Racial Profiling: Norfolk State Upset Sparks History Lesson
After Richmond shocked Jim Boeheim-coached Syracuse in 1991 and Santa Clara kayoed Lute Olson's Arizona squad in 1993, the next three #15 seed victories over #2 seeds came at the hands of historically-black colleges and universities - Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997 and Hampton over Iowa State in 2001 before Kyle "The Mighty" O'Quinn powered Norfolk State to a stunning 86-84 decision over Missouri - prior to Lehigh generating a gigantic aftershock with a 75-70 win over Duke.
O'Quinn's stature shouldn't come as a total surprise to anyone who read CollegeHoopedia.com's mid-major summary a couple of weeks ago when he was designated the nation's best-kept secret. Similarly, Lehigh's emotionally- and intellectually-stimulating "road" operation on the Blue Devils could be a byproduct of their doctor/coach Brett Reed (see playoff coaches "Degrees of Success") being uninterested in them celebrating a 20th anniversary of their epic contest with Kentucky in 1991.
Norfolk State's bid to become the first HBCU to reach a Sweet 16 triggers a history lesson. Perceived in most quarters as picking-on-patsies fodder, the truth about black crime in basketball is that it's a big sin many fans don't know or can't recall the high degree of success historically-black colleges and universities enjoyed at the small-college level. For instance, Norfolk State appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 10 times in a 12-year span from 1984 until finishing third in the 1995 tourney.
Most of these HBCU institutions currently are imprisoned at the NCAA Division I level, where they're little more than indentured servants doing the bidding of their major university masters almost always getting whipped on the road during non-conference competition.
What many observers should know is seven different historically black colleges and universities advancing to the NCAA DI level captured a total of nine NAIA and NCAA College Division Tournament championships in a 21-year span from 1957 through 1977 (Tennessee State from 1957 through 1959, Grambling '61, Prairie View A&M '62, Winston-Salem State '67, Morgan State '74, Coppin State '76 and Texas Southern '77). Coppin State is the lone school in this group to go on and post a triumph in the NCAA Division I playoffs.
Winson-Salem State saw what life looked like on the DI side of the fence and abandoned ship after only one season. All but two of the 25 HBCUs endured at least one season with 20 defeats in a six-year span from 2003-04 through 2008-09. The pair that emerged unscathed during that stretch were Hampton (worst record was 13-17 in 2003-04) and Norfolk State (11-19 in 2006-07).
Conference members from the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic have won only 10% of their NCAA Division I Tournament games. Alcorn State registered the first three of the following modest total of nine HBCU wins in the DI tourney (four in preliminary round competition; including Florida A&M's 15-point victory over Lehigh in 2004) since the SWAC and MEAC moved up to the Division I level in 1979-80 and 1980-81, respectively:
1980 Midwest First Round: #8 Alcorn State 70 (Baker/Smith game-high 18 points), #9 South Alabama 62 (Rains 22)
1983 Midwest Preliminary Round: Alcorn State 81 (Phelps 18), Xavier 75 (Fleming 16)
1984 Midwest Preliminary Round: Alcorn State 79 (Phelps 21), Houston Baptist 60 (Lavodrama 14)
1993 West First Round: #13 Southern (LA) 93 (Scales 27), #4 Georgia Tech 78 (Mackey 27)
1997 East First Round: #15 Coppin State 78 (Singletary 22), #2 South Carolina 65 (McKie 16)
2001 West First Round: #15 Hampton 58 (Williams 16), #2 Iowa State 57 (Rancik/Shirley 10)
2004 Preliminary Round: Florida A&M 72 (Woods 21), Lehigh 57 (Tempest 13)
2010 Preliminary Round: Arkansas-Pine Bluff 61 (Smith 14), Winthrop 44 (Corbin 13)
2012 West First Round: #15 Norfolk State 86 (O'Quinn 26), #2 Missouri (Dixon 22)
SWAC member Grambling never has appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament. Success wasn't so difficult to find for the Tigers at the small-college level. Beginning with third-rounder Charles Hardnett in 1962, they supplied one of the top 21 NBA draft picks four consecutive years through 1965. A total of 23 products from historically black colleges and universities now at the NCAA DI level were among the following top 22 NBA draft choices in a 20-year span from 1957 through 1976:
1957 - Sam Jones (North Carolina Central/8th pick overall) and Bob McCoy (Grambling/10th)
1958 - Ben Swain (Texas Southern/8th)
1959 - Dick Barnett (Tennessee A&I/5th)
1960 - none
1961 - Ben Warley (Tennessee A&I/6th) and Cleo Hill (Winston-Salem State/8th)
1962 - Zelmo Beaty (Prairie View/3rd) and Charles Hardnett (Grambling/21st)
1963 - Hershell West (Grambling/16th)
1964 - Willis Reed (Grambling/10th)
1965 - Wilbert Frazier (Grambling/12th) and Harold Blevins (Arkansas AM&N/17th)
1966 - none
1967 - Earl Monroe (Winston-Salem State/2nd) and James Jones (Grambling/13th)
1968 - none
1969 - Willie Norwood (Alcorn A&M/19th)
1970 - Jake Ford (Maryland State/20th)
1971 - Fred Hilton (Grambling/19th) and Ted McClain (Tennessee State/22nd)
1972 - none
1973 - none
1974 - Truck Robinson (Tennessee State/22nd)
1975 - Marvin Webster (Morgan State/3rd), Eugene Short (Jackson State and Tom Boswell (South Carolina State before transferring to South Carolina/17th)
1976 - Larry Wright (Grambling/14th)
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only 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 school he played for is tied with UCLA for the most different coaches (seven) who directed teams to the national tournament. Also, 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.
Playing/Coaching Excellence: Alford Guides 3 Schools to Playoffs
Stature as a great player has never had anything to do with becoming a good coach. In fact, it can be a hindrance because of great expectations. But New Mexico's Steve Alford is among the 12 individuals in history to coach a team to the NCAA Division I Tournament after earning a spot on an NCAA first- or second-team consensus All-American squad. Clem Haskins is the only All-American who also played in the NBA to have more NCAA tourney coaching victories than Alford, the lone All-American to coach three different schools in the playoffs. Following are the All-Americans in this category:
Coach | School | Playoff Years | Alma Mater | All-American Years |
---|---|---|---|---|
Steve Alford | Southwest Missouri State | 1999 | Indiana | 1st team in 1986 and 1987 |
Iowa | 2001-05-06 | |||
New Mexico | 2010 and 2012 | |||
Henry Bibby | Southern California | 1997 | UCLA | 1st in 1972 |
Bob Calihan | Detroit | 1962 | Detroit | 2nd in 1939 |
Bob Cousy | Boston College | 1967 and 1968 | Holy Cross | 1st in 1950 |
Larry Finch | Memphis State | 1988-89-92-93-95 | Memphis State | 2nd in 1973 |
Sidney Green | Florida Atlantic | 2002 | UNLV | 2nd in 1983 |
Clem Haskins | Western Kentucky | 1981 and 1986 | Western Kentucky | 1st in 1967 |
Minnesota | 1989-90-94-95-97-99 | |||
Walt Hazzard | UCLA | 1987 | UCLA | 1st in 1964 |
Branch McCracken | Indiana | 1940-53-54-58 | Indiana | 1930 |
Jeff Mullins | UNC Charlotte | 1988 and 1992 | Duke | 2nd in 1964 |
John Shumate | Southern Methodist | 1993 | Notre Dame | 1st in 1974 |
John Wooden | UCLA | 1950-52-56-62-63-64-65-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74-75 | Purdue | 1930 through 1932 |
NOTES: The NCAA did not distinguish between first- and second-team All-Americas until 1939. . . . Alford (5-5 NCAA Tournament record after 2012 first-round victory), Bibby (0-1), Cousy (2-2), Green (0-1), Haskins (11-8), Hazzard (1-1), Mullins (0-3) and Shumate (0-1) played in the NBA.
Regal Rookie: First-Year Coach Becker Bends Rules in Playoff Debut
It might not end up on his tombstone but Vermont's John Becker 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 his 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 who guided teams to an NCAA Tournament triumph in their first full season at the DI level:
NOTE: Barnes (Cal State Bakersfield), Bennett (Virginia), Fisher (San Diego State), Fox (Georgia), Grant (Alabama), Heath (South Florida), Hunsaker (Utah Valley), Lavin (St. John's) 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: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only 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 matchup 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.
From Ball Boys to Bad Boys: Boeheim Forced to Keep Putting Out Fires
On the hardwood, Syracuse was white hot, compiling the best regular-season mark (31-2) in coach Jim Boeheim's 36-year stint and matching a Big East Conference record set by Connecticut in 1995-96 by capturing the league's regular-season crown (17-1).
Off the court, Boeheim was fire chief extraordinaire, putting out fire after fire for about a year stemming from calling an NCAA proposal "completely nuts" requiring teams to be on track to graduating half their players, the dismissal of assistant coach Bernie Fine amid predator allegations and Yahoo Sports publishing a story claiming SU didn't follow its drug-testing policies in allowing 10 players in the previous decade to continue playing after positive results. Right as one might think Boeheim deserved fire retardant, center Fab Melo added fuel to the flames when the Big East Defensive Player of the Year was suspended because of an eligibiity issue.
