It doesn't take a genius to deduce All-American players are all-important to teams. Since the national tourney expanded to at least 32 teams in 1975, only three consensus first-team All-Americans never appeared in the NCAA playoffs - Houston guard Otis Birdsong (1977), Minnesota center Mychal Thompson (1978) and LSU swingman Ben Simmons (2016).

Terry Dischinger averaged 28.3 points per game in his three-year varsity career with Purdue in the early 1960s, but he is the only two-time consensus first-team All-American since World War II never to compete in the NCAA Tournament or NIT. Dischinger also endured a star-scorned nine-year NBA career without playing on a squad winning a playoff series. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year as a member of the Chicago Zephyrs in 1962-63 despite playing in only 57 games as he skipped many of the road contests to continue his education. His dedication to the classroom paid off as he became an orthodontist.

Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham averaged 24.8 points per game in his three-year varsity career with North Carolina in the mid-1960s, but he also never appeared in the NCAA tourney or NIT. How good were the players in that era if Cunningham never was a consensus first-team All-American? Auburn's Charles Barkley was an All-American but lost his only NCAA playoff game in 1984. Following is a look at Dischinger and three other multiple-year NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans since the mid-1950s never to participate in the NCAA Tournament:

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 14 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.com's year-by-year highlights):

1. Name the only school to compile a losing record in a season it won on the road against a conference rival later capturing the NCAA championship. Hint: The school is a former national titlist itself, but had just one winning league mark in 12 years from 1977-78 through 1988-89.

2. Name the only school to compile a conference record of more than 10 games below .500 in a season it defeated a league rival becoming NCAA champion. Hint: The school, which finished in first or second place in league competition four consecutive seasons in early 1930s, had 44 consecutive non-winning records in conference play before securing its first tourney appearance.

3. Name the only school to trail by at least 10 points at halftime of a tournament game and end up winning the contest by more than 20. Hint: A prominent network broadcaster played for the team. The next year, the school became the only one in tourney history to win back-to-back overtime games by double-digit margins.

4. Who is the only coach to lose in back-to-back seasons to teams seeded 14th or worse? Hint: He captured an NCAA championship later that decade.

5. Name the only double-digit seeded team to reach the Final Four until Virginia Commonwealth achieved the feat last year. Hint: It's the worst-seeded school to defeat a #1 seed, a conference rival that defeated the team a total of three times that year during the regular season and postseason league tournament. The next year, the university became only school to reach back-to-back regional finals as a double-digit seed.

6. Name the only school to win a regional final game it trailed by more than 15 points at halftime. Hint: The school lost its next game at the Final Four to a team that dropped a conference game against the regional final opponent by a double-figure margin. Three years later, it became the only school to score more than 100 points in a championship game and win national final by more than 21 points.

7. Who is the only team-leading scorer to be held more than 25 points under his season average in a Final Four game? Hint: He scored 39 points against the same opponent earlier in the season to help end the third-longest winning streak in major-college history. He is the only player to lead the playoffs in scoring and rebounding in back-to-back seasons although he wasn't named to the All-Tournament team one of those years despite becoming the only player to lead a tourney in scoring by more than 60 points. In addition, he is the only player in tournament history to collect more than 40 points and 25 rebounds in same game.

8. Name the only school to lead the nation in scoring offense and win the NCAA title in the same season. Hint: The top four scorers were undergraduates for the only titlist to win all of its NCAA Tournament games by more than 15 points.

9. Name the only school to play in as many as three overtime games in a single tournament. Hint: One of the three overtime affairs was a national third-place game.

10. Who is the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player to go scoreless in two NCAA Tournament games in a previous year? Hint: His NBA scoring average decreased each of last nine seasons in the league after becoming Rookie of the Year.

Answers (Day 14)

Day 13 Questions and Answers

Day 12 Questions and Answers

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Day 10 Questions and Answers

Day 9 Questions and Answers

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Never underestimate the occasional astonishing absence of perspective among TV pundits. Amid the boob tube personality-driven showmanship, PT Barnum continues to chortle, "I was right all along!" about "there's a sucker born every minute."

