College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge (Day #12)

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 12 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. Who is the only championship team player to have a season scoring average of less than six points per game entering a Final Four but tally more than 30 points in the national semifinals and final? Hint: He is the only player with a single-digit season scoring average to score more than 25 points in an NCAA championship game.

2. Who is the only player to score at least 25 points in eight consecutive NCAA playoff games? Hint: He is the only player to rank among the top five in scoring average in both the NCAA Tournament and NBA playoffs. He was denied a championship ring in his only Final Four appearance when a player who would become an NBA teammate tipped in a decisive basket in the closing seconds.

3. Name the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player who wasn't among the top five scorers on his team. Hint: The only other player to earn the award who wasn't among the top four scorers on his team attended the same university.

4. Who is the only individual to be named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and NIT Most Valuable Player? Hint: As a freshman, he shared one of the awards with a teammate.

5. Who is the only U.S. Congressman to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee after playing in the NCAA Tournament championship game? Hint: Starting out as a Democrat, he became a 12-term Republican Congressman from Illinois.

6. Who is the only individual to be named Final Four Most Outstanding Player and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in back-to-back seasons? Hint: He holds the NBA Finals single-game record for most points by a rookie.

7. Name the freshman who had the highest season scoring average for a team to reach the NCAA Tournament championship game until Carmelo Anthony achieved the feat for 2003 champion Syracuse. Hint: The word "Boss" is tattooed to his chest for a good reason because he also led his team in assists as a freshman.

8. Who is the only freshman to score more than 30 points in a national semifinal or championship game before failing to score more than half that total in his next four playoff outings? Hint: He didn't score more than 15 points in any of his next four NCAA playoff games, all defeats, and he averaged a modest 8.2 points per game in an eight-year NBA career with an all-time pro season high of 11.4 ppg and game high of 28.

9. Who is the only freshman on a Final Four team to score more than 20 points in as many as four tournament games? Hint: He did not play in the national championship game and his school lost in the NCAA playoffs to opponents with double-digit seeds each of the four seasons before he arrived.

10. Name the only season-leading scorer of a titlist to be held more than 14 points below his average in the NCAA championship game. Hint: He was named national player of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. He is one of four Final Four Most Outstanding Players held scoreless in their NCAA Tournament debuts in a previous season. He is also the only individual to become a member of three NCAA titlists after playing one season in junior college.

Answers (Day 12)

Day 11 Questions and Answers

Day 10 Questions and Answers

Day 9 Questions and Answers

Day 8 Questions and Answers

Day 7 Questions and Answers

Day 6 Questions and Answers

Day 5 Questions and Answers

Day 4 Questions and Answers

Day 3 Questions and Answers

Day 2 Questions and Answers

Day 1 Questions and Answers

Early Rising: Four J.C. Recruits Have Become All-Americans in 21st Century

Wichita State forward Cleanthony Early became the fourth junior college recruit in the 21st Century to earn All-American status for a four-year institution. That's a stark contrast to an era when at least one former J.C. player was named an NCAA All-American 21 consecutive seasons from 1963-64 through 1983-84.

There were four years when a minimum of four former jucos became NCAA All-Americans the same campaign (1955, 1970, 1971 and 1982). A total of only 13 two-time All-Americans are represented on the following alphabetical list of NCAA All-Americans who previously played for a junior college:

All-American Pos. Four-Year University Junior College(s)
Don Barksdale C UCLA '47 Marin (Calif.)
Jim Barnes C Texas Western '64 Cameron (Okla.)
Ron Behagen F Minnesota '73 Southern Idaho
Walter Berry F-C St. John's '86 San Jacinto (Tex.)
Gale Bishop F-C Washington '36 Yakima (Wash.) Valley
Daron "Mookie" Blaylock G Oklahoma '89 Midland (Tex.)
Ron Brewer G Arkansas '78 Westark (Ark.)
Fred Brown G Iowa '81 Southeastern (Iowa)
Don Burness F Stanford '42 Menlo Park (Calif.)
Bob Burrow C Kentucky '55 and '56 Lon Morris (Tex.)
Lawrence Butler G Idaho State '79 Western Texas
Jerry Chambers F-C Utah '66 Trinidad State (Colo.)
Lester Conner G Oregon State '82 Los Medanos (Calif.)/Chabot (Calif.)
Michael Cooper G New Mexico '78 Pasadena (Calif.) City
Jae Crowder F Marquette '12 South Georgia Tech/Howard County (TX)
Howie Dallmar G Pennsylvania '45 Menlo Park (Calif.)
Mel Daniels C New Mexico '67 Burlington (Iowa)
Walt "Corky" Devlin F George Washington '55 Potomac State (W.Va.)
Cleanthony Early F Wichita State '14 Sullivan County (N.Y.)
Keith Erickson F UCLA '65 El Camino (Calif.)
John Fairchild C-F Brigham Young '65 Palomar (Calif.)
Ken Flower G Southern California '53 Menlo (Calif.)
Darrell Floyd G-F Furman '55 and '56 Wingate (N.C.)
Steve Francis G Maryland '99 Allegany (Md.)
Dick Garmaker F Minnesota '54 and '55 Hibbing (Minn.)
Armon Gilliam F-C UNLV '87 Independence (Kan.)
Artis Gilmore C Jacksonville '70 and '71 Gardner-Webb (N.C.)
Harvey Grant F Oklahoma '88 Independence (Kan.)
Ed Gray G California '97 Southern Idaho
Jack Gray F Texas '34 and '35 North Texas Agricultural
Al Green G Louisiana State '79 Arizona Western
Cornell Green F Utah State '62 Contra Costa (Calif.)
Rickey Green G Michigan '76 and '77 Vincennes (Ind.)
Bob Harris C Oklahoma A&M '49 Murray State (Okla.)
Spencer Haywood F-C Detroit '69 Trinidad State (Colo.)
Tom Henderson G Hawaii '74 San Jacinto (Tex.)
Bobby Joe Hill G Texas Western '66 Burlington (Iowa)
Simmie Hill F West Texas State '69 Cameron (Okla.)
Darington Hobson G-F New Mexico '10 Eastern Utah
Lionel Hollins G Arizona State '75 Dixie (Utah)
Bobby Jackson G Minnesota '97 Western Nebraska
John Johnson F Iowa '70 Northwest (Wyo.)
Larry Johnson F UNLV '90 and '91 Odessa (Tex.)
Vinnie Johnson G Baylor '79 McLennan (Tex.)
Larry Kenon F Memphis State '73 Amarillo (Tex.)
Dennis "Mo" Layton G Southern California '71 Phoenix (Ariz.)
Lewis Lloyd F Drake '80 and '81 New Mexico Military Institute
Don Lofgran F-C San Francisco '49 and '50 Grant Tech (Calif.)
Kevin Magee F UC Irvine '81 and '82 Saddleback (Calif.)
Bob McAdoo F-C North Carolina '72 Vincennes (Ind.)
Cliff Meely F-C Colorado '71 Northeastern (Colo.)
Phil "Red" Murrell F Drake '58 Moberly (Mo.) Area
Willie Murrell F Kansas State '64 Eastern Oklahoma A&M
Ken Norman F Illinois '87 Wabash Valley (Ill.)
Ken Owens G Idaho '82 Treasure Valley (Calif.)
Ricky Pierce F Rice '82 Walla Walla (Wash.)
Chris Porter F Auburn '99 Chipola (Fla.)
Paul Pressey G-F Tulsa '82 Western Texas
Jesse "Cab" Renick G Oklahoma A&M '40 Murray State (Okla.)
Mitch Richmond F-G Kansas State '88 Moberly (Mo.) Area
Isaiah "J.R." Rider F UNLV '93 Allen County (Kan.)/Antelope Valley (Calif.)
Alvin Robertson G Arkansas '84 Crowder (Mo.)
Flynn Robinson G Wyoming '65 Casper (Wyo.)
John Rudometkin C-F Southern California '61 and '62 Allan Hancock (Calif.)
Danny Schultz G Tennessee '64 Hiwassee (Tenn.)
Willie Smith G Missouri '76 Seminole (Okla.)
George Stanich G UCLA '50 Sacramento (Calif.)
Ray Steiner G St. Louis '52 Moberly (Mo.) Area
John "Cat" Thompson F Montana State '29 and '30 Dixie (Utah)
Jamaal Tinsley G Iowa State '01 Mount San Jacinto (Calif.)
Vic Townsend G-F Oregon '41 Compton (Calif.)
John Vallely G UCLA '70 Orange Coast (Calif.)
Nick Van Exel G Cincinnati '93 Trinity Valley (Tex.)
Darrell Walker G Arkansas '83 Westark (Ark.)
Grady Wallace F South Carolina '57 Pikeville (Ky.)
Lloyd Walton G Marquette '76 Moberly (Mo.) Area
Sidney Wicks F-C UCLA '70 and '71 Santa Monica (Calif.)
Sam Williams F Iowa '68 Burlington (Iowa)
Sam Worthen G Marquette '80 McLennan (Tex.)

