Doubling Your Pleasure: Foremost Twin Winners in NCAA Tournament History
Arizona (Lithuanians Tautvilas and Zauolas Tubelis), Arkansas (Maryland/Rhode Island transfers Makhi and Makhel Mitchell) and Pittsburgh (Spaniards Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham) each have a set of twins playing in this year's NCAA playoffs. Time will tell if any of them crack the following Top 20 ranking of the most impactful sets of twins to play together in NCAA tourney:
Rank | Twin Teammates | School | Year(s)/Regional | NCAA Tournament Summary Together |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Caleb and Cody Martin | Nevada | 2018/South and 2019/West | North Carolina State transfers combined for 37 points, 11 rebounds and six steals in 69-68 L vs. Final Four-bound Loyola of Chicago; 35 points and 11 rebounds in helping the Wolf Pack set NCAA-playoff record comeback (erasing 22-point second-half deficit to defeat Cincinnati, 75-73); 33 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in 87-83 overtime W vs. Texas, plus 42 points, 13 rebounds and 7 steals in 70-61 L vs. Florida. |
2. | Johnny and Eddie O'Brien | Seattle | 1953/West | Combined for 63 points in 88-77 W vs. Idaho State, 33 points in 92-70 L vs. Washington before 46 points in 80-64 W vs. Wyoming. |
3. | Brook and Robin Lopez | Stanford | 2007/South and 2008/South | Combined for 21 points (game-high 18 by Brook) and 11 rebounds in 78-58 L vs. Louisville; 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 blocks (5 by Robin) in 77-53 W vs. Cornell; 48 points (game-high 30 by Brook), 13 rebounds (game-high 9 by Robin) and 4 blocks in 82-81 overtime W vs. Marquette; 32 points (game-high 26 by Brook) and 15 rebounds (game-high 10 by Brook) in 82-62 L vs. Texas. |
4. | Jarvis and Jonas Hayes | Georgia | 2002/East | Western Carolina transfers combined for 45 points and 19 rebounds in 85-68 W vs. Murray State and 32 points and 15 rebounds in 77-75 L vs. Southern Illinois. |
5. | Jarron and Jason Collins | Stanford | 2000/South and 2001/West | Combined for 15 points and 12 rebounds in 84-65 win vs. South Carolina State; 12 points and 10 rebounds in 60-53 L vs. North Carolina; 33 points (game-high 25 by Jason), 14 rebounds and 4 blocks in 89-60 W vs. UNC Greensboro; 37 points (team-high 22 by Jason) and 15 rebounds in 90-83 W vs. St. Joseph's; 29 points and 15 rebounds (game-high 8 by Jason) in 78-65 W vs. Cincinnati, plus 21 points and 7 rebounds in 87-73 L vs. Maryland. |
6. | Marcus and Markieff Morris | Kansas | 2009/Midwest, 2010/Midwest and 2011/Southwest | Combined for 10 points and 10 rebounds in 84-74 W vs. North Dakota State; 2 points and 5 rebounds in 60-43 W vs. Dayton; 6 points and 9 rebounds in 67-62 L vs. Michigan State; 28 points (game-high 26 by Marcus) and 13 rebounds (game-high 10 by Marcus) in 90-74 W vs. Lehigh; 26 points (game-high 16 by Marcus) and 7 rebounds in 69-67 L vs. Northern Iowa; 31 points (team-high 16 by Marcus) and 17 rebounds (game-high 9 by Marcus) in 72-53 W vs. Boston University; 41 points (game-high 24 by Markieff) and 24 rebounds (game-high 12 by Marcus and Markieff) in 73-59 W vs. Illinois; 18 points and 13 rebounds in 77-57 W vs. Richmond, plus 33 points (team-high 20 by Marcus) and 28 rebounds (game-high 16 by Marcus) in 71-61 L vs. VCU. |
7. | Lloyd and Floyd Kerr | Colorado State | 1969/Midwest | Combined for 28 points and 12 rebounds in 52-50 W vs. Dayton, 26 points and 12 rebounds in 64-56 W vs. Colorado and 33 points and 14 rebounds in 84-77 L vs. Drake. |
8. | Aaron and Andrew Harrison | Kentucky | 2014/Midwest and 2015/Midwest | Combined for 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 56-49 W vs. Kansas State; 39 points (team-high 20 by Andrew) in 78-76 W vs. Wichita State; 29 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 74-69 W vs. Louisville; 20 points in 75-72 W vs. Michigan; 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 74-73 W vs. Wisconsin; 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals in 60-54 L vs. UConn; 17 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists in 79-56 W vs. Hampton; 18 points (game-high 13 by Aaron) in 64-51 W vs. Cincinnati; 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in 78-39 W vs. West Virginia; 13 points and 7 rebounds in 68-66 W vs. Notre Dame, plus 25 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 71-64 L vs. Wisconsin. |
9. | Carl and Charles Thomas | Eastern Michigan | 1988/Midwest and 1991/East | Charles scored 12 points in 108-90 L vs. Pitt; combined for 25 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in 76-56 W vs. MS State; 18 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists in 71-68 overtime W vs. Penn State, plus 35 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in 93-67 L vs. North Carolina. |
10. | Barry and Garry Nelson | Duquesne | 1969/East and 1971/East | Combined for 24 points and 23 rebounds (game-high 18 by Garry) in 74-52 W vs. St. Joseph's; 18 points and 10 rebounds in 79-78 L vs. North Carolina; 6 points and 8 rebounds in 75-72 W vs. St. John's, plus 17 points and 16 rebounds in 70-65 L vs. Penn. |
