7-2 freshman center who subsequently transferred home to Heidelberg (Ohio), passed away at 29 in early 1992.

• Michael Burrell, son of Michael Graham, second-leading rebounder for Georgetown's 1984 NCAA champion, died at 25 in June 2008 during a trip to an amusement park. Burrell, beset by a tumor on his brain according to doctors, began vomiting, then collapsed and hit his head on the pavement. First of children fathered with four different women was born when Graham was in high school.

• Melvin Turpin, the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder as a senior for Kentucky's 1984 Final Four team (29-5 record), was 49 and battling diabetes in July 2010 when he committed suicide with a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest. Teammate Bret Bearup, a backup forward, passed away in mid-May 2018 at 56.

• Kenton Edelin, top rebounder for Virginia's 1984 Final Four team the year after national player of the year Ralph Sampson graduated, died in late 2022 at the age of 60. Edelin suffered multiple strokes, causing significant brain trauma paralyzing the left side of his body.

• Baskerville Holmes, a starting forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for Memphis State's 1985 Final Four team, and his girlfriend were found shot to death on March 18, 1997 in an apparent murder-suicide in Memphis. He was 32.

• Swingman Don Redden, who averaged 13 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for Louisiana State's 1986 Final Four squad, was 24 when he died in March 1988 of heart disease.

• Keith Hughes, a backup forward as a freshman for Syracuse's 1987 runner-up before transferring to Rutgers, died suddenly at his N.J. home in February 2014 at the age of 45.

• Ernie "Pop" Lewis, a senior co-captain and three-point specialist for Providence in 1987, perished in early 2018 at age 51.

• Forward Daryl Thomas, second-leading scorer and rebounder for Indiana's 1987 titlist, died in late March 2018 at the age of 52 from a heart attack.

• Armon Gilliam, the leading scorer and rebounder for UNLV's 1987 Final Four team, died from a heart attack on July 5, 2011, at the age of 47 while playing basketball in a Pittsburgh area gym. Teammate Jarvis Basnight, runner-up in rebounding and blocked shots with the Rebels, passed away in spring of 2024 at the age of 59.

• Mike Masucci, a freshman backup center for Kansas' eventual 1988 champion dismissed from the Jayhawks before the tourney commenced and his subsequent transfer, died in January 2005 at the age of 36 from a heart attack.

• Demetrius Calip Sr., a backup guard for Michigan's 1989 titlist, died in early February of 2023 at the age of 53.

• Guard Phil Henderson, the leading scorer and senior captain of Duke's 1990 NCAA Tournament runner-up, died of cardiac arrest in mid-February 2013 at his home in the Philippines at the age of 44. He was the Blue Devils' second-leading scorer as a junior and sixth-leading scorer as a sophomore for two more Final Four squads.

• Larry Marks, a backup forward for Arkansas' 1990 Final Four squad after being a starter the previous season, died of an apparent heart attack in mid-June 2000 at the age of 33 after playing some recreational basketball. Teammates Lenzie Howell, Ron Huery and Oliver Miller died in their 50s. Howell, who garnered Midwest Regional MOP honors, passed away in summer of 2020 at 52. Huery, the Hogs' top player off the bench in 1990, died in early November 2022 in his hometown of Memphis at the age of 55. Miller, the Razorbacks' leader in rebounds, blocked shots and field-goal shooting, perished in mid-March 2025 at 54 following a battle with cancer.

• Sean Tunstall, a reserve guard for Kansas' 1991 NCAA Tournament runner-up was shot and killed at age 28 in the parking lot of a recreation center in his native St. Louis on October 16, 1997, in a drug deal gone bad. Tunstall, recruited to KU when Larry Brown was the Jayhawks' coach, had received a prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of selling cocaine in 1993. "He was one of the few kids I never thought I completely reached," then KU coach Roy Williams said. Power forward Chris Lindley, who signed with Kansas and would have been a freshman for the 1991 squad before having his right foot amputated in January 1990 after a train accident, died at 34 in mid-February 2007.

• Clifford Rozier, a backup freshman forward for North Carolina's 1991 Final Four team before transferring to Louisville and becoming an All-American as a junior in 1993-94, died of a heart attack at age 45 in summer of 2018 following years in a halfway house. UNC teammate Eric Montross, fourth-leading rebounder and sixth-leading scorer with the Tar Heels in 1991, died of cancer in mid-December of 2023 at the age of 52. Montross, a two-time All-American, was an All-NCAA Tournament team selection in 1993 as the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder for national titlist.

• Herb Jones, leading scorer and rebounder for Cincinnati's Final Four club in 1992, died in early December 2021 at the age of 51 after a battle with liver and lung cancer. Son of Nick Van Exel, UC's assists leader, was sentenced to 60 years in prison after arrest in Garland, Tex., in late December 2010 on a capital murder charge following the shotgun shooting slaying of his friend, whose body was wrapped in plastic and dumped along a nearby lake. Prosecutors contended that Nickey feared his friend would tell authorities of robberies the two committed earlier in the year.

• Eric Anderson, starting forward for Indiana's 1992 Final Four squad, died at 48 of natural causes following a bout with pneumonia in late 2018.