Instant Success: Parker Joins List of Freshmen First-Team All-Americans

Duke forward Jabari Parker achieved something luminaries Mark Aguirre, Carmelo Anthony, Patrick Ewing, Phil Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, Magic Johnson, Bernard King, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Derrick Rose and Ralph Sampson failed to do. Parker became a first-team All-American as a freshman. Following is a chronological list of yearlings in this rare-air category:

Freshman First-Team All-American Pos. College Year Freshman All-American Recognition
Arnie Ferrin F Utah 1944 C1
Tom Gola C-F La Salle 1952 C1
Keith Lee C Memphis State 1982 C1, AP2
Wayman Tisdale F-C Oklahoma 1983 AP1, C1, USBWA1, UPI2, NABC3
Chris Jackson G Louisiana State 1989 AP1, UPI1, USBWA1, NABC2
Kenny Anderson G Georgia Tech 1990 NABC1, AP3
Kevin Durant F Texas 2007 AP1, NABC1, USBWA1
Greg Oden C Ohio State 2007 AP1, NABC2, USBWA2
Michael Beasley F Kansas State 2008 AP1, NABC1, USBWA1
Kevin Love C UCLA 2008 AP1, USBWA1, NABC2
DeMarcus Cousins C Kentucky 2010 AP1, NABC2, USBWA2
John Wall G Kentucky 2010 AP1, NABC1, USBWA1
Jared Sullinger F-C Ohio State 2011 AP1, NABC1, USBWA1
Anthony Davis C Kentucky 2012 AP1, NABC1, USBWA1
Jabari Parker F Duke 2014 USBWA1

Never Never Land: Zero Duke All-Americans Came From North Carolina

Chicago product Jabari Parker is the 36th different individual to become an All-American for Duke (25 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 have contributed to their list of All-Americans.

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. Following is an alphabetical list detailing the hometowns of Duke's 36 All-Americans coming from 19 different states plus the District of Columbia:

All-American Pos. A-A Year(s) Hometown
Mark Alarie F 1986 Phoenix, AZ
Tommy Amaker G 1987 Fairfax, VA
Gene Banks F 1979 and 1981 Philadelphia, PA
Shane Battier F 2000 and 2001 Birmingham, MI
Carlos Boozer C 2002 Juneau, AK
Elton Brand C 1999 Peekskill, NY
Chris Carrawell F 2000 St. Louis, MO
Johnny Dawkins G 1985 and 1986 Washington, DC
Chris Duhon G 2004 Slidell, LA
Mike Dunleavy F 2002 Lake Oswego, OR
Danny Ferry F-C 1988 and 1989 Hyattsville, MD
Mike Gminski C 1978 through 1980 Monroe, CT
Dick Groat G 1951 and 1952 Swissvale, PA
Gerald Henderson G-F 2009 Merion, PA
Art Heyman F 1961 through 1963 Oceanside, NY
Grant Hill F-G 1992 through 1994 Reston, VA
Bobby Hurley G 1992 and 1993 Jersey City, NJ
Ed Koffenberger F-C 1946 and 1947 Wilmington, PA
Christian Laettner C-F 1991 and 1992 Buffalo, NY
Trajan Langdon G 1998 and 1999 Anchorage, AK
Mike Lewis C 1968 Missoula, MT
Jack Marin F 1966 Farrell, PA
Jeff Mullins F 1963 and 1964 Lexington, KY
DeMarcus Nelson G-F 2008 Elk Grove, CA
Jabari Parker F 2014 Chicago, IL
Mason Plumlee C 2013 Warsaw, IN
Jonathan "J.J." Redick G 2004 through 2006 Roanoke, VA
Austin Rivers G 2012 Winter Park, FL
Jon Scheyer G 2010 Northbrook, IL
Kyle Singler F 2011 Medford, OR
Nolan Smith G 2011 Upper Marlboro, MD
Jim Spanarkel G 1978 and 1979 Jersey City, NJ
Jim Thompson F 1934 Washington, DC
Bob Verga G 1966 and 1967 Belmar, NJ
Jason "Jay" Williams G 2001 and 2002 Plainfield, NJ
Shelden Williams C 2005 and 2006 Forest Park, OK

College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge (Day #11)

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 11 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. Who is the only one of the 60 or so two-time consensus first-team All-Americans since 1946 never to participate in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT? Hint: His school was a total of 10 games over .500 in Big Ten Conference competition in his junior and senior seasons. He never played on a team to win a playoff series in his nine-year NBA career.

2. Who is the only player to score more than 20,000 pro points yet never reach the conference finals in the NBA playoffs after playing at least two seasons of varsity basketball at a major college and never participating in the NCAA Division I playoffs? Hint: The college he attended made its NCAA Tournament debut the first year after he left school early to become the third pick overall in the NBA draft.

3. Who is the only coach since the tourney field expanded to at least 48 teams to take two different universities to the playoffs when the schools appeared in the tournament for the first time? Hint: His last name begins with a "F" and he no longer is a Division I head coach.

4. Name the only school with a losing record to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs by winning a regular-season conference title. Hint: The league started a postseason tournament two years later and the school in question has lost all six times it reached the conference tourney championship game.

5. Name the only major university to have two graduates score more than 17,000 points in the NBA after playing at least three varsity seasons in college and failing to appear in the NCAA Tournament. Hint: The school has had three other players score more than 10,000 points in the NBA after never appearing in the NCAA playoffs.

6. Name the only former titlist to have an all-time playoff record 10 games below the .500 mark. Hint: Longtime network broadcaster Curt Gowdy played in the tournament for the school.

7. Name the only state with three schools to compile tournament records at least nine games below .500. Hint: The three institutions from the same state are members of different conferences.

8. Who was the only player shorter than Bobby Hurley, Duke's 6-0 guard, to play for a championship team and be selected as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player? Hint: There was another Final Four MOP who was also shorter than 6-0, but he played for a national third-place finisher in the mid-1950s.

9. Who is the only individual to play in an NCAA Tournament championship game and later coach his alma mater to a final? Hint: He served as an assistant to the coach with the most NCAA playoff victories and a college teammate is one of the winningest coaches of all time.

10. Name the only one of the schools with multiple national titles to have two teams participate in the NCAA playoffs as defending champions but lose their opening-round game. Hint: Both of the opening-round setbacks for the school when it was defending champion occurred in the East Regional.

Answers (Day 11)

Day 10 Questions and Answers

Day 9 Questions and Answers

Day 8 Questions and Answers

Day 7 Questions and Answers

Day 6 Questions and Answers

Day 5 Questions and Answers

Day 4 Questions and Answers

Day 3 Questions and Answers

Day 2 Questions and Answers

Day 1 Questions and Answers

Personal Items: Trivia Tidbits on Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament Coaches

There is a tendency to overindulge at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Anyone digesting the following assortment of incisive facts on the remaining 16 NCAA Tournament coaches should find that variety is the spice of CollegeHoopedia's smorgasbord. Remember: If a morsel isn't appetizing, don't be a glutton for punishment in trying to comprehend what makes the Sweet 16 coaching community tick. Just proceed directly to the next tidbit. Sooner or later, there's bound to be a factoid you can savor en route to the Final Four in Texas.

ARIZONA: Sean Miller was Big East Conference Freshman of the Year in 1987-88 with Pittsburgh (9.3 ppg, 5.8 apg, 85.1 FT%). He delivered the assist for teammate Jerome Lane's backboard-shattering dunk ("Send It In, Jerome!").

CONNECTICUT: Kevin Ollie compiled the best won-loss record of any first-year DI head coach last season with a 20-10 mark.

DAYTON: Ryan "Archie" Miller played high school basketball in Pennsylvania under his father, John, who compiled 657 victories in 35 years.

FLORIDA: Billy Donovan, a third-round pick from Providence in the 1987 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, was selected ahead of Yale center Chris Dudley. Donovan averaged 2.8 points per game his first two seasons with the Friars before averaging 18 ppg his last two campaigns. Donovan's teammates with the New York Knicks in 1987-88 included eventual Division I head coaches Sidney Green and Louis Orr. His high school coach (St. Agnes, N.Y.), Frank Morris, coached former Gators starting guard Teddy Dupay in high school (Ft. Myers, Fla.). Donovan was an assistant with Herb Sendek, Tubby Smith and Ralph Willard on Rick Pitino's coaching staff at Kentucky in 1989-90 after working with an investment banking firm on Wall Street. Donovan, who led the Big East Conference in steals in 1986-87 with 1.9 per game, is the son of William Donovan, Boston College's captain as a senior in 1961-62.

IOWA STATE: Fred Hoiberg, an Ames, Iowa, product nicknamed "The Mayor," served as Vice President of Basketball Operations with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.

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

LOUISVILLE: Rick Pitino averaged more assists per game (5.6) than points (4.7) in his two-year playing career with Massachusetts. Al Skinner, Boston College's all-time winningest coach, was captain of the 1973-74 UMass squad that was led in assists by Pitino for the second straight season.

MICHIGAN: John Beilein is the only active mentor in the country to register 20-win seasons at the junior college, NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I levels. A 22-7 record in 1993-94 in his second year at the major-college level with Canisius was the winningest in school history at the time and came only two seasons after the Golden Griffins suffered an all-time high in defeats (8-22 mark in 1991-92). His uncle, Joe Niland, coached Canisius for five seasons from 1948-49 through 1952-53.

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

STANFORD: Johnny Dawkins was the leading scorer for Duke's 1986 NCAA Tournament runner-up. The fourth-leading scorer and rebounder for the Blue Devils that season was ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who paced the team in field-goal shooting (59.4%).

TENNESSEE: Cuonzo Martin was an East St. Louis, Ill., high school teammate of Notre Dame and NBA forward LaPhonso Ellis.

UCLA: Steve Alford amassed the fourth-best free-throw percentage in DI history (89.8% with Indiana from 1983-84 through 1986-87). His father, Sam, led the NAIA in free-throw shooting in 1963-64 with a mark of 91.2% for Franklin (Ind.).

