College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge (Day #6)
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.
Looking Out For #1: Only Four of Last 36 Top-Ranked Teams Won NCAA Title
Annually, there is a clear and present danger for pole sitters such as Virginia. Six years ago, Kentucky became only the fourth of 36 schools atop the national rankings entering the NCAA playoffs since North Carolina '82 to capture the national championship.
In 2006, Duke became the ninth No. 1 team in 17 years to fail to advance to a regional final when the Blue Devils were eliminated by LSU. In 1992, Duke defied a trend by becoming the first top-ranked team in 10 years entering the NCAA Tournament to win a national title. The five top-ranked teams prior to Duke failed to reach the championship game. UNLV lost twice in the national semifinals (1987 and 1991) and Temple '88, Arizona '89 and Oklahoma '90 failed to reach the Final Four.
Temple, a 63-53 loser against Duke in the 1988 East Regional final, and Kansas State, an 85-75 loser against Cincinnati in the 1959 Midwest Regional final, are the only teams ranked No. 1 by both AP and UPI entering the tourney to lose by a double-digit margin before the Final Four.
The school gaining the sweetest revenge against a top-ranked team was St. John's in 1952. Defending NCAA champion Kentucky humiliated the Redmen by 41 points (81-40) early in the season when the Catholic institution became the first to have a black player on the floor at Lexington, Ky. The African-American player, Solly Walker, played only a few minutes before he took a hit sidelining him for three weeks. But St. John's, sparked by center Bob Zawoluk's 32 points, avenged the rout by eliminating the Wildcats (64-57) in the East Regional, ending their 23-game winning streak. The Redmen, who subsequently defeated second-ranked Illinois in the national semifinals, lost against Kansas in the NCAA final.
In the 1982 championship game, North Carolina needed a basket with 16 seconds remaining from freshman Michael Jordan to nip Georgetown, 63-62, and become the only top-ranked team in 13 years from 1979 through 1991 to capture the NCAA title. It was a particularly bitter pill to swallow for seven of the 11 top-ranked teams to lose in the NCAA championship game in overtime or by two or three points in regulation.
UVA is the latest #1 to learn it's win or go home as the Cavaliers became the fourth top-ranked team in the last nine years to be eliminated by the second round. Less than one-third of the top-ranked squads captured the NCAA crown. Following is analysis sizing up how the No. 1 teams fared in the NCAA playoffs since the Associated Press introduced national rankings in 1949:
20 - Won national title (Kentucky '49; Kentucky '51; Indiana '53; San Francisco '56; North Carolina '57; UCLA '64; UCLA '67; UCLA '69; UCLA '71; UCLA '72; UCLA '73; North Carolina State '74; UCLA '75; Indiana '76; Kentucky '78; North Carolina '82; Duke '92; UCLA '95, Duke '01, and Kentucky '12).
13 - Finished national runner-up (Bradley '50/defeated by CCNY; Ohio State '61/Cincinnati; Ohio State '62/Cincinnati; Cincinnati '63/Loyola of Chicago; Michigan '65/UCLA; Kentucky '66/Texas Western; Indiana State '79/Michigan State; Houston '83/North Carolina State; Georgetown '85/Villanova; Duke '86/Louisville; Duke '99/Connecticut; Illinois '05/North Carolina, and Ohio State '07/Florida).
9 - Lost in national semifinals (Cincinnati '60/defeated by California; Houston '68/UCLA; UNLV '87/Indiana; UNLV '91/Duke; Massachusetts '96/Kentucky; North Carolina '98/Utah; North Carolina '08/Kansas; Florida '14/Connecticut, and Kentucky '15/Wisconsin).
9 - Lost in regional final (Kentucky '52/defeated by St. John's; Kansas State '59/Cincinnati; Kentucky '70/Jacksonville; Michigan '77/UNC Charlotte; Temple '88/Duke; Indiana '93/Kansas; Kentucky '03/Marquette; Louisville '09/Michigan State), and Kansas '16/Villanova).
7 - Lost in regional semifinals (North Carolina '84/defeated by Indiana; Arizona '89/UNLV; Kansas '97/Arizona; Duke '00/Florida; Duke '02/Indiana); Duke '06/Louisiana State, and Ohio State '11/Kentucky).
8 - Lost in second round (DePaul '80/defeated by UCLA; DePaul '81/St. Joseph's; Oklahoma '90/North Carolina; North Carolina '94/Boston College; Stanford '04/Alabama; Kansas '10/Northern Iowa), Gonzaga '13/Wichita State) and Villanova '17/Wisconsin).
2 - Lost in first round (West Virginia '58/defeated by Manhattan) and (Virginia '18/UMBC).
1 - Declined a berth (Kentucky '54).
NOTE: After United Press International started ranking teams in 1951, UPI had just three different No. 1 teams entering the national playoffs than AP - Indiana lost in 1954 East Regional semifinals against Notre Dame, California finished as 1960 national runner-up to Ohio State and Indiana lost in 1975 Mideast Regional final against Kentucky.
College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge (Day #5)
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 5 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 player to score more than 30,000 points in his pro career after never appearing in NCAA playoffs? Hint: He is the only former major-college player to become NBA Most Valuable Player after failing to participate in NCAA Tournament. He was 0-2 in the NIT, where he lost his final college game by 41 points, before leaving college for the pros with one season of eligibility remaining.
2. Who is the only person to play for an NBA championship team before coaching an NCAA titlist? Hint: He was a backup to an NBA all-time great after being the leading scorer and rebounder for a team winning an NIT crown.
3. Who became an NCAA playoff coach after being the only player in history to participate with two different schools in the NCAA championship game? Hint: One of the teams he played for was undefeated. He coached two different schools in the tourney.
4. Who is the only coach to engineer a turnaround featuring an NCAA playoff appearance in his first full season at a new job although the school compiled a record of more than 20 games below .500 the previous year? Hint: It was his only year as coach at the school.
5. Name the only mid-major conference to have two different members reach a regional semifinal as at-large teams in the same year, beating opponents from the Big East, Big 12 and SEC in the process. Hint: Two other members of the same league achieved the feat in the previous seven years. Only two of its current members haven't won playoff games when seeded five or more places worse than a major university currently a member of one of the current consensus top six leagues since seeding started in 1979.
6. Name the only former NCAA Tournament champion not to win at least one playoff game since capturing the title. Hint: It's the first NCAA champion to have black players in its starting lineup and is the only school to win the NCAA playoffs and NIT in the same year. The school is also the only former major college to win a Division I Tournament championship.
7. Name the school with the most playoff games decided by one or two points (four) on its way to a championship. Hint: It was the first school to need six victories to claim the national crown and is the only school to have two different coaches capture a national championship after compiling a losing record in their first seasons as a major-college head coach.
8. Who is the only coach to win his first 12 tournament games decided in overtime or by fewer than six points in regulation? Hint: His first of three NCAA championship game teams had four players become NBA first-round draft choices.
9. Name the only state to have more than six different schools reach the Final Four. Hint: The state went 31 years between its two national championships.
10. Name the only person to coach two different universities in back-to-back years when each school made its initial playoff appearance. Hint: He reached the national championship game with one of the schools.
Racial Profiling: Majority of 11 HBCU Victories Came in Preliminary Round
After Richmond shocked Jim Boeheim-coached Syracuse in 1991 and Santa Clara kayoed Lute Olson's Arizona squad in 1993, the next three #15 seed victories over #2 seeds came at the hands of historically-black colleges and universities - Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997, Hampton over Iowa State in 2001 and Norfolk State over Missouri in 2012.
However, no HBCU institution has reached the Sweet 16. Perceived in most quarters as picking-on-patsies fodder, the truth about black crime in basketball is that it's a big sin many fans don't know or can't recall the high degree of success historically-black colleges and universities enjoyed at the small-college level. For instance, Norfolk State appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 10 times in a 12-year span from 1984 until finishing third in the 1995 tourney. But most of these HBCU institutions currently are imprisoned at the NCAA Division I level, where they are little more than indentured servants doing the bidding of their major university masters almost always getting whipped on the road during non-conference competition.