• Antonio "Tony" Moore, a backup forward for Duke's 1994 national runner-up, died in 2016 at 41.

• Ademola Okulaja, a starting forward for North Carolina's back-to-back Final Four teams in 1997 and 1998, died at the age of 46 in spring of 2022. A cancerous tumor was found on his spine in 2008.

• Peter Sauer, a captain and third-leading rebounder for Stanford's 1998 Final Four squad, was 35 in summer of 2012 when he collapsed during a recreation game in White Plains, N.Y., hit his head and never was revived. His father, Mark Sauer, is a former president of two pro franchises - the NHL's St. Louis Blues and MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates.

• Major Parker, a part-time starter for Florida's 2000 national runner-up, died in early November 2022 at the age of 44 from a heart-related issue.

• A 32-year-old brother of defensive stopper Byron Mouton, Maryland's fourth-leading scorer and rebounder for a 2001 Final Four team, was shot and killed in an apparent carjacking incident in Houston about one month into the next season. The Terrapins went on to capture the 2002 NCAA championship as the Tulane transfer finished as their third-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer. Earl Badu, a walk-on member of 2002 NCAA titlist, was in legal and financial trouble ($300,000 debt involving major Terps booster) in the years preceding his suicide at 33 in late September 2012 jumping from an eastern Baltimore overpass. Teammate Tahj Holden, a part-time starting center, had a three-year-old son (Max) perish from cancer in the spring of 2020.

• Stanley Robinson, third-leading rebounder for Connecticut's 2009 Final Four squad, died in summer of 2020 at the age of 32.

• Zachary Winston, a younger brother of Michigan State All-American playmaker Cassius Winston (2019 Final Four participant), died of suicide on November 9, 2019, when stepping in front of a westbound Amtrak train in Albion, Mich., where he was attending college.

• Reggie Chaney, an Arkansas transfer who was a part-time starter for Houston's 2021 Final Four club, died in late August 2023 at the age of 23 from a fentanyl overdose.

Although the event is in its ninth decade, there are attractive power school match-ups never to have occurred in NCAA Tournament. Long before we ever heard of coronavirus, the potentially entertaining intra-sectional playoff contests between storied programs never to take place in the NCAA playoffs included:

• Georgetown vs. Indiana
• Georgetown vs. Michigan
• Georgetown vs. UCLA
• Michigan vs. St. John's
• North Carolina vs. St. John's
• Notre Dame vs. St. John's
• Notre Dame vs. UCLA
• Notre Dame vs. Villanova
• St. John's vs. UCLA
• Syracuse vs. UCLA

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper to wipe butts of big George Soros-supported butt boys and girls, seeking translator to try to understand Plagiarist Biledumb or cowering in fetal position from liberal lunatic climate change claptrap while awaiting medical directive from deity Dr. Fraudci, it's your opportunity to start taking online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 18 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia.com's year-by-year highlights):

1. Who is the only major-college coach to finish his career with more than 500 victories and never participate in the NCAA playoffs? Hint: The coach spent his entire four-year school coaching career at one institution and had nine consecutive winning seasons at Division I level from 1972-73 through 1980-81.

2. Who is the only player to average more than 26 points per game for an undefeated NCAA champion before averaging less than five points per game in his NBA career? Hint: He averaged the same number of points in NCAA Tournament as he did for entire season.

3. Who is the only coach to win three national third-place games? Hint: No coach accumulated as many different All-Americans as he did (16) in his first 20 campaigns at a single school.

4. Who is the only former major-college player to score more than 23,000 points in the NBA after never participating in the NCAA Tournament or NIT? Hint: His alma mater returned to small-college status after being at the Division I level for more than 50 years but never appearing in NCAA playoffs or NIT.

5. Of the 10 different players to compile season scoring averages of more than 23 points per game for a national champion, who is the only individual in this group to tally fewer than 40 points in two games at the Final Four? Hint: His team won both Final Four games that year by a minimum of 20 points.

6. Who is the only individual to coach a team to the Final Four after becoming an NCAA consensus first-team All-American and NBA first-round draft choice? Hint: He joined Chet Walker and Bob Love as 20-points-per-game scorers for the Chicago Bulls in 1969-70 after becoming the first African-American to earn a league MVP while attending Southern school.

7. Who is the only national player of the year to score less than 10 points when his school was eliminated in a Final Four contest the same season? Hint: He averaged more than 25 points per game in his four previous playoff contests that year.

8. Name the only Final Four team to have as many as six players still on its roster with double-digit season scoring averages. Hint: All six individuals played in the NBA as did another player on squad who averaged eight points per game.

9. Who is the only All-Tournament selection to finish his college playing career at another major university? Hint: His brother was a wide receiver for a Super Bowl champion.

10. Who is the only leading scorer for a Final Four team to also play for the school's football squad in a New Year's Day bowl game and win a silver medal in the Olympics as a high jumper? Hint: The Olympics climaxed a superb academic school year for the versatile athlete who won NCAA high jump crown and led his school's football and basketball teams in scoring. He also appeared in the first two NBA All-Star Games.