The heat from the firestorm could have intensified if the Orange became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed. But buttressed by some woeful second-half officiating, the Orange prevailed against UNC Asheville in a game where the score was tied with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
Beleaguered Boeheim didn't help defuse the scrunity when it appeared beneath his dignity to address any significant issues at a pre-tourney press conference. The surly mentor sounded as if he needed some Melodrama truth serum when saying that Melo "didn't let the team down."
The tales of tumult escalate when Boeheim fails to control his tongue, let alone disdainful facial expressions. Apology notwithstanding, his incendiary money-motivated defense of the alleged 'Cuse Abuse certainly wasn't "fine" when considering the "high" number of suspect students he recruited.
Syracuse is one of 13 schools in the 2012 playoffs that would not be participating in the tournament if a new APR (Academic Progress Rate) was in effect this year. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who averaged a team-high 16.9 points per game for Harvard in 1986-87, didn't mention Boeheim by name but seemed to take a backhanded slap at him when discussing graduation rates.
"When athletic programs have their priorities in order," Duncan was quoted in USA Today, "there are simply no better ways to teach invaluable life lessons than on the playing field or on the court. I just never understood why a small number of universities and colleges allowed rogue programs and coaches to taint that tremendous record of achievement and success."
SU had a longstanding reputation for giving the most clang for your buck when it came to sucess at the foul line. A need for eye exams and other physical testing may explain the previous faulty free-throw marksmanship if players indeed were immersed in alleged off-the-court shenanigans.
Fine has not been charged with a crime and refuted the allegations lodged against him. But is accuser Bobby Davis, a former ball boy who unsuccessfully tried to sue Boeheim and the university for defamation, lying about him being noticed in Fine's road hotel room or is additional backtracking in the offing for Boeheim? In a worst-case scenario, could he be equally oblivious to the problematical academic progress and drug testing?
Post-college career or not, it isn't worth recounting the off-the-court distractions encountered by a disconcerting number of "Boeheim Bad Boys" who were All-Big East selections. There doesn't appear to be a smoking gun. But where there's smoke, there's a high likelihood of fire. By any measure, the unseemly incidents and scholastic neglect covering an extended period leave an unsavory smell.
Humble Backgrounds: Small-College Grads Make Big News in Tourney
In a caste-like era separating the haves from the have-nots, imperial universities are seeking megaconferences and, perhaps in the near future, a restrictive upper division. But the socially elite won't ever be able to exclude small schools from making a big impact on the NCAA playoffs.
Smaller colleges, many of them in the hinterlands, have supplied a striking number of the biggest names in coaching. From 1995 through 2000, five of the six NCAA Tournament championship coaches (Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Tom Izzo, Lute Olson and Tubby Smith) graduated from obscure colleges with smaller enrollments. In fact, it is a rarity for a Final Four not to feature at least one coach who graduated from a non-Division I school.
John Calipari, aspiring to secure his first NCAA title with top-ranked Kentucky, graduated from Clarion (Pa.) State. Following is an alphabetical list of Calhoun, Calipari, Izzo and other NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:
NOTES: Elon, Illinois State, Long Beach State and Tennessee-Martin are now classified as NCAA Division I colleges.
Sizing Up Top Players and Magical Moments in NCAA Playoff History
Never underestimate the instant gratification crowd shamelessly hyping events beyond reason! As the NCAA Tournament kicks into high gear, it might be the proper time to promise not to get carried away again by the impact of spontaneous emotions.
With a 74-year history, there are numerous best this and greatest that when assessing the energizing playoffs. After the next buzzer beater or pristine performance occurs, try to put things in proper perspective by equipping yourself with knowledge by glancing at CollegeHoopedia.com's All-Time All-NCAA Tournament Teams and Most Magical Moments. You'll be glad you did to jog your memory and savor those time-honored events.
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 5)
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 5 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Who is the only player to score more than 30,000 points in his pro career after never appearing in the NCAA playoffs? Hint: He is the only former major-college player to become NBA Most Valuable Player after failing to participate in the NCAA Tournament. He was 0-2 in the NIT, where he lost his final college game by 41 points, before leaving college for the pros with one season of eligibility remaining.
2. Who is the only person to play for an NBA championship team before coaching an NCAA titlist? Hint: He was a backup to an NBA all-time great after being the leading scorer and rebounder for a team winning an NIT crown.
3. Who became an NCAA playoff coach after being the only player in history to participate with two different schools in the NCAA championship game? Hint: One of the teams he played for was undefeated. He coached two different schools in the tourney.
4. Who is the only coach to engineer a turnaround featuring an NCAA playoff appearance in his first full season at a new job although the school compiled a record of more than 20 games below .500 the previous year? Hint: It was his only year as coach at the school.
5. Name the only mid-major conference to have two different members reach a regional semifinal as at-large teams in the same year, beating opponents from the Big East, Big 12 and SEC in the process. Hint: Two other members of the same league achieved the feat in the previous seven years. Only two of its current members haven't won playoff games when seeded five or more places worse than a major university currently a member of one of the current consensus top six leagues since seeding started in 1979.
6. Name the only former NCAA Tournament champion not to win at least one playoff game since capturing the title. Hint: It's the first NCAA champion to have black players in its starting lineup and is the only school to win the NCAA playoffs and NIT in the same year. The school is also the only former major college to compile a winning playoff record in the Division I Tournament.
7. Name the school with the most playoff games decided by one or two points (four) on its way to a championship. Hint: It was the first school to need six victories to claim the national crown and is the only school to have two different coaches capture a national championship after compiling a losing record in their first seasons as a major-college head coach.
8. Who is the only coach to win his first 12 tournament games decided in overtime or by fewer than six points in regulation? Hint: His first of three NCAA championship game teams had four players become NBA first-round draft choices.
9. Name the only state to have more than six different schools reach the Final Four. Hint: The state went 31 years between its two national championships.
10. Name the only person to coach two different universities in back-to-back years when each school made its initial playoff appearance. Hint: He reached the national championship game with one of the schools.
Back to the Future: Familiar Surroundings for Playoff Coaches
First-time playoff participation must be extra gratifying for Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg and UNLV's Dave Rice. They are among the following nine individuals who coach their alma mater and directed it to college basketball's grandest prize - a berth in the NCAA Tournament:
Playoff Coach Alma Mater First Season Jim Boeheim Syracuse '66 1976-77 Mick Cronin Cincinnati '96 2006-07 Fred Hoiberg Iowa State '95 2010-11 Bob Huggins West Virginia '77 2007-08 Chris Mack Xavier '92 2009-10 Matt Painter Purdue '93 2005-06 Dave Rice UNLV '91 2011-12 Wayne Tinkle Montana '89 2006-07 Roy Williams North Carolina '72 2003-04
Farewell Flourish: Mizzou Wins Big 12 Tourney in Last Year as Member
Missouri, headed for the SEC as a new member next season, bowed out in style by capturing the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship. The Tigers won their three tourney games by an average of 15.7 points.
The last year teams slammed the door shut on their way out of conferences was in 2005, when four schools achieved the feat. La Salle did it twice in a 10-year span from 1983 to 1992.
Following is a chronological look at league tournament champions in their final season as a member of a non-disbanding alliance before bidding adieu and promptly joining another league:
NOTE: South Carolina, coached by Frank McGuire, captured the 1971 ACC Tournament and Southwestern Louisiana, coached by Bobby Paschal, won the 1982 Southland Tournament before they left their leagues to become independents.
First Four Winners and Losers: 3 Little Digs & 1 Last-Second Shot
In the midst of the First Four, one can possibly learn a lot by assessing the following four initial playoff impressions from an equal-opportunity offender:
The academic suspension for the NCAA Tournament of Syracuse center Fab Melo, the Big East Conference's premier defensive player, offered a classic example depicting lame stream media and so-called experts getting all bent out of shape while possessing little more than a rudimentary NCAA playoff perspective. They should brush up on their amateurish hoops history and go beyond "feeling" to "knowing" what in the world they are talking about. How about a little texture describing numerous teams boasting the resourcefulness to cope without a key player and go on to capture a national championship? Consider:
Stanford '42 overcame the title game absence of flu-ridden Jim Pollard, who scored 43.4% of Stanford's points in its first two tourney contests.
Kentucky '51 (sans Walt Hirsch) and San Francisco '56 (K.C. Jones) won NCAA titles although key players were ineligible for the tournament.
Forward Edgar Lacey, the leading rebounder for UCLA's 1965 NCAA titlist when he was an All-Tournament team selection, missed the 1966-67 championship campaign because of a fractured left kneecap. Lacey dropped off the Bruins' titlist the next year in mid-season following a dispute with all-time great coach John Wooden after a highly-publicized defeat against Houston before 52,693 fans at the Astrodome when UH All-American Elvin Hayes erupted for 29 first-half points.
All-American guard Lucius Allen missed the 1968-69 campaign because of academic problems but it didn't stop UCLA from winning its third of seven straight NCAA titles.
Louisville '80 excelled with a freshman center Rodney McCray, who replaced his brother, Scooter, in the middle after Scooter suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Kansas, riding the coattails of national player of the year Danny Manning, withstood the loss of regulars Marvin Branch (academic problems) and Archie Marshall (knee injury) to capture the 1988 NCAA title.
In 1990, UNLV was without frontcourter George Ackles (medical redshirt because of a wrist injury) when the Rebels' 103-73 rout of Duke enabled them to become the only team to score more than 100 points in a championship game and establish a record for widest margin of victory in a final.