VIRGINIA: Tony Bennett is the son of former DI coach Dick Bennett, who guided Wisconsin to the 2000 Final Four, and brother of women's coach Kathi Bennett.

Kentucky Can Duplicate Championship Run Ohio Achieved in Early 1960s

Nearly everyone in the state of Kentucky had a chance to celebrate the previous two years after back-to-back NCAA titles by Kentucky and Louisville. Which school will be left standing striving to secure another national championship after they meet in the Midwest Regional?

The only time two different schools from the same state captured three consecutive NCAA titles was from 1960 through 1962 when Ohio State and Cincinnati reigned supreme. North Carolina was twice involved in back-to-back crowns with an in-state counterpart - 1982 and 1983 (N.C. State) plus 2009 and 2010 (Duke).

California is the only state with as many as four different universities win an NCAA Division I Tournament championship. Eight different states have had more than one school capture the NCAA DI Tournament title.

California (15) - California (1959), San Francisco (1955 and 1956), Stanford (1942), UCLA (1964-65-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-75-95)

Kentucky (11) - Kentucky (1948-49-51-58-78-96-98-12), Louisville (1980-86-13)

North Carolina (11) - Duke (1991-92-01-10), North Carolina (1957-82-93-05-09), North Carolina State (1974 and 1983)

Michigan (3) - Michigan (1989), Michigan State (1979 and 2000)

Ohio (3) - Cincinnati (1961 and 1962), Ohio State (1960)

New York (2) - CCNY (1950), Syracuse (2003)

Pennsylvania (2) - La Salle (1954), Villanova (1985)

Wisconsin (2) - Marquette (1977), Wisconsin (1941)

College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge (Day #10)

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 the national semifinals, but retired and turned the 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 the 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 the playoffs on the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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

First-Year Flash: Underwood Posts Most Rookie Coach Wins Since Hodges

Stephen F. Austin's Brad Underwood (32-3) posted the most first-year victories for an NCAA Division I coaching newcomer since Bill Hodges was at the helm when Larry Bird-led Indiana State (33-1) advanced to the 1979 NCAA Tournament title tilt. Since Hodges' debut, only three coaches from power six leagues compiled the nation's best first-year mark - Oregon State's Jim Anderson in 1989-90, North Carolina's Bill Guthridge in 1997-98 and Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon in 2003-04 - until Connecticut's Kevin Ollie joined the list last year with a 20-10 mark.

Hodges succeeded Bob King, who earlier in the decade gave Norm Ellenberger a quality team on a silver platter in 1972-73. Joining King in the category of twice being the predecessor for coaches who compiled the best first-year mark are Gene Bartow (Memphis State '75 and UCLA '78) and Tim Floyd (Idaho '89 and New Orleans '95). Following are first-year NCAA Division I head coaches with the best winning percentages going back to 1963-64:

Season First-Year Head Coach School W-L Pct. Predecessor
1963-64 Tates Locke Army 19-7 .731 George Hunter
1964-65 Gary Thompson Wichita State 21-9 .700 Ralph Miller
1965-66 Lou Carnesecca St. John's 18-8 .692 Joe Lapchick
1965-66 Bob Knight Army 18-8 .692 Tates Locke
1966-67 Tommy Bartlett Florida 21-4 .840 Norman Sloan
1967-68 John Dromo Louisville 21-7 .750 Peck Hickman
1968-69 Tom Gola La Salle 23-1 .958 Jim Harding
1969-70 Terry Holland Davidson 22-5 .815 Lefty Driesell
1970-71 Richard "Digger" Phelps Fordham 26-3 .897 Ed Conlin
1971-72 Chuck Daly Penn 25-3 .893 Dick Harter
1972-73 Norm Ellenberger New Mexico 21-6 .778 Bob King
1973-74 Lute Olson Long Beach State 24-2 .923 Jerry Tarkanian
1974-75 Tom Apke Creighton 20-7 .741 Eddie Sutton
1974-75 Wayne Yates Memphis State 20-7 .741 Gene Bartow
1975-76 Bill Blakeley North Texas State 22-4 .846 Gene Robbins
1976-77 Jim Boeheim Syracuse 26-4 .867 Roy Danforth
1976-77 Charlie Schmaus Virginia Military 26-4 .867 Bill Blair
1977-78 Gary Cunningham UCLA 25-3 .893 Gene Bartow
1978-79 Bill Hodges Indiana State 33-1 .971 Bob King
1979-80 Bob Dukiet St. Peter's 22-9 .710 Bob Kelly
1979-80 Dave "Lefty" Ervin La Salle 22-9 .710 Paul Westhead
1980-81 Pat Foster Lamar 25-5 .833 Billy Tubbs
1981-82 Jim Boyle St. Joseph's 25-5 .833 Jim Lynam
1982-83 Ed Tapscott American University 20-10 .667 Gary Williams
1983-84 Rick Huckabay Marshall 25-6 .806 Bob Zuffelato
1984-85 Newton Chelette Southeastern Louisiana 18-9 .667 Ken Fortenberry
1985-86 Pete Gillen Xavier 25-5 .833 Bob Staak
1986-87 Pete Herrmann Navy 26-6 .813 Paul Evans
1987-88 Rick Barnes George Mason 20-10 .667 Joe Harrington
1988-89 Kermit Davis Idaho 25-6 .806 Tim Floyd
1989-90 Jim Anderson Oregon State 22-7 .759 Ralph Miller
1990-91 Alan LeForce East Tennessee State 28-5 .848 Les Robinson
1991-92 Blaine Taylor Montana 27-4 .871 Stew Morrill
1992-93 Fran Fraschilla Manhattan 23-7 .767 Steve Lappas
1993-94 Kirk Speraw Central Florida 21-9 .700 Joe Dean Jr.
1994-95 George "Tic" Price New Orleans 20-11 .645 Tim Floyd
1995-96 Mike Heideman Wisconsin-Green Bay 25-4 .862 Dick Bennett
1996-97 Bill Carmody Princeton 24-4 .857 Pete Carril
1997-98 Bill Guthridge North Carolina 34-4 .895 Dean Smith
1998-99 Tevester Anderson Murray State 27-6 .818 Mark Gottfried
1999-00 Mark Few Gonzaga 26-9 .743 Dan Monson
2000-01 Thad Matta Butler 24-8 .750 Barry Collier
2001-02 Stan Heath Kent State 29-6 .829 Gary Waters
2002-03 Brad Brownell UNC Wilmington 24-7 .774 Jerry Wainwright
2003-04 Jamie Dixon Pittsburgh 31-5 .861 Ben Howland
2004-05 Mark Fox Nevada 25-7 .781 Trent Johnson
2005-06 Rob Jeter Wisconsin-Milwaukee 22-9 .710 Bruce Pearl
2006-07 Anthony Grant Virginia Commonwealth 28-7 .800 Jeff Capel III
2007-08 Brad Stevens Butler 30-4 .882 Todd Lickliter
2008-09 Ken McDonald Western Kentucky 25-9 .735 Darrin Horn
2009-10 Shaka Smart Virginia Commonwealth 27-9 .750 Anthony Grant
2010-11 B.J. Hill Northern Colorado 21-11 .656 Tad Boyle
2011-12 Steve Prohm Murray State 31-2 .939 Billy Kennedy
2012-13 Kevin Ollie Connecticut 20-10 .667 Jim Calhoun
2013-14 Brad Underwood Stephen F. Austin 32-3 .914 Danny Kaspar

Highs and Lows: McDermott and Green End Mid-Major Hold on Scoring Title

Seth Greenberg missed out on a couple of sizzling scorers for Virginia Tech when he failed to successfully recruit the sons of Gobblers great Dell Curry. Stephen Curry (Davidson) and Seth Curry (Liberty/Duke) went on to become the highest-scoring brother tandem in NCAA Division I history. But amid the fizzling program Greenberg left behind for ACC cellar dweller VT when he was fired as coach was guard Erick Green.

Green, who averaged only 2.6 ppg with the Hokies as a freshman in 2009-10, became the first player in 19 years from a power six conference to lead the nation in scoring. Glenn Robinson Jr. (30.3 ppg for Purdue in 1993-94) had been the only player from a power six league to pace the country in scoring in the previous 41 campaigns.