11. | Joey and Stephen Graham | Oklahoma State | 2004/East and 2005/Midwest | UCF transfers combined for 10 points and 4 rebounds in 75-56 W vs. Eastern Washington; Joey scored team-high 21 points in 70-53 W vs. Memphis; combined for 11 points in 63-51 W vs. Pittsburgh; Joey collected 17 points and 11 rebounds in 64-62 W vs. St. Joseph's; Joey had team highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds while Stephen contributed two points in 67-65 L vs. Georgia Tech; combined for 9 points in 63-50 W vs. Southeastern Louisiana; 11 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in 85-77 W vs. Southern Illinois, plus 31 points (game-high 26 by Joey) in 79-78 L vs. Arizona. |
12. | Fousseyni and Hassan Drame | Saint Peter's | 2022/East | Combined for 11 points and 10 rebounds in 85-79 upset of Kentucky; 10 points and 14 rebounds in 70-60 W vs. Murray State; 12 points in 67-64 W vs. Purdue, plus 19 points and 7 rebounds in 69-49 L to eventual national runner-up North Carolina. |
13. | Bill and Bob Jenkins | Valparaiso | 1998/Midwest | Bill grabbed game-high 11 rebounds and Bob chipped in with a couple of caroms in 70-69 W vs. Ole Miss; Bill grabbed game-high nine rebounds and Bob contributed four boards in 83-77 overtime W vs. Florida State, plus Bob grabbed game-high eight rebounds and Bill retrieved five missed shots in 74-68 L vs. Rhode Island. |
14. | Clifford and Beauford Minx | Missouri | 1944/West | Combined for 25 points in 61-46 W vs. Pepperdine after combining for 10 points in 45-35 L vs. Utah. |
15. | Keegan and Kris Murray | Iowa | 2022/Midwest | Combined for 24 points (team-high 21 by Keegan), 14 rebounds (team-high 9 by Keegan) and 3 steals in 67-63 L vs. Richmond. |
16. | David and Travis Wear | UCLA | 2013/South and 2014/South | North Carolina transfers combined for 14 points and 11 rebounds in 83-63 L vs. Minnesota; 12 points and 4 rebounds in 76-59 W vs. Tulsa; 9 points and 6 rebounds in 77-60 W vs. Stephen F. Austin, plus 21 points and 8 rebounds in 79-68 L vs. Florida. |
17. | Johnny and Jordan Davis | Wisconsin | 2021/South and 2022/Midwest | Combined for 9 points in 85-62 W vs. North Carolina and 20 points (team-high 17 by Johnny) in 54-49 L vs. Iowa State. |
18. | Dwayne and Dwight Praylow | Wichita State | 1987/Midwest and 1988/Midwest | Combined for 17 points and five steals in 83-62 L vs. DePaul after Dwight collected 16 points and four rebounds in 57-55 L vs. St. John's. |
19. | Kalib and Keylan Boone | Oklahoma State | 2021/Midwest | Combined for six points and five rebounds in 69-60 W vs. Liberty before Keylan grabbed team-high eight rebounds to go with 13 points and Kalib contributed four points in 80-70 L vs. Oregon State. |
20. | Sammie and Simeon Haley | Missouri | 1995/West | Juco transfers combined for 8 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks in 65-60 W vs. Indiana plus 5 points in 75-74 L vs. UCLA. |
Racial Profiling: Majority of HBCU Victories Come in NCAA's Preliminary Round
After Richmond shocked Jim Boeheim-coached Syracuse in 1991 and Santa Clara kayoed Lute Olson's Arizona squad in 1993, the next three #15 seed victories over #2 seeds came at the hands of historically-black colleges and universities - Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997, Hampton over Iowa State in 2001 and Norfolk State over Missouri in 2012.
However, no HBCU institution has reached the Sweet 16 and the last 13 representatives in non-preliminary round contests have a losing margin of 26.4 points since Norfolk State's success. Perceived in most quarters as picking-on-patsies fodder, the truth about black crime in basketball is that it's a big sin many fans don't know or can't recall the high degree of success historically-black colleges and universities enjoyed at the small-college level. For instance, Norfolk State appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament 10 times in a 12-year span from 1984 until finishing third in the 1995 tourney. But most of these HBCU institutions currently are imprisoned at the NCAA Division I level, where they are little more than indentured servants doing the bidding of their major-university masters almost always getting whipped on the road during non-conference competition.
What many observers should know is seven different historically black colleges and universities advancing to the NCAA DI level captured a total of nine NAIA and NCAA College Division Tournament championships in a 21-year span from 1957 through 1977 (Tennessee State from 1957 through 1959, Grambling '61, Prairie View A&M '62, Winston-Salem State '67, Morgan State '74, Coppin State '76 and Texas Southern '77). Coppin State is the lone school in this group to go on and post a triumph in the NCAA Division I playoffs.
Winson-Salem State saw what life looked like on the DI side of the fence and abandoned ship after only one season. All but two of the 25 HBCUs endured at least one season with 20 defeats in a six-year span from 2003-04 through 2008-09. The pair that emerged unscathed during that stretch were Hampton (worst record was 13-17 in 2003-04) and Norfolk State (11-19 in 2006-07).