What many observers should know is seven different historically black colleges and universities advancing to the NCAA DI level captured a total of nine NAIA and NCAA College Division Tournament championships in a 21-year span from 1957 through 1977 (Tennessee State from 1957 through 1959, Grambling '61, Prairie View A&M '62, Winston-Salem State '67, Morgan State '74, Coppin State '76 and Texas Southern '77). Coppin State is the lone school in this group to go on and post a triumph in the NCAA Division I playoffs.
Winson-Salem State saw what life looked like on the DI side of the fence and abandoned ship after only one season. All but two of the 25 HBCUs endured at least one season with 20 defeats in a six-year span from 2003-04 through 2008-09. The pair that emerged unscathed during that stretch were Hampton (worst record was 13-17 in 2003-04) and Norfolk State (11-19 in 2006-07).
Conference members from the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic have won only 10% of their NCAA Division I Tournament games. Alcorn State registered the first three of the following modest total of 11 HBCU wins in the DI tourney versus non-HBCU competition (six in preliminary round competition; SWAC's Texas Southern matched up against MEAC's North Carolina Central in First Four this year) since the SWAC and MEAC moved up to the Division I level in 1979-80 and 1980-81, respectively:
1980 Midwest First Round: #8 Alcorn State 70 (Baker/Smith game-high 18 points), #9 South Alabama 62 (Rains 22)
1983 Midwest Preliminary Round: Alcorn State 81 (Phelps 18), Xavier 75 (Fleming 16)
1984 Midwest Preliminary Round: Alcorn State 79 (Phelps 21), Houston Baptist 60 (Lavodrama 14)
1993 West First Round: #13 Southern (LA) 93 (Scales 27), #4 Georgia Tech 78 (Mackey 27)
1997 East First Round: #15 Coppin State 78 (Singletary 22), #2 South Carolina 65 (McKie 16)
2001 West First Round: #15 Hampton 58 (Williams 16), #2 Iowa State 57 (Rancik/Shirley 10)
2004 Preliminary Round: Florida A&M 72 (Woods 21), Lehigh 57 (Tempest 13)
2010 Preliminary Round: Arkansas-Pine Bluff 61 (Smith 14), Winthrop 44 (Corbin 13)
2012 West First Round: #15 Norfolk State 86 (O'Quinn 26), #2 Missouri (Dixon 22)
2013 Preliminary Round: North Carolina A&T 73 (Underwood 19), Liberty 72 (Marshall 22)
2015 Preliminary Round: Hampton 74 (Chievous/Johnson 15), Manhattan 64 (Richards 17)
College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge (Day #4)
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 4 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. Name the only conference to have five different members win the national championship although it has only one title in the previous 24 years. Hint: One of the five members to capture a title didn't participate in the NCAA playoffs from 1948 through 1993. The league came within eight points of going 0-11 in the tournament in 1995 and 1996.
2. Name the only conference to have all of its current members win at least one NCAA Tournament game in the 1990s. Hint: It's the only league to have all of its current members participate in at least 10 NCAA playoff games.
3. Who is the only coach to have more than 15 of his teams appear in the playoffs but none reach the Final Four? Hint: He has the worst record in NCAA Tournament history for any coach with at least 25 decisions and was also 1-5 in the NIT. He has more victories as a pitcher in the College World Series for his alma mater than basketball Final Four appearances. He is the only coach with more than 700 victories never to advance to the national semifinals.
4. Who is the only retired major college coach with more than 700 victories never to reach Final Four? Hint: He is the only coach to go at least 20 years between NCAA Tournament appearances with same school.
5. Who is the only coach to leave an NCAA champion before the next season for another coaching job? Hint: He is the only coach to earn a trip to the Final Four in his first college season despite finishing the season with at least 10 defeats. He is also the only coach to reach the NCAA final after finishing fourth or lower in regular-season conference standings. Moreover, he is one of just two coaches, both were also NBA head coaches, to take two different schools to the NCAA playoff championship game.
6. Who is the only coach to direct teams to the NCAA Final Four and the NBA Finals and compile a winning NCAA playoff career record? Hint: His son coached at three Division I schools, taking two of them to the NCAA playoffs.
7. Name the only school to become NCAA champion despite losing five home games during the regular season. Hint: The school didn't participate in nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments and twice in a four-year span in the mid-1970s lost a first-round game after reaching the national final the previous season.
8. Name the only coach of an NCAA titlist to previously play major league baseball. Hint: The Hall of Famer's 18-year college head coaching career was all at one university.
9. Who is the only coach to compile NCAA playoff records at least three games above .500 at two different schools (minimum of five victories at each school) before Rick Pitino arrived at Louisville? Hint: The coach earned a doctorate.
10. Name the only school to have six different coaches take the university to the Final Four. Hint: Of the schools winning at least two national championships, it's the only one in the select group to go more than 25 years between titles.
Like Father, Like Son: Bennett, Musselman & Odom Follow in Dad's Footsteps
Last year, most media mavens focused on Rick Pitino joined in NCAA Tournament by his son (Richard with Minnesota) - the first father-son duo in the same tourney although chip-off-the-old-block Little Richard didn't last long when promptly eliminated from playoffs by Middle Tennessee State. This season, Virginia's Tony Bennett and Nevada's Eric Musselman and UMBC's Ryan Odom followed in the footsteps of their respective fathers. John Thompson Jr. and John III are the only one of the following 16 father-son combinations to each win more than six NCAA playoff games:
Gene Bartow (Memphis State, UCLA and UAB; 14-12 record in 1973-76-77-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-90-94)/Murry Bartow (UAB and East Tennessee State; 0-4 in 1999 and 2004-09-10)
Dick Bennett (Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin; 5-6 in 1991-94-95-97-99-00)/Tony Bennett (Washington State and Virginia; 10-7 in 2007-08-12-14-15-16-17 entering 2018)
Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T and Old Dominion; 1-3 in 1994-95-97)/Jeff Capel III (Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma; 4-3 in 2004-08-09)
Tom Davis (Boston College and Iowa; 18-11 in 1981-82-87-88-89-91-92-93-96-97-99)/Keno Davis (Drake; 0-1 in 2008)
Homer Drew (Valparaiso; 2-7 in 1996-97-98-99-00-02-04)/Scott Drew (Baylor; 10-7 in 2008-10-12-14-15-16-17)/Bryce Drew (Valparaiso and Vanderbilt; 0-4 in 2013-15-16-17)
Clarence Iba (Tulsa; 1-1 in 1955)/Gene Iba (Houston Baptist and Baylor; 0-2 in 1984 and 1988)
Hank Iba (Oklahoma State; 15-7 in 1945-46-49-51-53-54-58-65)/Moe Iba (Nebraska; 0-1 in 1986)
Bob Knight (Indiana and Texas Tech; 45-25 in 1973-75-76-78-80-81-82-83-84-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99 and 2000-02-04-05-07)/Pat Knight (Lamar; 0-1 in 2012)
Ray Meyer (DePaul; 14-16 in 1943-53-56-59-60-65-76-78-79-80-81-82-84)/Joey Meyer (DePaul; 6-7 in 1985-86-87-88-89-91-92)
Don Monson (Idaho; 1-2 in 1981 and 1982)/Dan Monson (Gonzaga, Minnesota and Long Beach State; 3-3 in 1999, 2005 and 2012)
Bill Musselman (Minnesota and South Alabama; 1-2 in 1972 and 1997)/Eric Musselman (Nevada; 0-1 in 2017 entering 2018)
Dave Odom (Wake Forest and South Carolina; 10-9 in 1991-92-93-94-95-96-97-01-04)/Ryan Odom (UMBC; first NCAA tourney in 2018)
Rick Pitino (Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville; 54-19 in 1983-87-92-93-94-95-96-97-03-04-05-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14-15-17)/Richard Pitino (Minnesota; 0-1 in 2017)
Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State; 39-26 in 1974-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-91-92-93-94-95-98-99 and 2000-01-02-03-04-05)/Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts; 0-3 in 2006-07-08)
John Thompson Jr. (Georgetown; 34-19 in 1975-76-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-94-95-96-97)/John Thompson III (Princeton and Georgetown; 9-10 in 2001-04-06-07-08-10-11-12-13-15)
Butch van Breda Kolff (Princeton; 7-5 in 1963-64-65-67)/Jan van Breda Kolff (Vanderbilt and Pepperdine; 1-2 in 1997 and 2000)
College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge (Day #3)
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.