When Creighton's Doug McDermott paced the country in scoring this season, the Big East Conference's MVP combined with Green to become the first players from power leagues to lead the nation in scoring in back-to-back campaigns since Louisiana State's Pete Maravich (1969-70) and Ole Miss' Johnny Neumann (1970-71) from the SEC. The scoring leaders among power leagues between Robinson and Green included (in reverse order):

Season Leader Among Power Leagues School Avg. NCAA Ranking
2011-12 Terrell Stoglin Maryland 21.6 sixth
2010-11 Marshon Brooks Providence 24.6 second
2009-10 Devan Downey South Carolina 22.5 fourth
2008-09 Jodie Meeks Kentucky 23.7 seventh
2007-08 Michael Beasley Kansas State 26.2 third
2006-07 Kevin Durant Texas 25.8 fourth
2005-06 J.J. Redick Duke 26.8 second
2004-05 Ike Diogu Arizona State 22.6 sixth
2003-04 Ike Diogu Arizona State 22.8 ninth
2002-03 Troy Bell Boston College 25.2 fifth
2001-02 Casey Jacobsen Stanford 21.9 14th
2000-01 Troy Murphy Notre Dame 21.8 13th
1999-00 Eddie House Arizona State 23 fifth
1998-99 Quincy Lewis Minnesota 23.1 sixth
1997-98 Cory Carr Texas Tech 23.3 sixth
1996-97 Ed Gray California 24.8 second
1995-96 Allen Iverson Georgetown 25 seventh
1994-95 Shawn Respert Michigan State 25.6 eighth

Green (25 ppg) finished with the lowest average for the national scoring leader since Yale's Tony Lavelli posted 22.4 points per game in 1948-49. Following is a list citing the high and low games for players during the season when they led NCAA Division I in scoring average:

Year Leading Scorer School Avg. High Game Low Game
1936 Hank Luisetti Stanford 14.3 31 (Utah State)
1937 Hank Luisetti Stanford 17.1 unavailable
1938 Chester Jaworski Rhode Island State 21.0 unavailable
1939 Chester Jaworski Rhode Island State 22.6 unavailable
1940 Stan Modzelewski Rhode Island State 23.1 40 (Connecticut)
1941 Stan Modzelewski Rhode Island State 18.5 unavailable
1942 Stan Modzelewski Rhode Island State 21.4 unavailable
1943 George Senesky St. Joseph's 23.4 44 (Rutgers-Newark) 4 (Elizabethtown)
1944 Ernie Calverley Rhode Island State 26.7 48 (Maine)
1945 George Mikan DePaul 23.3 53 (Rhode Island State)
1946 George Mikan DePaul 23.1 37 (Indiana State)
1947 Bob Brown Miami (Ohio) 19.9 39 (Evansville)
1948 Murray Wier Iowa 21.0 34 (Illinois) 5 (Purdue)
1949 Tony Lavelli Yale 22.4 52 (Williams) 8 (Stanford/Villanova)
1950 Paul Arizin Villanova 25.3 41 (Seton Hall)
1951 Bill Mlkvy Temple 29.2 73 (Wilkes)
1952 Clyde Lovellette Kansas 28.4 44 (St. Louis) 13 (Iowa State)
1953 Frank Selvy Furman 29.5 63 (Mercer) 15 (Manhattan)
1954 Frank Selvy Furman 41.7 100 (Newberry) 25 (Newberry)
1955 Darrell Floyd Furman 35.9 67 (Morehead State) 20 (Newberry/Washington & Lee)
1956 Darrell Floyd Furman 33.8 62 (The Citadel) 18 (Davidson)
1957 Grady Wallace South Carolina 31.2 54 (Georgia) 14 (North Carolina State)
1958 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati 35.1 56 (Seton Hall/Arkansas) 16 (Drake)
1959 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati 32.6 45 (NYU) 13 (Houston)
1960 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati 33.7 62 (North Texas) 13 (Duquesne)
1961 Frank Burgess Gonzaga 32.4 52 (UC Davis)
1962 Billy McGill Utah 38.8 60 (Brigham Young)
1963 Nick Werkman Seton Hall 29.5 42 (St. Francis PA) 11 (Boston College)
1964 Howard Komives Bowling Green State 36.7 50 (Niagara) 25 (Toledo)
1965 Rick Barry Miami (fl) 37.4 59 (Rollins FL) 17 (Florida State)
1966 Dave Schellhase Purdue 32.5 57 (Michigan) 23 (UCLA)
1967 Jimmy Walker Providence 30.4 47 (Holy Cross) 5 (Villanova)
1968 Pete Maravich Louisiana State 43.8 59 (Alabama) 17 (Tennessee)
1969 Pete Maravich Louisiana State 44.2 66 (Tulane) 20 (Tennessee)
1970 Pete Maravich Louisiana State 44.5 69 (Alabama) 20 (Georgetown/Marquette)
1971 Johnny Neumann Mississippi 40.1 63 (Louisiana State) 17 (Louisiana State)
1972 Dwight "Bo" Lamar Southwestern Louisiana 36.3 51 (Louisiana Tech/Lamar)
1973 William "Bird" Averitt Pepperdine 33.9 57 (Nevada-Reno) 10 (Clemson)
1974 Larry Fogle Canisius 33.4 55 (St. Peter's) 18 (South Carolina)
1975 Bob McCurdy Richmond 32.9 53 (Appalachian State)
1976 Marshall Rogers Texas-Pan American 36.8 58 (Texas Lutheran)
1977 Freeman Williams Portland State 38.8 71 (Southern Oregon) 11 (Gonzaga)
1978 Freeman Williams Portland State 35.9 81 (Rocky Mountain MT) 14 (New Mexico)
1979 Lawrence Butler Idaho State 30.1 41 (SDSU/Boise State/UNLV) 12 (Georgia)
1980 Tony Murphy Southern 32.1 50 (Mississippi Valley State)
1981 Zam Fredrick South Carolina 28.9 43 (Georgia Southern)
1982 Harry Kelly Texas Southern 29.7 51 (Texas College)
1983 Harry Kelly Texas Southern 28.8 60 (Jarvis Christian TX)
1984 Joe Jakubick Akron 30.1 42 (Illinois-Chicago) unavailable
1985 Xavier McDaniel Wichita State 27.2 44 (West Texas State) 13 (Ohio University)
1986 Terrance Bailey Wagner 29.4 49 (Brooklyn) 15 (Fairleigh Dickinson)
1987 Kevin Houston Army 32.9 53 (Fordham) 18 (Holy Cross)
1988 Hersey Hawkins Bradley 36.3 63 (Detroit) 17 (Tulsa)
1989 Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount 32.7 49 (Nevada) 22 (Pepperdine)
1990 Greg "Bo" Kimble Loyola Marymount 35.3 54 (St. Joseph's) 21 (UNLV/Gonzaga)
1991 Kevin Bradshaw U.S. International 37.6 72 (Loyola Marymount)
1992 Brett Roberts Morehead State 28.1 53 (Middle Tennessee State)
1993 Greg Guy Texas-Pan American 29.3 38 (Jacksonville) 13 (Lamar)
1994 Glenn Robinson Jr. Purdue 30.3 49 (Illinois) 15 (Wisconsin)
1995 Kurt Thomas Texas Christian 28.9 45 (Illinois-Chicago) 13 (Virginia Tech)
1996 Kevin Granger Texas Southern 27.0 unavailable
1997 Charles Jones Long Island 30.1 46 (St. Francis PA) 16 (UAB)
1998 Charles Jones Long Island 29.0 53 (Medgar Evers NY) 16 (Mount St. Mary's)
1999 Alvin Young Niagara 25.1 44 (Siena) 3 (Iona)
2000 Courtney Alexander Fresno State 24.8 43 (UAB) 11 (Wisconsin)
2001 Ronnie McCollum Centenary 29.1 44 (Northwestern State) 14 (Louisiana State)
2002 Jason Conley Virginia Military 29.3 42 (Western Carolina) 17 (Eastern Mennonite VA)
2003 Ruben Douglas New Mexico 28.0 43 (Wyoming) 12 (Pepperdine)
2004 Keydren Clark St. Peter's 26.7 39 (Hofstra) 17 (Loyola/BSC/Niagara)
2005 Keydren Clark St. Peter's 25.8 43 (College Of Charleston) 14 (Tennessee Tech/Rider)
2006 Adam Morrison Gonzaga 28.1 44 (Loyola Marymount) 11 (San Diego)
2007 Reggie Williams Virginia Military 28.1 45 ((Virginia Intermont) 9 (Army)
2008 Reggie Williams Virginia Military 27.8 43 (Southern Virginia) 10 (Richmond)
2009 Stephen Curry Davidson 28.6 44 (Oklahoma/North Carolina State) 0 (Loyola MD)
2010 Aubrey Coleman Houston 25.6 38 (Tulane) 10 (Texas-San Antonio)
2011 Jimmer Fredette Brigham Young 28.9 52 (New Mexico) 13 (Creighton/Fresno Pacific)
2012 Reggie Hamilton Oakland 26.2 41 (Valparaiso) 11 (Arkansas)
2013 Erick Green Virginia Tech 25 35 (Virginia/Wake Forest) 12 (Brigham Young)
2014 Doug McDermott Creighton 26.7 45 (Providence) 7 (George Washington)

NOTE: Leaders are unofficial from 1935-36 through 1946-47.

Missing in Action: Syracuse Still Never Has Opposed UCLA in NCAA Playoffs

Syracuse's upset loss against Dayton ended the possibility of the Orange meeting UCLA in the championship game of the South Regional. The two powerhouses never have opposed each other in the NCAA playoffs.

Although the NCAA tourney is in its eighth decade, there are attractive power school match-ups that never have occurred. Among the potentially entertaining intra-sectional playoff contests between storied programs never to take place in the NCAAs include:

College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge (Day #9)

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 9 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 athlete to lead his championship team in scoring in two Final Four games and pitch in the major leagues the same year? Hint: He was a guard for three consecutive Final Four teams and was selected to the All-NCAA Tournament team as a senior.

2. Name the only school with more than 1,300 victories in the 20th Century never to reach the Final Four. Hint: The school participated in the NCAA playoffs just once (1992) in the last 40-plus years.

3. Name the only school to defeat a team three times in a season the opponent captured the NCAA title. Hint: The school also defeated the same conference foe three times the next season as defending national champion.

4. Name the only champion to win its two Final Four games by a total of more than 50 points. Hint: The titlist suffered its only loss that season against one of the Final Four victims.