Despite both leagues prevailing in the same year for the first time in 2021, conference members from the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic have won only 10% of their NCAA Division I Tournament games after Howard University and Texas Southern each succumbed by more than 20 points this year. Alcorn State registered the first three of the following modest total of 14 HBCU wins in the DI tourney versus non-HBCU competition (eight in preliminary-round competition; SWAC's Texas Southern matched up against MEAC's North Carolina Central in First Four in 2018) 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 team-high 18 points), #9 South Alabama 62 (Rains 22)
1983 Midwest Preliminary Round: Alcorn State 81 (Phelps 18), Xavier 75 (Fleming 16)
1984 Midwest Preliminary Round: Alcorn State 79 (Phelps 21), Houston Baptist 60 (Lavodrama 14)
1993 West First Round: #13 Southern (LA) 93 (Scales 27), #4 Georgia Tech 78 (Mackey 27)
1997 East First Round: #15 Coppin State 78 (Singletary 22), #2 South Carolina 65 (McKie 16)
2001 West First Round: #15 Hampton 58 (Williams 16), #2 Iowa State 57 (Rancik/Shirley 10)
2004 Preliminary Round: Florida A&M 72 (Woods 21), Lehigh 57 (Tempest 13)
2010 Preliminary Round: Arkansas-Pine Bluff 61 (Smith 14), Winthrop 44 (Corbin 13)
2012 West First Round: #15 Norfolk State 86 (O'Quinn 26), #2 Missouri (Dixon 22)
2013 Preliminary Round: North Carolina A&T 73 (Underwood 19), Liberty 72 (Marshall 22)
2015 Preliminary Round: Hampton 74 (Chievous/Johnson 15), Manhattan 64 (Richards 17)
2021 Preliminary Round: Texas Southern 60 (Walker III 19), Mount St. Mary's 52 (Chong Qui 14)
2021 Preliminary Round: Norfolk State 54 (Hawkins 24), Appalachian State 53 (Forrest 18)
2022 Preliminary Round: Texas Southern 76 (Etienne 21), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (67 (Tennyson 18)
Mr. Big Shot: Pegues' 3-Pointer Enables Him to Join List of Buzzer Beaters
What we missed the most from cancellation of NCAA tourney three years ago was adding to striking list of storybook moments in playoff lore when your blood percolates as game is decided in unforgettable closing moments. More than one-fourth of the NCAA Tournament's games were determined in overtime or in regulation by fewer than four points since the field expanded to at least 32 teams in 1975. Four riveting national finals in an eight-year span from 1982 through 1989 furnished memories etched indelibly in our minds because clutch players appeared impervious to pressure by producing in last-second situations. Yearning for more, this year's tourney began with a down-to-the-wire bang when Furman's JP Pegues' three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining lifted the Paladins to a 68-67 win over Virginia in the opening round.
This is how legends are made. When time allows, pass-the-time videos help us remember buzzer beaters far beyond the actual moment. Butler's Gordon Hayward almost joined this group but his heave from near half-court rimmed out in 2010 national final against Duke. Hayward learned close only counts in hand grenades, horseshoes and old-school, drive-in movies. The following alphabetical list details numerous individuals who supplied a trip-down-memory-lane field goal or free throw as time expired or in waning moments in an NCAA tourney tilt:
Player | School | Description of Decisive Last-Second Basket |
---|---|---|
Danny Ainge | Brigham Young | Coast-to-coast drive including behind-the-back dribble and finishing with scoop shot edged #2 seed Notre Dame, 51-50, in 1981 East Regional semifinals. |
Keith Anderson | Cal State Fullerton | Capping comeback from 15-point, second-half deficit, he drilled jumper with three seconds remaining to break a 72-72 deadlock against Bill Cartwright-led San Francisco in 1978 West Regional semifinals. |
BeeJay Anya | North Carolina State | Erasing 16-point, second-half deficit, Anya's tip-in got Wolfpack within a point and his lefthanded hook from middle of lane just before final buzzer lifted #8 seed to 66-65 victory against LSU in 2015 East Regional first round. |
Paul Atkinson Jr. | Notre Dame | Rebound basket with 1.4 seconds remaining in double overtime gave the Fighting Irish a Happy St. Patrick's Day success in 2022 First Four (89-87 over Rutgers at Dayton). |
Marco Baldi | St. John's | Averaging fewer than four points per game and with All-American playmaker Mark Jackson double-teamed, unheralded Italian center sank 12-foot jumper with one second remaining to give St. John's a 57-55 nod over Wichita State in 1987 Midwest Regional first round. |
Elgin Baylor | Seattle | Long shot at the buzzer closer to mid-court than head of the key gave the Chiefs a 69-67 success at San Francisco in 1958 West Regional semifinals. |
Len Bias | Maryland | Freshman who averaged modest 7.2 ppg before subsequently becoming All-American sank 15-footer off dribble from free-throw line area to thrust Terrapins past UT Chattanooga, 52-51, in 1983 Midwest Regional first round. |
Rolando Blackman | Kansas State | Jumper from 17 feet from right baseline was the difference in 50-48 verdict against #1 seed Oregon State in second round of 1981 West Regional. |
Vander Blue | Marquette | Drive and lefthanded layup with one second remaining climaxed rally from five-point deficit with fewer than 30 seconds remaining in 59-58 nod over Davidson in opening round of 2013 East Regional. |
Nicholas Boyd | Florida Atlantic | Receiving a baseline in-bounds pass in the right corner, he promptly drove straight to the basket in heavy traffic for a lefthanded layup with 2.5 seconds remaining to give the Owls their first-ever playoff triumph (66-65 over Memphis in 2023 East Regional opener). |
Tony Branch | Louisville | Seldom-used guard stepped through double team and floated up his lone field-goal attempt of the game that bounced around rim before falling in as time expired in overtime to give Cardinals a 71-69 win against Kansas State in 1980 Midwest Regional second round. |
Ron Brewer | Arkansas | Backed in off dribble before sinking turnaround jumper between free-throw line and head of key as time expired to give Razorbacks a 71-69 success against Notre Dame in 1978 national third-place contest. |
Rodney Bullock | Providence | Layup with 1.5 seconds remaining off baseline in-bounds pass lifted the Friars to 70-69 win against Southern California in first round of 2016 East Regional. |
Pembrook Burrows III | Jacksonville | Put-back with three seconds remaining enabled the Dolphins to outlast Iowa, 104-103, in 1970 Mideast Regional semifinals. |