The truth about college carpetbagger Charles Barkley on truTV is that he knows as much about contemporary college basketball as he does about playing golf. Barkley, who inspired Auburn to one NCAA Tournament game in three years (an upset loss against Richmond in 1984), should be restricted to making public service announcements about weight loss and refraining from gambling.
Barkley is so bad he doesn't even deserve to be ranked among CollegeHoopedia.com's top 40 college commentators. Whether a true professional such as Jim Nantz admits it or not, embarrassing doesn't begin to do justice to him being affiliated in any way with such aimless analysis that even SI's detail-driven Seth Davis can't salvage.
ESPN should stand for Extra Sensitive Pious Newsmen when going politico at the White House conducting POTUS tournament bracket selections. Granted, President Obama, a JV baller while attending Occidental (Calif.), demonstrates a sincere interest in the sport.
But the Worldwide Leader should label the puff-piece segment "Audacity of Hype" unless the network gives equal time to perhaps a Republican Senator. After all, Scott Brown (Tufts) and Jim Thune (Biola) were varsity hoopsters and might offer more firsthand knowledge while being among the striking number of politicians and political appointees who played the game.
"What has once happened, will invariably happen again, when the same circumstances which combined to produce it, shall again combine in the same way." - Abraham Lincoln
Honest Abe was discussing a Treasury-related topic, but it's also money in the bank that history will repeat itself from the start of the NCAA playoffs through the Final Four. Where does one go for any inside scoop or historical perspective regarding the most important thing you need to do by tomorrow morning - turn in your NCAA bracket? Understanding the past to avoid future mistakes is the key to trying to add any prize to your personal treasury. With your filing deadline looming, give CollegeHoopedia.com's office pool tips an honest quick peek.
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 4)
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 4 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Name the only conference to have five different members win the national championship although it has only one title in the previous 22 years. Hint: One of the five members to capture a title didn't participate in the NCAA playoffs from 1948 through 1993. The league came within eight points of going 0-11 in the tournament in 1995 and 1996.
2. Name the only conference to have all of its current members win at least one NCAA Tournament game in the 1990s. Hint: It's the only league to have all of its current members participate in at least 10 NCAA playoff games.
3. Who is the only coach to have more than 15 of his teams appear in the playoffs but none reach the Final Four? Hint: He has the worst record in NCAA Tournament history for any coach with at least 25 decisions and was also 1-5 in the NIT. He has more victories as a pitcher in the College World Series for his alma mater than basketball Final Four appearances. He is the only active coach with more than 700 victories never to advance to the national semifinals.
4. Who is the only retired major college coach with more than 700 victories to never reach the Final Four? Hint: He is the only coach to go at least 20 years between NCAA Tournament appearances with the same school.
5. Who is the only coach to leave an NCAA champion before the next season for another coaching job? Hint: He is the only coach to earn a trip to the Final Four in his first college season despite finishing the season with at least 10 defeats. He is also the only coach to reach the NCAA final after finishing fourth or lower in regular-season conference standings. Moreover, he is one of just two coaches, both were also NBA head coaches, to take two different schools to the NCAA playoff championship game.
6. Who is the only coach to direct teams to the NCAA Final Four and the NBA Finals and compile a winning NCAA playoff career record? Hint: His son coached at three Division I schools, taking two of them to the NCAA playoffs.
7. Name the only school to become NCAA champion despite losing five home games during the regular season. Hint: The school didn't participate in nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments and twice in a four-year span in the mid-1970s lost a first-round game after reaching the national final the previous season.
8. Name the only coach of an NCAA titlist to previously play major league baseball. Hint: The Hall of Famer's 18-year college head coaching career was all at one university.
9. Who is the only coach to compile NCAA playoff records at least three games above .500 at two different schools (minimum of five victories at each school) before Rick Pitino arrived at Louisville? Hint: The coach earned a doctorate.
10. Name the only school to have six different coaches take the university to the Final Four. Hint: Of the schools to win at least two national championships, it's the only one in the select group to go more than 25 years between titles.
Handy-Dandy Guide to the National Invitation Tournament
Although it appears the case, the Final Four hasn't eternally been the final word in national postseason competition. The 68-team NCAA playoffs, which played second fiddle to the National Invitation Tournament in their formative years, seemed to haughtily look down upon the NIT as little more than an acronymn contest for derisive entries such as National Insignificant Tournament, Not Influential Tournament, Nominally Important Tournament, No Interest Tournament, Nearly Ignominious Tournament, Naturally Impaired Tournament, Never Impressionable Tournament, etc.
The NIT champion can proclaim, "We're No. 69!" But in an earlier era, the NIT was superior to the NCAA at a time when airplanes didn't dominate the transportation industry, television was in its infancy and New York's Madison Square Garden was the place to be if a team wanted extensive national exposure. If ever there was a concept whose time had arrived, it was the NIT in 1938. If ever there was a location to conduct a national tourney at a time when the sports page was the principal place to digest sports news, it was in New York because of Gotham's 20 or so daily newspapers.
As competition for this year's NIT unfolds, here are top 40 hits for the event, citing nuggets you should know about the history of the nation's oldest national postseason tournament:
1. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White was Colorado's second-leading scorer with 10 points when the Buffaloes bowed to Temple in the inaugural NIT in 1938.
2. The 1939 NIT final featured two unbeaten teams when Long Island University defeated Loyola of Chicago, 44-32, marking the only matchup in major-college history when two undefeated major colleges met in a national postseason tournament. LIU finished with a 23-0 record and Loyola 21-1.
3. Frankie Baumholtz capped his Ohio University college basketball career by earning MVP honors in the 1941 NIT when he led the tourney in scoring with 53 points in three games for the second-place Bobcats, including a game-high 19 in the final. He went on to become a major-league outfielder who led the National League in pinch hits in 1955 and 1956.
4. Rudy Baric, MVP of the 1942 NIT for titlist West Virginia, guided his alma mater to a 14-7 record the next year in his only season as the Mountaineers' head coach.
5. Long before Michigan's "Fab Five" made headlines as a freshman-dominated team reaching the 1992 NCAA Tournament final, Toledo's similar squad finished runner-up to St. John's in the 1943 NIT. The Rockets were dubbed "Friddle's Freshmen" because first-year coach Berle Friddle had an all-freshman starting lineup. Toledo's roster included Emlen Tunnell, who went on to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after playing in nine Pro Bowls as a defensive back.
6. Utah won the 1944 NCAA crown after the Utes were eliminated in the opening round of the NIT by eventual third-place finisher Kentucky (46-38).
7. In the early years of national postseason competition, the NCAA playoffs were scheduled after the NIT, which was clearly basketball's showcase event. For instance, NIT runner-up Rhode Island State upended Bowling Green in overtime in their NIT opener in 1946 after the Rams' Ernie Calverley swished a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of regulation in perhaps the most exciting moment in NIT history.
8. Many observers think the 1948 NIT, starting the tourney's second decade, was the best from a strength standpoint. If there had been a national poll at the time, it is believed that five of the nation's top seven teams were in the NIT, which was won that year by Ed Macauley-led St. Louis University.
9. Western Kentucky (28-2, .933), the 1948 NIT third-place finisher, and Seton Hall (31-2, .939), the 1953 NIT champion, led the nation in winning percentage those seasons.
10. The 1949 opening-round pair of doubleheaders was a dark day and evening for Big Apple hoops as CCNY, Manhattan, NYU and St. John's dropped their openers by an average of 18.75 points.
11. Trivia buffs should know that the basketball publicist for 1949 champion San Francisco was Pete Rozelle, who went on to become commissioner of the National Football League.
12. In each of the first two years the Associated Press conducted national rankings (1949 and 1950), five of the top 10 teams participated in the NIT.
13. The four seeded teams in the 1949 NIT all were upset in the quarterfinals after receiving first-round byes - Kentucky, St. Louis, Western Kentucky and Utah.
14. The final year teams participated in both national tournaments was 1952, when Dayton, Duquesne, St. John's and St. Louis doubled up on postseason participation. St. John's was runner-up to Kansas in the NCAA Tournament that year after the Redmen lost their opener in the NIT against La Salle (51-45).
15. In 1954, the last four NIT survivors (Holy Cross, Duquesne, Niagara and Western Kentucky) combined to win 91% of their games entering the semifinals, while their NCAA Final Four counterparts (La Salle, Bradley, Penn State and Southern California) combined to win barely over 70% of their games. Niagara, the third-place finisher in the NIT, defeated 1954 NCAA champion La Salle twice during the regular season by a total of 27 points.
16. Dave Ricketts, a sophomore starter for Duquesne's 1955 NIT champion, went on to become a major-league catcher who played with the Cardinals in the 1967 and 1968 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals.
17. NIT champion-to-be Louisville was ranked 4th in the nation by AP in mid-February of 1956 when it lost by 40 points at Xavier (99-59). Two years later, Xavier lost 10 of its final 15 regular-season games after a 10-1 start and the NIT asked the Musketeers to give back its NIT bid. Xavier, however, said "no" and went on to win the 1958 NIT title despite being seeded last under first-year head coach Jim McCafferty.
18. Garry Roggenburk, the leading scorer for Dayton's 1962 NIT titlist, went on to become a lefthanded pitcher for five seasons later in the decade with three American League teams - the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Pilots.
19. The prestigious ACC, prior to its inaugural season in 1953-54, instituted a rule that no member could participate in the NIT. The ban remained in place until Duke was eliminated by Southern Illinois in the [1967] quarterfinals. The final NIT at the old Garden in 1967 belonged to SIU, a so-called "small" school sparked by a smooth swingman named Walt Frazier. He wasn't Clyde yet, but the future Knick was well on his way.
