Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 6 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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's year-by-year highlights):

1. Who was the only player to lead the nation in scoring average in the same season he played for a team reaching the NCAA Tournament championship game? Hint: He was the first player to score more than 30 points in a Final Four game and the only individual to crack the 30-point plateau in national semifinals and final in same season. He was also the only Big Eight Conference player to lead nation in scoring.

2. Of the 60 or so different players to score at least 2,500 points and/or rank among the top 25 in career scoring average, who was the only one to have a winning NCAA playoff record in his career plus post higher scoring, rebounding and field-goal shooting playoff averages than he compiled in regular season? Hint: The player scored at least 17 points in all 10 of his NCAA playoff games.

3. Who was the only football Heisman Trophy winner to play in the basketball Final Four? Hint: He won the Most Outstanding Player Award in a Liberty Bowl after setting a school record for longest run from scrimmage.

4. What was the only Final Four match-up to have both coaches opposing his alma mater? Hint: It's happened twice. The protege was an assistant at his alma mater for 10 years.

5. Who is the only coach to oppose his alma mater more than twice at the Final Four? Hint: He is also the only coach in the 20th Century to twice win conference and NCAA tournaments in same year.

6. Who is the only unbeaten coach in NCAA playoff history? Hint: He is the only NCAA basketball championship coach to also be baseball coach at the same school when it won a College World Series game.

7. Who was the only coach with more than 30 NCAA Tournament victories to earn those wins at more than one school until Lute Olson (Iowa and Arizona) joined him in 1998? Hint: Three schools for the first coach were slapped with an NCAA probation during his stints there.

8. Who is the only coach in back-to-back years to win at least one NCAA playoff game in his first season with two different schools? He coached Butler the previous campaign. Hint: He was an assistant under three coaches who directed two different schools to the NCAA Tournament (Charlie Coles, Tates Locke and Herb Sendek).

9. Name the only school to gain an at-large invitation despite losing all of its conference road games. Hint: Three years earlier, the school received an at-large bid despite losing four league road games by at least 25 points.

10. Of the individuals to both play and coach in the NCAA Tournament, who leads that group in both scoring and rebounding totals? Hint: He was the leading scorer in biggest blowout in regional final history.

Answers (Day 6)

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

North Carolina A&T State appeared in the NCAA playoffs the most times (nine) without winning a tournament game until prevailing in a First Four outing earlier this decade. But N.C. A&T still has a long way to go to join the ranks of "quick-exit" schools such as St. John's and Temple. This season, the Johnnies exhibited all the frailty of a club completely unworthy of an at-large berth.

Connecticut, after absorbing nine opening-round losses in 17 years from 1951 through 1967, had the most opening-round setbacks for an extended period. But the Huskies didn't incur an opening-round reversal for 28 years until suffering two in a recent five-year span. Similarly, St. John's suffered eight opening-round losses in a 20-year stretch from 1973 through 1992.

Maryland was the first school to incur at least 10 NCAA Tournament defeats but never absorb an opening-round setback until the Terrapins lost to Santa Clara in 1996. Mizzou's mauling by a mediocre Florida State squad, six years after bowing against Norfolk State despite being favored by more than 20 points, left the Tigers among the five schools most prone to sustaining an opening-round NCAA tourney defeat:

Fran Dunphy had had only one Top 20 team in 30 seasons of coaching (Temple in 2009-10), but he finished his career in exclusive company upon stepping aside for former Owls player Aaron McKie following this campaign. Dunphy, who was bench boss for Penn 17 years prior to joining the Owls, is one of only four Division I mentors compiling more than 200 victories and at least seven NCAA Tournament appearances with two different universities.

"I've just been coaching a long time," said a modest Dunphy, who fell short of joining Roy Williams as the only coaches with 300 triumphs for two DI schools. Following is an alphabetical list of Dunphy, Williams and the two other coaches (Lou Henson and Eddie Sutton) in this select circle (Rick Pitino made six straight NCAA playoff appearances with Kentucky in the mid-1990s and John Calipari appeared in six NCAA tourneys with Memphis in the previous decade):

Coach	Subject Seasons	Two Different Schools With More Than 200 Victories (Minimum of Seven NCAA Playoff Appearances)
Fran Dunphy	30 (1989-90 through 2018-19)	Penn (1993-94-95-99 and 2000-02-03-05-06)/Temple (2008-09-10-11-12-13-16-19)
Lou Henson	38 (1966-67 through 1995-96, 1997-98 through 1999-00 and 2000-01 through 2004-05)	New Mexico State (1967-68-69-70-71-75-99)/Illinois (1981-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-90-93-94-95)
Eddie Sutton	27 (1974-75 through 1984-85 and 1990-91 through 2005-06)	Arkansas (1977-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85)/Oklahoma State (1991-92-93-94-95-98-99 and 2000-01-02-03-04-05)
Roy Williams	31 (1988-89 through 2018-19)	Kansas (1990-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99 and 2000-01-02-03)/North Carolina (2004-05-06-07-08-09-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19)

NOTE: Henson (Hardin-Simmons), Pitino (Hawaii, Boston University and Providence) and Sutton (Creighton, Kentucky and San Francisco) also coached other colleges.

"No, you never get any fun out of the things you haven't done." - Ogden Nash

Nobody said it was going to be easy for Belmont as the Nashville-based school sang the blues losing its first seven NCAA playoff games before posting first-ever tourney victory in First Four competition. But the preceding quote definitely still rings true for the following five universities competing in NCAA playoffs the most but still possessing a defect because they are winless:

0-8 - Eastern Kentucky
0-7 - Boise State, Long Island, Louisiana-Monroe and Nebraska

There is a tendency to overindulge at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Anyone digesting the following assortment of incisive facts on most of the NCAA Division I Tournament coaches should find that variety is the spice of this occasionally irreverent smorgasbord. Remember: If a morsel isn't appetizing, don't be a glutton for punishment in trying to comprehend what makes the coaching community tick. Just proceed directly to the next tidbit. Sooner or later, there's bound to be a factoid that you can savor.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN: Joe Golding served as an assistant coach with two junior colleges before returning to his alma mater ACU in the same capacity.

ARIZONA STATE: Bobby Hurley appeared in the 1994 feature film Blue Chips, where he played for the Indiana team under coach Bob Knight.

AUBURN: As an undergraduate at Boston College, Bruce Pearl was Tom Davis' administrative assistant before serving as an assistant coach under Davis at Stanford and Iowa.

BAYLOR: Scott Drew served as coach of an Athletes In Action (AIA) squad that toured Croatia and Bosnia in the summer of 1997.

BELMONT: Rick Byrd was a student assistant coach at Tennessee under the legendary Ray Mears.

BRADLEY: Two-time C-USA all-league selection Brian Wardle scored all of Marquette's first-half points (17) on 2-16-00 when it trailed DePaul, 27-17.

BUFFALO: Detroit-area prep coach Nate Oats joined Bobby Hurley's staff directly with junior college recruit Justin Moss in 2013 before Moss became Mid-American Conference Player of the Year the next season and one year before center Raheem Johnson aligned with the Bulls as another J.C. signee. Moss and Johnson played under Oats at Romulus H.S.