Nathaniel Burton | Georgetown | Driving layup surviving instant-replay review was final margin in 63-61 nod over Arkansas in first round of 2001 West Regional. |
Lamont Butler | San Diego State | Capping off rally from 14-point deficit, dribble move on right side of court resulted in medium-range jumper at buzzer giving the Aztecs their only lead in second half of 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic in 2023 national semifinals. |
Will Bynum | Georgia Tech | Drive down right side of lane and layup with 1.5 seconds left gave Yellow Jackets a 67-65 triumph against Oklahoma State in 2004 national semifinals. |
Casey Calvary | Gonzaga | Tipped in game-winner with 4.4 seconds remaining in 73-72 verdict over Florida in 1999 West Regional semifinals. |
Lorenzo Charles | North Carolina State | Sophomore forward, averaging a modest 8 ppg, converted guard Dereck Whittenburg's off-line desperation shot from well beyond the three-point arc into decisive dunk in 54-52 success against Houston in 1983 championship game. |
Chris Chiozza | Florida | The Gators, trailing Wisconsin by two points with fewer than four seconds remaining in OT in 2017 East Regional semifinals, got the ball in hands of Chiozza, who went coast-to-coast and sank a running three-pointer at the buzzer for 84-83 triumph. |
JaKobe Coles | Texas Christian | Driving floater down the middle of the lane with 1.5 seconds remaining propelled the Horned Frogs to a 72-70 verdict over Arizona State in 2023 West Regional first round. |
Terry Coner | Alabama | After tying score with drive down lane with 53 seconds remaining, Coner sank spinning (some observers thought "traveling") off-balance jumper from just inside free-throw line as time expired to give Crimson Tide a 58-56 decision over Illinois in 1986 Southeast Regional second round. |
Fran Corcoran | Canisius | Corcoran's jumper with four seconds remaining - his only points of the four-overtime game - catapulted the Golden Griffins to a 79-78 success against #2-ranked North Carolina State in first round of 1956 East Regional. |
Aaron Craft | Ohio State | Playmaker swished three-pointer from right side of head of key with 0.5 seconds remaining to boost Buckeyes to 78-75 success against Iowa State in 2013 West Regional second round. |
Davonte "Devo" Davis | Arkansas | Lefthanded jumper by freshman in traffic off penetration dribble from midway down right side of free-throw lane with 3.1 seconds remaining lifted Razorbacks to 72-70 success against Oral Roberts in 2021 South Regional semifinal. |
Todd Day | Arkansas | Follow-up of his own missed shot with three seconds remaining raised Razorbacks to an 86-84 win against Dayton in second round of 1990 Midwest Regional. |
Terry Dehere | Seton Hall | Capping off rally erasing eight-point deficit with four minutes remaining, Dehere drilled 19-foot jumper from left baseline with three ticks left to propel Pirates to 78-76 success against La Salle in 1992 East Regional first round. |
Cameron Dollar | UCLA | Short runner in middle of lane with less than two seconds remaining after length-of-the-court drive in overtime upended Iowa State, 74-73, in 1997 Midwest Regional semifinals. |
Leonard Drake | Central Michigan | Converted pair of free throws after time expired in 77-75 nod over Georgetown in first round of 1975 Mideast Regional. The contest marked first NCAA Tournament appearance for CMU and Hoyas coach John Thompson Jr. |
Bryce Drew | Valparaiso | Signature three-pointer after touch pass following three-quarter court pass from minor-league baseball player on baseline to another hoop teammate gave #13 seed a 70-69 victory against Ole Miss in first round of 1998 Midwest Regional. |
Tyus Edney | UCLA | Length-of-the-court drive mixing in behind-the-back dribble before layup from right side gave #1 seed a 75-74 triumph against Missouri in second round of 1995 West Regional. |
Dale Ellis | Tennessee | Only shot taken by either team in overtime was successful 15-footer with two seconds remaining to give Volunteers a 58-56 victory over Virginia Commonwealth in 1981 East Regional second round. |
Juan Fernandez | Temple | Cork-screwing around defender as time ran out, he hit off-balance 18-footer from right side to give Owls a 66-64 nod over Penn State, ending coach Fran Dunphy's NCAA playoff record 11-game losing streak. |
James Forrest | Georgia Tech | Freshman forward, who didn't attempt a three-pointer all year, nailed a desperation shot from beyond the arc on left side after receiving sideline out-of-bounds pass for 79-78 win against Southern California in second round of 1992 Midwest Regional. |
Rick Fox | North Carolina | Drive along right baseline for leaning bank shot in 79-77 upset of top-ranked Oklahoma in second round of 1990 Midwest Regional. |
Kevin Gamble | Iowa | Straight-away three-pointer with one second remaining in overtime against Oklahoma provided 93-91 triumph in 1987 West Regional semifinals. |
Tate George | Connecticut | Turnaround jumper from right baseline after length-of-the-court pass from eventual MLB first-round draft choice Scott Burrell clipped Clemson, 71-70, in 1990 East Regional semifinals. |
Clarence Gilbert | Missouri | Jumper from 15 feet helped withstand furious Georgia rally, 70-68, in first round of 2001 East Regional. |
Clarence Glover | Western Kentucky | Pretending to tie his shoestring after an opponent's turnover, he received an in-bounds pass in closing seconds and put in decisive basket in 74-72 nod over Jacksonville in first round of 1971 Mideast Regional. |
Demetri Goodson | Gonzaga | Short running bank shot from left side of lane following length-of-the court drive by eventual Baylor CB and NFL draft choice lifted Zags to 83-81 triumph against Western Kentucky in second round of 2009 South Regional. |
Robert Gray | Houston | Drove right side of lane for up-and-under layup with 1.1 seconds remaining to finish with 39 points in 67-65 triumph against San Diego State in 2018 West Regional first round. |
Jeff Green | Georgetown | It looked like a walk violation, but Green squeezed through traffic to sink jumper off spin move from right side of lane with 2.5 seconds remaining in 66-65 verdict over Vanderbilt in 2007 East Regional semifinals. |
Jerry Hahn | Arizona State | After sinking free throw to tie score with 16 seconds remaining, Hahn connected for field goal as time expired to send Sun Devils to 72-70 success against Seattle in 1961 West Regional first round. |
Richard Hamilton | Connecticut | Off-balance fall-away in lane following rebound gave Huskies a 75-74 win against Washington in 1998 East Regional semifinals. |