Answers (Day 18)
Day 17 Questions and Answers
Day 16 Questions and Answers
Day 15 Questions and Answers
Day 14 Questions and Answers
Day 13 Questions and Answers
Day 12 Questions and Answers
Day 11 Questions and Answers
Day 10 Questions and Answers
Day 9 Questions and Answers
Day 8 Questions and Answers
Day 7 Questions and Answers
Day 6 Questions and Answers
Day 5 Questions and Answers
Day 4 Questions and Answers
Day 3 Questions and Answers
Day 2 Questions and Answers
Day 1 Questions and Answers

UCLA (six; four from NCAA Tournament champions in 1960s), Illinois (five) and Kansas (four) are the schools with most All-Americans born this month. North Carolina (April 4) and Ohio State (April 8) each had two All-Americans born on the same day. April 9 is the day to celebrate the most birthdays this month for former All-Americans. It's not an April Fool's joke that California's Andy Wolfe was born 100 years ago on that day. Following are birthdates in April for All-Americans and Hall of Fame coaches:

APRIL

1: All-Americans Joel Berry II (born in 1995/attended North Carolina), Bobby Cook (1923/Wisconsin), Mark Jackson (1965/St. John's), Brook Lopez (1988/Stanford) and Etan Thomas (1978/Syracuse).
2: All-Americans Jules Bender (1914/LIU), Jim McDaniels (1948/Western Kentucky) and Les Witte (1911/Wyoming).
3: All-Americans Pervis Ellison (1967/Louisville) and Frank Mason III (1994/Kansas).
4: All-Americans Bill Bridges (1939/Kansas), Bill Garrett (1929/Indiana), Frank Kaminsky (1993/Wisconsin), Sean May (1984/North Carolina), Larry Miller (1946/North Carolina) and George Senesky (1922/St. Joseph's).
5: All-Americans Duane "Skip" Thoren (1943/Illinois) and Scottie Wilbekin (1993/Florida) plus Hall of Fame coaches Alvin "Doggie" Julian (1901/bench boss at Muhlenberg PA, Holy Cross and Dartmouth) and John McLendon (1915/North Carolina Central, Hampton, Tennessee State, Kentucky State and Cleveland State).
6: All-Americans John Shumate (1952/Notre Dame) and Melford "Mel" Waits (1918/Tarkio MO).
7: All-Americans Vinnie Cohen (1936/Syracuse), Dwight "Bo" Lamar (1951/Southwestern Louisiana) and Don Smith (1946/Iowa State).
8: All-Americans Robin Freeman (1934/Ohio State), John Havlicek (1940/Ohio State) and Jimmy Walker (1944/Providence).
9: All-Americans John Adams (1917/Arkansas), Paul Arizin (1928/Villanova), Allen Crabbe (1992/California), Bruce Douglas (1964/Illinois), Greg "Bo" Kimble (1966/Loyola Marymount), Stan Love (1949/Oregon), Kyle Macy (1957/Kentucky), Jack Nichols (1926/Washington) and Jim O'Brien (1950/Boston College).
10: All-Americans Joe Gibbon (1935/Mississippi), Paul Judson (1934/Illinois), Charles "Stretch" Murphy (1907/Purdue), Ferdinand "Fred" Pralle (1916/Kansas) and Terry Teagle (1960/Baylor).
11: All-American LeRoy "Cowboy" Edwards (1914/Kentucky).
12: All-Americans Larry Cannon (1947/La Salle), Dave Scholz (1948/Illinois) and Tyshawn Taylor (1990/Kansas).
13: All-Americans Jim "Bad News" Barnes (1941/Texas Western), Baron Davis (1979/UCLA), Alec Peters (1995/Valparaiso) and Marvin Webster (1952/Morgan State).
14: All-Americans Leo Byrd (1937/Marshall), Larry Friend (1935/California), Joe Hobbs (1936/Florida), Mark Macon (1969/Temple) and Stan Modzelewski (1920/Rhode Island State) plus HOF coach Ken Loeffler (1902/Yale, Denver, La Salle and Texas A&M).
15: All-Americans Rodney Carney (1984/Memphis), Michael Cooper (1956/New Mexico), Walt Hazzard (1942/UCLA), Filip Petrusev (2000/Gonzaga) and Anthony Roberts (1955/Oral Roberts).
16: All-Americans Lew Alcindor (1947/UCLA), Wendell Hudson (1951/Alabama), Rodney Monroe (1968/North Carolina State) and Walt Williams (1970/Maryland).
17: All-Americans Cleanthony Early (1991/Wichita State) and Horace Walker (1937/Michigan State) plus HOF coach John Kresse (1943/College of Charleston).
18: All-Americans Michael Bradley (1979/Villanova), Don Ohl (1936/Illinois), Don Otten (1921/Bowling Green State) and Caleb Swanigan (1997/Purdue).
19: All-Americans Lew Beck (1922/Oregon State), Keith Erickson (1944/UCLA), Mike Evans (1955/Kansas State), Jack Foley (1939/Holy Cross), Dalton Knecht (2001/Tennessee), Kelly Olynyk (1991/Gonzaga) and Russ Smith (1991/Louisville).
20: All-Americans Henry "Hank" Finkel (1942/Dayton), Allan Houston (1971/Tennessee) and Lamond Murray (1973/California).
21: All-Americans Gary Grant (1965/Michigan), Chuck Mencel (1933/Minnesota), Dave Meyers (1953/UCLA) and Bob Patterson (1932/Tulsa).
22: All-Americans DeJuan Blair (1989/Pittsburgh), Bill Garnett (1960/Wyoming), Spencer Haywood (1949/Detroit) and Dennis Hopson (Ohio State).
23: All-Americans John Bagley (1960/Boston College), Gail Goodrich (1943/UCLA), Bobby Joe Mason (1936/Bradley) and Mike Novak (1915/Loyola of Chicago).
24: All-Americans Ernie Grunfeld (1955/Tennessee) and Hank Stein (1936/Xavier).
25: All-Americans Charles Cleveland (1951/Alabama), Dave Corzine (1956/DePaul), Tim Duncan (1976/Wake Forest) and John McCarthy (1934/Canisius).
26: All-Americans Bob Boozer (1937/Kansas State), Dick Ives (1924/Iowa), Tristen Newton (2001/Connecticut) and Delon Wright (1992/Utah).
27: All-American Courtney Alexander (1977/Fresno State).
28: All-Americans John Fairchild (1943/Brigham Young), Paul Hogue (1940/Cincinnati), Josh Howard (1980/Wake Forest) and Flynn Robinson (1941/Wyoming).
29: All-American Andy Wolfe (1925/California).
30: All-Americans Paul Lindemann (1918/Washington State), Isiah Thomas (1961/Indiana) and Brandon Joel "B.J." Tyler (1971/Texas) plus Hall of Fame coach Rick Byrd (1953/Belmont).