ESPN-turned-CBS-turned-FoxSports commentator Doug Gottlieb, ranked among the Top 20 analysts by CollegeHoopedia.com, never has coached a game of college basketball - even as an assistant. Yet the legend in his own mind proclaimed five years ago he was fit to serve at Kansas State as Frank Martin's successor. The Wildcats weren't suckered, ignoring such ego chicanery and hired former SIU and Illinois mentor Bruce Weber. Although the interviews probably should have been conducted on April Fool's Day the past two years, Gottlieb was considered as a candidate at another Big 12 Conference member after his alma mater's head coaching position became available in back-to-back seasons?

Who does Gottlieb think he is? The collegiate version of Pat Riley? Saying he is "self aware" (a/k/a "full of himself"), Gottlieb must have thought the coaching acumen of his father and brother would rub off on him. Before becoming head coach at Jacksonville and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Gottlieb's father (Bob) was an assistant at K-State in the early 1970s at a time when the program was in the midst of capturing 11 Big Eight Conference championships in an 18-year span. In a battle of Wildcats, mighty Kentucky was the only school at that point boasting more final Top 20 rankings than KSU.

Gottlieb, a Notre Dame credit-card castoff before transferring to Oklahoma State and leading the nation in assists in 1998-99 and finishing runner-up the next season, thought he could assist a Big 12 Conference member as bench boss basically because of the visibility of his mug being on TV (especially celebrity contest of NBA All-Star Weekend). Well, criminals have their head shots at the post office. Would that help them recruit suspect student-athletes? How about throwing his hat in the ring and learning the trade first at Oklahoma Baptist before working your way up the ladder?

The sports TV culture frequently fosters hero worshiped such as creepy ESPN original Keith Olbermann who think the world revolves around them and they develop a sordid sense of "out-of-bounds" entitlement. Gottlieb was no different than Larry "Grandmama" Johnson, who was upset and probably lost "her" wig and outfit when he didn't inherit the UNLV coaching job. Ditto Johnson teammate Stacey Augmon.

"When you are among the high-flying adored, your view of the world becomes blurred," wrote psychologist Stanley Teitelbaum of the flouting-of-the-law behavior in the book Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols: How Star Athletes Pursue Self-Destructive Paths and Jeopardize Their Careers.

"Off the field, some act as if they are above the rules of society; hubris and an attitude of entitlement become central to the psyche of many athletes. They may deny that they are vulnerable to reprisals and feel omnipotent and grandiose as well as entitled."

Eventually, OSU favored authentic coaches over a wannabee. But if Gottlieb's resume boasting significant holes eventually enables him to go straight to a DI head coaching assignment, he'll need to also break ground by hiring an assistant devoted exclusively to free-throw shooting. After all, he is a lifetime member on the All-Gang That Can't Shoot Straight Team (abysmal 45.3% mark from the "foul" line with OSU).

Moreover, if Gottlieb is qualified to go straight to accepting the reins in a power conference where he previously competed, it seems his TV colleagues past and present should be treated in a similar fashion. If ESPN's anticipated on-air cutbacks go too deep, some personnel could consider a career change. Andy Katz should be next in line for the Fresno State position in his old stomping grounds; Alabama grad Rece Davis should be able to anchor any SEC opening; Doris Burke should become the first full-time female coach of a men's program at her alma mater (Providence) or some other Big East member; Skip Baseless should be coaching national POY Buddy Hield at Oklahoma; Screamin' A. Stiff should be guiding any school he wants to in MEAC; Mike Greenberg or Britt "Just Another Petty Face" McHenry should have directed Northwestern to the Wildcats' first NCAA playoff appearance; Stephen Bardo should have been hired by Illinois (not John Groce); Adrian Branch or Scott Van Pelt should be Maryland's coach (not Mark Turgeon); Miles Simon should be at Arizona's helm (not Sean Miller); Sean Farnham should have been groomed as Ben Howland's replacement at UCLA (not passed on to Steve Alford); LaPhonso Ellis should be designated as Mike Brey's successor-in-waiting at Notre Dame, and Pat Summitt protege Kara Lawson should be the odds-on favorite to return to Tennessee and right the Volunteers' ship.