Bob Heaton | Indiana State | Shifted ball from his normal right hand to left for short shot bouncing twice on rim before going down with one second remaining to send Sycamores to 73-71 success against Arkansas in 1979 Midwest Regional final. |
Sean Higgins | Michigan | Following 33 lead changes, Higgins rebounded a teammate's missed three-point attempt and scored from from short range on left baseline with one second remaining to lift Wolverines to 83-81 win against Illinois in 1989 national semifinal. |
Jeff Hodge | South Alabama | Desperation three-pointer off broken play in waning moments gave USA an 86-84 victory against Alabama in opening round of 1989 Southeast Regional. |
Shaheen Holloway | Seton Hall | Mercurial point guard drove length of the court through and around a double-team to score on a scoop shot high off the glass from middle of lane with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime to frustrate Oregon, 72-71, in first round of 2000 East Regional. |
Jeff Hornacek | Iowa State | Fall-away 25-footer from left side off an out-of-bounds pass with two seconds remaining in overtime gave the Cyclones their first NCAA playoff victory in 42 years - 81-79 against Miami (Ohio) in opening round of 1986 Midwest Regional. |
Matt Howard | Butler | Rebound basket from left side of rim as buzzer sounded gave defending national runner-up a 60-58 victory against Old Dominion in 2011 Southeast Regional first round. |
Trevon Hughes | Wisconsin | Twisting layup down middle of lane turned into conventional three-point play with two seconds remaining in overtime to boost Badgers to 61-59 win against Florida State in 2009 East Regional first round. |
Charles Hunter | Oklahoma City | Basket in closing seconds catapulted Abe Lemons-coached Chiefs to 70-68 nod over Colorado State in 1965 West Regional first round. |
R.J. Hunter | Georgia State | Son knocked his excited father/coach (Ron Hunter) off stool along sideline with long straight-on three pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining to give Panthers a 57-56 success against #3 seed Baylor in first round of 2015 Midwest Regional. |
Donte Ingram | Loyola of Chicago | Straight-on three-pointer from well beyond arc propelled Ramblers to 64-62 success against Miami (Fla.) in 2018 South Regional first round. |
De'Jon Jackson | San Diego | Fade-away 18-footer from right side with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime for #13 seed accounted for 70-69 decision over UConn in 2008 West Regional. |
Marius Janulis | Syracuse | Lithuanian sank a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining - his second trey in final minute - to lift the Orangemen to a 63-61 win against Iona in first round of 1998 South Regional. |
Kris Jenkins | Villanova | On the heels of miracle off-balance three-pointer by North Carolina's Marcus Paige tying the score at 74-74 with fewer than five seconds remaining, Jenkins responded by drilling a game-winning trey from right side following clever hand-off by Nova's playmaker in 2016 title tilt. |
Paul Jesperson | Northern Iowa | Half-court bank shot after several dribbles crossing from right sideline to middle of hardwood propelled #11 seed to a 75-72 nod over Texas in opening round of 2016 West Regional. |
Kannard Johnson | Western Kentucky | After having his FGA rejected out of bounds with three seconds remaining, Johnson cut in front of defender on ensuing in-bounds play under WKU's basket to receive pass and made twisting shot to lift Hilltoppers to 64-62 win against West Virginia in 1987 East Regional first round. |
Mike Jones | Wichita State | Two long-range baskets from left side in last 50 seconds - second jumper with three ticks remaining - sent Shockers to 66-65 decision over Kansas in 1981 Midwest Regional semifinal in first game between the schools in 36 years. |
Stan Joplin | Toledo | Nailed straight-on, top-of-the-key jumper just before final buzzer to propel Rockets to 74-72 win against Iowa in 1979 Mideast Regional second round. |
Kevin Joyce | South Carolina | A 20-foot-plus jumper in waning moments gave Gamecocks their first-ever NCAA tourney triumph (53-51 over Temple in 1972 East Regional first round). |
DeAndre Kane | Iowa State | Layup high off backboard with less than two seconds remaining after driving down middle of lane lifted Cyclones to 85-83 victory against North Carolina in second round of 2014 East Regional. |
Brian Kellerman | Idaho | His 15-foot jumper bounced couple of times on rim before going through basket in closing seconds of overtime to give Vandals a 69-67 triumph against Iowa in 1982 West Regional second round. |
Jason Kidd | California | Twisting layup from right side with one second remaining following drive down lane enabled the Bears to edge Louisiana State, 66-64, in first round of 1993 Midwest Regional. |
Jimmy King | Michigan | Offensive rebound put-back basket with 1.5 seconds remaining after off-balance miss by teammate Jalen Rose enabled the Wolverines to complete rally from 19-point, first-half deficit and give them an 86-84 overtime success against UCLA in 1993 West Regional second round. |
Brandon Knight | Kentucky | Held scoreless for more than 39 minutes, Knight supplied scoop layup with two seconds remaining after driving down right side of lane to catapult Wildcats to 59-57 decision over Princeton in 2011 East Regional first round. |
Toby Knight | Notre Dame | Tip-in with two seconds remaining after Cincinnati failed to inbound the ball and was called for a five-second violation six seconds earlier lifted Irish to a 79-78 victory in 1976 Midwest Regional first round. |
Bronson Koenig | Wisconsin | Swished three-pointer from right corner off sideline out-of-bounds play in 66-63 triumph against #2 seed Xavier in second round of 2016 East Regional. His decisive basket left him 16-of-31 from beyond the arc in last five minutes of games during the season. |
Chris Kramer | Purdue | Drive past one defender down left side of lane and right-handed layup with 4.2 seconds remaining over another defender taller than him boosted Boilermakers past Texas A&M, 63-61, in overtime in second round of 2010 South Regional. |
Christian Laettner (1) | Duke | After in-bounding ball with 2.6 seconds remaining in overtime, he received it back and converted contorted leaner from left side for 79-78 win against UConn in 1990 East Regional final. |
Christian Laettner (2) | Duke | In perhaps most memorable shot in NCAA playoff history, he received pass from opposite baseline from Grant Hill and sank turnaround jumper near top of the key for 104-103 overtime victory against Kentucky in 1992 East Regional final. |