UC IRVINE: Russell Turner played under recently-dismissed William & Mary coach Tony Shaver with Hampden-Sydney (Va.).

CINCINNATI: Mick Cronin's father, Harold "Hep" Cronin, compiled more than 400 victories as a high school coach in the greater Cincinnati area.

COLGATE: Matt Langel played under retiring coach Fran Dunphy at Penn before serving as an assistant coach under him at Penn and Temple.

DUKE: Mike Krzyzewski was an assistant with Dave Bliss, Bob Donewald and Bob Weltlich on Indiana coach Bob Knight's staff in 1974-75. Krzyzewski had the worst three-year record for the Blue Devils (38-47 from 1980-81 through 1982-83) since George Buckheit went 16-30 from 1924-25 through 1926-27.

FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: Greg Herenda holds the Merrimack (Mass.) record for assists in a game (22) and shares the standard for single-season average (9.0).

FLORIDA: Mike White's wife, Kira, was an All-SEC volleyball player for Ole Miss. His father, Kevin, is Director of Athletics at Duke.

FLORIDA STATE: Leonard Hamilton, who set a school record by scoring 54 points for Gastonia (N.C.) Community College before attending Tennessee-Martin, was hired by Wilmington, N.C., native Michael Jordan to coach the Washington Wizards in 2000-01. Hamilton's nine-victory increase in Big East competition with Miami (Fla.) from 1994 to 1995 is the largest in conference history.

GARDNER-WEBB: Tim Craft directed the Runnin' Bulldogs to non-league road victories in the last five seasons against three ACC members (Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest) plus two Big Ten teams (Nebraska and Purdue).

GEORGIA STATE: One of Ron Hunter's teammates at Miami (Ohio) during three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1984 through 1986 was NBA standout Ron Harper. Hunter hit all six of his field-goal attempts while Harper went 7 of 22 in their final college game, an 81-79 overtime loss to Iowa State in the first round of the 1986 Midwest Regional. Hunter gained national notoriety for coaching barefoot during games to raise awareness of children who do not have shoes. With Samaritan's Feet, Hunter helped raise more than 250,000 pairs of shoes and made deliveries to Peru, Costa Roca and South Africa.

GONZAGA: Mark Few never was a head coach at any level before inheriting that position after Dan Monson departed for Minnesota. Few was an assistant for two different Oregon high schools before becoming an aide with the Zags under Dan Fitzgerald and Monson. Few's wedding vows in 1994 were exchanged with Rev. Norm Few, the father of the groom.

HOUSTON: Kelvin Sampson was a three-year baseball letterman at Pembroke (N.C.) State.

IONA: Tim Cluess was a part-time caterer for a Holiday Inn while coaching at the small-college level with C.W. Post. Cluess and his three older brothers (Hank, Greg and Kevin) all played for St. John's.

IOWA: Fran McCaffery is believed to have been the youngest coach (28 years old) ever to take a team to the NCAA Tournament when he directed Lehigh to the 1988 playoffs. His wife, the former Margaret Nowlin, ranks among the top 10 scorers in Notre Dame history. She was the catalyst behind the first-ever NCAA women's appearance by the Irish in 1992 and was named MVP of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament that year. Margaret served as an assistant coach at her alma mater in 1996-97.

IOWA STATE: Steve Prohm began college at Division III Oglethorpe in Atlanta before promptly transferring to Alabama, where he worked as student manager.

KANSAS: Bill Self served as an assistant on the Big Eight Conference coaching staffs of Larry Brown (Kansas) and Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State). Self, an Oklahoma State alumnus, played in the Big Eight against Maryland coach Mark Turgeon (Kansas) and top two NBA draft picks Steve Stipanovich (2nd selection overall in 1983/attended Missouri), Wayman Tisdale (2nd in 1985/Oklahoma) and Danny Manning (1st in 1988/Kansas). Self, Oklahoma's High School Player of the Year over Tisdale in 1980-81, directed Oral Roberts to the nation's best winning percentage among independent schools in 1996 (18-9) and 1997 (21-7).

KANSAS STATE: Bruce Weber served as a high school assistant coach in Milwaukee three years during his college days. He has two brothers who are high school coaches (Ron in northern Wisconsin and David in the Chicago area).

KENTUCKY: John Calipari lettered two years for UNC-Wilmington before transferring to Clarion (Pa.) State.

LIBERTY: Ritchie McKay's brother, Orlando, caught 13 touchdown passes for the University of Washington from 1989 through 1991 (shared NCAA national title with Miami FL as senior) before becoming a fifth-round selection in 1992 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. Their father, Joe, averaged 11.9 points per game for New Mexico from 1960-61 through 1962-63.

LOUISIANA STATE: MIA Will Wade began his career as a student manager for Clemson.

LOUISVILLE: Chris Mack played for Athletes in Action in 1993 and in Europe in 1994. His wife, Christi, was Director of Basketball Operations for women's basketball team with Xavier from 2001 through 2003.

MARQUETTE: Steve Wojciechowski played professional basketball in Poland for one season after finishing among Duke's top 10 career leaders in assists and steals.

MARYLAND: Mark Turgeon became the first Kansas player ever to play in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1984 through 1987), played in the Big Eight Conference against Illinois counterpart Bill Self (Oklahoma State). Turgeon was an assistant with Jerry Green, Steve Robinson and Kevin Stallings during coach Roy Williams' first four seasons with the Jayhawks from 1988-89 through 1991-92.

MICHIGAN: John Beilein is the only active mentor in the country to register 20-win seasons at the junior college, NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I levels. A 22-7 record in 1993-94 in his second year at the major-college level with Canisius was the winningest in school history and came just two seasons after the Golden Griffins suffered an all-time high in losses (8-22 mark in 1991-92). His uncle, Joe Niland, coached Canisius for five seasons from 1948-49 through 1952-53. They are relatives of soldiers that inspired the best-selling book "Band of Brothers" and Oscar Award-winning movie "Saving Private Ryan."

MICHIGAN STATE: Tom Izzo was a teammate in high school (Iron Mountain, Mich.) and college (Northern Michigan) of former Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci. Izzo, a running back, and Mariucci, a quarterback, were the best men in each others' weddings.

MINNESOTA: Richard Pitino was manager of Providence's team under coach Tim Welsh.

MISSISSIPPI: The father of Kermit Davis Jr. directed Mississippi State to a 91-91 record in seven seasons from 1970-71 through 1976-77.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Ben Howland's wife, Kim, is a former Weber State cheerleader. He was an assistant for Gonzaga in 1981-82 when future NBA assists king John Stockton was a sophomore with the Zags. "I played against him every day because our backup point guard quit," Howland said. "You didn't realize at the time how special it was until you look back and say, `Yeah, I used to get my butt kicked every day by the greatest point guard ever.'"

MONTANA: Travis DeCuire played for Chaminade (Hawaii) in 1990-91 before transferring to Montana.

MURRAY STATE: Matt McMahon played under Buzz Peterson at Appalachian State before serving as an assistant coach under him for a couple of universities (Tennessee and UNC Wilmington). His wife, Mary, played basketball for Furman.