Politically, stand-up comedian reject Seth Davis (CBS commentator) should have been Shrillary Rotten's running mate; especially if his "barking" father, Clinton keg leg-humper Lanny Davis, would send another "no-class(ified)" syrupy email to private server of the Deleter of the Free World. After all, the creepy conflicts of interest go both ways. After the Clintons had "the talk," TV execs deemed their one-percenter daughter full of sufficient journalistic credentials to "earn" a $600,000-a-year position from NBC. Thus, we deride the unhinged mess media because that is precisely what the trumped know-it-alls deserve these days; not head coaching jobs with zero experience for power-conference members.

Weep On It/Think On It/Sleep On It/Drink On It. That could be the motto for Xavier after the Musketeers remained a "Susan Lucci" school in Division I by losing to Gonzaga in NCAA Tournament West Regional final, preventing them from reaching the Promised Land. Brigham Young, Missouri and Xavier are the only three schools participating in more than 25 NCAA Tournaments but never advancing to a Final Four.

Missouri has reached a regional final on four occasions but fell short in advancing to the Final Four. Boston College is another bridesmaid multiple times comparable to Xavier, losing three regional finals (1967, 1982 and 1994) in 18 tourney appearances (22-19 record) since the field expanded beyond eight teams in 1950.

The following list of five frustrated institutions are in a quagmire because they've made a minimum of 20 appearances without reaching the Final Four:

One of the biggest questions popping up from time to time deals with who is most likely to eventually succeed Mike Krzyzewski as coach at Duke. Let's face it! We won't get the answer from halftime fielding of blah lack-of-info babe how-do-you-feel questions. Krzyzewski almost always dispatches one of his minions to endure such aimless interrogation torture apparently in order to reduce risk of re-injuring his back wincing at their incurable futility.

Coaching community shills frequently proclaim automatic success for Duke assistants when they become bench bosses. But the overall impact of Coach K's 12 disciples in the aftermath of serving under the all-time winningest major-college mentor has been anything but special. They've combined for a losing mark in the NCAA playoffs (60 fewer tourney triumphs than Coach K's all-time high of 91) and only three regional final appearances (Quin Snyder with Missouri in 2002 before Mike Brey with Notre Dame in 2015 and 2016). Following is an alphabetical list summarizing the impact of Krzyzewski's assistants after they left his incubator and became a DI bench boss on their own:

What was he thinking? The devil is in the details, but a 3.8 or 3.9 gpa doesn't appear to be in Harry Giles' Duke wheelhouse. After playing the equivalent of 6 1/4 full NBA games in his only season in Krzyzewskiville, Giles "feels" he is ready to wheel and deal in the NBA. He probably should have crossed the threshold into KnowSomethingVille to discern what happened to a striking number of big men who left for the pros after just one collegiate campaign. Among recent one-'n-done big men posting NBA scoring averages comparable to what Giles did in college include Deyonta Davis (Michigan State/1.7 ppg in one NBA season), Cheick Diallo (Kansas/3.6 in one season), Henry Ellenson (Marquette/1.4 in one season), Grant Jerrett (Arizona/2 in one season), Kevon Looney (UCLA/2.5 in two seasons), Chris McCullough (Syracuse/3.8 in two seasons), Daniel Orton (Kentucky/2.8 in three seasons), Diamond Stone (Maryland/1.4 in one season), Noah Vonleh (Indiana/3.7 in three seasons) and Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV/1.2 in one season).