Rolando Lamb | Virginia Commonwealth | Contested free-throw line jumper at buzzer propelled Rams to 70-69 win against Jim Calhoun-coached Northeastern in first round of 1984 East Regional. |
Jim Lee | Syracuse | Mid-range jumper from left wing with five seconds remaining put Orangemen ahead in 78-76 win against North Carolina in 1975 East Regional semifinal. |
Gabe Lewullis | Princeton | Layup from the right side of basket off a back-door cut with less than four seconds remaining proved decisive for #13 seed in 43-41 triumph against defending NCAA champion UCLA in first round of 1996 Southeast Regional. |
Chris Lofton | Tennessee | Jumper from right corner after receiving sideline in-bounds pass for #2 seed in 63-61 win against upstart Winthrop in first round of 2006 Washington/East Regional. |
Brook Lopez | Stanford | Dropped in twisting right-baseline leaner with 1.3 seconds remaining to outlast Marquette in overtime, 82-81, in second round of 2008 South Regional. |
Korie Lucious | Michigan State | Straight-on three-pointer from top of key at buzzer in 85-83 decision over Maryland in second round of 2010 Midwest Regional. |
Luke Maye | North Carolina | Jumper from left side just inside three-point arc with 0.3 seconds remaining was the difference in 75-73 win against Kentucky in 2017 South Regional final. |
Eric Maynor | Virginia Commonwealth | Swished jumper off dribble move from just beyond middle of free-throw line with 1.8 seconds left for 79-77 upset win against Duke in 2007 West Regional opener. |
Ken McCally | Navy | After two-minute freeze, reserve made 20-foot one-handed basket with two seconds remaining to give Midshipmen a 69-67 win against Cornell in 1954 East Regional semifinals. |
Scooter McCray | Louisville | After withstanding Arkansas' 16-0 first-half run, second of back-to-back tip-in attempts went in as time expired to provide the difference in a 65-63 result in 1983 Mideast Regional semifinal. |
Paris McCurdy | Ball State | Made conventional three-point play at buzzer after receiving in-bounds pass from under his own basket to boost Cardinals to 54-53 win against Gary Payton Sr.-led Oregon State in 1990 West Regional first round. |
Lance Miller | Villanova | Isolated with score tied before sinking floater in lane in last second to give Nova a 50-48 verdict over Princeton in 1991 East Regional first round. |
Mike Miller | Florida | Fall-down short shot driving left side of lane in overtime gave eventual national runner-up a 69-68 nod over Butler in first round of 2000 East Regional. |
Guy Minnifield | Morehead State | Two-time All-OVC selection recovered his loose ball to hit a jumper from the middle of the lane with four seconds remaining for his lone basket of the game, lifting Eagles to 70-69 success against North Carolina A&T in 1984 preliminary round. |
Darrel Mitchell | Louisiana State | Long three-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining enabled the Tigers to top Texas A&M, 58-57, in second round of 2006 South/Atlanta Regional. |
Ronald Moore | Siena | Connecting from identical spot where he made three-pointer at end of first overtime, another trey with fewer than four seconds left in second OT sent the Saints past Ohio State, 74-72, in first round of 2009 Midwest Regional. |
Rick Mount | Purdue | Mid-range jumper from the right side with one tick remaining in overtime boosted Boilermakers to 75-73 success against Marquette in 1969 Mideast Regional final. |
Dan Muller | Illinois State | Future head coach for his alma mater positioned himself on right side of rim to receive pass from teammate for easy lay-in in overtime to elevate Redbirds to 82-81 success against Tennessee in 1998 West Regional first round. |
Maurice Newby | Northern Iowa | Three-point basket from left side with two seconds remaining in 74-71 triumph against #3 seed Missouri in first round of 1990 Southeast Regional. |
Drew Nicholas | Maryland | Dribbled much of length of court before firing three-pointer from right side to nip UNC Wilmington, 75-73, in first round of 2003 South Regional. |
Freddie Owens | Wisconsin | Lefthander's three-pointer from left corner capped comeback from 13-point deficit in a 61-60 success against Tulsa in second round of 2003 Midwest Regional. |
Kenton Paulino | Texas | Three-pointer from left side propelled #2 seed to a 74-71 victory against West Virginia in Sweet 16 of 2006 Atlanta/South Regional. |
Ron Pflueger | Notre Dame | Tip-in with 1.5 seconds remaining climaxed a 76-75 come-from-behind victory against upstart Stephen F. Austin in second round of 2016 East Regional. |
Quincy Pondexter | Washington | Driving short bank shot from left side with 1.7 seconds remaining in an 80-78 win against Marquette in opening round of 2010 East Regional. |
Jordan Poole | Michigan | Spread-eagle trey from well beyond the arc on right side gave Wolverines a 64-63 triumph over Houston in 2018 West Regional second round. |
Ken Pryor | Oklahoma | Backup's only basket in 1947 tourney, a two-handed banked set shot from left wing in closing seconds, gave OU a 55-54 success against Texas in national semifinals. |
U.S. Reed | Arkansas | In aftermath of clutch field goal by Louisville's Derek Smith, a criss-crossing drive down right side resulted in mid-court heave giving Hogs a 74-73 win in second round of 1981 Midwest Regional. |
Don Reid | Georgetown | Grabbed Allen Iverson's three-pointer falling short of rim and flipped ball back over his head for basket in 53-51 victory against Weber State in second round of 1995 Southeast Regional. |
Scottie Reynolds | Villanova | Length-of-court drive and successful short jumper in middle of lane against #1 seed Pittsburgh for 78-76 triumph in 2009 East Regional final. |
Cameron Ridley | Texas | Lefthanded basket at buzzer off rebound of missed shot lifted Longhorns to 87-85 triumph against Arizona State in first round of 2014 Midwest Regional. |
Ty Rogers | Western Kentucky | Desperation 30-foot three-pointer from right side in overtime against Drake lifted WKU to 101-99 first-round victory in 2008 West Regional. |
Vic Rouse | Loyola of Chicago | Junior forward jumped high to redirect center Les Hunter's shot from free-throw line into the basket to climax Ramblers' first year in playoffs with 60-58 overtime success against Cincinnati in 1963 championship game. |
Tyrone Sally | West Virginia | After blocking a three-point attempt, Sally raced downcourt for decisive dunk with fewer than three seconds remaining to propel Mountaineers to a 63-61 verdict over Creighton in first round of 2005 Albuquerque/West Regional. |