Birthdays in January for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in February for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in March for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in April for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in May for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in June for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in July for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in August for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in September for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in October for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in November for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in December for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper for George Soros butt-boy attorneys in New York and elsewhere, seeking translator to interpret bumbling Plagiarist Biledumb or cowering in fetal position from climate change or Dr. Fraudci directive, it's your opportunity to take online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 17 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia.com's year-by-year highlights):

1. Which school had the only trio to each score at least 20 points in two Final Four games? Hint: All three players finished their college careers with more than 2,000 points and were on roster the next year when school lost its playoff opener. The school is only national runner-up to score more than 85 points in an NCAA final.

2. Name the only school to have three players score more than 20 points in a Final Four game. Hint: The school lost championship game that year by more than 20 points although score was tied at halftime.

3. Who is the only player to score 40 or more points in a Final Four game and not eventually play in the NBA? Hint: He was held under 10 points in his other Final Four game that year.

4. Who is the only coach to go more than 40 years from his first to his last appearance in the playoffs? Hint: He and his son, who succeeded him, both compiled a losing tourney record.

5. Who is the only player to compile an NBA playoff scoring average more than 15 points per game higher than his NCAA Tournament average? Hint: He scored just six points in his NCAA playoff debut against a school participating in the tourney for just second time.

6. Who is the only player to lead an NCAA tournament in scoring with more than 120 points and not eventually play in the NBA? Hint: He averaged 32.3 points per game in his three-year college career.

7. Who is the only player from 1957 through 1996 to lead a tournament in rebounding and not eventually play in the NBA? Hint: His school was making just its second tourney appearance the year he led in rebounding.

8. Who is the only non-guard to be the undisputed leading scorer of an NCAA Tournament and not participate in the Final Four? Hint: He never played in the NBA.

9. Who is the first coach to make more than a dozen NCAA playoff appearances before reaching the Final Four? Hint: He was coach of the first team to win national championship in its first Final Four appearance since Texas Western in 1966.

10. Who is the only player to take more than 40 field-goal attempts in a playoff game his team lost? Hint: The guard was the nation's leading scorer with more than 36 points per game for only school to reach national semifinals of a small-college tournament one year and participate in NCAA Tournament the next season.

Answers (Day 17)
Day 16 Questions and Answers
Day 15 Questions and Answers
Day 14 Questions and Answers
Day 13 Questions and Answers
Day 12 Questions and Answers
Day 11 Questions and Answers
Day 10 Questions and Answers
Day 9 Questions and Answers
Day 8 Questions and Answers
Day 7 Questions and Answers
Day 6 Questions and Answers
Day 5 Questions and Answers
Day 4 Questions and Answers
Day 3 Questions and Answers
Day 2 Questions and Answers
Day 1 Questions and Answers

For the 15th straight tourney, at least one team reached the Final Four after losing at least one vital player who could have still been eligible if not defecting the previous year to make himself available for the NBA draft or turn pro overseas. Duke is favorite this campaign despite losing guard Jared McCain (after freshman year) and center Kyle Filipowski (sophomore) to the 2024 NBA draft. Conceptually, the Blue Devils' roster could also have included forward Paolo Banchero (freshman in 2022), forward AJ Griffin (freshman in 2022), guard Trevor Keels (freshman in 2022), center Dereck Lively II (freshman in 2023) and forward Dariq Whitehead (freshman in 2023). Keels and Whitehead have been spare parts in the NBA while Griffin departed to pursue full-time ministry for Christianity.