5. Of the 35 Final Four Most Outstanding Players selected from 1946 through 1981 when there was a national third-place game, who was the only honoree to play for a fourth-place team? Hint: He never averaged as many as nine points per game in four NBA seasons.

6. Name the only school to lose in back-to-back years in the first round to different institutions going on to capture national titles those years. Hint: The school won a total of 47 games in the two seasons. The two defeats were in the middle of six consecutive playoff appearances for the school after it appeared in the playoffs just once from 1939 through 1982.

7. Name the only year four teams arrived at the national semifinals with a composite winning percentage of less than 75 percent. Hint: The two schools that met in the national third-place game are traditional football powers. The college losing both of its Final Four games that year is the only national semifinalist to finish a season with as many as 14 defeats.

8. Who is the only player to score more than 60 points in a single playoff game and to score more than 43 points at least twice? Hint: Of the players who scored more than 235 playoff points and/or averaged more than 25 points per tournament game (minimum of three games), he is the only individual from the select group to have a losing playoff record. He is the only one of the top 25 playoff scorers never to reach the Final Four.

9. Who is the only male player to score more than 44 points in a single Final Four game? Hint: He is the only player to twice convert more than 12 free throws without a miss in a playoff game.

10. Who is the only player to score more than 400 points in his playoff career? Hint: The only individual to start in four straight Final Fours hit two last-second shots to help his team win East Regional final overtime games and is the only player with at least 10 championship game free-throw attempts to convert all of them.

Answers (Day 9)

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

Tourney Outcasts: Multiple-Year 1st-Team All-Americans DNP in NCAA Playoffs

A storybook ending for three-time NCAA consensus first-team All-American forward Doug McDermott failed to materialize. McDermott appeared in three NCAA tournaments with Creighton but never reached a Sweet 16. He may have been hampered by a curse as the lone player leading the nation in scoring average while playing for a team reaching the NCAA title tilt is Clyde Lovellette, who carried Kansas to the championship by supplying four of the five highest-scoring games in the 1952 playoffs.

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 two consensus first-team All-Americans never appeared in the NCAA playoffs - Houston guard Otis Birdsong (1977) and Minnesota center Mychal Thompson (1978).

At least McDermott participated in national postseason competition. 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:

Two- or Three-Time NCAA Consensus First-Team A-A School Years 1st-Team A-A NIT Mark
Terry Dischinger Purdue 1961 and 1962 DNP
Sihugo Green Duquesne 1955 and 1956 6-2
Pete Maravich Louisiana State 1968 through 1970 2-2
Chet Walker Bradley 1961 and 1962 3-1

Seeding Capacity: Historical Odds Against #1 Virginia Reaching Final Four

Associated Press voters should profusely apologize to Virginia for not having the Cavaliers ranked among its preseason Top 20. After capturing their first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship in 31 years, the Cavaliers (24th in the PS) were the 16th team to earn a #1 seed despite failing to be included among the Top 20 in the AP's preseason poll since seeding was introduced in 1979.

Virginia's NCAA championship aspirations were dim, however. After exceeding expectations, the schools in this category run out of steam as none of these #1 seeds went on to capture an NCAA title and only two of them (Indiana State '79 and Minnesota '97) advanced to the Final Four.

Year School Coach Regional (NCAA Performance)
1979 Indiana State Bill Hodges Midwest (lost championship game)
1985 Michigan Bill Frieder Southeast (lost in second round)
1986 St. John's Lou Carnesecca West (lost in second round)
1990 Connecticut Jim Calhoun East (lost regional final)
1990 Michigan State Jud Heathcote Southeast (lost regional semifinal)
1994 Missouri Norm Stewart West (lost regional final)
1994 Purdue Gene Keady Southeast (lost regional final)
1995 Wake Forest Dave Odom East (lost regional semifinal)
1996 Purdue Gene Keady West (lost in second round)
1997 Minnesota Clem Haskins Midwest (lost national semifinal)
1999 Auburn Cliff Ellis South (lost regional semifinal)
2002 Cincinnati Bob Huggins West (lost in second round)
2005 Washington Lorenzo Romar West (lost regional semifinal)
2012 Michigan State Tom Izzo West (lost regional semifinal)
2013 Gonzaga Mark Few West (lost in second round)
2014 Virginia Tony Bennett East (lost regional semifinal)

NOTE: Purdue '94 (21st), Wake Forest '95 (24th), Purdue '96 (24th), Minnesota '97 (22nd), Washington '05 (22nd), Gonzaga '13 (21st) and Virginia '14 (24th) were ranked just outside the Top 20 in AP preseason polls.

Mixing March Madness & Sadness: Wichita is 21st #1 Seed Not in Sweet 16

For all the bitter disappointment experienced by fans of a highly-ranked team bowing out of the provocative NCAA Tournament (Wichita State), there is an equal amount of euphoria emanating from supporters of the victor (Kentucky). The range of disparate emotions is one of the reasons there is such a fascination with upsets because nothing is guaranteed when a traditional power opposes a darkhorse.

The ultimate in March Madness materialized in 1993 when Arizona, ranked fifth by AP, was stunned in the first round of the West Regional by Santa Clara (64-61). In terms of point spreads, it was the biggest upset in NCAA playoff history because Santa Clara was a 20-point underdog. The next largest point spread to not hold up occurred in 1986 when 17 1/2-point underdog Arkansas-Little Rock shocked Notre Dame in the Midwest Regional (90-83). Was Branch colleague Digger Phelps' Irish squad unworthy of a #3 seed in 1986?

A total of 21 No. 1 seeds, including DePaul three straight years from 1980 through 1982, failed to reach the regional semifinals since seeding was introduced in 1979. Wichita State joined Gonzaga last year as the first two mid-majors in this category featuring the following crestfallen #1 seeded teams:

Year No. 1 Seed Regional Loss in Second Round Score
1979 North Carolina East #9 seed Penn 72-71
1980 DePaul West #8 UCLA 77-71
1981 DePaul Mideast #9 St. Joseph's 49-48
1981 Oregon State West #8 Kansas State 50-48
1982 DePaul Midwest #8 Boston College 82-75
1985 Michigan Southeast #8 Villanova 59-55
1986 St. John's West #8 Auburn 81-65
1990 Oklahoma Midwest #8 North Carolina 79-77
1992 Kansas Midwest #9 Texas-El Paso 66-60
1994 North Carolina East #9 Boston College 75-72
1996 Purdue West #8 Georgia 76-69
1998 Kansas Midwest #8 Rhode Island 80-75
2000 Arizona West #8 Wisconsin 66-59
2000 Stanford South #8 North Carolina 60-53
2002 Cincinnati West #8 UCLA 105-101 (2OT)
2004 Kentucky St. Louis/Midwest #9 UAB 76-75
2004 Stanford Phoenix/West #8 Alabama 70-67
2010 Kansas Midwest #9 Northern Iowa 69-67
2011 Pittsburgh Southeast #8 Butler 71-70
2013 Gonzaga West #9 Wichita State 76-70
2014 Wichita State Midwest #8 Kentucky 78-76

David vs. Goliath: Power League Members Frequently Fall Against Mid-Majors

If the upper-crust elite smugly look down their noses, they might find their opponents boast the upper hand by looking down the barrel of a gun such as Ohio State against Dayton. Duke, which was embarrassed by Mercer, is one of 18 former national champions to lose multiple times in the tourney against members of lower-profile conferences seeded five or more places worse than the major university currently a member of one of the consensus power six leagues. Kansas has a high of six setbacks as a total of 12 former NCAA titlists have lost three or more such contests.

A total of 80 different lower-profile schools (after Mercer and North Dakota State) and current members of 24 different mid-major conferences (all but Northeast) have won such games since seeding was introduced in 1979. The mid-major school with the most "David vs. Goliath" victories among the following list is Richmond with six.

ACC (30 defeats against mid-major opponents seeded five or more places worse) - Boston College (lost to #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005); Clemson (#13 Southwest Missouri State in 1987 and #11 Western Michigan in 1998); Duke (#11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2007, #15 Lehigh in 2012 and #14 Mercer in 2014); Florida State (#13 Middle Tennessee State in 1989); Georgia Tech (#13 Richmond in 1988 and #13 Southern in 1993); Louisville (#12 Ball State in 1990, #12 Butler in 2003 and #13 Morehead State in 2011); North Carolina (#9 Penn in 1979, #14 Weber State in 1999 and #11 George Mason in 2006); North Carolina State (#14 Murray State in 1988); Notre Dame (#14 UALR in 1986, #11 Winthrop in 2007 and #11 Old Dominion in 2010); Pittsburgh (#10 Kent State in 2002, #13 Bradley in 2006 and #8 Butler in 2011); Syracuse (#7 Navy in 1986, #11 Rhode Island in 1988, #15 Richmond in 1991 and #13 Vermont in 2005 and #11 Dayton in 2014); Virginia (#12 Wyoming in 1987 and #12 Gonzaga in 2001); Wake Forest (#13 Cleveland State in 2009)

BIG EAST/including new AAC members UC and UConn from previous version (15) - Cincinnati (lost to #12 Harvard in 2014); Connecticut (#11 George Mason in 2006 and #13 San Diego in 2008); DePaul (#12 New Mexico State in 1992); Georgetown (#10 Davidson in 2008, #14 Ohio University in 2010, #11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011 and #15 Florida Gulf Coast in 2013); Marquette (#12 Tulsa in 2002); Providence (#12 Pacific in 2004); St. John's (#10 Gonzaga in 2000 and #11 Gonzaga in 2011); Seton Hall (#7 Western Kentucky in 1993); Villanova (#14 Old Dominion in 1995 and #10 Saint Mary's in 2010)