Vee Sanford | Dayton | Flyers edged Ohio State, 60-59, in first round of 2014 South Regional when Sanford banked in short runner down right side of lane with 3.8 seconds remaining. |
Charlie Scott | North Carolina | Basket at the buzzer from the Tar Heels' first African-American player beat Lefty Driesell-coached Davidson, 87-85, in 1969 East Regional final. |
Keith Smart | Indiana | Junior college recruit, IU's fifth-leading scorer, tallied 12 of the Hoosiers' final 15 points, including 15-foot jumper from left baseline to give them a 74-73 victory against Syracuse in 1987 championship game. |
Charles Smith | Georgetown | Banked in three-pointer with two seconds remaining as Hoyas leveled Louisiana State, 66-63, in 1988 East Regional first round. |
Ishmael Smith | Wake Forest | Jumper from right side with less than two seconds remaining capped comeback from eight-point deficit in overtime in an 81-80 win against Texas in opening round of 2010 East Regional. |
John Smith | Saint Joseph's | Converted layup after adroit pass from teammate in right corner with three seconds remaining in 49-48 decision over top-ranked DePaul in second round of 1981 Mideast Regional. |
Steve Smith | Michigan State | Three-pointer near top of the key with one tick remaining beat Wisconsin-Green Bay, 61-58, in 1991 West Regional opener. |
Dave Sorenson | Ohio State | Banked in shot with three seconds remaining to give OSU an 82-81 victory against Kentucky in 1968 Mideast Regional final at Lexington, Ky., where fifth-ranked UK failed to lose all season. |
Terence Stansbury | Temple | Swished 25-footer for 65-63 win against St. John's in first round of 1984 East Regional after All-American Chris Mullin, a 91% free-throw shooter, missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity. |
Salim Stoudamire | Arizona | Lefthander hit off-balance jumper from left side with less than three seconds remaining to nip Oklahoma State, 79-78, in 2005 Chicago/Midwest Regional semifinals. |
Jalen Suggs | Gonzaga | Freshman banked in three-pointer on run after crossing mid-court at end of first overtime to give Zags a 93-90 win over UCLA in 2021 national semifinal. |
Robert Tatum | Ohio University | Freshman picked up a loose ball at left corner of free-throw line before nailing fade-away, double-clutch shot for 51-49 triumph against Illinois State in first round of 1983 Mideast Regional. |
Terrell Taylor | Creighton | His eighth three-pointer of game (following move after receiving out-of-bounds pass from left sideline) gave Bluejays an 83-82 double-overtime win against Florida in first round of 2002 Midwest Regional. |
Tom Thacker | Cincinnati | Not known as long-range shooter, Thacker connected from beyond 20 feet - his only field goal of game - with three seconds remaining to boost Bearcats to 72-70 success against UCLA in 1962 national semifinal. |
Danero Thomas | Murray State | Fall-away jumper from right side just inside three-point arc for #13 seed secured a 66-65 verdict over Vanderbilt in 2010 West Regional. |
Wayman Tisdale | Oklahoma | Lefthander's turnaround jumper from eight feet out along the left baseline bounced multiple times on rim before falling through with :02 remaining in overtime to give Sooners an 86-84 win against Karl Malone-led Louisiana Tech in 1985 Midwest Regional semifinals. |
Andre Turner | Memphis State | "Little General" contributed back-to-back free-throw high, game-winning jumpers in Midwest Regional (67-66 vs. UAB with five seconds left in overtime and shot at buzzer in 59-57 success vs. Boston College) to carry Tigers to 1985 Final Four. |
David Vaughn III | Memphis State | Put-back field goal from right baseline with 1.1 seconds remaining after teammate's missed mid-range jumper from other side of court propelled Tigers to 75-73 victory against Purdue in second round of 1995 Midwest Regional. |
Jermaine Wallace | Northwestern State | Step-back three-pointer from left corner after retrieving long rebound catapulted Demons to triumph over #3 seed Iowa, 64-63, in first round of 2006 Atlanta/South Regional. |
John Wallace | Syracuse | Lean-in three-pointer with less than three seconds remaining in overtime produced 83-81 win against Georgia in 1996 West Regional semifinals. |
Richard Washington | UCLA | Short jumper from right baseline in closing seconds of overtime boosted the Bruins to 75-74 win over Louisville in 1975 national semifinals in coach John Wooden's swan song. |
Tremont Waters | Louisiana State | Scoop layup driving down right side of lane in traffic with 1.6 seconds remaining gave the Tigers a 69-67 success against Maryland in second round of 2019 East Regional. |
Jarrod West | West Virginia | Banked in long three-pointer with less than one second remaining for a 75-74 victory against #2 seed Cincinnati in second round of 1998 West Regional. UC had just made a trey seconds earlier. |
Jerome Whitehead | Marquette | Received length-of-the-court baseball pass from Butch Lee in middle of the lane, took one dribble and banked in short buzzer beater to provide the difference in 51-49 triumph against UNC Charlotte in 1977 national semifinal. |
Herb Wilkinson | Utah | Freshman swingman connected from beyond head of the key with three seconds remaining to give Utes a 42-40 overtime win against Dartmouth in 1944 championship game. |
Anthony Wilson | Louisiana State | Retrieving ball following wild scramble for rebound, Wilson banked in prayer from right side of lane as horn sounded to lift Bayou Bengals to 83-81 homecourt triumph against Memphis State in 1986 Southeast Regional second round. |
Adam Woodbury | Iowa | Redirected teammate's air-ball attempt from right baseline into basket as time expired to give the Hawkeyes a 72-70 success against Temple in 2016 South Regional first round. |
Danny Young | Wake Forest | Drove to hoop for basket and 73-71 triumph in overtime against #1 seed DePaul in 1984 Midwest Regional semifinals, spoiling legendary coach Ray Meyer's swan song. |
David vs. Goliath: NCAA Fans Crave Mid-Major Wins of Biblical Proportions
If upper-crust elite schools smugly look down their noses, they might find their opponents boast the upper hand by looking down the barrel of a gun or in the eye of a blinking Owl (Florida Atlantic). Just ask former NCAA champions Virginia and Arizona plus #1 seed Purdue after they were upset by mid-majors Furman, Princeton and Fairleigh Dickinson, respectively. The Boilermakers have been eliminated by bottom-of-the-bracket opponents each of the last three years.