NEVADA: Among Eric Musselman's teammates at San Diego was Mike Whitmarsh, who won a silver medal in beach volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

NEW MEXICO STATE: Chris Jans was head coach for three different junior colleges. Despite directing Bowling Green to a 20-win campaign on the heels of a 20-loss season, he was fired after one year with the Falcons after being caught on video drunk in a campus bar making inappropriate comments towards a young woman.

NORTH CAROLINA: Roy Williams' son, Scott, was a backup guard with the Tar Heels.

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL: LeVelle Moton, known as "Poetry 'n Moton" when he played for NCCU in the mid-1990s, played four years professionally in Indonesia and Israel.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE: David Richman was the nation's winningest first-year coach at the NCAA Division I level with a 23-10 record in 2014-15.

NORTHEASTERN: Bill Coen spent three years working in the computer software industry before accepting his first coaching position. Coen played and coached under Tom Murphy, who won more than 600 games for Hamilton (N.Y.) College before becoming an assistant under his protege.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY: John Brannen led Marshall in scoring in 1996-97 when he was Southern Conference Tournament MVP.

OHIO STATE: One of Chris Holtmann's teammates with Taylor (Ind.) was Akron coach John Groce.

OKLAHOMA: Lon Kruger was selected in 12th round of 1970 MLB draft by the Houston Astros out of high school and in 21st round of 1974 MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals after graduating from Kansas State. He compiled a 1-6 pitching record in summer of '74 for St. Petersburg in Florida State League (Class A).

OLD DOMINION: Virginia's 1992 NIT title enabled Jeff Jones to become the only person to win NIT crowns as a player (Virginia guard in 1980) and as a coach. His father, Bob Jones, had been coach of Kentucky Wesleyan when it won the 1973 NCAA Division II championship. Jeff became the youngest head coach in ACC history (29) when he was appointed to the Cavaliers' position on April 16, 1990. He guided them to the nation's best start in 1992-93 (won first 11 outings) before they split their last 20 assignments.

OREGON: Dana Altman was the only coach in Creighton history to participate in at least five consecutive national postseason tournaments. The Bluejays appeared in either the NCAA playoffs or NIT in 12 consecutive years from 1998 through 2009.

PRAIRIE VIEW: Juco recruit Byron Smith was an All-SWC second-team selection with Houston as a junior and senior in the early 1990s before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach under Clyde Drexler.

PURDUE: Matt Painter's father attended Big Ten Conference rival Indiana.

ST. JOHN'S: Chris Mullin, leading scorer for St. John's 1985 Final Four team as a senior, averaged 20.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 3.9 apg in 10 NCAA playoff games.

SAINT LOUIS: Travis Ford worked for a brokerage firm in Bowling Green, Ky., following his playing career with Kentucky after transferring from Missouri. His wife, Heather, was swimmer for the Wildcats. Ford's playing days ended in training camp with the Golden State Warriors, but his time in California landed him the role of Danny O'Grady in the movie "The Sixth Man."

SAINT MARY'S: Randy Bennett played for his father, Tom, at Mesa Community College before attending UC San Diego. At Mesa, Bennett helped his team to a 56-10 record and two Arizona J.C. championships.

SETON HALL: Kevin Willard played for his father, Ralph, at Western Kentucky and Pittsburgh. Kevin went on to become a coaching intern with the Boston Celtics under Rick Pitino, who was Kentucky's coach in 1989-90 when Ralph was an assistant there with Billy Donovan, Herb Sendek and Tubby Smith.

SYRACUSE: Jim Boeheim, an avid golfer, served as varsity golf coach for the Orange from 1967 until the program disbanded in 1973. He was an assistant basketball coach under Roy Danforth during that period. Boeheim, a three-year teammate of Syracuse All-American Dave Bing in the mid-1960s, played in the CBA for the Scranton Miners. Boeheim made 13-of-19 field-goal attempts (68.4%) in two 1966 NCAA playoff games for East Regional runner-up. On five occasions (1977-84-96-01-03), Boeheim guided the Orangemen to the Top 20 in a final AP poll after they were not ranked that high in the preseason.

TEMPLE: Fran Dunphy, in his first varsity start for La Salle, held Niagara's Calvin Murphy to eight field goals after Murphy averaged 38.2 points per game the previous season in 1967-68. Dunphy ended his college career in 1969-70 with a career-high 29 points against Miami (Fla.).

TENNESSEE: Texas' turnaround in 1998-99 (19-13 record after going 14-17 in 1997-98 under Tom Penders) enabled Rick Barnes to become the only active coach to take two different schools to the NCAA playoffs in his maiden voyage with them after they posted a losing mark the previous campaign. He previously achieved the feat with Providence in the late 1980s. Barnes posted the nation's best winning percentage by a first-year major college head coach in 1987-88 when he went 20-10 (.667) in his lone season with George Mason.

UTAH STATE: Craig Smith served as an assistant under Tim Miles at four colleges (Mayville State, North Dakota State, Colorado State and Nebraska).

VERMONT: John Becker coached two seasons at Gallaudet, the country's only four-year liberal arts college for the deaf and hearing impaired.

VILLANOVA: Jay Wright worked as an administrative assistant with the Philadelphia Stars football franchise, which captured the 1983 United States Football League championship. He married a former Villanova cheerleader.

VIRGINIA: Tony Bennett is the son of former DI coach Dick Bennett and brother of women's coach Kathi Bennett.

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: Mike Rhoades led Lebanon Valley (Pa.) to 1994 NCAA Division title and graduated as the college's all-time leading scorer.

VIRGINIA TECH: Brent "Buzz" Williams received his nickname while attending Navarro College, where he "buzzed" around the junior college basketball team so often the coach issued him the moniker.

WASHINGTON: Mike Hopkins, a high school teammate of LeRon Ellis in Santa Ana, Calif., in the late 1980s, was instrumental in convincing Ellis to transfer from Kentucky to join him at Syracuse.

WISCONSIN: Greg Gard served as an assistant coach under Bo Ryan at three colleges (Wisconsin-Platteville, UW-Milwaukee and the Badgers).

WOFFORD: Mike Young directed the Terriers to road victories at North Carolina and South Carolina in the last two seasons.

YALE: James Jones has a brother, Joe, who was an assistant coach at Villanova before becoming bench boss at another Ivy League member (Columbia).

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, following is Day 3 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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's year-by-year highlights):

1. Who is the only coach to lose as many as five games in the 20th Century to teams with double-digit seeds? Hint: Four of the defeats in this category were in consecutive years.

2. Name the only historically black college and university to win multiple NCAA Tournament games. Hint: It posted the first three HBCU victories in the early 1980s.

3. Who was the coach of the only University of Detroit team to win an NCAA playoff game until the Titans defeated St. John's in 1998? Hint: Detroit lost to an in-state rival in a regional semifinal four days after posting its first tournament victory. The coach of that squad is the only Seton Hall graduate to win an NCAA tourney game.