BIG TEN (25) - Illinois (lost to #14 Austin Peay State in 1987, #12 Dayton in 1990, #14 Chattanooga in 1997 and Western Kentucky in 2009); Indiana (#14 Cleveland State in 1986, #13 Richmond in 1988, #11 Pepperdine in 2000 and #13 Kent State in 2001); Iowa (#14 Northwestern State in 2006); Maryland (#12 College of Charleston in 1997); Michigan (#11 Loyola Marymount in 1990 and #13 Ohio University in 2012); Michigan State (#14 Weber State in 1995 and #11 George Mason in 2006); Nebraska (#14 Xavier in 1991 and #11 Penn in 1994); Ohio State (#12 Utah State in 2001, #9 Wichita State in 2013 and #11 Dayton in 2014); Purdue (#11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011); Wisconsin (#12 Southwest Missouri State in 1999, #11 Georgia State in 2001, #7 UNLV in 2007, #10 Davidson in 2008 and #12 Cornell in 2010)

BIG 12 (18) - Iowa State (lost to #15 Hampton in 2001); Kansas (#9 Texas-El Paso in 1992, #8 Rhode Island in 1998, #14 Bucknell in 2005, #13 Bradley in 2006, #9 Northern Iowa in 2010 and #11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011); Kansas State (#11 Tulane in 1993 and #13 La Salle in 2013); Oklahoma (#13 Southwestern Louisiana in 1992, #13 Manhattan in 1995, #13 Indiana State in 2001, #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2006 and #12 North Dakota State in 2014); Oklahoma State (#12 Princeton in 1983, #10 Temple in 1991 and #12 Tulsa in 1994); Texas Tech (#11 Southern Illinois in 2002)

PACIFIC-12 (17) - Arizona (lost to #14 East Tennessee State in 1992, #15 Santa Clara in 1993 and #12 Miami of Ohio in 1995); California (#12 Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1994); Oregon State (#10 Lamar in 1980, #11 Evansville in 1989 and #12 Ball State in 1990); Southern California (#13 UNC Wilmington in 2002); Stanford (#14 Siena in 1989 and #10 Gonzaga in 1999); UCLA (#12 Wyoming in 1987, #13 Penn State in 1991, #12 Tulsa in 1994, #13 Princeton in 1996 and #12 Detroit in 1999); Utah (#10 Miami of Ohio in 1999); Washington State (#12 Penn in 1980)

SEC (30) - Alabama (lost to #11 Lamar in 1983, #11 South Alabama in 1989, #10 Kent State in 2002 and #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005); Auburn (#12 Richmond in 1984); Florida (#12 Creighton in 2002, #12 Manhattan in 2003 and #8 Butler in 2011); Georgia (#14 Chattanooga in 1997 and #11 Southern Illinois in 2002); Kentucky (#7 UAB in 1981, #11 Middle Tennessee State in 1982 and #9 UAB in 2004); Louisiana State (#13 Navy in 1985 and #11 UAB in 2005); Mississippi (#13 Valparaiso in 1998); Mississippi State (#12 Eastern Michigan in 1991, #12 Butler in 2003 and #7 Xavier in 2004); Missouri (#13 Xavier in 1987, #11 Rhode Island in 1988, #14 Northern Iowa in 1990 and #15 Norfolk State in 2012); South Carolina (#15 Coppin State in 1997 and #14 Richmond in 1998); Tennessee (#12 Southwest Missouri State in 1999 and #7 Wichita State in 2006); Vanderbilt (#13 Siena in 2008, #13 Murray State in 2010 and #12 Richmond in 2011)

NOTES: Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were members of the Big Eight until 1997. Mizzou left the Big 12 for SEC in 2013. . . . Notre Dame was an independent in 1986. . . . Florida State, Louisville and Tulane were members of the Metro Conference in 1989, 1990 and 1993, respectively. . . . Dayton was a member of the Midwestern Collegiate in 1990. . . . DePaul was a member of the Great Midwest in 1992. . . . Texas-El Paso and Utah were members of the WAC in 1992 and 1999, respectively. . . . Marquette and Louisville were members of Conference USA in 2002 and 2004, respectively. . . . Tulsa was a member of Missouri Valley in 1994 and 2002. . . . Boston College was a member of the Big East in 2005. . . . Defeats for Maryland (ACC), Louisville (Big East), Pittsburgh (Big East) and Syracuse (Big East) came when they were members of another power league.

College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge (Day #8)

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 8 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 school to reach the Final Four three consecutive years on two separate occasions in the 20th Century. Hint: In the first three-year stretch, it became the only school to lose three straight national semifinal games. In the second three-year stretch, the school was involved in the only times two teams from the same state met each other in the championship game.

2. What was the only year two undefeated teams reached the Final Four? Hint: One of the squads had a perfect ending after winning in the national semifinals and championship game by an average of 16 points, while the other club that was unbeaten lost in the national semifinals and third-place game by an average of 15 points.

3. Who is the shortest player to lead an NCAA champion in scoring average? Hint: He was part of a three-guard starting lineup, averaging under 5-10 in height, that played the entire championship game for the only current Division I school to capture an NCAA title despite never having an NCAA consensus first- or second-team All-America.

4. Who is the only U.S. Olympic basketball coach to win the NCAA and NIT titles with different schools? Hint: He never participated in a national postseason tournament with the third university he coached (Michigan State).

5. Who was the only coach to direct two different schools to the Final Four twice apiece in the 20th Century? Hint: He is the only coach to compile a record of more than four games under .500 in Final Four contests and the only coach to guide three teams to national fourth-place finishes.

6. Who is the only coach of a championship team other than Rick Pitino to subsequently coach another university and compile a winning NCAA playoff record at his last major-college job? Hint: He is the only coach to win a national title at a school where he stayed less than five seasons.

7. Of the coaches to reach the national semifinals at least twice, who is the only one to compile an undefeated Final Four record? Hint: He won both of his championship games against the same school. He is also the only NCAA consensus first-team All-American to later coach his alma mater to an NCAA title.

8. Name the only school to lead UCLA at halftime in the 22 Final Four games for the Bruins' 11 titlists. Hint: The school that led one of the 11 UCLA champions at intermission of a Final Four game was coached by a John Wooden protege.

9. Of the coaches hired by NBA teams after winning an NCAA championship, who is the only one to compile a non-losing NBA playoff record? Hint: He is one of four different men to coach an undefeated NCAA championship team.

10. Name the only school to defeat a team by as many as 27 points in a season the opponent wound up winning the national title. Hint: The school is also the only one to defeat an eventual national titlist twice in the same season by at least 12 points.

Answers (Day 8)

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

Mid-Major Madness: Mid-Level Members Maneuver For More Respect

After an average of four mid-level schools reached the Sweet 16 in a six-year span from 2006 through 2011, the last three 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 and only two mid-majors reached the Sweet 16 this year.

Wichita State advancing to the Final Four plus victories by Lehigh, Norfolk State and Florida Gulf Coast the previous three years were invigorating but the mid-major community missed out on a potential bonanza. Wichita State was eliminated early this season but Dayton and San Diego State were able to advance with at least two victories. 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:

Year Mid-Major School Coach Conference Playoff Advancement
1985 Louisiana Tech Andy Russo Southland Sweet 16
1985 Loyola of Chicago Gene Sullivan Midwestern City Sweet 16
1986 Cleveland State Kevin Mackey Mid-Continent Sweet 16
1986 Navy Paul Evans Colonial Regional Final
1986 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian PCAA Sweet 16
1987 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian PCAA Final Four
1987 Wyoming Jim Brandenburg Western Athletic Sweet 16
1988 Rhode Island Tom Penders Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
1988 Richmond Dick Tarrant Colonial Sweet 16
1988 Temple John Chaney Atlantic 10 Regional Final
1989 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Big West Regional Final
1990 Ball State Dick Hunsaker Mid-American Sweet 16
1990 Loyola Marymount Paul Westhead West Coast Regional Final
1990 Texas Tom Penders Southwest Regional Final
1990 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Big West NCAA Champion
1990 Xavier Pete Gillen Midwestern Collegiate Sweet 16
1991 Eastern Michigan Ben Braun Mid-American Sweet 16
1991 Temple John Chaney Atlantic 10 Regional Final
1991 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Big West Final Four
1991 Utah Rick Majerus Western Athletic Sweet 16
1992 Massachusetts John Calipari Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
1992 New Mexico State Neil McCarthy Big West Sweet 16
1992 Texas-El Paso Don Haskins Western Athletic Sweet 16
1993 George Washington Mike Jarvis Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
1993 Temple John Chaney Atlantic 10 Regional Final
1993 Western Kentucky Ralph Willard Sun Belt Sweet 16
1994 Tulsa Tubby Smith Missouri Valley Sweet 16
1995 Massachusetts John Calipari Atlantic 10 Regional Final
1995 Tulsa Tubby Smith Missouri Valley Sweet 16
1996 Cincinnati Bob Huggins Conference USA Regional Final
1996 Massachusetts John Calipari Atlantic 10 Final Four
1996 Utah Rick Majerus Western Athletic Sweet 16
1997 St. Joseph's Phil Martelli Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
1997 UT Chattanooga Mack McCarthy Southern Sweet 16
1997 Utah Rick Majerus Western Athletic Regional Final
1998 Rhode Island Jim Harrick Atlantic 10 Regional Final
1998 Utah Rick Majerus Western Athletic NCAA Title Game
1998 Valparaiso Homer Drew Mid-Continent Sweet 16
1999 Gonzaga Dan Monson West Coast Regional Final
1999 Miami (Ohio) Charlie Coles Mid-American Sweet 16
1999 SW Missouri State Steve Alford Missouri Valley Sweet 16
1999 Temple John Chaney Atlantic 10 Regional Final
2000 Gonzaga Mark Few West Coast Sweet 16
2000 Tulsa Bill Self Western Athletic Regional Final
2001 Gonzaga Mark Few West Coast Sweet 16
2001 Temple John Chaney Atlantic 10 Regional Final
2002 Kent State Stan Heath Mid-American Regional Final
2002 Southern Illinois Bruce Weber Missouri Valley Sweet 16
2003 Butler Todd Lickliter Horizon League Sweet 16
2004 Nevada Trent Johnson Western Athletic Sweet 16
2004 St. Joseph's Phil Martelli Atlantic 10 Regional Final
2004 UAB Mike Anderson Conference USA Sweet 16
2004 Xavier Thad Matta Atlantic 10 Regional Final
2005 Utah Ray Giacoletti Mountain West Sweet 16
2005 Wisconsin-Milwaukee Bruce Pearl Horizon League Sweet 16
2006 Bradley Jim Les Missouri Valley Sweet 16
2006 George Mason Jim Larranaga Colonial Final Four
2006 Gonzaga Mark Few West Coast Sweet 16
2006 Memphis John Calipari Conference USA Regional Final
2006 Wichita State Mark Turgeon Missouri Valley Sweet 16
2007 Butler Todd Lickliter Horizon League Sweet 16
2007 Memphis John Calipari Conference USA Regional Final
2007 Southern Illinois Chris Lowery Missouri Valley Sweet 16
2007 UNLV Lon Kruger Mountain West Sweet 16
2008 Davidson Bob McKillop Southern Regional Final
2008 Memphis John Calipari Conference USA NCAA Title Game
2008 Western Kentucky Darrin Horn Sun Belt Sweet 16
2008 Xavier Sean Miller Atlantic 10 Regional Final
2009 Gonzaga Mark Few West Coast Sweet 16
2009 Memphis John Calipari Conference USA Sweet 16
2009 Xavier Sean Miller Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
2010 Butler Brad Stevens Horizon League NCAA Title Game
2010 Cornell Steve Donahue Ivy League Sweet 16
2010 Northern Iowa Ben Jacobsen Missouri Valley Sweet 16
2010 Saint Mary's Randy Bennett West Coast Sweet 16
2010 Xavier Chris Mack Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
2011 Brigham Young Dave Rose Mountain West Sweet 16
2011 Butler Brad Stevens Horizon League NCAA Title Game
2011 Richmond Chris Mooney Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
2011 San Diego State Steve Fisher Mountain West Sweet 16
2011 Virginia Commonwealth Shaka Smart Colonial Final Four
2012 Ohio University John Groce Mid-American Sweet 16
2012 Xavier Chris Mack Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
2013 Florida Gulf Coast Andy Enfield Atlantic Sun Sweet 16
2013 La Salle John Giannini Atlantic 10 Sweet 16
2013 Wichita State Gregg Marshall Missouri Valley Final Four
2014 Dayton Archie Miller Atlantic 10 Regional Final
2014 San Diego State Steve Fisher Mountain West Sweet 16

College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge (Day #7)

Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 7 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 coach to grace the NCAA playoffs in five decades. Hint: He achieved the feat with four different universities.

2. Who is the only player to score a team-high point total in his prominent school's first NCAA Tournament victory the same year he earned All-American honors as a quarterback for a national football champion? Hint: He later became executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after coaching two different universities when they participated in the Rose Bowl.

3. Who is the only individual to be more than 10 games below .500 in his initial campaign as a major-college head coach and subsequently guide a team to a national championship? Hint: He won his last 10 NCAA Tournament games decided by fewer than five points. In his last two playoff appearances with the former titlist, it became the only school to receive at-large bids in back-to-back years with as many as 14 defeats entering the tourney.

4. Name the only school to be denied three NCAA Tournament berths because it was on probation. Hint: The three times the school didn't participate in the national playoffs because of NCAA probation were from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.

5. Who was the only player to score more than 40 points in his first tournament game? Hint: The university left the Division I level for 28 years and was UCLA's first victim when the Bruins started a 38-game winning streak in the playoffs. He and his twin brother were infielders together with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

6. Name the only school to deploy just five players in an entire championship game. Hint: The school, participating in the playoffs for the first time that year, set a record for largest winning margin with a 69-point victory in its first-round game. The school is the only former NCAA champion never to compete against legendary coaches Bob Knight and Dean Smith.

7. Who is the only individual to go as many as 25 years between coaching teams in the NCAA Tournament? Hint: His first two playoff teams were eliminated in their tourney openers by eventual championship game participants.

8. Name the only school to have more than one two-time first-team All-American never reach the Final Four. Hint: One of the players is the only three-time first-team All-America to fail to appear in the NCAA playoffs. The school is the only top four seed to lose a first-round game by more than 20 points.

9. Who is the only player to have season scoring averages of fewer than 10 points per game in back-to-back years he was named to the All-NCAA Tournament team? Hint: His school reached the national championship game each season and had two different centers named Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Also, he is part of the only set of brothers to play together in two NCAA title games. One of their teammates became a marquee coach.

10. Who is the only individual to play for an NCAA basketball champion and in a major league baseball World Series? Hint: He was primarily a relief pitcher for six different teams in 13 big league seasons from 1975 through 1989.

Answers (Day 7)

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

Double Trouble: Celebrated Coaches Lose Often to Double-Digit Seeded Foes

It's not dumping on Duke, but is double-digit NCAA defeats trending for Mike Krzyzewski, who was eliminated from the national tournament for the third time in the last eight years by a double-digit seeded opponent? At least none of the three were against an Atlantic 10 Conference member at the time. Similarly, new ACC member Syracuse bowed out against #11 Dayton, making Jim Boeheim the first coach ever to lose six games against double-digit seeded foes.

Last year, Georgetown coach John Thompson III joined Bobby Cremins as the only coaches in NCAA Tournament history to be eliminated four straight seasons from the playoffs by opponents with double-digit seeds. Granted, seedings can be very misleading after the process was introduced in 1979. With more parity and balance than ever before, there isn't much difference between a No. 4 seed and a No. 13 seed. Just ask Kansas' Bill Self after the Jayhawks exited at the hands of #10 Stanford.

But Boeheim, Krzyzewski, Self and Thompson might need inoculation against teams with worse seeds. Following is an alphabetical list of prominent coaches absorbing at least three NCAA Tournament defeats in a span of 10 years or fewer with the same school against opponents with double-digit seeds:

Marquee Coach School Three or More Losses vs. Double-Digit Seeded Opponents in Fewer Than 10 Years
Jim Boeheim Syracuse 2005/#13 Vermont, 2006/#12 Texas A&M, 2011/#11 Marquette and 2014/#11 Dayton
Dale Brown Louisiana State 1984/#10 Dayton, 1985/#13 Navy, and 1991/#11 Connecticut
Bobby Cremins Georgia Tech 1986/#11 LSU, 1987/#10 LSU, 1988/#13 Richmond, 1989/#11 Texas and 1993/#13 Southern
Lou Henson Illinois 1983/#10 Utah, 1987/#14 Austin Peay State and 1990/#12 Dayton
Gene Keady Purdue 1985/#11 Auburn, 1986/#11 Louisiana State, 1990/#10 Texas, 1991/#10 Temple and 1995/#14 Wisconsin-Green Bay
Mike Krzyzewski Duke 2007/#11 Virginia Commonwealth, 2012/#15 Lehigh and 2014/#14 Mercer
Ralph Miller Oregon State 1980/#10 Lamar, 1984/#11 West Virginia and 1989/#11 Evansville
Lute Olson Arizona 1992/#14 East Tennessee State, 1993/#15 Santa Clara and 1995/#12 Ball State
Bo Ryan Wisconsin 2008/#10 Davidson, 2010/#12 Cornell and 2013/#12 Ole Miss
Wimp Sanderson Alabama 1983/#11 Lamar, 1989/#11 South Alabama, and 1990/#11 Loyola Marymount
Bill Self Kansas 2005/#14 Bucknell, 2006/#13 Bradley, 2011/#11 Virginia Commonwealth and 2014/#10 Stanford
Kevin Stallings Vanderbilt 2008/#13 Siena, 2010/#13 Murray State and 2011/#12 Richmond
Norm Stewart Missouri 1987/#13 Xavier, 1988/#11 Rhode Island and 1990/#14 Northern Iowa
John Thompson III Georgetown 2008/#10 Davidson, 2010/#14 Ohio University, 2011/#11 Virginia Commonwealth, 2012/#11 North Carolina State and 2013/#15 Florida Gulf Coast
Billy Tubbs Oklahoma 1984/#10 Dayton, 1986/#12 DePaul and 1992/#13 Southwestern Louisiana

Southern Living: Florida Among Marquee Schools Late Arriving 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. Two of the four #1 seeds this year - Florida and Virginia - were late arrivals to the NCAA party. 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 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

Close But No Cigar: Halftime Lead Evaporates for #16 Coastal vs. #1 UVA

Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, bombs, government work and drive-in movies. A No. 16 seed never has defeated a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 120 such match-ups since the playoff field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985.