On paper, Auburn (Jabari Smith in 2022) and Houston (Jarace Walker in 2023) also lost prize freshmen who could have still been eligible. Smith has been a double-digit scorer each season with the Houston Rockets while Walker has been a backup for the Indiana Pacers.

Among schools losing a prominent undergraduate early, UConn a couple of years ago (after losing guard James Bouknight) joined Kentucky '98) (Ron Mercer), Duke '10 (Gerald Henderson) and UK '12 (Brandon Knight) as the only teams still capturing a crown sans such a standout early departure. In a once-in-a-lifetime achievement, UK returned to the national semifinals in 2011 after losing five undergraduates who became NBA first-round draft choices.

The Final Four has had at least one team arrive after losing a prominent undergraduate to the NBA draft 22 times in the last 23 tourneys. Following is a list of the 45 squads unfazed by the early loss of key player(s) who left college the previous year with eligibility still remaining:

Try, try again! History repeats itself but can take longer than anyone wants or expects. For instance, the hoop-obsessed triangle including Indiana, Kentucky and Louisville is absent from the NCAA Final Four nine consecutive tournaments for the first time in history since UK was there in 2015. Nonetheless, it isn't anywhere close to a source of tourney frustration between Final Four appearances for this year's participants. Duke (three years ago), Houston (four), Auburn (six) and Florida (11) each returned to the national semifinals in a timely fashion (total of 22 years if discard COVID-condemned 2020).

Four seasons ago, Baylor participated in the Final Four for the first time since 1950. The Bears' 71-year absence between national semifinal appearances is exceeded only by Oregon (78). Houston is among the following 15 institutions going more than 35 years before returning to the Promised Land at some point in their history:

Duke freshman All-American forward Cooper Flagg is the leading scorer at this season's Final Four with 19 ppg. Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer was the top such point producer entering the 2010 national semifinals. Flagg is the first yearling in this category since Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony in 2002-03.

Last year, Purdue's Zach Edey (25 ppg) had an opportunity to become the first player in more than 70 years to pace the country in scoring for an NCAA champion but the Boilermakers bowed in the championship contest against Connecticut. Edey and Oklahoma's Buddy Hield (25.4 ppg in 2016) are the only players to average at least 25 ppg for a Final Four participant since Georgia Tech's Dennis Scott (27.7 in 1989-90).

Hield 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 four years ago, served as sheriff of Vigo County in his native Indiana (noted for raid on Terre Haute brothels). Edey aspired to "raid" 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).

Only two other Final Four players notched higher scoring averages than Edey, Hield and Scott 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 until Edey supplied 57. Flagg joined the following list of individuals in the last 34 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 (Class)	School	Average	Final Four's Two-Game Top Scorer
1989-90	Dennis Scott (Jr.)	Georgia Tech	27.7 ppg	Duke's Phil Henderson/UNLV's Anderson Hunt (49 points)
1990-91	Larry Johnson (Sr.)	UNLV	22.7 ppg	Duke's Christian Laettner (46 points)
1991-92	Christian Laettner (Sr.)	Duke	21.5 ppg	Duke's Bobby Hurley (35 points)
1992-93	Jamal Mashburn (Jr.)	Kentucky	21.0 ppg	Michigan's Chris Webber/ UNC's Donald Williams (50 points)
1993-94	Khalid Reeves (Sr.)	Arizona	24.2 ppg	Arkansas' Corliss Williamson (52 points)
1994-95	Bryant Reeves (Sr.)	Oklahoma State	21.5 ppg	UCLA's Ed O'Bannon (45 points)
1995-96	John Wallace (Sr.)	Syracuse	22.2 ppg	Wallace (50 points)
1996-97	Antawn Jamison (Soph.)	North Carolina	19.1 ppg	Arizona's Miles Simon (54 points)
1997-98	Antawn Jamison (Jr.)	North Carolina	22.2 ppg	Kentucky's Jeff Sheppard (43 points)
1998-99	Richard Hamilton (Jr.)	Connecticut	21.5 ppg	Hamilton (51 points)
1999-00	Morris Peterson (Sr.)	Michigan State	16.8 ppg	Peterson (41 points)
2000-01	Jay Williams (Soph.)	Duke	21.6 ppg	Duke's Shane Battier (43 points)
2001-02	Juan Dixon (Sr.)	Maryland	20.4 ppg	Dixon (51 points)
2002-03	Carmelo Anthony (Fr.)	Syracuse	22.2 ppg	Anthony (53 points)
2003-04	Ben Gordon (Jr.)	Connecticut	18.5 ppg	UConn's Emeka Okafor (42 points)
2004-05	Sean May (Jr.)	North Carolina	17.5 ppg	May (48 points)
2005-06	Glen Davis (Soph.)	Louisiana State	18.6 ppg	Florida's Lee Humphrey (34 points)
2006-07	Arron Affalo (Jr.)	UCLA	16.9 ppg	Ohio State's Greg Oden (38 points)
2007-08	Tyler Hansbrough (Jr.)	North Carolina	22.6 ppg	Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts (50 points)
2008-09	Tyler Hansbrough (Sr.)	North Carolina	20.7 ppg	UNC's Ty Lawson (43 points)
2009-10	Jon Scheyer (Sr.)	Duke	18.2 ppg	Duke's Kyle Singler (40 points)
2010-11	Kemba Walker (Jr.)	Connecticut	23.5 ppg	Butler's Shelvin Mack (37 points)
2011-12	Thomas Robinson (Jr.)	Kansas (Jr.)	17.7 ppg	Robinson (37 points)
2012-13	Russ Smith (Jr.)	Louisville (Jr.)	18.7 ppg	Louisville's Luke Hancock (42 points)
2013-14	Shabazz Napier (Sr.)	Connecticut	18.0 ppg	Kentucky's James Young (37 points)
2014-15	Frank Kaminsky (Sr.)	Wisconsin	18.8 ppg	Kaminsky (41 points)
2015-16	Buddy Hield (Sr.)	Oklahoma	25.4 ppg	Villanova's Josh Hart (35 points)
2016-17	Sindarius Thornwell (Sr.)	South Carolina	21.6 ppg	UNC's Justin Jackson/Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss (38 points)
2017-18	Jalen Brunson (Jr.)	Villanova	19.2 ppg	Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo (46 points)
2018-19	Jarrett Culver (Soph.)	Texas Tech	18.9 ppg	Virginia's De'Andre Hunter (41 points)
2018-19	Cassius Winston (Jr.)	Michigan State	18.9 ppg	Virginia's De'Andre Hunter (41 points)
2020-21	Drew Timme (Soph.)	Gonzaga	19 ppg	Baylor's Jared Butler (39 points)
2021-22	Ochai Agbaji (Sr.)	Kansas	18.9 ppg	Kansas' David McCormack (40 points)
2022-23	Adama Sanogo (Jr.)	Connecticut	17.1 ppg	Sanogo (38 points)
2023-24	Zach Edey (Sr.)	Purdue	25 ppg	Edey (57 points)
2024-25	Cooper Flagg (Fr.)	Duke	19 ppg	TBD