Brandon Ingram (Kinston, NC) came close to becoming an All-American selection last year but fell short; especially following a 10-turnover outing at Louisville. This campaign, Giles (Winston-Salem, NC) was hyped as a freshman phenom but averaged an anemic 3.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg while contributing only nine assists in 26 games after incurring a knee injury. Neither Giles nor Ingram achieved a distinction generated by no other A-A in the school's illustrious history.

This season, Ohio product Luke Kennard became the 39th different individual to become an All-American for Duke (28 under coach Mike Krzyzewski). Incredibly, none of them spent their formative years in any of North Carolina's 100 counties and can be counted as in-state recruits. It doesn't seem possible, but North Carolina laid a Blue Devils' goose egg while states such as Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma and Oregon contributed to their list of All-Americans.

By contrast, the North Carolina Tar Heels had in-state talent account for multiple-year All-Americans such as Phil Ford, Antawn Jamison, Michael Jordan, Rashad McCants and James Worthy. The official web site of the State of North Carolina says the state is "a better place." But it hasn't been for Duke in regard to securing premium players prior to Ingram. Following is an alphabetical list detailing the hometowns of Duke's 39 All-Americans coming from 20 different states plus the District of Columbia:

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 10 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 All-American to coach three different schools in the NCAA playoffs? Hint: He was the leading scorer for an NCAA champion.

2. Who is the only coach to take three different schools to a regional final in a 10-year span? Hint: He is the only individual to meet two different schools in the playoffs he had previously coached to the Final Four. He had a chance to become the first coach to guide three different universities to national semifinals, but retired and turned reins over to his son.

3. Who is the only seven-foot player to lead a Final Four in scoring and win a conference high jump title in the same year? Hint: He is the only player to lead the NBA in rebounds and assists in same season.

4. Of the total of 10 different teams in the 1980s to defeat a school twice in a season the opponent eventually won the national title, name the only one of the 10 to fail to win its NCAA Tournament opener. Hint: The team had the misfortune of opening playoffs on home court of its opponent.

5. Of the Final Four teams in the last several decades to have standouts whose high school coach was reunited with a star player as a college assistant, name the only school to win a national championship. Hint: The high school coach who tagged along with his prep All-American as a college assistant was also first minority player to play for his alma mater.

6. Who is the only coach to take a team more than two games below .500 one season to the national title the next year? Hint: He is the only championship team coach to finish his college career with a losing record. He is also the only major-college coach to stay at a school at least 25 seasons and finish with a losing career record at that institution.

7. Who is the only coach to reach the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and NIT at least five times apiece? Hint: Of the coaches to win basketball championships at every major level (the NCAA, NIT and Summer Olympics), he is the only one to capture the "Triple Crown" in a span of less than 10 years.

8. Of the players to score more than 225 points in the playoffs and/or average in excess of 25 points per tournament game (minimum of six games), who is the only individual to score more than 22 points in every postseason contest? Hint: He is the only player from group to have a single-digit differential between his highest-scoring game and his lowest-scoring game.

9. Who is the only one of the first 20 players to accumulate at least 235 points in NCAA playoff competition to fail to score at least 25 points in a tournament game? Hint: He is the only one of the more recent Most Outstanding Players to score fewer than 28 points in two Final Four games and his highest-scoring playoff performance couldn't avert a defeat in the only one of his four years he didn't participate in Final Four.

10. Among the all-time leading scorers in NCAA Tournament history, who is the only player in this group to go scoreless in a playoff game? Hint: He scored less than 10 points in six consecutive tournament games before averaging 20 points per game in his last 11 playoff outings.

Answers (Day 10)

Day 9 Questions and Answers

Day 8 Questions and Answers

Day 7 Questions and Answers

Day 6 Questions and Answers

Day 5 Questions and Answers

Day 4 Questions and Answers

Day 3 Questions and Answers

Day 2 Questions and Answers

Day 1 Questions and Answers

After an average of four mid-level schools reached the Sweet 16 in a six-year span from 2006 through 2011, the last six seasons could have cemented the premise about mid-major schools deserving additional at-large consideration. But that was before eight mid-level schools - Gonzaga, New Mexico, St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Saint Mary's, Southern Mississippi, UNLV and Virginia Commonwealth - were eliminated in games against power six conference members by an average of only four points in 2012, the Mountain West Conference flopped in 2013, only two mid-majors reached the Sweet 16 in 2014 and 2015, Northern Iowa and Stephen F. Austin squandered last-minute leads against power-league opponents in 2016 and Rhode Island squandered a significant lead against Oregon.