20. One of the most bizarre incidents in NIT history was halftime of a game in 1968 when Oklahoma City coach Abe Lemons, annoyed with his team after playing poorly in the first half against Duke, ordered the Chiefs back to the court during intermission to scrimmage rather than to the dressing room to rest and regroup. Announcer Howard Cosell rattled off several questions to Lemons: "Coach, are you crazy? Won't your boys be too tired to play the second half? Where did you learn this coaching tactic? Did you do this to amuse the crowd?" Lemons, as determined not to respond to the questions as Cosell was at getting an answer, fired back, "Listen mister, you may be big stuff in New York, but you ain't nothin' in Walters, Okla. (Lemons' humble hometown)."
21. The issue of "choice" came to a head in 1970 when Marquette, an independent school coached by fiesty Al McGuire, won the NIT after rejecting an NCAA at-large invitation because the Warriors were going to be placed in the NCAA Midwest Regional (Fort Worth, Tex.) instead of closer to home in the Mideast Regional (Dayton, Ohio). McGuire's snub led the NCAA to decree any school offered an NCAA bid must accept it or be prohibited from participating in postseason competition.
22. SEC rival Tennessee was the only school to hold Pete Maravich under 30 points until Georgetown and Marquette achieved the feat in the 1970 NIT. Maravich, the highest scorer in NCAA history, ended his career at the NIT sitting on the bench in civilian clothes because of ankle and hip injuries, watching his father's LSU team finish fourth by losing to Bob Knight-coached Army. Pistol Pete had, for him, endured a suspect tourney in the brightest postseason spotlight ever focused on his extraordinary abilities. He averaged 25.7 points per game in three NIT assignments (18.5 ppg lower than his career average).
23. Julius Erving's final college game with Massachusetts was a 90-49 loss to eventual NIT champion North Carolina in the first round in 1971. The Tar Heels captured the crown although their leading scorer, junior forward Dennis Wuycik (18.4 ppg), suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Minutemen.
24. The competitive NIT, boasting three double overtime games in 1971, was a stark contrast in than period to the NCAA Tournament otherwise known as the "UCLA Invitational." Seemingly invincible UCLA captured seven consecutive NCAA titles from 1967 through 1973 by winning 28 tournament games by an average of almost 18 points per contest. In 1973, the Bruins' four tournament victories were by an average of 16 points, including a 21-point triumph over Memphis State in the championship game. Meanwhile, NIT champion Virginia Tech won four exciting postseason games that year by a total of five points, including a game-winning basket at the buzzer in overtime in the final against Notre Dame. The next year, seven of the total of 12 NIT games in the first round and quarterfinals were decided by four points or less.
25. Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson never appeared in the NIT in his 34-year career with Long Beach State, Iowa and Arizona.
26. The last wire-service top 10 team to appear in the NIT was North Carolina, a first-round loser against Purdue in 1974.
27. Anthony Roberts' NIT single-game standard of 65 points accounted for 73 percent of Oral Roberts' output in a 90-89 loss to Oregon in the 1977 first round. Roberts' outburst is even more impressive because the Ducks ranked fifth in the nation in team defense (60.9 points per game).
28. NIT attendance slipped to an all-time low in 1976 although national power Kentucky won the title. In 1977, former executive director Pete Carlesimo, the father of former Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo, saved the NIT by implementing a plan whereby early-round games were played at campus sites and locations across the country before the four semifinalists advanced to New York.
29. In a five-year span from 1980 through 1984 when the NCAA field ranged from 48 to 52 teams, Virginia (1980 NIT champion), DePaul (1983 runner-up) and Michigan (1984 champion) became NCAA regional No. 1 seeds the year after reaching an NIT final.
30. Tulsa was a No. 3 seed under coach [Nolan Richardson](schools/nolan-richardson0 in the 1982 NCAA Tournament after capturing the 1981 NIT by winning its last three games by a total of five points.
31. In 1985, the NIT started a preseason tournament, which evolved into the nation's premier in-season tourney and carried as much clout, if not more, than the postseason NIT. Coaches were fond of the preseason NIT because those games were exempt from counting against their regular-season limit of contests.
32. The NCAA postseason record of 14 three-point field goals was set by Kansas State guard Askia Jones in a 115-77 victory over Fresno State in the 1994 NIT quarterfinals. Jones, the son of former Villanova standout guard Wali Jones, poured in 28 of his Big Eight Conference-record 45 second-half points in the first 7:12 after intermission. His final total of 62 points, spurred by nine consecutive successful three-point shots bridging the first and second halves, was the second-highest scoring output in major-college postseason history.
33. The NIT's first nine champions lost a total of 25 games, but its 15 titlists from 1986 through 2000 combined to go 32 games below .500 in conference competition, including a 4-12 league mark compiled by 1988 Big East cellar dweller Connecticut and a 4-10 league record registered by 1996 Big Eight seventh-place team Nebraska.
34. The NIT's "final four" participants have combined to average more than 13 defeats per team since the NCAA field expanded to 64 entrants, including a grim 19-18 mark by 1985 NIT fourth-place finisher Louisville.
35. Former St. John's coach Joe Lapchick was the winningest coach in NIT history with a 21-10 record until Dave Odom tied him (21-3). St. John's has made more NIT appearances (28), won more NIT games (46) and captured more NIT championships (six) than any school.
36. The four winningest schools percentagewise in NIT history are from the Big Ten Conference - Michigan (25-7, .781), Purdue (20-7, .741), Ohio State (18-7, .720) and Penn State (22-9, .710).
37. The 19 NIT titlists from 1985 through 2003 combined for a losing national postseason tournament record (15-17) the year after capturing an NIT championship - NCAA (8-13) and NIT (7-4).
38. Virginia's NIT title in 1992 enabled Jeff Jones to become the only person to win NIT crowns as a player (Virginia in 1980) and a coach.
39. In 2000, Notre Dame forward Troy Murphy became the first consensus first-team All-American to participate in the NIT since forward Larry Bird of Indiana State, a loser at Rutgers in the 1978 quarterfinals.
40. Arizona (0-3), Arizona State (5-11), Miami FL (6-10), Missouri (1-7) and Seton Hall (6-18) all had disturbing NIT marks at least three games below .500.
Degrees of Success: Educational Emphasis for Tournament Coaches
NCAA Tournament coaches will need to draw upon all of their resources to motivate their clubs in postseason play. If intellect is a factor, Lehigh coach Brett Reed might have an advantage insofar as he has a doctorate in Instructional Technology from Wayne State. Following is a quick glance at the educational background of the other mentors in this year's NCAA playoffs:
NCAA Playoff Coach | School | Bachelor's | Master's |
---|---|---|---|
Steve Alford | New Mexico | Business | |
Tommy Amaker | Harvard | Economics | |
Rick Barnes | Texas | Health & Physical Education | |
John Becker | Vermont | History | Information Systems |
John Beilein | Michigan | History | |
Randy Bennett | Saint Mary's | Biology | |
Tony Bennett | Virginia | Humanities | |
Eddie Biedenbach | UNC Asheville | Parks & Recreation | |
Jim Boeheim | Syracuse | Social Science | Social Science |
Tad Boyle | Colorado | Business Administration | |
Mike Brey | Notre Dame | Physical Education | |
Rick Byrd | Belmont | Physical Education | Physical Education |
Jim Calhoun | Connecticut | Sociology | |
John Calipari | Kentucky | Marketing | |
Tim Cluess | Iona | Accounting | |
Tom Crean | Indiana | Parks & Recreation | |
Mick Cronin | Cincinnati | History | |
Billy Donovan | Florida | General Social Studies | |
Scott Drew | Baylor | Liberal Arts | Liberal Studies |
Fran Dunphy | Temple | Marketing | Counseling & Human Relations |
Larry Eustachy | Southern Mississippi | Physical Education | |
Anthony Evans | Norfolk State | Marketing | |
Jim Ferry | Long Island | Safety Studies | |
Mark Few | Gonzaga | Physical Education | Athletic Administration |
Steve Fisher | San Diego State | Math/Physical Education | Physical Education |
Mark Gottfried | North Carolina State | Communications | |
Anthony Grant | Alabama | unavailable | |
John Groce | Ohio University | Mathematics | |
Frank Haith | Missouri | Physical Education | |
Leonard Hamilton | Florida State | Physical Education | Physical & Health Education |
Ray Harper | Western Kentucky | unavailable | |
Stan Heath | South Florida | Social Science | Sports Administration |
Fred Hoiberg | Iowa State | Finance | |
Bob Huggins | West Virginia | Physical Education | Health Administration |
Tom Izzo | Michigan State | Health and Physical Education | |
Pat Knight | Lamar | Sports Management | |
Mike Krzyzewski | Duke | Officer Training | |
Chris Mack | Xavier | Communication Arts | |
Rick Majerus | Saint Louis | History | Guidance & Counseling |
Gregg Marshall | Wichita State | Economics/Business | Sports Management |
Frank Martin | Kansas State | Physical Education | |
Thad Matta | Ohio State | Education | |
Ray McCallum | Detroit | Industrial Technology | |
Greg McDermott | Creighton | History | Sports Management |
Bob McKillop | Davidson | History | |
Marvin Menzies | New Mexico State | Economics | Education |
Tim Miles | Colorado State | Elementary Education | Health & Physical Education |
Dan Monson | Long Beach State | Mathematics | Athletic Administration |
Mike Montgomery | California | Physical Education | Physical Education |
Scott Nagy | South Dakota State | Business Administration | |
Matt Painter | Purdue | Sociology | |
Josh Pastner | Memphis | Family Studies | Teaching & Teacher Education |
Jimmy Patsos | Loyola (MD) | History | |
Rick Pitino | Louisville | Political Science | |
Steve Prohm | Murray State | Education | |
Dave Rice | UNLV | Political Science | Business Administration |
Dave Rose | Brigham Young | unavailable | |
Bo Ryan | Wisconsin | Business Administration | |
Mark Schmidt | St. Bonaventure | Business Administration/Management | |
Bill Self | Kansas | Business | Athletic Administration |
Shaka Smart | Virginia Commonwealth | History | Social Science |
Kevin Stallings | Vanderbilt | Business Management/Marketing | |
John Thompson III | Georgetown | Politics | |
Wayne Tinkle | Montana | Health & Human Performance | |
Buzz Williams | Marquette | Kinesiology | Kinesiology |
Roy Williams | North Carolina | Education | Education |
Sean Woods | Mississippi Valley | unavailable |
From Here to Futility: What More Could Mid-Major Schools Do?