Duke's Jon Scheyer, in his third campaign as successor to legendary Mike Krzyzewski, and Florida's Todd Golden, in his sixth season as an NCAA Division I head coach (third with the Gators after three at San Francisco), are the fourth and fifth mentors in the last four years to reach the Final Four for the first time with fewer than seven years of head-coaching experience.

Three Final Four coaching newbies were at the Final Four a year ago for the second straight season. All four coaches last year could have been Final Four newcomers if Rodney Terry's Texas squad didn't squander a 10-point lead midway through the second half in regional final against Miami (Fla.). The last time all four coaches were F4 newbies was in 1959 (California's Pete Newell/West Virginia's Fred Schaus/Cincinnati's George Smith/Louisville's Peck Hickman). Last year marked the first time since 1979 for multiple coaches to make their F4 debuts with fewer than seven seasons of experience as a Division I head coach.

Hubert Davis realized coaching nirvana as rookie head coach by reaching national semifinals in inaugural campaign three years ago similar to fellow North Carolina mentor Bill Guthridge in 1998. In the previous 60 years, the F4 college rookie class also includes Steve Fisher (Michigan interim in 1989), Larry Brown (UCLA in 1980), Bill Hodges (Indiana State in 1979) and Gary Thompson (Wichita in 1965). Kansas State's Jerome Tang could have joined group but the Wildcats were upset in 2023 regional final by Florida Atlantic.

Final Four debuts were a long time coming the previous decade for Dana Altman (Oregon), Mark Few (Gonzaga) and Big Ten Conference coaches John Beilein (Michigan) and Bo Ryan (Wisconsin). Since the start of the NCAA Tournament in 1939, no coach ever took longer in his four-year college career to reach the DI Final Four than Beilein (31 seasons; 21 at major-college level). Ryan (30) and Altman (28) joined five other coaches to take more than Matt Painter's 20 years at Purdue to achieve the milestone - Jim Calhoun (27), Dick Bennett (24), Gary Williams (23), Jim Larranaga (22 with George Mason) and Norm Sloan (22).

There was at least one fresh face among bench bosses at the national semifinals all but once (1993) in a 27-year span from 1985 through 2011. Connecticut's Kevin Ollie joined Indiana's Mike Davis and VCU's Shaka Smart as coaches only in their second campaign to steer squads to the Final Four in the 21st Century. Golden and Scheyer joined the following list of coaches advancing to the Final Four for first time since legendary John Wooden's first F4 in 1962 in his 14th campaign at UCLA (in reverse order):