From Peon to Pedestal: Small-College Transfers Excelling at Prime Time
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 two NCAA Division I Tournaments. Robinson is back again this year along with backup center Manny Suarez (Adelphi NY to Creighton).
Flemmings and Robinson 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 are even a couple of coaches in this year's tourney who were in this category as a player - Alabama's Avery Johnson (Cameron OK to Southern LA) and Montana's Travis DeCuire (Chaminade HI to Montana).
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 20 transfer players who went from non-Division I schools to center stage in the NCAA Division I Tournament prior to Flemmings and Robinson:
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 the 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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Thrill is Gone: New Mexico State Winless in Last 25 NCAA Tourneys
A significant number of schools turn sheepish at the mention of recent NCAA Tournament success. Among Division I institutions making at least 10 NCAA playoff appearances, six former Final Four participants - New Mexico State, Oregon State, Princeton, San Francisco, Southern Methodist and Texas-El Paso - combined to go winless in the past 20 years. Houston ended a 33-year winless blemish.
DePaul, Oregon State and San Francisco each have won more than 20 NCAA tourney games but collaborated for only one win in the past 28 years (DePaul over Dayton in double overtime in 2004). With B.B. King "The Thrill is Gone" lyrics in the background, following is an alphabetical list of schools with at least 10 NCAA playoff appearances for which Sweet 16 is a distant memory:
School (Playoff Appearances) Recent NCAA Tournament Travails Boston College (18) winless previous 10 years with only one appearance Charlotte (11) no appearance previous 12 years; winless previous 16 years DePaul (22) appeared once previous 17 years; one victory previous 28 years George Washington (11) one victory previous 23 years Georgia (12) one victory previous 21 years Holy Cross (13) posted first win since 1953 two seasons ago in play-in game Idaho State (11) winless previous 40 years Minnesota (13) one victory previous 20 years New Mexico State (22) winless previous 24 years Old Dominion (11) one victory previous 22 years Oregon State (17) winless previous 35 years Penn (24) one victory previous 37 years Pepperdine (13) one victory previous 35 years Princeton (25) winless previous 19 years San Francisco (16) appeared once previous 35 years Santa Clara (11) no appearance previous 21 years Seattle (11) winless since 1964 Southern Methodist (12) winless previous 29 years Texas-El Paso (17) winless previous 25 years Utah State (20) one victory previous 47 years Weber State (15) winless previous 18 years Wyoming (15) one victory previous 30 years
Degrees of Success: Educational Backgrounds of 2018 NCAA Tourney Coaches
NCAA Tournament coaches will need to draw upon all of their resources to motivate their clubs in postseason play. Journalism major LaVall Jordan (Butler) could multi-task by helping press horde with their lede paragraphs. Following is an alphabetical list assessing the educational backgrounds of mentors in the 2018 NCAA playoffs:
| 2018 NCAA Tourney Head Coach | School | Bachelor's | Master's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casey Alexander | Lipscomb | unavailable | |
| Steve Alford | UCLA | Business | |
| Mike Anderson | Arkansas | Education | |
| Rick Barnes | Tennessee | Health & Physical Education | |
| Chris Beard | Texas Tech | Kinesiology | |
| John Beilein | Michigan | History | |
| Tony Bennett | Virginia | Humanities | |
| Jim Boeheim | Syracuse | Social Science | Social Science |
| Brad Brownell | Clemson | History | |
| John Calipari | Kentucky | Marketing | |
| Tim Cluess | Iona | Accounting | |
| Ed Cooley | Providence | History | |
| Mick Cronin | Cincinnati | History | |
| Scott Cross | Texas-Arlington | Marketing | |
| Dan D'Antoni | Marshall | Speech & Physical Education | Principles of Guidance |
| Mike Davis | Texas Southern | Telecommunications | |
| Nathan Davis | Bucknell | History & Sociology | |
| Travis DeCuire | Montana | Marketing | |
| Jamie Dixon | Texas Christian | Finance | Economics |
| Steve Donahue | Penn | Economics & Business Administration | |
| Brian Dutcher | San Diego State | Physical Education | Physical Education & Athletic Administration |
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | Physical Education | Athletic Administration |
| Earl Grant | College of Charleston | Psychology | |
| Leonard Hamilton | Florida State | Physical Education | Physical & Health Education |
| Chris Holtmann | Ohio State | Psychology | Athletic Administration |
| Bob Huggins | West Virginia | Physical Education | Health Administration |
| Ron Hunter | Georgia State | Education | Education |
| Bobby Hurley | Arizona State | unavailable | |
| Dan Hurley | Rhode Island | Business | |
| Tom Izzo | Michigan State | Health and Physical Education | |
| Avery Johnson | Alabama | Psychology | |
| Mike Jones | Radford | Zoology | |
| LaVall Jordan | Butler | Journalism | |
| Kevin Keatts | North Carolina State | unavailable | |
| Kyle Keller | Stephen F. Austin | Business Management | Human Relations & Supervision |
| Derek Kellogg | Long Island | Real Estate/Finance | |
| Billy Kennedy | Texas A&M | Social Studies Education | |
| Lon Kruger | Oklahoma | Business | Physical Education |
| Mike Krzyzewski | Duke | Officer Training | |
| Jim Larranaga | Miami (Fla.) | Economics | |
| Chris Mack | Xavier | Communication Arts | |
| Gregg Marshall | Wichita State | Economics/Business | Sports Management |
| Cuonzo Martin | Missouri | Restaurant, Hotel, Institutional & Tourism Management | |
| Greg McDermott | Creighton | History | Sports Management |
| Bob McKillop | Davidson | History | |
| Matt McMahon | Murray State | Marketing | |
| Sean Miller | Arizona | Communications | |
| Wes Miller | UNC Greensboro | Political Science | |
| Porter Moser | Loyola of Chicago | Business Management | |
| LeVelle Moton | North Carolina Central | Recreation Administration | |
| Eric Musselman | Nevada | unavailable | |
| Scott Nagy | Wright State | Business Administration | |
| Nate Oats | Buffalo | Math Education | |
| Ryan Odom | Maryland-Baltimore County | Economics | |
| T.J. Otzelberger | South Dakota State | unavailable | |
| Matt Painter | Purdue | Sociology | |
| Dave Paulsen | Bucknell | History | History |
| Bruce Pearl | Auburn | Business Administration | |
| Kelvin Sampson | Houston | Health & Physical Education | Coaching & Administration |
| Mark Schmidt | St. Bonaventure | Business Administration/Management | |
| Bill Self | Kansas | Business | Athletic Administration |
| Shaka Smart | Texas | History | Social Science |
| Dedrique Taylor | Cal State Fullerton | Sociology & Organizational Studies | Sports Administration |
| 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 |
| Jay Wright | Villanova | Economics/Sociology |
Stars Burn Out: Numerous Name Programs Missing in Action From Playoffs
At least 10 of the 37 schools appearing in excess of 50 NCAA payoff games failed to participate in the tourney each year since the field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985, including 16 former Final Four schools this season.