4. Name the only school with more than 30 NCAA Tournament appearances to compile a losing playoff record and never appear in the national championship game. Hint: It's the only school to finish more than 10 seasons ranked in an AP Top 10 since the wire service's first poll in 1949 to never win an NCAA Tournament title.

5. Name the only first-time entrant to be seeded better than fifth since the field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980. Hint: The school reached the Final Four in its playoff debut.

6. Name the only conference to have three representatives at a single Final Four by winning regional finals against three members from another league. Hint: No player scored more than 20 points in the three Final Four games that year.

7. Who is the only coach with six or more NCAA playoff appearances to reach a regional final every time? Hint: His school is the only one to win back-to-back NCAA championships in its first two appearances in the tournament. His son was coach of a school in the same conference when the institution participated in the tourney for the initial time.

8. Name the only school to win at least one playoff game in a year it entered the tournament with a losing record after suffering 14 consecutive defeats during one stretch of the regular season. Hint: The school participated in the national championship game the previous year and was once runner-up in the NCAA Tournament and NIT in the same season. The school has also won just one playoff game since 1955, the season it finished with its worst overall record in a 53-year span and became only team ever to enter playoffs with a record of more than 10 games under .500.

9. Name the only school to have as many as seven different coaches compile losing NCAA playoff records. Hint: The school is more games under .500 in tournament play than any institution, but pulled off a first-round upset of a defending champion behind a star player who subsequently entered the coaching profession and compiled a 6-3 NCAA Tournament record with another university in the same state from 1989-90 through 1991-92.

10. Name the only school to advance to a regional semifinal in three consecutive campaigns despite having a double-digit seed each year. Hint: The school defeated teams from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, C-USA, Pacific-10 and SEC during the NCAA playoffs in that span.

Answers (Day 3)

Day 2 Questions and Answers

Day 1 Questions and Answers

After previously toiling in relative obscurity, former small-college standouts Chris Flemmings (transferred from Barton NC to UNC Wilmington) and Duncan Robinson (Williams MA to Michigan) made significant contributions in the previous three NCAA Division I Tournaments along with backup center Manny Suarez (Adelphi NY to Creighton). This year, several G-Men - Baylor forward Freddie Gillespie (from Carleton MN), Austin Peay guard Jarrett Givens (from Adams State CO) and Liberty forward Keenan Gumbs (from Schreiner TX) - are regulars for NCAA tourney teams.

Flemmings, Gillespie, Givens, Robinson and Suarez aren't the only small-school transfer players to go from nowhere to Cloud Nine in the NCAA DI playoffs. Arkansas, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Nevada and Wisconsin featured small-college transfers in regular rotations of previous NCAA tourney squads. There is even a coach in this year's tourney who was in this rare category as a player - Montana's Travis DeCuire (Chaminade HI to his current pit stop).

Of course, the most prominent player in history in this category is all-time great Elgin Baylor (Seattle). Consider this alphabetical list of more than 30 transfers who went from non-Division I schools to center stage in the NCAA Division I Tournament prior to Flemmings, Gillespie, Givens, Robinson and Suarez:

Scott Barnes, C (Eastern Montana 81-82/Fresno State 84-85)
Averaged 9.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg for Eastern Montana before averaging 11.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg for Fresno State. Barnes was an All-PCAA second-team selection as a senior when he led the Bulldogs in rebounding (7.4 rpg). Grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds against Karl Malone-led Louisiana Tech when Fresno bowed to the Bulldogs in the first round of 1984 NCAA playoffs.

Elgin Baylor, F (College of Idaho 55/Seattle 57-58)
Averaged 31.3 ppg and 18.9 rpg for College of Idaho (now Albertson College) before averaging 31.2 ppg and 19.8 rpg for Seattle. He was an NCAA unanimous first-team All-American and Final Four Most Outstanding Player as a junior in 1957-58.

Davion Berry, G-F (Cal State Montery Bay 10-11/Weber State 13-14)
Game-high 24 points in 68-59 opening-game defeat against Arizona in 2014.

Don Boldebuck, C (Nebraska Wesleyan 52-53/Houston 55-56)
Averaged more than 20 ppg for Nebraska Wesleyan before averaging 23 ppg and 17 rpg in leading Houston in scoring and rebounding both of his seasons with the Cougars. He paced them in scoring in both of their NCAA playoff games in 1956.

Mike Born, G (Nebraska-Omaha 85-86/Iowa State 88-89)
Averaged 10.5 ppg for Nebraska-Omaha before averaging 8.6 ppg and 2.5 apg for two NCAA Tournament teams at Iowa State. Scored six points in each of his NCAA playoff games.

Jim Boylan, G (Assumption MA 74-75/Marquette 77-78)
Fifth-leading scorer for 1977 NCAA Tournament champion. He scored 14 points in the tourney final against Phil Ford-led North Carolina.

Jon Bryant, G (St. Cloud State MN 96-97/Wisconsin 99-00)
All-North Central Conference selection and team MVP with 17.3 ppg as a sophomore after being named NCC Freshman of the Year when he hit 57.4% of his three-point attempts. Third-leading scorer for the Badgers burst on the national scene with seven three-pointers, including four in a zone-busting 1 1/2-minute stretch late in the game, to help the Badgers rally to a 66-56 over Fresno State in the first round of 2000 West Regional.

Ronnie Clark, G (Florida Southern 00/Colorado State 02-04)
Sunshine State Conference freshman of the year was CSU's third-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer in 2003 when the Rams played Duke tough before bowing in the opening round.

Terry Connolly, F (Shepherd WV 87-88/Richmond 90-91)
Averaged 8.2 ppg each of his two seasons with Spider NCAA playoff teams. Member of first #15 seed to defeat a #2 seed (Syracuse in 1991).

Barry Davis, F (Sam Houston State 73/Texas A&M 75-76)
Freshman on Sam Houston State's top-ranked NAIA team. Juco recruit became two-time All-SWC selection, delivering team-high 16 points and game-high 15 rebounds in 87-79 setback against Cincinnati in 1975 Midwest Regional.

Travis DeCuire, G (Chaminade HI 90/Montana 92-94)
Led Chaminade in scoring with 10.9 ppg as a freshman in 1989-90. Averaged 6.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 5 apg for the Grizzlies, including Big Sky Conference-leading 7.1 apg as a senior. Competing against eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, DeCuire scored six points in a 78-68 reversal against Florida State in the 1992 NCAA playoffs.

Mike Hanson, G (Tennessee-Martin 89/Louisiana State 91-93)
Scored 40 points vs. LSU as a freshman when leading UTM in scoring (20 ppg) and assists. Erupted for 31 points against both Tennessee and Illinois as a sophomore when he was the Tigers' third-leading scorer (12.7 ppg) before his playing time decreased significantly his final two seasons. Member of three LSU teams participating in the NCAA playoffs.

John Harrell, G (North Carolina Central 76/Duke 78-79)
Averaged 15.7 ppg and led N.C. Central in assists in 1975-76. Averaged 5.1 ppg for Duke's NCAA Tournament runner-up in 1977-78 before playing sparingly the next season.