• 2025 - Todd Golden (Florida/6th season as head coach) and Jon Scheyer (Duke/3rd).
• 2024 - Kevin Keatts (North Carolina State/10th), Nate Oats (Alabama/9th) and Matt Painter (Purdue/20th).
• 2023 - Brian Dutcher (San Diego State/6th), Danny Hurley* (Connecticut/13th) and Dusty May (Florida Atlantic/4th).
• 2022 - Hubert Davis (North Carolina/1st).
• 2021 - Mick Cronin (UCLA/18th) and Scott Drew (Baylor/19th).
• 2019 - Chris Beard (Texas Tech/7th season overall and fourth with DI school at four-year college level), Tony Bennett (Virginia/13th) and Bruce Pearl* (Auburn/24th overall and 15th at DI).
• 2018 - Porter Moser (Loyola of Chicago/15th).
• 2017 - Dana Altman (Oregon/28th), Mark Few* (Gonzaga/18th) and Frank Martin (South Carolina/10th).
• 2016 - All returnees.
• 2015 - All returnees.
• 2014 - Kevin Ollie (Connecticut/2nd) and Bo Ryan* (Wisconsin/30th).
• 2013 - John Beilein* (Michigan/21st at major-college level and 31st overall) and Gregg Marshall (Wichita State/15th).
• 2012 - All returnees.
• 2011 - Shaka Smart (Virginia Commonwealth/2nd).
• 2010 - Brad Stevens* (Butler/3rd).
• 2009 - Jay Wright* (Villanova/15th).
• 2008 - Bill Self* (Kansas/15th).
• 2007 - Thad Matta* (Ohio State/7th) and John Thompson III (Georgetown/7th).
• 2006 - John Brady (Louisiana State/15th), Ben Howland* (UCLA/12th) and Jim Larranaga* (George Mason/22nd).
• 2005 - Bruce Weber (Illinois/6th).
• 2004 - Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech/7th).
• 2003 - Rick Barnes (Texas/16th) and Tom Crean (Marquette/4th).
• 2002 - Mike Davis (Indiana/2nd) and Kelvin Sampson* (Oklahoma/20th).
• 2001 - Gary Williams* (Maryland/23rd).
• 2000 - Dick Bennett (Wisconsin/24th) and Billy Donovan* (Florida/6th).
• 1999 - Jim Calhoun* (Connecticut/27th), Tom Izzo* (Michigan State/4th) and Jim O'Brien (Ohio State/17th).
• 1998 - Bill Guthridge* (North Carolina/1st), Rick Majerus (Utah/14th) and Tubby Smith (Kentucky/7th).
• 1997 - Clem Haskins (Minnesota/17th).
• 1996 - John Calipari* (Massachusetts/8th) and Richard Williams (Mississippi State/10th).
• 1995 - Jim Harrick (UCLA/16th).
• 1994 - Lon Kruger* (Florida/12th).
• 1993 - All returnees.
• 1992 - Bob Huggins* (Cincinnati/8th at major-college level and 11th overall).
• 1991 - Roy Williams* (Kansas/3rd).
• 1990 - Bobby Cremins (Georgia Tech/15th) and Nolan Richardson* (Arkansas/10th).
• 1989 - P.J. Carlesimo (Seton Hall/14th) and Steve Fisher* (Michigan/1st).
• 1988 - Billy Tubbs (Oklahoma/12th at major-college level and 14th overall).
• 1987 - Jim Boeheim* (Syracuse/11th) and Rick Pitino* (Providence/7th).
• 1986 - Mike Krzyzewski* (Duke/11th).
• 1985 - Lou Carnesecca (St. John's/17th), Dana Kirk (Memphis State/9th season at major-college level and 14th overall) and Rollie Massimino (Villanova/12th season at major-college level and 14th overall).
• 1984 - All returnees.
• 1983 - Jim Valvano (North Carolina State/11th at major-college level and 12th overall).
• 1982 - John Thompson Jr.* (Georgetown/9th).
• 1981 - Dale Brown* (Louisiana State/9th) and Terry Holland* (Virginia/12th).
• 1980 - Larry Brown* (UCLA/1st) and Robert "Lute" Olson* (Iowa/7th).
• 1979 - George "Jud" Heathcote (Michigan State/8th), Bill Hodges (Indiana State/1st) and Bob Weinhauer (Penn/2nd).
• 1978 - Bill E. Foster (Duke/18th), Richard "Digger" Phelps (Notre Dame/8th) and Eddie Sutton* (Arkansas/9th).
• 1977 - Lee Rose* (UNC Charlotte/2nd at major-college level and 10th overall) and Jerry Tarkanian* (UNLV/9th).
• 1976 - Johnny Orr (Michigan/11th) and Tom Young (Rutgers/16th).
• 1975 - Joe B. Hall* (Kentucky/6th at major-college level and 9th overall) and Roy Danforth (Syracuse/7th).
• 1974 - Al McGuire* (Marquette/10th at major-college level and 17th overall) and Norm Sloan (North Carolina State/18th at major-college level and 22nd overall).
• 1973 - Bobby "Gene" Bartow* (Memphis State/3rd at major-college level and 12th overall), Dave Gavitt (Providence/6th) and Bob Knight* (Indiana/8th).
• 1972 - Denny Crum* (Louisville/1st) and Hugh Durham* (Florida State/6th).
• 1971 - Jack Kraft (Villanova/10th), John Oldham (Western Kentucky/16th) and Ted Owens* (Kansas/7th).
• 1970 - Lou Henson* (New Mexico State/8th), Larry Weise (St. Bonaventure/9th) and Joe Williams (Jacksonville/4th at major-college level and 6th overall).
• 1969 - Maury John (Drake/11th) and George King (Purdue/9th at major-college level and 10th overall).
• 1968 - All returnees.
• 1967 - Don Donoher (Dayton/3rd), Guy Lewis* (Houston/11th) and Dean Smith* (North Carolina/6th).
• 1966 - Don Haskins (Texas Western/5th).
• 1965 - Gary Thompson (Wichita/1st) and Willem "Butch" van Breda Kolff (Princeton/7th at major-college level and 14th overall).
• 1964 - Dave Strack* (Michigan/5th).
• 1963 - Vic Bubas* (Duke/4th) and George Ireland (Loyola of Chicago/12th).
• 1962 - Horace "Bones" McKinney (Wake Forest/5th) and John Wooden* (UCLA/14th at major-college level and 16th overall).