Butler, Gonzaga, Virginia Commonwealth and Wichita State advancing to the Final Four this decade was invigorating, but the mid-major community missed out on a potential bonanza. Gonzaga reached the second weekend for the seventh time this Century, but it doesn't help mid-majors when Wichita State gets such a raw draw from the Division I Committee. Following is a look at how at least one mid-major conference member advanced to a regional semifinal or beyond since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985:

X marked the first head coaching spot for Sean Miller when he directed Xavier for five seasons from 2004-05 through 2008-09 before leaving with nine years remaining on a contract to join Arizona. In 2017, the Cincinnati-based Jesuit school meant eXit for the frustrated mentor seeking his initial Final Four appearance. Miller, who guided the Musketeers to a regional semifinal each of his last two campaigns with them, opposed his old stomping grounds in the West Regional for the second time in last three seasons. Oregon's Dana Altman, who directed Creighton to the NCAA tourney seven times, would have met the Bluejays in the Midwest Regional if they hadn't succumbed in their opener against Rhode Island.

Norm Sloan is the only coach to post an NCAA playoff victory against a school he previously guided to the national championship. Sloan was Florida's mentor in 1987 when the Gators notched an 82-70 first-round triumph over North Carolina State, the institution he took to the 1974 title.

Gene Bartow is the only individual to oppose two different schools in the playoffs he previously coached to the Final Four (UAB lost against Memphis State in 1985 and UCLA in 1990). North Carolina's Roy Williams lost three times by double-digit margins against Kansas in a six-year span from 2008 through 2013 after taking the Jayhawks to the Final Four on four occasions (1991, 1993, 2002 and 2003).

Lute Olson is the only coach to twice defeat the same school he previously took to the NCAA playoffs (Arizona beat Iowa in 1988 and 1996). Miller is among the 16 different bench bosses on the following chronological list of "muscle-memory" mentors who opposed a school in the NCAA Tournament they previously directed in the playoffs:

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 last two NCAA DI Tournaments.

But Flemmings and Robinson aren't the only transfer players to go from nowhere to Cloud Nine in the NCAA playoffs. Arkansas, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Nevada and Wisconsin featured small-college transfers in regular rotations of previous NCAA tourney squads.

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.

Illinois-bound Brad Underwood is deemed an ascending star in the coaching profession after compiling a 20-13 record (.606) in his only season with Oklahoma State. But what a majority of media mavens fail to point out is there have been numerous "won-and-done" mentors, including Grant McCasland (going from Arkansas State to North Texas) and Paul Weir (New Mexico State to New Mexico) this season, posting even better winning percentages in "short-and-sweet" one-year stints since the generally recognized start of the modern era of college basketball in the early 1950s.

Fordham improved by 14 games in Digger Phelps' only season with the Rams in 1970-71, a mark that stood for one-year wonders until Chris Beard broke it last year with a 15-game improvement after UALR (30-5) went 13-18 in 2014-15. UNC Wilmington's Buzz Peterson, the only coach to win a national postseason championship in his only season at a school (Tulsa), is among the following "one-and-done" coaches who won more than 60% of their games in one-year tenures in the last 50-plus years:

*Harding became coach for Minnesota (ABA) for portion of 1968-69 season.

Annually, there is a clear and present danger for pole sitters such as Villanova. Five years ago, Kentucky became only the fourth of 35 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.

Nova is the latest #1 to learn it's win or go home as the Wildcats became the third top-ranked team in the last eight years to be eliminated in 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).

1 - Lost in first round (West Virginia '58/defeated by Manhattan).

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.