Curtis High, G (Tennessee-Martin 81-82/Nevada-Reno 84-85)
Tennessee-Martin's second-leading scorer as a freshman (14.3 ppg) and sophomore (12.6 ppg). Led UNR in scoring and assists as a junior (13.3 ppg, 6.3 apg) and senior (17.8 ppg, 6 apg) for two NCAA tourney squads. All-Big Sky first-team selection in 1984-85. Scored a team-high 21 points in 1984 first-round loss to Detlef Schrempf-led Washington.

Roy Howard, F (Tarleton State TX 89/Texas-El Paso 91-93)
Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year when he led Tarleton State in scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (11.5 rpg). UTEP's second-leading rebounder as a senior (6.5 rpg). Averaged 4.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for 1992 NCAA playoff team that upset #1 seed Kansas in the Midwest Regional.

Avery Johnson, G (Cameron OK 85/Southern LA 87-88)
Averaged a modest 4.3 ppg for Cameron before leading the nation in assists with Southern for two NCAA tourney teams. Distributed a total of 17 assists in NCAA playoff games against Temple and Kentucky. Shares NCAA single-game record for most assists with 22. Went on to become principal playmaker for the San Antonio Spurs' NBA champion before coaching in the pros prior to accepting a similar job at Alabama.

Fred Lewis, F (Tampa 88/South Florida 90-92)
Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year when he averaged 15.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Averaged 13 points and eight rebounds per game for USF. He was the Bulls' second-leading rebounder all three seasons, including two NCAA playoff teams.

Bob Lochmueller, F (Oakland City IN/Louisville 50-52)
Averaged 15 ppg in his career with the Cardinals, leading their first NCAA Tournament team in scoring as a junior (19 ppg).

Tony Massop, C (Sacramento State 87/Kansas State 89-90)
Averaged 10.3 ppg and 8 rpg as a sophomore at Sacramento State. Averaged 5.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg as a junior and 8.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg as a senior for a pair of NCAA tourney teams. He was the Wildcats' leading rebounder in 1989-90.

Boyd McCaslin, F (Hobart, N.Y. 45/Dartmouth 46/Michigan 48-49)
All-Ivy League second-team selection went on to participate in Michigan's first NCAA playoff game in 1948 after transferring with coach Ozzie Cowles. Originally lettered with Hobart.

Bret Mundt, C (Bethel TN/Memphis State 88-89)
Averaged 5.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg in 1987-88 and 6.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg in 1988-89 for a pair of NCAA tourney teams. Scored 13 points when the Tigers lost to Purdue in 1988 Midwest Regional.

Tucker Neale, G (Ashland OH 91/Colgate 93-95)
Averaged 23.1 ppg for Colgate's first NCAA playoff team in 1995.

Anunwa "Nuni" Omot, F (Concordia MN 15/Baylor 17-18)
Member of the Bears' regular rotation much of 2016-17 season as juco recruit.

Aaron Preece, G (Illinois College/Bradley 49-51)
Sixth-leading scorer for the Braves' 1950 NCAA and NIT runner-up tallied 12 points in each of the NCAA Final Four games.

Nevil Shed, F (North Carolina A&T/Texas Western 65-67)
"The Shadow" sank the free throw in 1966 NCAA championship game against Kentucky, giving the Miners a lead they never relinquished. He averaged 10.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg for the national titlist.

Bill Sherwood, C-F (Oglethorpe GA 84-85/Oregon State 87-88)
Averaged 7.7 ppg in 1986-87 and 14.7 ppg in 1987-88 for the Beavers. Outscored teammate Gary Payton with 17 points in OSU's 70-61 loss to Louisville in 1988 Southeast Regional.

Danny Singletary, G (Ohio Valley WV/Coppin State 97-98)
Led National Small College Athletic Association in scoring in mid-1990s with 27.6-ppg average before transferring. Averaged 12.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg and 2.3 spg for Coppin State in 1996-97 and 1997-98. Scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half of a shocking 78-65 first-round triumph against South Carolina in 1997 NCAA playoffs before collecting team-high 6 assists and game-high 6 steals in 82-81 setback against Texas.

Gregg Smith, C (North Dakota State 00/Eastern Washington 02-04)
Transferred along with coach Ray Giacoletti following freshman season in 1999-00 (5.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg). Averaged 3.4 ppg and 2.3 rpg in three-year career with EWU, scoring team-high 16 points against Oklahoma State in his final game (75-56 setback in 2004 East Regional in East Rutherford).

Scott Snider, C (Pacific Lutheran WA 92-93/Gonzaga 95-96)
Led Pacific Lutheran in scoring as a freshman with 11.9 ppg before averaging 14 ppg and 5.6 rpg as a sophomore. Led the WCC in field-goal shooting (62.9%) as a senior when he averaged 10.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg after averaging 5.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg the previous year for the Zags' first NCAA Tournament team.

Johnny Taylor, F (Knoxville TN 94/Tenn.-Chattanooga 96-97)
Averaged 18.2 ppg and 8.1 rpg with UTC before becoming an NBA first-round draft choice. Southern Conference Player of the Year for UTC team upsetting Georgia and Illinois in the 1997 Southeast Regional.

Chad Townsend, G (St. Edward's TX 95/Murray State 97-98)
Averaged 22.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg in his final season at St. Edward's. All-OVC second-team selection averaged 13.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg and a school-record 7.1 apg as a junior when he was OVC Tournament MVP. Played in two NCAA tourneys with the Racers.

Joel Tribelhorn, G (Fort Lewis CO 85-87/Colorado State 89)
Finished third on Fort Lewis' career scoring list with 1,390 points after setting school single-season records for most points (635 in 1986-87), highest scoring average (24.4 ppg in 1985-86) and best three-point field-goal shooting (50% in 1986-87). The NAIA All-American second-team selection as a junior became an All-WAC second-team pick as a senior when he was CSU's second-leading scorer (13.8 ppg), led the Rams in field-goal shooting (53.9%) and paced the league in three-point shooting (56.3%). Scored a game-high 20 points when CSU upset Florida, 68-46, in the 1989 Midwest Regional.

Roosevelt Wallace, F (Virginia Union/Arkansas 91-92)
Averaged 8.8 ppg and 5.7 rpg for the Razorbacks' 1992 NCAA playoff squad.

Although it appears the case, the Final Four hasn't eternally been the final word in national postseason competition. The 68-team NCAA playoffs, which played second fiddle to the National Invitation Tournament in their formative years, seemed to haughtily look down upon the NIT as little more than an acronym contest for derisive entries such as National Insignificant Tournament, Not Influential Tournament, Nominally Important Tournament, No Interest Tournament, Nearly Ignominious Tournament, Naturally Impaired Tournament, Never Impressionable Tournament, etc.

The NIT champion can proclaim, "We're No. 69!" But in an earlier era, the NIT was superior to the NCAA at a time when airplanes didn't dominate the transportation industry, television was in its infancy and New York's Madison Square Garden was the place to be if a team wanted extensive national exposure. If ever there was a concept whose time had arrived, it was the NIT in 1938. If ever there was a location to conduct a national tourney at a time when the sports page was the principal place to digest sports news, it was in New York because of Gotham's 20 or so daily newspapers at the time.