The "Road to the Final Four" is a highway lined with daydreamers and potholes. Davidson had two of eight teams from mid-major conferences - Lafayette '78, American '81, Temple '82, William & Mary '83, Coppin State '94, Davidson '96, Austin Peay '04 and Davidson '05 - going undefeated in league round-robin regular-season competition but not participating in the NCAA playoffs after losing by a single-digit margin in their conference tournament since at-large bids were issued to schools other than conference champions in 1975.
It is any wonder many mid-level schools have an inferiority complex? Utah State was shunned in 2003-04 despite winning nearly 90% of its games (25-3 record). Drexel (27-6) and Oral Roberts (27-6) became the 12th and 13th schools in the last six seasons denied at-large bids despite posting in excess of 25 victories. Following is an alarmingly long chronological list of eligible teams to win more than 25 games but fail to earn invitations to the NCAA playoffs since the field expanded to 64 in 1985.
Season School Coach W-L Pct. 1986-87 Howard University A.B. Williamson 26-5 .839 1989-90 Southern Illinois Rich Herrin 26-7 .788 2006-07 Akron Keith Dambrot 26-7 .788 2007-08 IUPUI Ron Hunter 26-7 .788 2007-08 Robert Morris Mike Rice Jr. 26-7 .788 2007-08 Stephen F. Austin Danny Kaspar 26-5 .839 2008-09 College of Charleston Bobby Cremins 26-8 .765 2008-09 Davidson Bob McKillop 26-7 .788 2008-09 Creighton Dana Altman 26-7 .788 2008-09 Niagara Joe Mihalich 26-8 .765 2008-09 Saint Mary's Randy Bennett 26-6 .813 2010-11 Cleveland State Gary Waters 26-8 .765 2010-11 Coastal Carolina Cliff Ellis 28-5 .848 2011-12 Drexel Bruiser Flint 27-6 .818 2011-12 Oral Roberts Scott Sutton 27-6 .818
All For None: Glass Slipper Still Doesn't Fit for Northwestern
A fourth consecutive trip to the NIT is not what Northwestern had in mind this season. The NCAA playoffs are little more than "Never Never Land" for the Wildcats and the following four other schools never to participate in the national championship tournament despite being designated as major colleges since the late 1940s (number of coaches during that span in parentheses):
School (# of Coaches) Best Season Army (17) 22-6 in 1969-70 The Citadel (13) 20-7 in 1978-79 Northwestern (12) 20-14 in 2009-10 and 2010-11 St. Francis NY (11) 23-5 in 1953-54 William & Mary (13) 24-10 in 1948-49
Like Father, Like Son: Knights Among Five Coaching Combos in 2012
Five fathers who coached in the NCAA Tournament will have sons doing likewise this year. Many think there should have been a sixth if Oral Roberts had been rewarded for its sterling season. John Jr. and John Thompson III are the only one of the following 13 father-son combinations to each win more than six NCAA playoff games:
Gene Bartow (Memphis State, UCLA and UAB; 14-12 record in 1973-76-77-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-90-94)/Murry Bartow (UAB and East Tennessee State; 0-4 in 1999-04-09-10)
Dick Bennett (Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin; 5-6 in 1991-94-95-97-99-00)/Tony Bennett (Washington State and Virginia; 3-2 in 2007 and 2008 entering 2012)
Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T and Old Dominion; 1-3 in 1994-95-97)/Jeff Capel III (Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma; 4-3 in 2004-08-09)
Tom Davis (Boston College and Iowa; 18-11 in 1981-82-87-88-89-91-92-93-96-97-99)/Keno Davis (Drake; 0-1 in 2008)
Homer Drew (Valparaiso; 2-7 in 1996-97-98-99-00-02-04)/Scott Drew (Baylor; 3-2 in 2008 and 2010 entering 2012)
Clarence Iba (Tulsa; 1-1 in 1955)/Gene Iba (Houston Baptist and Baylor; 0-2 in 1984 and 1988)
Hank Iba (Oklahoma State; 15-7 in 1945-46-49-51-53-54-58-65)/Moe Iba (Nebraska; 0-1 in 1986)
Bob Knight (Indiana and Texas Tech; 45-25 in 1973-75-76-78-80-81-82-83-84-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-00-02-04-05-07)/Pat Knight (Lamar; first appearance in 2012)
Ray Meyer (DePaul; 14-16 in 1943-53-56-59-60-65-76-78-79-80-81-82-84)/Joey Meyer (DePaul; 6-7 in 1985-86-87-88-89-91-92)
Don Monson (Idaho; 1-2 in 1981 and 1982)/Dan Monson (Gonzaga, Minnesota and Long Beach State; 3-2 in 1999 and 2005 entering 2012)
Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State; 39-26 in 1974-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-91-92-93-94-95-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-05)/Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts; 0-3 in 2006-07-08)
John Thompson Jr. (Georgetown; 34-19 in 1975-76-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-94-95-96-97)/John Thompson III (Princeton and Georgetown; 7-7 in 2001-04-06-07-08-10-11 entering 2012)
Butch van Breda Kolff (Princeton; 7-5 in 1963-64-65-67)/Jan van Breda Kolff (Vanderbilt and Pepperdine; 1-2 in 1997 and 2000)
No Overnight Success: McCallum, McDermott and Schmidt Seek First Win
Unrealistic expectations spread like a virus across the country when a young pup such as Brad Stevens won 11 NCAA Tournament games in his first four seasons coaching mid-major Butler. But many school administrations and boosters need to exercise a little patience in this era of instant gratification.
Supporters should take a chill pill if Ray McCallum (15th year with Ball State, Houston and Detroit), Greg McDermott (11th at DI level with Northern Iowa, Iowa State and Creighton) and Mark Schmidt (11th with Robert Morris and St. Bonaventure) remain winless in NCAA Tournament competition by losing their openers.
Take a long look at how long it took for the following alphabetical list of high-profile coaches, including all-time leader Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, to secure their first NCAA playoff victory.
NOTE: The victories for Greer, McCarthy and Newton were the only one they posted in NCAA playoff participation.
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 3)
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 3 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Who is the only coach to lose as many as five games to teams with double-digit seeds? Hint: Four of the defeats in this category were in consecutive years.
2. Name the only historically black college and university to win multiple NCAA Tournament games. Hint: It posted the first three HBCU victories in the early 1980s.
3. Who was the coach of the only University of Detroit team to win an NCAA playoff game until the Titans defeated St. John's in 1998? Hint: Detroit lost to an in-state rival in a regional semifinal four days after posting its first tournament victory. The coach of that squad is the only Seton Hall graduate to win an NCAA tourney game.
4. Name the only school with more than 30 NCAA Tournament appearances to compile a losing playoff record and never appear in the national championship game. Hint: It's the only school to finish more than 10 seasons ranked in an AP Top 10 since the wire service's first poll in 1949 to never win an NCAA Tournament title.
5. Name the only first-time entrant to be seeded better than fifth since the field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980. Hint: The school reached the Final Four in its playoff debut.
6. Name the only conference to have three representatives at a single Final Four by winning regional finals against three members from another league. Hint: No player scored more than 20 points in the three Final Four games that year.
7. Who is the only coach with six or more NCAA playoff appearances to reach a regional final every time? Hint: His school is the only one to win back-to-back NCAA championships in its first two appearances in the tournament. His son was coach of a school in the same conference when the institution participated in the tourney for the initial time.
8. Name the only school to win at least one playoff game in a year it entered the tournament with a losing record after suffering 14 consecutive defeats during one stretch of the regular season. Hint: The school participated in the national championship game the previous year and was once runner-up in the NCAA Tournament and NIT in the same season. The school has also won just one playoff game since 1955, the season it finished with its worst overall record in a 53-year span and became the only team ever to enter the playoffs with a record of more than 10 games under .500.
9. Name the only school to have as many as seven different coaches compile losing NCAA playoff records. Hint: The school is more games under .500 in tournament play than any institution, but pulled off a first-round upset of a defending champion behind a star player who subsequently entered the coaching profession and compiled a 6-3 NCAA Tournament record with another university in the same state from 1989-90 through 1991-92.