*Subsequently returned to the Final Four.

Several foreign standouts - Duke center Khaman Maluach (Sudan), Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis (Lithuania) and BYU guard Egor Demin (Russia) - were standouts for NCAA Tournament teams and are projected to be eventual mid-first round selections in NBA draft. But none of them were anointed as an All-American this season. They failed to join the following alphabetical list of more than 40 hoop-prince All-Americans spending most or all of their formative years in a country beyond U.S. borders:

*Named National Player of the Year.

First things first! This admonition for handful of prominent schools is finally winning an NCAA playoff regional semifinal game. Nebraska didn't get out of starter's block again last year while Mississippi and Texas A&M failed to capitalize on an opportunity to erase that resume blemish this year. The Aggies made a herculean comeback against #1 seed Houston last year before losing in overtime, nixing trip to Sweet 16 and possibly advance to initial "Elite Eight." Did back-to-back frustration, along with pending roster overhaul, trigger coach Buzz Williams to leave A&M for Maryland, which advanced to back-to-back Final Fours in 2001 and 2002?

Some fans hate that their university never has been in a position to secure one more victory and reach the Final Four love-fest. The Rebels and Aggies are among a total of six existing power-conference members failing to advance to an NCAA Tournament regional final. The frustration list included Miami (Fla.) before the Hurricanes left dubious list with Midwest Regional success at 2022 party. Combining for 84 NCAA playoff appearances (including 2025) and 62-76 record (.449), following is an alphabetical list of the half-dozen "Elite Eight" no-shows from top six leagues:

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper to wipe George Soros flunky Alvin Bragg's attorney butt, seeking translator to try to understand Plagiarist Biledumb or cowering in fetal position from listening to #TheView's self-anointed vixens, it's your opportunity to start taking online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.

We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 13 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia.com's year-by-year highlights):

1. Who is the only team-leading scorer of a Final Four team to go scoreless when the school was eliminated from championship contention at the national semifinals? Hint: He was a center who along with four teammates averaged between 11 and 12.5 points per game.

2. Who is the only player to twice lead the nation in scoring average while playing for teams advancing to the Final Four? Hint: He is the only team-leading scorer to twice be more than 10 points below his season scoring mark when his school was eliminated at the Final Four.

3. Name the only school to lose two national championship games by at least 18 points after leading the finals at halftime. Hint: The two opponents, 17 years apart, combined to win 66 of 68 games those seasons.

4. Name the only school to make as many as eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from the year it participated in the event for the first time. Hint: The school's last playoff victory wasn't during this streak, but it later handed UCLA its first West Regional defeat in 14 years.

5. Name the only school to lose as many as 15 opening-round games in the NCAA Tournament. Hint: The university also lost a first-round game in 1984 after winning a qualifying round contest when playoff field was 53 teams.

6. Who is the only athlete to collect more than 3,000 major league hits, including 465 homers, after playing the entire basketball game for a school when it appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Hint: The outfielder appeared in 12 All-Star Games and two World Series after never playing in minors.

7. Who is the only player to have a single-digit point total in a national semifinal game and then increase his output by more than 20 points in the championship game? Hint: The center for two years between two three-time consensus first-team All-Americans shot just over 40% from the floor for the season entering title game where he had a game-high and career-high point total.

8. Who is the only player to have a decrease of more than 25 points from his national semifinal game scoring total to his championship game output? Hint: He was a member of the first undefeated NCAA champion and subsequently became an NBA first-round draft choice.

9. Name the only school to defeat two eventual Final Four teams by double-digit margins in their conference tournament. Hint: The school was handily eliminated in the NCAA playoffs by one of the two Final Four teams it decisively defeated in their league tourney.

10. Name the only school to reach the NCAA championship game in back-to-back seasons it was defeated by double-digit margins in its conference tournament. Hint: The school swept its home-and-home series in regular-season conference competition against the teams defeating it in league tourney.

Answers (Day 13)
Day 12 Questions and Answers
Day 11 Questions and Answers
Day 10 Questions and Answers
Day 9 Questions and Answers
Day 8 Questions and Answers
Day 7 Questions and Answers
Day 6 Questions and Answers
Day 5 Questions and Answers
Day 4 Questions and Answers
Day 3 Questions and Answers
Day 2 Questions and Answers
Day 1 Questions and Answers