Nearly half of the "star schools" stayed home in 2004, including Houston when the Cougars were in the midst of a 17-year drought from 1993 through 2009. Following is a chronological list of big-name universities who were tourney outcasts since 1985:
1985 (14) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Indiana, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
1986 (12) - Arkansas, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Kansas State, Marquette, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA, Wake Forest
1987 (13) - Arkansas, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis State, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Utah, Villanova, Wake Forest
1988 (12) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Marquette, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
1989 (15) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, Utah, Wake Forest
1990 (12) - Cincinnati, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis State, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
1991 (14) - Cincinnati, Florida, Illinois, Houston, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, West Virginia
1992 (11) - Florida, Illinois, Kansas State, Marquette, Maryland, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Purdue, UNLV, Utah, Villanova
1993 (15) - Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Texas, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
1994 (13) - Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Memphis, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, St. John's, UNLV, Utah, Villanova, West Virginia
1995 (11) - Duke, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Marquette, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, St. John's, UNLV, West Virginia
1996 (11) - Florida, Houston, Illinois, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, UNLV, West Virginia
1997 (16) - Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Kansas State, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, UNLV, West Virginia
1998 (14) - Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Villanova, Wake Forest
1999 (12) - Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Kansas State, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, UNLV, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2000 (12) - Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2001 (14) - Connecticut, Houston, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina State, Purdue, St. John's, UNLV, Utah, Villanova, West Virginia
2002 (15) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
2003 (14) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, St. John's, Temple, UCLA, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
2004 (18) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Marquette, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UCLA, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
2005 (15) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Indiana, Kansas State, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UNLV
2006 (14) - Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest
2007 (15) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Michigan, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2008 (14) - Cincinnati, Florida, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, Utah, Wake Forest
2009 (13) - Arkansas, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, St. John's, UNLV
2010 (15) - Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, St. John's, UCLA, Utah
2011 (10) - Arkansas, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Utah, Wake Forest
2012 (13) - Arizona, Arkansas, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, St. John's, UCLA, Utah, Villanova, Wake Forest
2013 (11) - Arkansas, Connecticut, Houston, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Purdue, St. John's, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2014 (15) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Marquette, Maryland, Notre Dame, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2015 (12) - Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Illinois, Kansas State, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Wake Forest
2016 (16) - Arkansas, Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, UCLA, UNLV, Wake Forest
2017 (15) - Connecticut, Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Memphis, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Utah
2018 (16) - Connecticut, Georgetown, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest
Humble Backgrounds: Small-College Grads Make Big News as Tourney Coaches
In a caste-like era separating the haves from the have-nots, imperial universities are seeking mega-conferences and, perhaps in the near future, a restrictive upper division. But the socially elite won't ever be able to exclude small schools from making a big impact on the NCAA playoffs.
Smaller colleges, many of them in the hinterlands, have supplied a striking number of the biggest names in coaching. From 1995 through 2000, five of the six NCAA Tournament championship coaches (Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Tom Izzo, Lute Olson and Tubby Smith) graduated from obscure colleges with smaller enrollments. In fact, it is a rarity for a Final Four not to feature at least one coach who graduated from a non-Division I school.
John Calipari, a graduate of Clarion (Pa.) State, guided Kentucky to the 2012 national championship before Michigan's John Beilein (Wheeling Jesuit NY) and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall (Randolph-Macon VA) directed teams to the Final Four four years ago. Following is an alphabetical list of 2018 NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:
2018 NCAA Playoff Coach School Small-College Alma Mater Casey Alexander Lipscomb Belmont (Tenn.) '95 John Beilein Michigan Wheeling Jesuit (N.Y.) '75 Brad Brownell Clemson DePauw (Ind.) '91 John Calipari Kentucky Clarion (Pa.) State '82 Ed Cooley Providence Stonehill (Mass.) '94 Nathan Davis Bucknell Randolph-Macon (Va.) '97 Leonard Hamilton Florida State Tennessee-Martin '71 Chris Holtmann Ohio State Taylor (Ind.) '94 Tom Izzo Michigan State Northern Michigan '77 Kevin Keatts North Carolina State Ferrum (Va.) '95 Gregg Marshall Wichita State Randolph-Macon (Va.) '85 LeVelle Moton North Carolina Central North Carolina Central '96 Nate Oats Buffalo Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) '97 Ryan Odom Maryland-Baltimore County Hampden-Sydney (Va.) '96 T.J. Otzelberger South Dakota State Wisconsin-Whitewater '01 Kelvin Sampson Houston Pembroke (N.C.) State '78 Shaka Smart Texas Kenyon (Ohio) '99 Dedrique Taylor Cal State Fullerton UC Davis '97 Brent "Buzz" Williams Virginia Tech Oklahoma City '94
NOTE: Belmont, UC Davis, North Carolina Central and Tennessee-Martin subsequently were classified as NCAA Division I universities.
College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge (Day #2)
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 2 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 individual selected the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player three times? Hint: His real first name was Ferdinand and he is the only player to couple three unanimous first team All-American seasons with three NCAA championships. He is also the only player to hit better than 70% of his field-goal attempts in two NCAA title games.
2. Who is the only coach to twice guide three different schools to the NCAA playoffs in the same decade? Hint: He achieved the feat in a span of six straight seasons and is the only coach to have two different sons play for him in the tourney with two different schools.
3. Who is the only one of the 40 Final Four Most Outstanding Players from 1972 through 2011 not to play for the championship team? Hint: He never led his college team in scoring average in any of his three seasons at the school.
4. Who is the only coach to guide a school to the Final Four as many as five times and never capture the national championship? Hint: He lost each time at the Final Four to the eventual titlist and served as captain for the school's first team in 1946.
5. Name the only current Pacific-12 Conference member never to reach the Final Four. Hint: The school has made more tournament appearances than seven Pac-12 members, but lost three West Regional finals by a total of 40 points before joining the conference. It absorbed the largest margin of defeat for the 14 No. 1 or 2 seeds losing their playoff opener since seeding started in 1979.
6. Name the only conference to have five teams all lose their opening-round game in a single tourney. Hint: The league has had four different schools lose first-round games by more than 20 points against squads with double-digit seeds since seeding started in 1979.
7. Who is the only coach to win a tournament game for four different schools? Hint: He was the only coach in 20th Century to direct four different universities to NCAA playoffs.
8. Who is the only individual to win NCAA titles in his first two seasons as head coach at a school? Hint: He achieved the feat the first year after the eligibility expired for the school's most illustrious player, a three-time UPI Player of the Year who led the nation in scoring each season.
9. Who is 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? Hint: He 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 yet another school.
10. Name the only school to reach the Final Four in its one and only NCAA Tournament appearance in the 20th Century. Hint: The coach of the Final Four team is the only individual to win more than 30 games in earning a trip to the national semifinals in his first season.
NIT-Picking: Handy-Dandy Guide Assessing National Invitation Tournament
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.
Runaway Winners: Most Dominant Regular-Season Conference Champions
Virginia became the first ACC member since Duke in 1999-00 to win the regular-season league title by as many as four games in final standings. But the most dominant club in conference competition this season was Buffalo, which captured the Mid-American Conference East Division title by six games.
The SEC is the only power league this decade to have a team finish atop conference standings by at least five games. Buffalo is among the following 13 teams to win a DI conference regular-season crown by more than four games this decade (listed in reverse order):
| Season | League Champion (Coach) | Conference | Mark | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | Buffalo (Nate Oats) | Mid-American/East | 15-3 | +6 |
| 2016-17 | Belmont (Rick Byrd) | Ohio Valley/East | 15-1 | +5 |
| 2014-15 | Murray State (Steve Prohm) | Ohio Valley/West | 16-0 | +6 |
| 2014-15 | Kentucky (John Calipari) | SEC | 18-0 | +5 |
| 2014-15 | New Mexico State (Marvin Menzies) | WAC | 13-1 | +5 |
| 2013-14 | Wichita State (Gregg Marshall) | Missouri Valley | 18-0 | +6 |
| 2013-14 | Murray State (Steve Prohm) | Ohio Valley/West | 13-3 | +5 |
| 2013-14 | Florida (Billy Donovan) | SEC | 18-0 | +6 |
| 2012-13 | Middle Tennessee State (Kermit Davis) | Sun Belt | 19-1 | +5 |
| 2011-12 | Kentucky (John Calipari) | SEC | 16-0 | +6 |
| 2011-12 | Middle Tennessee State (Kermit Davis) | Sun Belt/East | 14-2 | +6 |
| 2010-11 | Utah State (Stew Morrill) | WAC | 15-1 | +5 |
| 2009-10 | Butler (Brad Stevens) | Horizon League | 18-0 | +6 |
Familiar Surroundings: Graduates Guiding Alma Mater in 2018 NCAA Tourney
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 12 individuals (half of whom made their head coaching debut for same school they attended) guiding their alma mater in college basketball's grandest prize - a berth in the NCAA Tournament:
2018 Playoff Coach Alma Mater First Season as School's Head Coach Jim Boeheim Syracuse '66 1976-77 Mick Cronin Cincinnati '96 2006-07 (after stint with Murray State) Scott Cross Texas-Arlington '98 2006-07 Dan D'Antoni Marshall '69 2014-15 Travis DeCuire Montana '94 2014-15 Jamie Dixon Texas Christian '87 2016-17 (after Pittsburgh) Bob Huggins West Virginia '77 2007-08 (after Akron, Cincinnati and Kansas State) LaVall Jordan Butler '01 2017-18 (after Milwaukee) Chris Mack Xavier '92 2009-10 LeVelle Moton North Carolina Central '96 2009-10 Matt Painter Purdue '93 2005-06 (after Southern Illinois) Roy Williams North Carolina '72 2003-04 (after Kansas)
From Here to Futility: Four Schools With > 25 Wins Denied At-Large Berths
The "Road to the Final Four" is a highway lined with daydreamers and potholes. But it defies logic why a total of four mid-major schools with more than 25 victories were consigned to NIT participation. It's as absurd as believing FBI probe involving Louisville, Oklahoma State and USC didn't impact their at-large status. In the end, Saint Mary's matched Coastal Carolina '11 as the teams with most triumphs but denied an at-large bid despite posting 28 victories.