10. Name the only school to advance to a regional semifinal in three consecutive campaigns despite having a double-digit seed each year. Hint: The school defeated teams from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, C-USA, Pacific-10 and SEC during the NCAA playoffs in that span.
Personal Items: Trivia Tidbits on All 68 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 68 NCAA Tournament coaches should find that variety is the spice of CollegeHoopedia's occasionally irreverent smorgasbord. Remember: If a morsel isn't appetizing, don't be a glutton for punishment in trying to comprehend what makes the playoff 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 New Orleans.
ALABAMA: Anthony Grant was Dayton's leading scorer (13 ppg) and rebounder (6 rpg) as a senior in 1986-87. He averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg for the Flyers' NCAA playoff team in 1985 and 7.1 ppg and 4.8 rpg for their NIT squad in 1986.
BAYLOR: Scott Drew served as coach of an Athletes In Action (AIA) squad that toured Croatia and Bosnia in the summer of 1997.
BELMONT: Rick Byrd was a student assistant coach at Tennessee under the legendary Ray Mears.
BRIGHAM YOUNG: At Dixie College (Utah), Dave Rose was first-team all-conference in both basketball and baseball before transferring to Houston. He was a member of the famous "Phi Slamma Jamma" squad featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in 1983 when the Cougars were ranked NO. 1 nationally and finished second in the NCAA Tournament. Rose's daughter, Chanell, played forward for the BYU women's basketball team and is married to Cougars guard Brock Reichner.
CALIFORNIA: Mike Montgomery had six former assistants serving as Division I head coaches - Barry Collier (Nebraska), Trent Johnson (Boise State/Stanford/LSU), Ernie Kent (Oregon), Stew Morrill (Utah State), Doug Oliver (Idaho State), Willis Wilson (Rice/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).
CINCINNATI: Mick Cronin's father, Harold "Hep" Cronin, compiled more than 400 victories as a high school coach in the greater Cincinnati area.
COLORADO: Tad Boyle, who played for Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown, was a commodities broker in Kansas City before entering the coaching profession.
COLORADO STATE: The two coaches who preceded Tim Miles as bench boss of North Dakota State subsequently guided Division I schools to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-year years - Ray Giacoletti (Eastern Washington and Utah) and Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa).
CONNECTICUT: Jim Calhoun, making his 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1999 when the Huskies won the championship, became the first coach to reach the Final Four after more than 12 playoff appearances. Calhoun won first-round games in back-to-back NCAA tourneys with Northeastern in 1981 and 1982.
CREIGHTON: Following graduation from Northern Iowa, Greg McDermott played one season of professional basketball in Switzerland. McDermott led the Panthers in field-goal shooting three consecutive seasons from 1985-86 through 1987-88 when he was a combined 59.5% from the floor. He ranked 16th in the nation in that category as a junior.
DAVIDSON: Bob McKillop was North Carolina coach Matt Doherty's high school mentor at Long Island Lutheran. Fordham coach Tom Pecora served as an assistant under McKillop at L.I. Lutheran. McKillop scored three points for East Carolina against Lefty Driesell-coached Davidson in the 1969 Southern Conference Tournament championship game. McKillop then transferred to Hofstra, where he led the Flying Dutchmen in assists in 1971-72 with 3.3 per game.
DETROIT: Ray McCallum, the only Ball State athlete ever to have his uniform number retired (#10), won the Frances Pomeroy Award in 1983 as the nation's top player shorter than six feet tall. During his seven-year tenure as coach for his alma mater from 1993-94 through 1999-2000, he won an amazing 70% of his games decided by fewer than six points.
DUKE: Mike Krzyzewski, who has three daughters, became a grandfather for the first time in mid-November 1999. He was an assistant with Dave Bliss, Bob Donewald and Bob Weltlich on Indiana coach Bob Knight's staff in 1974-75. Krzyzewski had the worst three-year record for the Blue Devils (38-47 from 1980-81 through 1982-83) since George Buckheit went 16-30 from 1924-25 through 1926-27.
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.
FLORIDA STATE: Leonard Hamilton, who set a school record by scoring 54 points for Gastonia (N.C.) Community College before attending Tennessee-Martin, was hired by Wilmington, N.C., native Michael Jordan to coach the Washington Wizards in 2000-01. Hamilton's nine-victory increase in Big East competition with Miami (FL) from 1994 to 1995 is the largest in conference history.
GEORGETOWN: John Thompson III, whose father (Georgetown's John Thompson Jr.) and college coach (Princeton's Pete Carril) are both in the Hall of Fame, has a brother, Ronny, who was an assistant at Georgetown under their dad. John III ranked second for most assists in a Tigers career with 358 when he finished playing for them in 1987-88.
GONZAGA: Mark Few was never a head coach at any level before inheriting that position after Dan Monson departed for Minnesota. Few was an assistant for two different Oregon high schools before becoming an aide with the Zags under Dan Fitzgerald and Monson. Few's wedding vows in 1994 were exchanged with Rev. Norm Few, the father of the groom.
HARVARD: Tommy Amaker, a third-round pick from Duke in the 1987 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, was selected ahead of Yale center Chris Dudley. He served as a graduate assistant on coach Mike Krzyzewski's staff while studying in Duke's business school. Amaker's wife, Stephanie, earned a PhD.
INDIANA: Tom Crean, a brother-in-law of San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, coached at Alma College and Mount Pleasant High School while he was an undergraduate student at Central Michigan.
IONA: Tim Cluess was a part-time caterer for a Holiday Inn while coaching at the small-college level with C.W. Post. Cluess and his three older brothers (Hank, Greg and Kevin) all played for St. John's.
IOWA STATE: Fred Hoiberg, an Ames, Iowa, product nicknamed "The Mayor," served as Vice President of Basketball Operations with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.
KANSAS: Bill Self served as an assistant on the Big Eight Conference coaching staffs of Larry Brown (Kansas) and Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State). Self, an Oklahoma State alumnus, played in the Big Eight against Maryland coach Mark Turgeon (Kansas) and top two NBA draft picks Steve Stipanovich (2nd selection overall in 1983/attended Missouri), Wayman Tisdale (2nd in 1985/Oklahoma) and Danny Manning (1st in 1988/Kansas). Self, Oklahoma's High School Player of the Year over Tisdale in 1980-81, directed Oral Roberts to the nation's best winning percentage among independent schools in 1996 (18-9) and 1997 (21-7).
KANSAS STATE: Frank Martin, the son of Cuban immigrants, served as a bouncer at a nightclub while attending Florida International in Miami.
KENTUCKY: John Calipari lettered two years for UNC Wilmington before transferring to Clarion (Pa.) State.
LAMAR: Pat Knight was coach of the Wisconsin Blast of the International Basketball Association and Columbus Cagerz of the United States Basketball League. He was also an administrative assistant and scout with the NBA's Phoenix Suns and an assistant coach with the CBA's Connecticut Pride.
LEHIGH: Dr. Brett Reed began his collegiate coaching career with Oakland (Mich.) Community College, where he was an assistant for his father's program.
LONG BEACH STATE: Dan Monson played football as a receiver for Idaho, where his father, Don, was named national coach of the year by the NABC upon posting a 27-3 record with the Vandals in 1981-82. Dan is the only son with more Division I coaching victories than his father (minimum of more than 200 wins apiece).
LONG ISLAND: Jim Ferry guided Adelphi University (N.Y.) to winning streaks of at least 20 games each of his last two seasons with the Golden Panthers in 2000-01 and 2001-02. He was a career 42.8% (121-of-283) shooter from three-point range for Keene (N.H.) State College.
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.
LOYOLA (MD.): Jimmy Patsos' brother, Chris, captained the Florida Southern baseball team to the 1981 NCAA Division II World Series championship.
MARQUETTE: Brent "Buzz" Williams received his nickname while attending Navarro College, where he "buzzed" around the junior college basketball team so often the coach issued him the moniker.
MEMPHIS: Josh Pastner, while an AAU coach in the Houston area, coached future NBA players such as T.J. Ford, Daniel Gibson and Emeka Okafor. Pastner was a college teammate of Arizona All-American Miles Simon, an ESPN analyst who was named Most Outstanding Player at the 1997 Final Four.
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 just two seasons after the Golden Griffins suffered an all-time high in losses (8-22 mark in 1991-92). His uncle, Joe Niland, coached Canisius for five seasons from 1948-49 through 1952-53.
MICHIGAN STATE: Tom Izzo was a teammate in high school (Iron Mountain, Mich.) and college (Northern Michigan) of former Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci. Izzo, a running back, and Mariucci, a quarterback, were the best men in each others' weddings.
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE: Sean Woods, a member of Kentucky's "Unforgettables," scored 21 points in a 1992 East Regional final at Philadelphia against Duke. His running bank shot gave UK a 103-102 lead with 2.1 seconds remaining before Christian Laettner's subsequent jumper as time expired gave the Blue Devils a dramatic victory.
MISSOURI: Frank Haith's nephew, Sean Bell, was slain by New York City police in a controversial November 25, 2006, 50-bullet shooting incident.
MONTANA: Wayne Tinkle played professionally for 12 seasons (in CBA, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Greece and briefly in International Basketball League). The youngest of 11 children (seven girls and four boys) is married to former Lady Griz basketball standout Lisa McLeod.
MURRAY STATE: Steve Prohm began college at Division III Oglethorpe in Atlanta before promptly transferring to Alabama, where he worked as student manager.