As competition for this year's NIT unfolds amid testing a new set of rules in the event, here are top 40 hits for the event, citing nuggets you should know about the history of the nation's oldest national postseason tournament:

1. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White was Colorado's second-leading scorer with 10 points when the Buffaloes bowed to Temple in the inaugural NIT in 1938.

2. The 1939 NIT final featured two unbeaten teams when Long Island University defeated Loyola of Chicago, 44-32, marking the only matchup in major-college history when two undefeated major colleges met in a national postseason tournament. LIU finished with a 23-0 record and Loyola 21-1.

3. Frankie Baumholtz capped his Ohio University college basketball career by earning MVP honors in the 1941 NIT when he led the tourney in scoring with 53 points in three games for the second-place Bobcats, including a game-high 19 in the final. He went on to become a major-league outfielder who led the National League in pinch hits in 1955 and 1956.

4. Rudy Baric, MVP of the 1942 NIT for titlist West Virginia, guided his alma mater to a 14-7 record the next year in his only season as the Mountaineers' head coach.

5. Long before Michigan's "Fab Five" made headlines as a freshman-dominated team reaching the 1992 NCAA Tournament final, Toledo's similar squad finished runner-up to St. John's in the 1943 NIT. The Rockets were dubbed "Friddle's Freshmen" because first-year coach Berle Friddle had an all-freshman starting lineup. Toledo's roster included Emlen Tunnell, who went on to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after playing in nine Pro Bowls as a defensive back.

6. Utah won the 1944 NCAA crown after the Utes were eliminated in the opening round of the NIT by eventual third-place finisher Kentucky (46-38).

7. In the early years of national postseason competition, the NCAA playoffs were scheduled after the NIT, which was clearly basketball's showcase event. For instance, NIT runner-up Rhode Island State upended Bowling Green in overtime in their NIT opener in 1946 after the Rams' Ernie Calverley swished a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of regulation in perhaps the most exciting moment in NIT history.

8. Many observers think the 1948 NIT, starting the tourney's second decade, was the best from a strength standpoint. If there had been a national poll at the time, it is believed that five of the nation's top seven teams were in the NIT, which was won that year by Ed Macauley-led St. Louis University.

9. Western Kentucky (28-2, .933), the 1948 NIT third-place finisher, and Seton Hall (31-2, .939), the 1953 NIT champion, led the nation in winning percentage those seasons.

10. The 1949 opening-round pair of doubleheaders was a dark day and evening for Big Apple hoops as CCNY, Manhattan, NYU and St. John's dropped their openers by an average of 18.75 points.

11. Trivia buffs should know that the basketball publicist for 1949 champion San Francisco was Pete Rozelle, who went on to become commissioner of the National Football League.

12. In each of the first two years the Associated Press conducted national rankings (1949 and 1950), five of the top 10 teams participated in the NIT.

13. The four seeded teams in the 1949 NIT all were upset in the quarterfinals after receiving first-round byes - Kentucky, St. Louis, Western Kentucky and Utah.

14. The final year teams participated in both national tournaments was 1952, when Dayton, Duquesne, St. John's and St. Louis doubled up on postseason participation. St. John's was runner-up to Kansas in the NCAA Tournament that year after the Redmen lost their opener in the NIT against La Salle (51-45).

15. In 1954, the last four NIT survivors (Holy Cross, Duquesne, Niagara and Western Kentucky) combined to win 91% of their games entering the semifinals, while their NCAA Final Four counterparts (La Salle, Bradley, Penn State and Southern California) combined to win barely over 70% of their games. Niagara, the third-place finisher in the NIT, defeated 1954 NCAA champion La Salle twice during the regular season by a total of 27 points.

16. Dave Ricketts, a sophomore starter for Duquesne's 1955 NIT champion, went on to become a major-league catcher who played with the Cardinals in the 1967 and 1968 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

17. NIT champion-to-be Louisville was ranked 4th in the nation by AP in mid-February of 1956 when it lost by 40 points at Xavier (99-59). Two years later, Xavier lost 10 of its final 15 regular-season games after a 10-1 start and the NIT asked the Musketeers to give back its NIT bid. Xavier, however, said "no" and went on to win the 1958 NIT title despite being seeded last under first-year head coach Jim McCafferty.

18. Garry Roggenburk, the leading scorer for Dayton's 1962 NIT titlist, went on to become a lefthanded pitcher for five seasons later in the decade with three American League teams - the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Pilots.

19. The prestigious ACC, prior to its inaugural season in 1953-54, instituted a rule that no member could participate in the NIT. The ban remained in place until Duke was eliminated by Southern Illinois in the [1967] quarterfinals. The final NIT at the old Garden in 1967 belonged to SIU, a so-called "small" school sparked by a smooth swingman named Walt Frazier. He wasn't Clyde yet, but the future Knick was well on his way.

20. One of the most bizarre incidents in NIT history was halftime of a game in 1968 when Oklahoma City coach Abe Lemons, annoyed with his team after playing poorly in the first half against Duke, ordered the Chiefs back to the court during intermission to scrimmage rather than to the dressing room to rest and regroup. Announcer Howard Cosell rattled off several questions to Lemons: "Coach, are you crazy? Won't your boys be too tired to play the second half? Where did you learn this coaching tactic? Did you do this to amuse the crowd?" Lemons, as determined not to respond to the questions as Cosell was at getting an answer, fired back, "Listen mister, you may be big stuff in New York, but you ain't nothin' in Walters, Okla. (Lemons' humble hometown)."

21. The issue of "choice" came to a head in 1970 when Marquette, an independent school coached by fiesty Al McGuire, won the NIT after rejecting an NCAA at-large invitation because the Warriors were going to be placed in the NCAA Midwest Regional (Fort Worth, Tex.) instead of closer to home in the Mideast Regional (Dayton, Ohio). McGuire's snub led the NCAA to decree any school offered an NCAA bid must accept it or be prohibited from participating in postseason competition.

22. SEC rival Tennessee was the only school to hold Pete Maravich under 30 points until Georgetown and Marquette achieved the feat in the 1970 NIT. Maravich, the highest scorer in NCAA history, ended his career at the NIT sitting on the bench in civilian clothes because of ankle and hip injuries, watching his father's LSU team finish fourth by losing to Bob Knight-coached Army. Pistol Pete had, for him, endured a suspect tourney in the brightest postseason spotlight ever focused on his extraordinary abilities. He averaged 25.7 points per game in three NIT assignments (18.5 ppg lower than his career average).

23. Julius Erving's final college game with Massachusetts was a 90-49 loss to eventual NIT champion North Carolina in the first round in 1971. The Tar Heels captured the crown although their leading scorer, junior forward Dennis Wuycik (18.4 ppg), suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Minutemen.

24. The competitive NIT, boasting three double overtime games in 1971, was a stark contrast in than period to the NCAA Tournament otherwise known as the "UCLA Invitational." Seemingly invincible UCLA captured seven consecutive NCAA titles from 1967 through 1973 by winning 28 tournament games by an average of almost 18 points per contest. In 1973, the Bruins' four tournament victories were by an average of 16 points, including a 21-point triumph over Memphis State in the championship game. Meanwhile, NIT champion Virginia Tech won four exciting postseason games that year by a total of five points, including a game-winning basket at the buzzer in overtime in the final against Notre Dame. The next year, seven of the total of 12 NIT games in the first round and quarterfinals were decided by four points or less.

25. Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson never appeared in the NIT in his 34-year career with Long Beach State, Iowa and Arizona.

26. The last wire-service top 10 team to appear in the NIT was North Carolina, a first-round loser against Purdue in 1974.

27. Anthony Roberts' NIT single-game standard of 65 points accounted for 73 percent of Oral Roberts' output in a 90-89 loss to Oregon in the 1977 first round. Roberts' outburst is even more impressive because the Ducks ranked fifth in the nation in team defense (60.9 points per game).

28. NIT attendance slipped to an all-time low in 1976 although national power Kentucky won the title. In 1977, former executive director Pete Carlesimo, the father of former Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo, saved the NIT by implementing a plan whereby early-round games were played at campus sites and locations across the country before the four semifinalists advanced to New York.

29. In a five-year span from 1980 through 1984 when the NCAA field ranged from 48 to 52 teams, Virginia (1980 NIT champion), DePaul (1983 runner-up) and Michigan (1984 champion) became NCAA regional No. 1 seeds the year after reaching an NIT final.

30. Tulsa was a No. 3 seed under coach [Nolan Richardson](schools/nolan-richardson0 in the 1982 NCAA Tournament after capturing the 1981 NIT by winning its last three games by a total of five points.

31. In 1985, the NIT started a preseason tournament, which evolved into the nation's premier in-season tourney and carried as much clout, if not more, than the postseason NIT. Coaches were fond of the preseason NIT because those games were exempt from counting against their regular-season limit of contests.

32. The NCAA postseason record of 14 three-point field goals was set by Kansas State guard Askia Jones in a 115-77 victory over Fresno State in the 1994 NIT quarterfinals. Jones, the son of former Villanova standout guard Wali Jones, poured in 28 of his Big Eight Conference-record 45 second-half points in the first 7:12 after intermission. His final total of 62 points, spurred by nine consecutive successful three-point shots bridging the first and second halves, was the second-highest scoring output in major-college postseason history.

33. The NIT's first nine champions lost a total of 25 games, but its 15 titlists from 1986 through 2000 combined to go 32 games below .500 in conference competition, including a 4-12 league mark compiled by 1988 Big East cellar dweller Connecticut and a 4-10 league record registered by 1996 Big Eight seventh-place team Nebraska.

34. The NIT's "final four" participants have combined to average more than 13 defeats per team since the NCAA field expanded to at least 64 entrants, including a grim 19-18 mark by 1985 NIT fourth-place finisher Louisville.

35. Former St. John's coach Joe Lapchick was the winningest coach in NIT history with a 21-10 record until Dave Odom tied him (21-3). St. John's has made more NIT appearances, won more NIT games and captured more NIT championships (six) than any school.

36. Four of the winningest schools percentagewise in NIT history are from the Big Ten Conference - Michigan, Purdue, Ohio State and Penn State.

37. The NIT titlists since 1985 combined for a losing national postseason tournament record the year after capturing an NIT championship.

38. Virginia's NIT title in 1992 enabled Jeff Jones to become the only person to win NIT crowns as a player (Virginia in 1980) and a coach.

39. In 2000, Notre Dame forward Troy Murphy became the first consensus first-team All-American to participate in the NIT since forward Larry Bird of Indiana State, a loser at Rutgers in the 1978 quarterfinals.

40. Arizona (0-3), Arizona State (5-11), Miami FL (6-10), Missouri (1-7) and Seton Hall (6-18) all have disturbing NIT marks at least three games below .500.

NCAA Tournament head coaches will need to draw upon all of their resources to motivate their clubs in postseason play. Following is an alphabetical list assessing the educational backgrounds of mentors in the 2019 NCAA playoffs:

2019 NCAA Tourney Coach	School	Bachelor's	Master's
Dana Altman	Oregon	Business	Business Administration
Rick Barnes	Tennessee	Health & Physical Education
Chris Beard	Texas Tech	Kinesiology
John Becker	Vermont	History	Information Systems
John Beilein	Michigan	History
Randy Bennett	Saint Mary's	Biology
Tony Bennett	Virginia	Humanities
Jim Boeheim	Syracuse	Social Science	Social Science
John Brannen	Northern Kentucky	Business Management
Rick Byrd	Belmont	Physical Education	Physical Education
John Calipari	Kentucky	Marketing
Tim Cluess	Iona	Accounting
Bill Coen	Northeastern	unavailable	Business Administration
Tim Craft	Gardner-Webb	History
Mick Cronin	Cincinnati	History
Kermit Davis	Mississippi	unavailable
Johnny Dawkins	Duke	Political Science
Travis DeCuire	Montana	Marketing
Scott Drew	Baylor	Liberal Arts	Liberal Studies
Fran Dunphy	Temple	Marketing	Counseling & Human Relations
Mark Few	Gonzaga	Physical Education	Athletic Administration
Travis Ford	Saint Louis	Communications
Greg Gard	Wisconsin	Physical & Health Education	Counselor Education
Joe Golding	Abilene Christian	Exercise & Sport Science
Leonard Hamilton	Florida State	Physical Education	Physical & Health Education
Greg Herenda	Fairleigh Dickinson	Business Administration & Marketing
Chris Holtmann	Ohio State	Psychology	Athletic Administration
Mike Hopkins	Washington	Speech Communications
Ben Howland	Mississippi State	Physical Education	unavailable
Ron Hunter	Georgia State	Education	Education
Bobby Hurley	Arizona State	unavailable
Tom Izzo	Michigan State	Health and Physical Education
Chris Jans	New Mexico State	Marketing & Finance
James Jones	Yale	Communications	Educational Administration
Jeff Jones	Old Dominion	Psychology
Lon Kruger	Oklahoma	Business	Physical Education
Mike Krzyzewski	Duke	Officer Training
Matt Langel	Colgate	Management
Chris Mack	Louisville	Communication Arts
Fran McCaffery	Iowa	Economics	Education
Ritchie McKay	Liberty	Athletic Administration
Matt McMahon	Murray State	Marketing
LeVelle Moton	North Carolina Central	Recreation Administration
Chris Mullin	St. John's	unavailable
Eric Musselman	Nevada	unavailable
Nate Oats	Buffalo	Math Education
Matt Painter	Purdue	Sociology
Bruce Pearl	Auburn	Business Administration
Richard Pitino	Minnesota	History
Steve Prohm	Iowa State	Education
Mike Rhoades	Virginia Commonwealth	History
David Richman	North Dakota State	Physical Education	Sport & Recreation Management
Kelvin Sampson	Houston	Health & Physical Education	Coaching & Administration
Bill Self	Kansas	Business	Athletic Administration
Byron Smith	Prairie View A&M	unavailable
Craig Smith	Utah State	Secondary Education	Teaching & Learning
Mark Turgeon	Maryland	Personnel Administration
Russell Turner	UC Irvine	English & Economics
Will Wade	Louisiana State	unavailable
Brian Wardle	Bradley	Communication Studies
Bruce Weber	Kansas State	Education	Physical Education
Michael White	Florida	Business
Kevin Willard	Seton Hall	unavailable
Buzz Williams	Virginia Tech	Kinesiology	Kinesiology
Roy Williams	North Carolina	Education	Education
Steve Wojciechowski	Marquette	Sociology
Jay Wright	Villanova	Economics/Sociology
Mike Young	Wofford	Physical Education

When Thomas Wolfe penned, "you can never come home again," he didn't have some successful college basketball coaches in mind. Playoff participation must be extra gratifying for the following nine individuals guiding their alma mater in college basketball's grandest prize - a berth in the NCAA Tournament:

Former national champions Marquette (41 victories) and Utah (37) have won a significant number of NCAA playoff games yet never received a No. 1 seed since seeding was introduced in 1979. It's virgin territory for majority of DI institutions such as Xavier, but the top spot is old hat for North Carolina as the Tar Heels are revisiting the pedestal for the 17th time - more than any school.