Rather than automatically focusing on underachieving middle-of-the-pack power-alliance affiliates, shouldn't teams capturing undisputed regular-season crowns in a Division I conference warrant more extensive consideration as at-large entrants to the NCAA playoffs? Season-long excellence needs to count more than always paying homage to mediocre members of a power league. Actually, we got a pretty clear picture this season showing the power conferences really weren't all that powerful. Doubt many committee members know the following at-large entrants lost in previous tourneys to the following mid-majors: Alabama (Illinois State), Florida (bowed to Colorado State and Creighton), Missouri (Colorado State, Northern Iowa and Rhode Island), Ohio State (Louisiana Tech), Oklahoma (Louisiana-Lafayette), Syracuse (Oral Roberts and Vermont), Tennessee (Illinois State), Texas (Louisiana-Lafayette), Texas Tech (Southern Illinois) and Virginia Tech (Southern Illinois). It's inconceivable any committee member watched Vermont's narrow loss at Kentucky and came away with opinion other than the Catamounts are a tourney team. Ditto St. Mary's triumph at Gonzaga unless committee members can't discern a quality mid-major as much as coach Bruce Pearl couldn't recognize his residence in Tennessee.
Davidson had two of 11 teams from mid-major conferences - Lafayette '78, American '81, Temple '82, William & Mary '83, Coppin State '94, Davidson '96, Austin Peay '04, Davidson '05, Norfolk State '13, Murray State '15 and North Carolina Central '15 - going undefeated in league round-robin regular-season competition but not participating in the NCAA playoffs after losing by a single-digit margin in their conference tournament since at-large bids were issued to schools other than conference champions in 1975.
Saint Mary's, rejected despite a sterling 28-5 worksheet, is a classic example depicting why many mid-level schools have an inferiority complex. The Gaels were overlooked only two years ago despite posting 27 victories. Utah State was shunned in 2003-04 despite winning nearly 90% of its games (25-3 record). Does anyone believe Buffalo, Loyola of Chicago and Marshall would have been selected as at-large entrants if they didn't win their respective league tourneys?
Prior to joining the Big East Conference, Creighton's splendid season nine years ago was downplayed. Know-it-all national media types and committee members may haughtily belittle mid-major achievements because they're from the other side of the tracks, but following is an alarmingly long track record listing chronologically eligible teams winning more than 25 games yet failing to earn invitations to the NCAA playoffs since the field expanded to at least 64 in 1985:
NOTE: Cleveland State (defeated Indiana and Wake Forest), College of Charleston (Maryland), Colorado State (Colorado, Florida and Missouri), Creighton (Alabama, Florida, Louisville and Texas), Davidson (Georgetown, St. John's and Wisconsin), Illinois State (Alabama, Southern California and Tennessee), Louisiana-Lafayette (Oklahoma and Texas), Louisiana Tech (Ohio State and Pittsburgh), ORU (Louisville and Syracuse), Saint Mary's (Villanova), SIU (Arizona, Georgia, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech) and Vermont (Syracuse) collectively won NCAA playoff games in other years against 23 different power conference members.
No Fortune For Below .500: Did 5 Schools With Losing Marks Deserve Bids?
Alabama's obscene total of 15 defeats entering NCAA competition notwithstanding, when will the Division I Committee and "impartial" media promoting leagues with which they have cozy business dealings realize a losing conference record probably should deny any team receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament? In 30 of the last 36 years, the selection committee awarded at least one at-large berth to a squad with a sub-.500 mark in a top-caliber league. Bama is among an all-time high of five this year as the committee, if history holds form, will be shown to have pretty much simply wasted everyone's time. Anyone with functioning brain knows combination of Middle Tennessee State, Saint Mary's, Vermont and Western Kentucky would have been a more entertaining match-up this year than dreary Arizona State/Syracuse affair.
The Big 12 Conference was the beneficiary for the fifth and sixth time in the last five years when Oklahoma and Texas (each 8-10 in league competition) secured at-large bids this season. In 2014 and 2015, Oklahoma State became the first school ever to receive an at-large berth in back-to-back campaigns after compiling a losing league record. Each of the previous 10 at-large teams in this category failed to reach the Sweet 16. Since numbers never lie, the cold and hard facts are that Virginia '84 is the only team with a sub-.500 conference mark to reach the Final Four. Three years later, Louisiana State became the last at-large team with a losing league mark to reach a regional final.
Maryland (#5 in 1986 and #4 in 2004) earned the two best seeds for an at-large squad with a losing conference record. North Carolina State '05 is the only school in this sub.-500 category in the previous 15 years to advance to the Sweet 16. In the same span, a total of 13 mid-major regular-season champions earning at-large bids reached the Sweet 16 or beyond. This striking number of at-large mid-level success stories doesn't even include recent Final Four clubs such as Virginia Commonwealth '11 (fourth-place finisher in Atlantic 10) and Wichita State '13 (second in Missouri Valley). How much more evidence does the committee require to give the Louisianas, Middle Tennessees, Old Dominions, Saint Mary's and Vermonts closer look rather than issuing handouts to underachieving members of power alliances?
Iowa State '92 is the only school receiving an at-large bid despite losing all of its conference road games. The Cyclones, dropping their seven Big Eight road contests by an average margin of 14.4 points, compiled the worst league mark (5-9) among at-large teams until Florida State '98 (6-10 in ACC with three losses by more than 20 points).