But when Coastal Carolina grabbed a five-point halftime lead against Virginia, hope sprung eternal that somehow/somewhere/someway/someday a #16 seed will prevail and become the ultimate giant killer. A superior second-half performance enabled UVA to win by a double-digit margin. If history means anything, a single-digit result would have revealed a chink in the Cavaliers' armor. None of the first 12 #1 seeds in the following "shaky-start" category went on to capture the NCAA championship and only three of them - Duke '86, Illinois '89 and North Carolina '97 - advanced to the Final Four:

Year Margin Regional Single-Digit Outcome Between #1 and #16 NCAA Playoff Seeds
1989 1 East Georgetown 50 (Mourning team-high 21 points), Princeton 49 (Scrabis 15)
1989 1 Southeast Oklahoma 72 (King 28), East Tennessee State 71 (Dennis 20)
1996 2 West Purdue 73 (Austin 18), Western Carolina 71 (McCollum 21)
1985 4 Southeast Michigan 59 (Tarpley 15), Fairleigh Dickinson 55 (Wilson 12)
1990 4 Southeast Michigan State 75 (Smith 22), Murray State 71 (Jones 37)*
1989 6 Midwest Illinois 77 (Battle 18), McNeese State 71 (Cutright 28)
2013 6 West Gonzaga 64 (Olynyk 21), Southern 58 (Beltran 21)
1986 7 East Duke 85 (Dawkins 27), Mississippi Valley State 78 (Coleman 24)
2012 7 East Syracuse 72 (Southerland 15), UNC Asheville 65 (Primm 18)
2013 7 South Kansas 64 (Withey 17), Western Kentucky 57 (Crook 13)
1997 8 East North Carolina 82 (Carter 22), Fairfield 74 (Francis 26)
1986 9 West St. John's 83 (Berry 31), Montana State 74 (Hampton 21)
1990 9 Midwest Oklahoma 77 (Jones 19), Towson State 68 (Lee 30)
1996 9 Southeast Connecticut 68 (Allen 24), Colgate 59 (Foyle 21)

*Overtime.

Regal Rookie: First-Year Head Coach Underwood Wins NCAA Tourney Debut

It might not end up on his tombstone but Stephen F. Austin's Brad Underwood achieved something NCAA championship coaches Jim Calhoun, Billy Donovan, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, Bill Self, Tubby Smith and Roy Williams failed to do - win NCAA playoff debut in their first season as an NCAA Division I head coach.

Krzyzewski (Duke) and Calhoun (Connecticut) were eliminated in the first round in back-to-back years by Anthony Grant (Virginia Commonwealth in 2007) and Bill Grier (San Diego in 2008). Following is an alphabetical list of active coaches guiding teams to an NCAA Tournament triumph in their career in first full season at the DI level:

Coach School Debut Year Win in First NCAA Playoff Game
Rod Barnes Mississippi 1999 Villanova in Midwest Regional
John Becker Vermont 2012 Lamar in Midwest Regional
Tony Bennett Washington State 2007 Oral Roberts in East Regional
Jim Boeheim Syracuse 1977 Tennessee in OT in Mideast Regional
Jamie Dixon Pittsburgh 2004 Central Florida in East Regional
Mark Few Gonzaga 2000 Louisville in West Regional
Steve Fisher Michigan 1990 Illinois State in West Regional
Mark Fox Nevada 2005 Texas in Midwest Regional
Anthony Grant Virginia Commonwealth 2007 Duke in West Regional
Bill Grier San Diego 2008 Connecticut in OT in West Regional
Dick Hunsaker Ball State 1990 Oregon State in West Regional
Rob Jeter Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2006 Oklahoma in Midwest Regional
Steve Lavin UCLA 1997 Charleston Southern in Midwest Regional
Chris Mack Xavier 2010 Minnesota in West Regional
Frank Martin Kansas State 2008 Southern California in Midwest Regional
Thad Matta Butler 2001 Wake Forest in Midwest Regional
Brad Underwood Stephen F. Austin 2014 Virginia Commonwealth in South Regional

NOTE: Barnes (Cal State Bakersfield), Bennett (Virginia), Fisher (San Diego State), Fox (Georgia), Grant (Alabama), Hunsaker (Utah Valley), Lavin (St. John's), Martin (South Carolina) and Matta (Ohio State) coached different schools this season. Fisher was interim coach in 1989 when he directed Michigan to the NCAA title.

College Exam: One-and-Only NCAA Tournament 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 the national semifinals and final in the same season. He was also the only Big Eight Conference player to lead the 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 the 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 the 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 the biggest blowout in regional final history.

Answers (Day 6)

Day 5 Questions and Answers

Day 4 Questions and Answers

Day 3 Questions and Answers

Day 2 Questions and Answers

Day 1 Questions and Answers

Deal or No Deal? Loyalty is One-Way Street Buzzword for Many Head Coaches

Should I stay or should I go? It's a good thing some universities play in mammoth arenas because the egos of their "Pompous Pilots" wouldn't fit any other place. It wasn't exactly "Christian Living" when Jim Christian, leaving Ohio University for Boston College, departed a school for the third time in the last seven years with at least three seasons remaining on his contract.

Much of the excess in the canonization of coaches is perpetrated by coaches-turned-television commentators who shamelessly fawn over their former colleagues. The analysts should be more concerned about encouraging coaches to spare fans the pious blather about the sanctity of a contract or agreement. Granted, it's survival of the fittest amid the offer-you-can't-refuse backdrop. But in a great many cases, schools have been little more than convenient steppingstones for "larger-than-life" coaches along their one-way street to success. It's understandable in many instances that mercenaries are leaving the minute they're appointed because coaches are in a distasteful "hired-to-be-fired" vocation, where a pink slip is only one losing season or poor recruiting year away.

Nevertheless, loyalty has become too much of a one-way street with the latest example being Buzz Williams departing for seven-year Virginia Tech deal despite having a rollover contract reportedly at least six seasons with Marquette. After all, the private school, only paying him millions of dollars annually, wanted his assistants to comport themselves properly, had personnel changes in the athletic department and their league switched to a different cable network. Meanwhile, players considering their options occasionally are grilled by coaches and commentators for contemplating transfers or leaving early for the NBA. There are countless examples of schools holding a player's eligibility hostage out of sheer vindictiveness. How much more one-sided can it be when that lame double standard exists?

After all, the value systems for high-profile coaches are sufficiently open-minded to permit running out on contracts when more lucrative jobs come open. Contracts are understood to be for the protection of the coach, not the team, whose players are somehow indentured to the schools for as many as four years of eligibility unless of course a coach chooses not to renew their scholarships. Perhaps that's why many believe incoming recruits should be allowed out of their letter-of-intent to seek another destination if the coach they signed with departs before they even get to campus.

Maybe it shouldn't be that way, but that's most definitely the way it is as contracts don't appear to mean squat to a striking number of meandering mentors who abandon ship like so many rats at high tide. Lon Kruger departed three different schools with at least four years remaining on pacts before leaving UNLV with two seasons left.

Many "leveraged" coaches have been preoccupied of late with attempting to virtually extort raises and extensions on already hefty packages. But in recent years, administrations at Boston College, Kent State, Marist, Miami (Fla.), St. John's and Wyoming seemed to be guinea pigs of sorts by fighting back via adherence to buyout clauses in trying to regain control of the situation in this big business atmosphere.

In mid-July 2010, a New York State Supreme Court Justice made a possible precedent-setting ruling in favor of Marist, which contended that coach Matt Brady's contract required him to secure written consent before negotiating with another school and forbade him from offering "a scholarship to current Marist players or to persons that he or his staff recruited to play at Marist" if he ever took a comparable job.

Brady clearly negotiated with James Madison in 2008 without "written" consent and Marist compiled a list of 19 prospects Brady recruited on behalf of Marist that it believed he should have been unable to recruit to JMU per the details of his contract. Four players on that "off-limits" list - Trevon Flores, Devon Moore, Andrey Semenov and Julius Wells - ultimately signed with JMU.

The judge ruled in favor of Marist's claims that Brady had an enforceable contract when he discussed leaving Marist with JMU, that JMU knew of the contract's existence, that JMU intentionally induced Brady to violate his fiduciary obligations under the contract, and that Marist incurred damages as a result of the breach of those obligations. Marist also filed a separate civil suit against Brady. In mid-May 2011, Kent State sued Geno Ford for more than $1.2 million in damages stemming from his departure for Bradley.

Six of Tulsa's previous eight coaches - Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith, Steve Robinson, Bill Self, Buzz Peterson and Danny Manning - left the school for more prestigious positions despite each of them having at least three years remaining on their contracts before Frank Haith downgraded by departing Missouri for Tulsa with three years remaining on his Mizzou pact. Half of the Golden Hurricane defectors went on to capture NCAA championships. Tulsa is one of three universities from which Self has bailed. He signed a five-year extension with Illinois in December, 2002, that included a bump in salary to $900,000 and payout of $500,000 if he stayed the life of the contract. There also was a buyout of $100,000 per year remaining on the pact.

Deal or no deal? The length of contracts doesn't seem to carry any weight as a factor in the equation. Although precise information on terms of contracts frequently is akin to Swiss bank account material, following is an alphabetical list detailing coaches such as Buzz Williams who reportedly still had contractual obligations to schools of more than five seasons when they left for greener pastures at some point in their careers:

Pages

Subscribe to Front page feed