Duke, accorded a No. 1 seed eight times in a nine-year span from 1998 through 2006, and Kentucky are connected with North Carolina and Kansas among the following four universities seeded #1 at least a dozen times:

17 - North Carolina (1979-82-84-87-91-93-94-97-98-05-07-08-09-12-16-17-19)
14 - Kansas (1986-92-95-97-98-02-07-08-10-11-13-16-17-18)
14 - Duke (1986-92-98-99-00-01-02-04-05-06-10-11-15-19)
12 - Kentucky (1980-84-86-93-95-96-97-03-04-10-12-15)

San Francisco, with the Dons' last appearance occurring in 1998, is the only one of total of 34 different schools capturing an NCAA championship never to appear in the DI playoffs thus far in the 21st Century. Twenty of the ex-NCAA titlists were absent from the NCAA playoffs at least 15 consecutive campaigns when institution was down in the doldrums.

Defending NCAA kingpin Villanova is one of five different NCAA titlists never to be out of the playoffs at least 10 consecutive campaigns. The longest champ-to-chump stint was endured by Stanford, which captured the 1942 crown before missing the next 46 tournaments. Following is a list of the longest tourney famines (shortest to longest) for former champions since the inaugural event in 1939:

Years MIA	Previous Titlist	NCAA Debut	Longest NCAA Playoff Drought	Coach(es) During Tournament Dry Spell
3	Kentucky	1942	1939 through 1941	Adolph Rupp
3	Kentucky	1942	1989 through 1991	Eddie Sutton and Rick Pitino
6	UNLV	1975	1992 through 1997	Jerry Tarkanian, Rollie Massimino and Bill Bayno
6	UNLV	1975	2001 through 2006	Bill Bayno, Max Good, Charlie Spoonhour and Lon Kruger
9	Kansas	1940	1943 through 1951	Phog Allen and Howard Engleman
9	Ohio State	1939	1951 through 1959	Floyd Stahl and Fred Taylor
9	Villanova	1939	1940 through 1948	Alex Severance
10	North Carolina	1941	1947 through 1956	Tom Scott and Frank McGuire
10	Utah	1944	1967 through 1976	Jack Gardner, Bill E. Foster and Jerry Pimm
11	North Carolina State	1950	1939 through 1949	Ray Sermon, Bob Warren, Leroy Jay and Everett Case
11	UCLA	1950	1939 through 1949	Caddy Works, Wilbur Johns and John Wooden
12	Connecticut	1951	1939 through 1950	Don White, Blair Gullion and Hugh Greer
12	Indiana	1940	1941 through 1952	Branch McCracken and Harry Good
12	Louisville	1951	1939 through 1950	Laurie Apitz, John Heldman, Harold Church/Walter Casey and Peck Hickman
12	Texas-El Paso	1963	1951 through 1962	Dale Waters, George McCarty, Harold Davis and Don Haskins
13	Wyoming	1941	1968 through 1980	Bill Strannigan, Moe Radovich, Don DeVoe and Jim Brandenburg
13	Wyoming	1941	1989 through 2001	Benny Dees, Joby Wright, Larry Shyatt and Steve McClain
15	Michigan	1948	1949 through 1963	Ernie McCoy, Bill Perigo and Dave Strack
16	Duke	1955	1939 through 1954	Eddie Cameron, Gerry Gerard and Harold Bradley
16	Marquette	1955	1939 through 1954	Bill Chandler, Tex Winter and Jack Nagle
17	Oklahoma State	1945	1966 through 1982	Hank Iba, Sam Aubrey, Guy Strong, Jim Killingsworth and Paul Hansen
18	Arkansas	1941	1959 through 1976	Glen Rose, Duddy Waller, Lanny Van Eman and Eddie Sutton
18	Michigan State	1957	1939 through 1956	Ben VanAlstyne, Alton Kircher, Pete Newell and Forddy Anderson
18	Michigan State	1957	1960 through 1977	Forddy Anderson, John Benington, Gus Ganakas and Jud Heathcote
18	Syracuse	1957	1939 through 1956	Lew Andreas and Marc Guley
19	Cincinnati	1958	1939 through 1957	Walter Van Winkle, Clark Ballard, Bob Reuss, Ray Famham, Socko Withe and George Smith
19	Maryland	1958	1939 through 1957	Howard Burton Shipley, Flucie Stewart and Bud Millikan
20	Holy Cross	1947	1957 through 1976	Roy Leenig, Frank Oftring, Jack Donohue and George Blaney
20	La Salle	1954	1993 through 2012	Speedy Morris, Billy Hahn and John Giannini
21	San Francisco	1955	1999 through 2019	Philip Mathews, Jessie Evans, Eddie Sutton, Rex Walters and Kyle Smith
24	Arizona	1951	1952 through 1975	Fred A. Enke, Bruce Larson and Fred Snowden
29	California	1946	1961 through 1989	Rene Herrerias, Jim Padgett, Dick Edwards, Dick Kuchen and Lou Campanelli
31	Georgetown	1943	1944 through 1974	Ken Eagles, Elmer Ripley, Buddy O'Grady, Harry Jeannette, Tommy Nolan, Tom O'Keefe, Jack Magee and John Thompson Jr.
32	Loyola of Chicago	1963	1986 through 2017	Gene Sullivan, Will Rey, Ken Burmeister, Larry Farmer, Jim Whitesell and Porter Moser
33	Oregon	1939	1962 through 1994	Steve Belko, Dick Harter, Jim Haney, Don Monson and Jerry Green
46	Stanford	1942	1943 through 1988	Everett Dean, Robert Burnett, Howie Dallmar, Dick DiBiaso, Tom Davis and Mike Montgomery
46	Wisconsin	1941	1948 through 1993	Bud Foster, John Erickson, John Powless, Bill Cofield, Steve Yoder and Stu Jackson
48	Florida	1987	1939 through 1986	Sam McAlister, Spurgeon Cherry, John Mauer, Norm Sloan, Tommy Bartlett and John Lotz

NOTE: UTEP moved up to major-college status in 1951 and UNLV moved up to major-college status in 1970.