A breakdown of conference recipients of basically unwarranted at-large bids include the ACC (16), Big Ten (seven), Big Eight/Big 12 (nine), Big East (five), SEC (five) and Pacific-12 (two). After registering a 10-5 NCAA playoff mark from 1983 through 1987, teams in this suspect group went 24-39 since 1988 (ACC 12-14, Big East 1-4, Big Eight/Big 12 3-9, Big Ten 7-7, Pac-12 0-2, SEC 1-3). This year, five at-large teams joined the following list of underachieving power-league "losers" given preferential treatment over more worthy mid-major conference members:
| Year | At-Large Team | Conference | League | Overall | NCAA Playoff Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Alabama | SEC | 8-10 | 20-12 | #6 seed lost in first round |
| 1984 | Virginia | ACC | 6-8 | 21-12 | #7 seed lost in national semifinals |
| 1985 | Boston College | Big East | 7-9 | 20-11 | #11 seed lost in regional semifinals |
| 1986 | Maryland | ACC | 6-8 | 19-14 | #5 seed lost in second round |
| 1987 | Louisiana State | SEC | 8-10 | 24-15 | #10 seed lost in regional final |
| 1988 | Iowa State | Big Eight | 6-8 | 20-12 | #12 seed lost in first round |
| 1988 | Maryland | ACC | 6-8 | 18-13 | #7 seed lost in second round |
| 1989 | Providence | Big East | 7-9 | 18-11 | #12 seed lost in first round |
| 1990 | Indiana | Big Ten | 8-10 | 18-11 | #8 seed lost in first round |
| 1990 | Virginia | ACC | 6-8 | 20-12 | #7 seed lost in second round |
| 1991 | Georgia Tech | ACC | 6-8 | 17-13 | #8 seed lost in second round |
| 1991 | Villanova | Big East | 7-9 | 17-15 | #9 seed lost in second round |
| 1991 | Virginia | ACC | 6-8 | 21-12 | #7 seed lost in first round |
| 1992 | Iowa State | Big Eight | 5-9 | 21-13 | #10 seed lost in second round |
| 1992 | Wake Forest | ACC | 7-9 | 17-12 | #9 seed lost in first round |
| 1994 | Seton Hall | Big East | 8-10 | 17-13 | #10 seed lost in first round |
| 1994 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | 8-10 | 18-11 | #9 seed lost in second round |
| 1995 | Iowa State | Big Eight | 6-8 | 23-11 | #7 seed lost in second round |
| 1996 | Clemson | ACC | 7-9 | 18-11 | #9 seed lost in first round |
| 1997 | Virginia | ACC | 7-9 | 18-13 | #9 seed lost in first round |
| 1998 | Clemson | ACC | 7-9 | 18-13 | #6 seed lost in first round |
| 1998 | Florida State | ACC | 6-10 | 17-13 | #12 seed lost in second round |
| 1999 | Purdue | Big Ten | 7-9 | 21-13 | #10 seed lost in regional semifinals |
| 2001 | Penn State | Big Ten | 7-9 | 21-12 | #7 seed lost in regional semifinals |
| 2003 | Alabama | SEC | 7-9 | 17-12 | #10 seed lost in first round |
| 2004 | Maryland | ACC | 7-9 | 20-12 | #4 seed lost in second round |
| 2005 | Iowa | Big Ten | 7-9 | 21-12 | #10 seed lost in first round |
| 2005 | North Carolina State | ACC | 7-9 | 21-14 | #10 seed lost in regional semifinals |
| 2007 | Arkansas | SEC | 7-9 | 21-13 | #12 seed lost in first round |
| 2008 | Arizona | Pacific-10 | 8-10 | 19-14 | #10 seed lost in first round |
| 2009 | Maryland | ACC | 7-9 | 20-13 | #10 seed lost in second round |
| 2010 | Georgia Tech | ACC | 7-9 | 22-12 | #10 seed lost in second round |
| 2012 | Connecticut | Big East | 8-10 | 20-13 | #9 seed lost in first round |
| 2013 | Illinois | Big Ten | 8-10 | 22-12 | #7 seed lost in second round |
| 2013 | Minnesota | Big Ten | 8-10 | 20-12 | #11 seed lost in second round |
| 2014 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 8-10 | 21-12 | #9 seed lost in first round |
| 2015 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 8-10 | 18-14 | #9 seed lost in first round |
| 2015 | Texas | Big 12 | 8-10 | 20-14 | #11 seed lost in first round |
| 2017 | Kansas State | Big 12 | 8-10 | 21-14 | #11 seed lost in first round after play-in win |
| 2018 | Alabama | SEC | 8-10 | 19-15 | #9 seed lost in second round |
| 2018 | Arizona State | Pac 12 | 8-10 | 20-11 | #11 seed lost play-in game |
| 2018 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 8-10 | 18-13 | #10 seed lost in first round |
| 2018 | Syracuse | ACC | 8-10 | 20-13 | #11 seed lost in regional semifinals |
| 2018 | Texas | Big 12 | 8-10 | 19-14 | #10 seed lost in first round |
Seeding Capacity: Been There/Done That for KU Jayhawks as #1 Seed
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 Kansas as the Jayhawks are revisiting the pedestal. KU might not want the designation inasmuch as the Jayhawks failed to reach the Final Four as a #1 seed five times this decade.
KU was beaten in 2017 Midwest Regional final by Oregon, a #1 seed the previous season among seven former NCAA Tournament champions never to rank atop the AP national poll during the regular season. 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:
16 - North Carolina (1979-82-84-87-91-93-94-97-98-05-07-08-09-12-16-17)
14 - Kansas (1986-92-95-97-98-02-07-08-10-11-13-16-17-18)
13 - Duke (1986-92-98-99-00-01-02-04-05-06-10-11-15)
12 - Kentucky (1980-84-86-93-95-96-97-03-04-10-12-15)
Great Expectations: Coach K Failed to Notch First NCAA Win Until 10th Year
Unrealistic expectations spread like a virus across the country when a young pup such as Brad Stevens becomes a big dawg by winning 11 NCAA Tournament games in his first four seasons coaching mid-major Butler before departing for the NBA's Boston Celtics at the conclusion of the 2012-13 campaign. But many school administrations and boosters, unaware that UCLA legend John Wooden notched only one tourney triumph in his first 13 years with the Bruins, need to exercise a little patience in this era of instant gratification. It's the type of priority perspective exhibited this year by Final Four-bound Loyola of Chicago, where Porter Moser posted his first NCAA playoff victory in 14th DI head coaching campaign (with three schools).
As the misguided media seeks another overnight success, they need to take a cue from ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg, who is deemed an expert after winning a grand total of one NCAA playoff game in 22 years as a DI head coach. Also, Dana Altman of upper bracket seed Oregon for second successive season failed to notch his first NCAA tourney triumph until his 10th season as a DI mentor. While ESPN canonizes coaches to secure exclusive interviews and extensive foundation donations, it should be pointed out power-league luminaries John Beilein (Michigan), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Lon Kruger (Oklahoma), Mike Krzyzsewski, (Duke), Bill Self (Kansas) and Jay Wright (Villanova) combined to lose in the NCAA playoffs this century against mid-majors Bucknell, Bradley, George Mason, Lehigh, Mercer, Middle Tennessee State, Nevada, North Dakota State, Ohio University, Old Dominion, Rhode Island, Saint Mary's, Vermont, VCU, Wichita State and Winthrop.
Still, starter-kit supporters for some schools should take a chill pill if their coach remains winless in NCAA Tournament competition by losing an opener. Krzyzewski was frustrated by the tourney long before losing against Mercer. Impatient supporters should take a long look at how long it took for the following alphabetical list of high-profile coaches, including all-time leader Krzyzewski, to secure their first NCAA playoff victory.
NOTE: The victories for retired Greer, McCarthy and Newton were the only one they posted in NCAA playoff participation.
Quantum Leap: South Dakota State Still Making Jackrabbit Waves in Playoffs
Tourney returnee South Dakota State, making its fifth tourney appearance in last seven years, will generate national headlines stemming from their relative newcomer status to the NCAA playoffs. But there has been a striking number of smaller schools over the decades make even more impressive transitions to big-time basketball than the Jackrabbits (moved up to DI in 2005-06).
An overwhelming majority of dreamy schools moving up in classification from the small-college ranks to the major-college level are little more than fodder for prominent universities seeking non-conference cupcakes to devour. Amid the moving-on-up carnage, Northern Kentucky became the fifth institution making a quantum leap by earning the right to participate in the NCAA Tournament last year in their inaugural eligible season at Division I level - Seattle (29-4 record in 1952-53), Morehead State (19-10 in 1955-56), Long Beach State (24-5 in 1969-70) and Southwestern Louisiana (25-4 in 1971-72). Incredibly, the first four of these schools won their DI tourney debut and returned to the NCAA playoffs the next season, too.
Long Beach and USL each compiled a 25-4 mark in the 1971-72 campaign. USL's 90-83 victory over visiting LBSU early that season might have been one of the best inter-sectional matchups few people ever heard about or remember. Long Beach swingman Ed Ratleff and USL guard Bo Lamar became the only set of former high school teammates (Columbus, Ohio) named NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans in the same season. They achieved the feat again the next year.