NEW MEXICO: Steve Alford amassed the fourth-best career free-throw percentage in Division I history when his eligibility expired (89.8% with Indiana from 1983-84 through 1986-87). His father, Sam Alford, led the NAIA in free-throw shooting in 1963-64 with a mark of 91.2% for Franklin (Ind.).
NEW MEXICO STATE: Marvin Menzies, like his predecessor (Reggie Theus), came to NMSU after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach under Louisville's Rick Pitino.
NORFOLK STATE: Anthony Evans' teams at Delhi (N.Y.) Tech secured a #1 junior college ranking each of his seasons there in 2001-02 and 2002-03.
NORTH CAROLINA: Roy Williams' son, Scott, was a backup guard with the Tar Heels. The all-time winningest coach through 23 seasons could go winless the next two years and still boast more victories than any mentor through his first 25 campaigns.
UNC ASHEVILLE: Eddie Biedenbach, an All-ACC first-team guard in 1965-66 with North Carolina State, married a former Wolfpack cheerleader (Barbara). His first varsity coach in college was Press Maravich, the father of LSU legend Pete Maravich. Biedenbach frequently played against Pistol Pete in informal workouts.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Mark Gottfried led Alabama in most three-point field goals with 81 in 1986-87, the first year the rule was introduced nationwide. That squad is one of only three teams in NCAA history with five active players scoring over 1,000 points in their college careers (teammates included Derrick McKey, Terry Coner, Jim Farmer and James Jackson). Mark's father, Joe, coached Southern Illinois for three seasons from 1978-79 through 1980-81 before becoming athletic director at South Alabama. Mark's uncle, Mike, a national game-day announcer for ESPN, was head football coach with Murray State, Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh.
NOTRE DAME: Mike Brey, Danny Ferry's assistant coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., joined Mike Krzyzewski's staff two years after the national player-to-be enrolled at Duke in 1985. Brey's mother, the former Betty Mullen, held the world record in the 50-meter butterfly and competed with the U.S. team at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. His uncle, Jack Mullen, averaged 4.7 points per game as a sophomore guard for Duke's first ACC Tournament championship team in 1960.
OHIO UNIVERSITY: John Groce played in high school at Danville, Ind., under Todd Lickliter, who went on to coach Butler and Iowa.
OHIO STATE: Thad Matta, a transfer from Southern Illinois, led Butler in assists and three-point field-goal percentage in 1987-88 and free-throw percentage in 1988-89. He was involved in postseason play in each of his six seasons as a full-time assistant coach from 1994-95 through 1999-2000 with Miami (Ohio), Western Carolina and Butler. At first glance, Matta is a native of the ultimate smaller Illinois basketball community named Hoopeston. However, the town rhymes with "up" not "hoop."
PURDUE: Matt Painter's father attended Big Ten Conference rival Indiana.
ST. BONAVENTURE: Mark Schmidt was a freshman at Boston College in 1982 when he played in successive NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional games against legendary coaches Ray Meyer (DePaul), Jack Hartman (Kansas State) and Guy Lewis (Houston). As a senior in 1985, Schmidt played 11 minutes in the Eagles' 74-73 second-round victory against Mike Krzyzewski-coached Duke in the Midwest Regional.
SAINT LOUIS: Rick Majerus served as an assistant under Don Nelson with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1986-87.
SAINT MARY'S: Randy Bennett played for his father, Tom, at Mesa Community College before attending UC San Diego. At Mesa, Bennett helped his team to a 56-10 record and two Arizona J.C. championships.
SAN DIEGO STATE: Steve Fisher is the only individual to be named head coach at the start of an NCAA Tournament and then go on to direct the school to the NCAA title (Michigan in 1989 after replacing Bill Frieder). Fisher won his first 12 NCAA playoff games decided by fewer than six points or in overtime with the Wolverines before bowing to Western Kentucky, 82-76, in OT in 1995 in the opening round.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE: Scott Nagy's father, Dick, was a longtime assistant coach at Illinois under Lou Henson. Scott, who set a record for assists with Delta State (Miss.), was named Gulf South Conference Athlete of the Year in 1988.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: Larry Eustachy was a high school and junior college teammate of former San Jose State coach Steve Barnes in California. Barnes was an assistant under Eustachy at three schools (Idaho, Utah State and Iowa State). Eustachy served with current Arkansas State coach John Brady as Mississippi State aides under Bob Boyd in the mid-1980s.
SOUTH FLORIDA: Former Kent State coach Stan Heath played for a different Mid-American Conference school (Eastern Michigan) and served as an assistant at another MAC member (Bowling Green).
SYRACUSE: Jim Boeheim, an avid golfer, served as varsity golf coach for the Orange from 1967 until the program was disbanded in 1973. He was an assistant basketball coach under Roy Danforth during that period. Boeheim, a three-year teammate of Syracuse All-American Dave Bing in the mid-1960s, played in the CBA for the Scranton Miners. On five occasions (1977-84-96-01-03), Boeheim guided the Orangemen to the Top 20 in a final AP poll after they were not ranked that high in the preseason.
TEMPLE: Fran Dunphy, in his first varsity start for La Salle, held Niagara's Calvin Murphy to eight field goals after Murphy averaged 38.2 points per game the previous season in 1967-68. Dunphy ended his college career in 1969-70 with a career-high 29 points against Miami (FL).
TEXAS: The Longhorns' turnaround in 1998-99 (19-13 record after going 14-17 in 1997-98 under Tom Penders) enabled Rick Barnes to become the only active coach to take two different schools to the NCAA playoffs in his maiden voyage with them after they posted a losing mark the previous campaign. He previously achieved the feat with Providence in the late 1980s. Barnes posted the nation's best winning percentage by a first-year major college head coach in 1987-88 when he went 20-10 (.667) in his lone season with George Mason.
UNLV: Dave Rice was an assistant coach with the Runnin' Rebels under Jerry Tarkanian, Tim Grgurich, Bill Bayno and Charlie Spoonhour.
VANDERBILT: Kevin Stallings, in his first 37 seasons that began as a freshman under legendary high school coach Vergil Fletcher at Collinsville, Ill., has been with only one team that posted a losing record (Vanderbilt was 11-18 in 2002-03) - high school, junior college, player for Purdue, assistant at Purdue, assistant at Kansas and head coach at Illinois State and with Vandy. He was on the same staff with Jerry Green, Steve Robinson and Mark Turgeon during coach Roy Williams' first four seasons with the Jayhawks from 1988-89 through 1991-92.
VERMONT: John Becker coached two seasons at Gallaudet, the country's only four-year liberal arts college for the deaf and hearing impaired.
VIRGINIA: Tony Bennett is the son of former DI coach Dick Bennett and brother of women's coach Kathi Bennett.
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: Shaka Smart became the career assists leader for Kenyon College, a liberal arts school in Ohio.
WESTERN KENTUCKY: Ray Harper was the SWC Rookie of the Year in 1980-81 when he averaged 9.8 ppg and 3.9 apg for Texas coach Abe Lemons.
WEST VIRGINIA: In 1976-77, forward Bob Huggins led the fledgling Eastern Collegiate Basketball League in free-throw shooting with a mark of 84.4% for the Mountaineers. He wanted to play professionally but turned to coaching after a woman accidentally steered her car into the path of his ten-speed on a hilly street with the handlebars snapping his knee. Huggins, one of the top 10 high school scorers in the history of the state of Ohio, directed Akron to the nation's best winning percentage among independent schools in 1988 (21-7) and 1989 (21-8).
WICHITA STATE: Gregg Marshall, after his birth in Greenwood, S.C., spent the first 3 1/2 years of his life on College Avenue, which is located adjacent to his previous coaching stop (the Winthrop campus).
WISCONSIN: Bo Ryan, who led Wisconsin-Platteville to four NCAA Division III championships in the 1990s, is one of seven coaches in history to capture four or more NCAA Tournament titles - joining UCLA's John Wooden, Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, Indiana's Bob Knight, Evansville's Arad McCutchan, North Park's Dan McCarrell and Cal State Bakersfield's Pat Douglass. Ryan was the winningest coach by percentage in the 1990s at any NCAA level (266-26, .928). He still holds a Wilkes College record with 18 field goals in a single game and was named conference baseball coach of the year at Racine in 1973-74. Ryan married coach Bill Cofield's secretary, Kelly, when he was an assistant with the Badgers. Ryan was a Badgers aide in 1979-80 when Dick Vitale, less than a month after being fired by the Detroit Pistons, made his ESPN debut as an analyst in a game at DePaul.
XAVIER: Chris Mack played for Athletes in Action in 1993 and in Europe in 1994. His wife, Christi, was Director of Basketball Operations for the Musketeers' women's basketball team from 2001 through 2003.
Not Good But Good Enough: WKU Earns Tourney Bid Despite Toxic Mark
Western Kentucky became the 14th school in the last 20 years and 21st overall to appear in the NCAA Tournament despite entering the playoffs with a losing record.
The only one of the sub-.500 schools to win two NCAA playoff games was Bradley. The Braves won twice in the 1955 tournament (69-65 over Oklahoma City and 81-79 over SMU) after losing 14 consecutive contests during one stretch in the regular season. Despite the pair of playoff victories, they finished with their worst overall record (9-20) in a 53-year span until going 8-20 in the 1990-91 campaign.