USL (now known as Louisiana-Lafayette), powered by Lamar and two other future pros (Roy Ebron and Fred Saunders), became the only one of this rare quartet to qualify for the national semifinals in its final season sporting small-school status. The Ragin' Cajuns were upended by national champion-to-be Evansville in the 1971 College Division Tournament. Evansville, sparked by guard Don Buse, was the host school for the Division II tourney from 1957 through 1976. Lamar collected 35 points and 11 assists while Ebron amassed 33 points and 20 rebounds in USL's 112-101 victory against Marshall in the first round of 1972 Midwest Regional when the Cajuns scored the most points in tourney history for a school in its first DI playoff game.
USL, which also won its 1973 NCAA DI tourney opener, was prohibited from fielding a team for two seasons (1973-74 and 1974-75) as part of sanctions stemming from an NCAA probation. UNLV failed to appear in the NCAA playoffs in the Rebels' first five years at the DI level. Following is a summary of where LBSU and USL rank amid the quickest successful transitions by DI neophytes (appeared in DI tourney at least once in first five campaigns):
| Rank | School | 1st DI Season | Summary of Prompt DI Tournament Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Seattle | 1952-53 | Appeared in NCAA Division I Tournament first four seasons through 1955-56 before finishing national runner-up in 1958. |
| 2. | Long Beach State | 1969-70 | Participated in tourney each of first four seasons at DI level. |
| 3. | Jacksonville | 1966-67 | National runner-up in 1970 en route to three tourney appearances in four-year span after missing event first three seasons. |
| 4. | UAB | 1978-79 | Seven consecutive tourney appearances from 1981 through 1987 after missing first two seasons. |
| 5. | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1971-72 | Won tourney games each of first two seasons at DI level before facing two seasons of exile as a penalized program. |
| 6. | Morehead State | 1955-56 | Competed first two major-college years in national tourney and three of first six seasons. |
| 7. | UNC Charlotte | 1972-73 | Reached Final Four in 1977 after missing tourney first four seasons. |
| 8. | Alcorn State | 1977-78 | Appeared in DI tourney four times in five years first half of 1980s after missing first two seasons at that level. |
| 9. | Old Dominion | 1976-77 | Four tourney appearances in seven-year span from 1980 through 1986 after missing first three seasons. |
| 10. | Missouri State | 1982-83 | Four consecutive tourney appearances from 1987 through 1990 after missing first four seasons. |
| 11. | College of Charleston | 1989-90 | Appeared in tourney four times in six-year span from 1994 through 1999 after missing first four seasons. |
| 12. | James Madison | 1976-77 | Three straight tourney appearances from 1981 through 1983 after missing first four seasons. |
| 13. | Marist | 1981-82 | Back-to-back playoff appearances in 1986 and 1987 after missing first four seasons. |
College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tourney Trivia Challenge (Day #1)
Is that your final answer? Do you have the wit, guile and endurance to be a "Survivor" answering 10 daily questions about "The Amazing Race" otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament?
Standardized testing is controversial, but it's time to put your NCAA playoff knowledge on the line and attempt a free shot at CollegeHoopedia.com's challenging tourney-time questions. Your "scoring ability" on these one-of-a-kind trivia quizzes will reflect retention of critical knowledge, jogging your memory, exhibiting your lack of attention to detail or revealing once and for all you didn't major in "Hoopology" or take an advanced course in Basketball History.
As you're aware, many participants in the NCAA playoffs believe it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Similarly, more and more all-around sports fans probably would pick the Final Four over the World Series and Super Bowl if they were forced to choose one of the prestigious events they could attend.
In accordance with that "one-and-only" theme, following are a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions by CollegeHoopedia.com from Selection Sunday through the NCAA championship game dealing with the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct PhD degree-like research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Name the only NCAA champion to have three players eventually score more than 15,000 points apiece in the NBA. Hint: Each of the trio was named an All-American at least two seasons and helped the school compete in 27 consecutive NCAA playoffs.
2. Name the only NBA team to have two teammates go on to coach teams in the Final Four. Hint: They were among the top three scorers for their team the first three seasons in NBA history. Their team posted the best regular-season record in the league's inaugural campaign and participated in the 1949 NBA Finals.
3. Name the only state currently with at least 10 Division I schools never to send a team to the Final Four. Hint: Just one school from the state won any NCAA playoff games from 1974 through 1996.
4. Who is the only individual to play and coach in both the NCAA and NBA playoffs? Hint: He played for a 28-5 Oregon State playoff team and on the frontline of an NBA champion with Dolph Schayes and Red Kerr. The leading scorer for his NBA playoff team was Gene Shue and the leading scorer for his NCAA tourney team was Bob Nash.
5. Who is the only coach to direct teams to Final Fours in four different decades in the 20th Century? Hint: He is the only coach to lose more than seven Final Four games and his first three NCAA Tournament championship games. His Final Four defeats were by an average of 15 points.
6. Name the only school to lose against UCLA as many as four times during the Bruins' 38-game winning streak in the NCAA playoffs from 1964 to 1974. Hint: The subject school is one of six other than UCLA to successfully defend a national championship.
7. Name the only All-American to go winless in more than five NCAA Tournament games. Hint: He played for a school winning the NCAA championship earlier in the decade he appeared in the playoffs.
8. Name the only school to reach the Final Four despite compiling a losing record in conference competition and being eliminated in the first round of its league tournament. Hint: The school's leading scorer that year had the lowest team-leading scoring average of any Final Four team since Kansas '74 had five players average from 11.3 to 12.4 points per game. Moreover, it's the only school to have as many as four at-large bids to the tournament despite compiling losing records in league play.
9. Name the only school to be top-ranked entering back-to-back tournaments but lose both opening playoff games. Hint: Two of the team's starters played more than 10 years in the NBA and one of them was on a third team for the school that lost its opening playoff game as a No. 1 seed. One of the two starters was a consensus national player of the year.
10. Name the only top-ranked team to decline a berth in the NCAA playoffs since the AP started conducting polls in 1949. Hint: The school was unbeaten the year it rejected a bid, defeated the national champion-to-be by 13 points and had only two games closer than a 12-point decision.
Day 1 answers.
Southern Living: Overall #1 Virginia Among Late Arrivals to NCAA Party
Ten power league members always classified as major colleges - with majority of them from the South - finished in the Top 20 of a final wire-service poll at least twice although they didn't make their initial NCAA appearance until after 1970. Overall #1 seed Virginia didn't appear at the NCAA party until the event's 38th year of existence. The Cavaliers probably wish they didn't appear in this year's event after getting upset by UMBC to become the first victim in tourney history of a #16 seed. Among the late-bloomer group, Nebraska is winless in the NCAA playoffs while Florida is a two-time NCAA champion.
Major School (Power League) 1st NCAA Tourney Star Player(s) in Playoff Debut Alabama (SEC) 1975 (0-1) Leon Douglas and T.R. Dunn Auburn (SEC) 1984 (0-1) Charles Barkley and Chuck Person Clemson (ACC) 1980 (3-1) Larry Nance Florida (SEC) 1987 (2-1) Vernon Maxwell and Dwayne Schintzius Georgia (SEC) 1983 (3-1) James Banks, Terry Fair and Vern Fleming Minnesota (Big Ten) 1972 (1-1) Jim Brewer, Clyde Turner and Dave Winfield Nebraska (Big Eight) 1986 (0-1) Brian Carr and Bernard Day Seton Hall (Big East) 1988 (1-1) Mark Bryant and John Morton South Carolina (ACC) 1971 (0-2) Kevin Joyce, Tom Owens, Tom Riker and John Roche Virginia (ACC) 1976 (0-1) Wally Walker **NOTE: Nebraska (Big Ten) and South Carolina (SEC) currently are members of other power conferences.
Not Good But Good Enough: Texas Southern Enters Tourney With Losing Mark
Texas Southern (15-19), loser of its first 13 games (all on road including 10 states and four time zones), became the 19th school in the last 26 years, 26th overall and sixth in the last seven seasons appearing in the NCAA Tournament despite entering the playoffs with an overall losing record. The Tigers posted the best league mark (12-6 in SWAC) among the 26 clubs in this dubious category.
The only one of the sub-.500 schools ever to win two NCAA playoff games was Bradley. The Braves won twice in the 1955 tournament (69-65 over Oklahoma City and 81-79 over SMU) after losing 14 consecutive contests during one stretch in the regular season. Despite the pair of playoff victories, they finished with their worst overall record (9-20) in a 53-year span until going 8-20 in the 1990-91 campaign.
In 1950, Bradley won two games apiece in both the NCAA Tournament and NIT to reach the championship game of both events. The Braves lost against CCNY in each final to finish the season with a 32-5 record under coach Forddy Anderson. Bradley's coach in 1955 was Bob Vanatta. He was in his first of two seasons at the school after succeeding Anderson, who departed for Michigan State after guiding the Braves to a national second-place finish in 1954. Bradley is the only school to go from the Final Four one season to 20 defeats the next year.
Texas, winner of just one non-conference game in the 1973-74 campaign, is the only school with a losing overall record to secure an automatic bid by winning a regular-season league title. Following is a list of the 26 schools polluting the NCAA playoffs by entering the tourney sporting such an impoverished record:
| School | W-L | Pct. | Coach | How Team Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley '55 | 7-19 | .269 | Bob Vanatta | Independent |
| Oklahoma City '55 | 9-17 | .346 | Doyle Parrack | Independent |
| George Washington '61 | 9-16 | .360 | Bill Reinhart | Won Southern Conference Tournament |
| Central Florida '96 | 11-18 | .379 | Kirk Speraw | Won TAAC Tournament |
| Fairfield '97 | 11-18 | .379 | Paul Cormier | Won MAAC Tournament |
| Florida International '95 | 11-18 | .379 | Bob Weltlich | Won TAAC Tournament |
| Florida A&M '99 | 12-18 | .400 | Mickey Clayton | Won MEAC Tournament |
| Lehigh '85 | 12-18 | .400 | Tom Schneider | Won East Coast Conference Tournament |
| Oakland '05 | 12-18 | .400 | Greg Kampe | Won Mid-Continent Tournament |
| Cal Poly '14 | 13-19 | .406 | Joe Callero | Won Big West Tournament |
| Holy Cross '16 | 14-19 | .424 | Bill Carmody | Won Patriot League Tournament |
| Liberty '13 | 15-20 | .429 | Dale Layer | Won Big South Tournament |
| Texas Southern '18 | 15-19 | .441 | Mike Davis | Won SWAC Tournament |
| Coppin State '08 | 16-20 | .444 | Fang Mitchell | Won MEAC Tournament |
| East Carolina '93 | 13-16 | .448 | Eddie Payne | Won Colonial Tournament |
| Prairie View A&M '98 | 13-16 | .448 | Elwood Plummer | Won SWAC Tournament |
| San Jose State '96 | 13-16 | .448 | Stan Morrison | Won Big West Tournament |
| UNC Asheville '03 | 14-17 | .452 | Eddie Biedenbach | Won Big South Tournament |
| Western Kentucky '12 | 15-18 | .455 | Ray Harper | Won Sun Belt Tournament |
| Texas '74 | 12-14 | .461 | Leon Black | SWC regular-season title |
| Montana State '86 | 14-16 | .466 | Stu Starner | Won Big Sky Tournament |
| Florida A&M '04 | 14-16 | .466 | Mike Gillespie | Won MEAC Tournament |
| Siena '02 | 16-18 | .471 | Rob Lanier | Won MAAC Tournament |
| Jackson State '97 | 14-15 | .482 | Andy Stoglin | Won SWAC Tournament |
| Missouri '78 | 14-15 | .482 | Norm Stewart | Won Big Eight Tournament |
| Hampton '15 | 16-17 | .485 | Edward Joyner Jr. | Won MEAC Tournament |
NOTE: District 5 committee restricted to District 5 independents (only two in the district) to fill out 1955 bracket; this rule was changed for the 1956 playoffs.
Fairfield '97 posted the worst league record among teams in this category. Following are regular-season league records of conference tournament champions:
George Washington '61 (3-9 in Southern Conference before defeating #2 seed Virginia Tech, #3 The Citadel and #4 William & Mary by a total of 19 points).
Missouri '78 (4-10 in Big Eight before defeating #2 seed Iowa State, #3 Nebraska and #4 Kansas State by a total of seven points).
Lehigh '85 (6-8 in ECC before defeating #3 seed Drexel, #7 Hofstra and #1 Bucknell by a total of eight points).
Montana State '86 (6-8 in Big Sky before defeating #4 seed Nevada, #1 Northern Arizona and #2 Montana by a total of 12 points).
East Carolina '93 (4-10 in Colonial before defeating #2 seed Old Dominion, #6 UNC Wilmington and #1 James Madison by a total of 16 points).
Florida International '95 (4-12 in Trans America Athletic before defeating #1 seed Stetson, #4 Southeastern Louisiana and #3 Mercer by a total of 19 points).
Central Florida '96 (6-10 in Trans America Athletic before defeating #3 seed Southeastern Louisiana, #2 Campbell and #5 Mercer by a total of 21 points).
San Jose State '96 (9-9 in Big West before defeating #3 seed Pacific, #2 UC Irvine and #4 Utah State by a total of 25 points).
Fairfield '97 (2-12 in Metro Atlantic before defeating #1 seed Iona, #4 St. Peter's and #2 Canisius by a total of 27 points).
Jackson State '97 (9-5 in Southwestern Athletic before defeating #7 seed Southern, #3 Alcorn State and #1 Mississippi Valley State by a total of 16 points).
Prairie View '98 (6-10 in Southwestern Athletic before defeating #2 seed Jackson State, #6 Alabama State and #1 Texas Southern by a total of eight points).
Florida A&M '99 (8-11 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #10 seed Howard, #2 Coppin State, #3 Morgan State and #1 South Carolina State by a total of 42 points).
Siena '02 (9-9 in Metro Atlantic before defeating #10 seed St. Peter's, #2 Marist, #6 Fairfield and #4 Niagara by a total of 53 points).
UNC Asheville '03 (7-7 in Big South before defeating #4 seed Elon, #1 Winthrop and #6 Radford by a total of 19 points).
Florida A&M '04 (10-8 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #4 seed Hampton, #1 South Carolina State and #2 Coppin State by a total of 20 points).
Oakland '05 (7-9 in Mid-Continent before defeating #2 seed Valparaiso, #6 Chicago State and #1 Oral Roberts by a total of seven points).
Coppin State '08 (7-9 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating Howard, Hampton, Norfolk State and Morgan State by a total of six points).
Western Kentucky '12 (7-9 in Sun Belt before defeating #10 seed Florida International, #2 UALR, #3 Denver and #5 North Texas by a total of 17 points).
Liberty '13 (6-10 in Big South North Division before defeating #4S seed Coastal Carolina, #1N High Point, #2S Gardner-Webb and #1S Charleston Southern by a total of 32 points).
Cal Poly '14 (6-10 in Big West before defeating #2 seed UC Santa Barbara, #1 UC Irvine and #5 Cal State Northridge by a total of 36 points).
Hampton '15 (8-8 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #6 seed Maryland-Eastern Shore, #2 Norfolk State and #5 Delaware State by a total of 37 points).
Holy Cross '16 (5-13 in Patriot League before defeating #8 seed Loyola MD, #1 Bucknell, #4 Army and #2 Lehigh by a total of 35 points).
Texas Southern '18 (12-6 in SWAC before defeating #6 seed Alabama State, #2 Prairie View A&M and #1 Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a total of 43 points).
Champs Can Be Chumps: Longest Tournament Droughts for NCAA Titlists
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. Loyola of Chicago, failing to participate the previous 32 years, ended the longest active streak among NCAA Tournament dry spells capturing a national crown at some point in their history by winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and participating in Cinderella story traveling to Final Four.
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 |
| 20 | San Francisco | 1955 | 1999 through 2018 | 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.
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