In 1950, Bradley won two games apiece in both the NCAA Tournament and NIT to reach the championship game of both events. The Braves lost against CCNY in each final to finish the season with a 32-5 record under coach Forddy Anderson. Bradley's coach in 1955 was Bob Vanatta. He was in his first of two seasons at the school after succeeding Anderson, who departed for Michigan State after guiding the Braves to a national second-place finish in 1954. Bradley is the only school to go from the Final Four one season to 20 defeats the next year.
Texas, winner of just one non-conference game in the 1973-74 campaign, is the only school with a losing overall record to secure an automatic bid by winning a regular-season league title. Here is a list of the 21 schools to pollute the NCAA playoffs by entering the tourney sporting an impoverished record:
School | W-L | Pct. | Coach | How Team Qualified |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bradley '55 | 7-19 | .269 | Bob Vanatta | Independent |
Oklahoma City '55 | 9-17 | .346 | Doyle Parrack | Independent |
George Washington '61 | 9-16 | .360 | Bill Reinhart | Won Southern Conference Tournament |
Central Florida '96 | 11-18 | .379 | Kirk Speraw | Won TAAC Tournament |
Fairfield '97 | 11-18 | .379 | Paul Cormier | Won MAAC Tournament |
Florida International '95 | 11-18 | .379 | Bob Weltlich | Won TAAC Tournament |
Florida A&M '99 | 12-18 | .400 | Mickey Clayton | Won MEAC Tournament |
Lehigh '85 | 12-18 | .400 | Tom Schneider | Won East Coast Conference Tournament |
Oakland '05 | 12-18 | .400 | Greg Kampe | Won Mid-Continent Tournament |
Coppin State '08 | 16-20 | .444 | Fang Mitchell | Won MEAC Tournament |
East Carolina '93 | 13-16 | .448 | Eddie Payne | Won Colonial Tournament |
Prairie View A&M '98 | 13-16 | .448 | Elwood Plummer | Won SWAC Tournament |
San Jose State '96 | 13-16 | .448 | Stan Morrison | Won Big West Tournament |
UNC Asheville '03 | 14-17 | .452 | Eddie Biedenbach | Won Big South Tournament |
Western Kentucky '12 | 15-18 | .455 | Ray Harper | Won Sun Belt Tournament |
Texas '74 | 12-14 | .461 | Leon Black | SWC regular-season title |
Montana State '86 | 14-16 | .466 | Stu Starner | Won Big Sky Tournament |
Florida A&M '04 | 14-16 | .466 | Mike Gillespie | Won MEAC Tournament |
Siena '02 | 16-18 | .471 | Rob Lanier | Won MAAC Tournament |
Jackson State '97 | 14-15 | .482 | Andy Stoglin | Won SWAC Tournament |
Missouri '78 | 14-15 | .482 | Norm Stewart | Won Big Eight Tournament |
NOTE: District 5 committee restricted to District 5 independents (only two in the district) to fill out 1955 bracket; this rule was changed for the 1956 playoffs.
Regular-season league records of 18 conference tournament champions:
George Washington '61 (3-9 in Southern Conference before defeating #2 seed Virginia Tech, #3 The Citadel and #4 William & Mary by a total of 19 points).
Missouri '78 (4-10 in Big Eight before defeating #2 seed Iowa State, #3 Nebraska and #4 Kansas State by a total of seven points).
Lehigh '85 (6-8 in ECC before defeating #3 seed Drexel, #7 Hofstra and #1 Bucknell by a total of eight points).
Montana State '86 (6-8 in Big Sky before defeating #4 seed Nevada, #1 Northern Arizona and #2 Montana by a total of 12 points).
East Carolina '93 (4-10 in Colonial before defeating #2 seed Old Dominion, #6 UNC Wilmington and #1 James Madison by a total of 16 points).
Florida International '95 (4-12 in Trans America Athletic before defeating #1 seed Stetson, #4 Southeastern Louisiana and #3 Mercer by a total of 19 points).
Central Florida '96 (6-10 in Trans America Athletic before defeating #3 seed Southeastern Louisiana, #2 Campbell and #5 Mercer by a total of 21 points).
San Jose State '96 (9-9 in Big West before defeating #3 seed Pacific, #2 UC Irvine and #4 Utah State by a total of 25 points).
Fairfield '97 (2-12 in Metro Atlantic before defeating #1 seed Iona, #4 St. Peter's and #2 Canisius by a total of 27 points).
Jackson State '97 (9-5 in Southwestern Athletic before defeating #7 seed Southern, #3 Alcorn State and #1 Mississippi Valley State by a total of 16 points).
Prairie View '98 (6-10 in Southwestern Athletic before defeating #2 seed Jackson State, #6 Alabama State and #1 Texas Southern by a total of eight points).
Florida A&M '99 (8-11 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #10 seed Howard, #2 Coppin State, #3 Morgan State and #1 South Carolina State by a total of 42 points).
Siena '02 (9-9 in Metro Atlantic before defeating #10 seed St. Peter's, #2 Marist, #6 Fairfield and #4 Niagara by a total of 53 points).
UNC Asheville '03 (7-7 in Big South before defeating #4 seed Elon, #1 Winthrop and #6 Radford by a total of 19 points).
Florida A&M '04 (10-8 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #4 seed Hampton, #1 South Carolina State and #2 Coppin State by a total of 20 points).
Oakland '05 (7-9 in Mid-Continent before defeating #2 seed Valparaiso, #6 Chicago State and #1 Oral Roberts by a total of seven points).
Coppin State '08 (7-9 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating Howard, Hampton, Norfolk State and Morgan State by a total of six points).
Western Kentucky '12 (7-9 in Sun Belt before defeating #10 seed Florida International, #2 UALR, #3 Denver and #5 North Texas by a total of 17 points).
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 2)
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 2 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Who is the only individual selected the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player three times? Hint: His real first name was Ferdinand and he is the only player to couple three unanimous first team All-American seasons with three NCAA championships. He is also the only player to hit better than 70 percent of his field-goal attempts in two NCAA title games.
2. Who is the only coach to twice guide three different schools to the NCAA playoffs in the same decade? Hint: He achieved the feat in a span of six straight seasons and is the only coach to have two different sons play for him in the tourney with two different schools.
3. Who is the only one of the 40 Final Four Most Outstanding Players from 1972 through 2011 not to play for the championship team? Hint: He never led his college team in scoring average in any of his three seasons at the school.
4. Who is the only coach to guide a school to the Final Four as many as five times and never capture the national championship? Hint: He lost each time at the Final Four to the eventual titlist and served as captain for the school's first team in 1946.
5. Name the only current Pacific-12 Conference member never to reach the Final Four. Hint: The school has made more tournament appearances than seven Pac-12 members, but lost three West Regional finals by a total of 40 points before joining the conference. It absorbed the largest margin of defeat for the 14 No. 1 or 2 seeds losing their playoff opener since seeding started in 1979.
6. Name the only conference to have five teams all lose their opening-round game in a single tourney. Hint: The league has had four different schools lose first-round games by more than 20 points against squads with double-digit seeds since seeding started in 1979.
7. Who is the only coach to win a tournament game for four different schools? Hint: He was the only coach in the 20th Century to direct four different universities to the NCAA playoffs.
8. Who is the only individual to win NCAA titles in his first two seasons as head coach at a school? Hint: He achieved the feat the first year after the eligibility expired for the school's most illustrious player, a three-time UPI Player of the Year who led the nation in scoring each season.
9. Who is the only active coach to take two different schools to the NCAA playoffs in his maiden voyage with them after they posted a losing mark the previous campaign? Hint: He posted the nation's best winning percentage by a first-year major college head coach in 1987-88 when he went 20-10 (.667) in his lone season with yet another school.
10. Name the only school to reach the Final Four in its one and only NCAA Tournament appearance in the 20th Century. Hint: The coach of the Final Four team is the only individual to win more than 30 games in earning a trip to the national semifinals in his first season.
Seeding Capacity: Carolina and Kentucky Have Been There/Done That
Former national champions Marquette (36 victories) and Utah (35) have won a significant number of NCAA playoff games yet never received a No. 1 seed since seeding was introduced in 1979. The top spots are old hat for North Carolina and Kentucky as they're revisiting the pedestal.
Duke, accorded a No. 1 seed eight times in a nine-year span from 1998 through 2006, and Kansas were designated as No. 2 seeds this year. But Duke and KU are connected with Carolina and UK as the four universities to be seeded #1 at least 10 times:
14 - North Carolina (1979-82-84-87-91-93-94-97-98-05-07-08-09-12)
12 - Duke (1986-92-98-99-00-01-02-04-05-06-10-11)
11 - Kentucky (1980-84-86-93-95-96-97-03-04-10-12)
10 - Kansas (1986-92-95-97-98-02-07-08-10-11)
Tourney Turmoil: Unbeaten League Teams Get Generous Dose of Humility
What was the incentive for Kentucky, Syracuse and North Carolina to put it all on the line in their respective postseason conference tournaments when they were virtually guaranteed #1 seeds in the NCAA playoffs?
Kentucky's 71-64 defeat against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament final marked the third time the Wildcats had an undefeated team in regular-season league competition get upset in the league tourney. Vanderbilt celebrated its first appearance in an SEC final in 61 years by duplicating what it achieved in 1951 (knocking off the Wildcats).
Following is a striking number of schools to go undefeated in conference competition before losing in an NCAA playoff-automatic qualifying league postseason tournament:
NOTE: UNLV (18-0 in the Big West in 1991-92 but was ineligible to participate in postseason competition).