In 2013, two mid-major at-large entrants reached a regional final (La Salle and Wichita State) after also failing to capture a regular-season league title like UR. Generous doses of humility frequently occur. Nine years ago, #3 seeds Duke and Syracuse were embarrassed by Mercer and Dayton, respectively. They joined Marquette among 20 former national champions losing multiple times in the tourney against members of lower-profile conferences seeded five or more places worse than the major university currently a member of one of the consensus power-six leagues.
Kansas has a high of seven such setbacks as a total of 12 former NCAA titlists have lost three or more such contests. Four years ago, Baylor joined KU and four other power-league members (Florida, Georgetown, Indiana and Vanderbilt) in losing playoff games in back-to-back seasons thus far in the 21st Century against mid-major foes with double-digit seeds. In the wake of ACC's mediocre campaign again, has part-time ACC commish/publicist Jay Bilas mentioned on ESPN about 14 ACC members collectively having been victimized by such illegal mid-major aliens crossing over power-league border as much as any power alliance? Would Bilas, also seemingly serving as NCAA executive director in absentia, and other self-anointed national experts have advocated for FAU, FDU, Furman, New Mexico State, Princeton, Richmond and Saint Peter's as at-large entrants if they didn't win their postseason conference tournaments?
Who did they play (mid-majors in NCAA playoff competition) and who did they beat (power-league members seeded five or more slots better)? Well, a total of 95 different lower-profile schools and current members of 24 different mid-major conferences (all but Northeast) have won 172 such games since seeding was introduced in 1979. The nation's fans simply don't bow down at the power-league altar worshiping mediocrity. The mid-major schools with the most "David vs. Goliath" playoff victories cited in the following list are Richmond and Gonzaga with seven apiece:
ACC (34 defeats against mid-major opponents seeded five or more places worse) - Boston College (lost against #12 seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005); Clemson (#13 Southwest Missouri State in 1987 and #11 Western Michigan in 1998); Duke (#11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2007, #15 Lehigh in 2012 and #14 Mercer in 2014); Florida State (#13 Middle Tennessee State in 1989); Georgia Tech (#13 Richmond in 1988 and #13 Southern in 1993); Louisville (#12 Ball State in 1990, #12 Butler in 2003 and #13 Morehead State in 2011); Miami (#11 Loyola of Chicago in 2018); North Carolina (#9 Penn in 1979, #14 Weber State in 1999 and #11 George Mason in 2006); North Carolina State (#14 Murray State in 1988); Notre Dame (#14 UALR in 1986, #11 Winthrop in 2007 and #11 Old Dominion in 2010); Pittsburgh (#10 Kent State in 2002, #13 Bradley in 2006 and #8 Butler in 2011); Syracuse (#7 Navy in 1986, #11 Rhode Island in 1988, #15 Richmond in 1991, #13 Vermont in 2005 and #11 Dayton in 2014); Virginia (#12 Wyoming in 1987, #12 Gonzaga in 2001, #16 UMBC in 2018, #13 Ohio University in 2021 and #13 Furman in 2023); Wake Forest (#13 Cleveland State in 2009)
BIG EAST/including AAC member Cincinnati from previous league configuration (21) - Cincinnati (lost to #12 Harvard in 2014 and #7 Nevada in 2018); Connecticut (#11 George Mason in 2006, #13 San Diego in 2008 and #12 New Mexico State in 2022); Creighton (#11 Rhode Island in 2017); DePaul (#12 New Mexico State in 1992); Georgetown (#10 Davidson in 2008, #14 Ohio University in 2010, #11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011 and #15 Florida Gulf Coast in 2013); Marquette (#12 Tulsa in 2002 and #12 Murray State in 2019); Providence (#12 Pacific in 2004 and #11 Dayton in 2015); St. John's (#10 Gonzaga in 2000 and #11 Gonzaga in 2011); Seton Hall (#7 Western Kentucky in 1993 and #11 Gonzaga in 2016); Villanova (#14 Old Dominion in 1995 and #10 Saint Mary's in 2010)
BIG TEN (34) - Illinois (lost to #14 Austin Peay State in 1987, #12 Dayton in 1990, #14 Chattanooga in 1997, #12 Western Kentucky in 2009 and #8 Loyola of Chicago in 2021); Indiana (#14 Cleveland State in 1986, #13 Richmond in 1988, #11 Pepperdine in 2000 and #13 Kent State in 2001); Iowa (#14 Northwestern State in 2006 and #12 Richmond in 2022); Maryland (#12 College of Charleston in 1997); Michigan (#11 Loyola Marymount in 1990 and #13 Ohio University in 2012); Michigan State (#14 Weber State in 1995, #11 George Mason in 2006 and #15 Middle Tennessee State in 2016); Minnesota (#12 Middle Tennessee State in 2017); Nebraska (#14 Xavier in 1991 and #11 Penn in 1994); Ohio State (#12 Utah State in 2001, #9 Wichita State in 2013, #11 Dayton in 2014 and #15 Oral Roberts in 2021); Purdue (#11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011, #12 UALR in 2016, #13 North Texas in 2021, #15 Saint Peter's in 2022 and #16 Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023); Wisconsin (#12 Southwest Missouri State in 1999, #11 Georgia State in 2001, #7 UNLV in 2007, #10 Davidson in 2008 and #12 Cornell in 2010)
BIG 12 (27) - Baylor (lost to #14 Georgia State in 2015 and #12 Yale in 2016); Iowa State (#15 Hampton in 2001 and #14 UAB in 2015); Kansas (#9 Texas-El Paso in 1992, #8 Rhode Island in 1998, #14 Bucknell in 2005, #13 Bradley in 2006, #9 Northern Iowa in 2010, #11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011 and #7 Wichita State in 2015); Kansas State (#11 Tulane in 1993, #13 La Salle in 2013, #13 UC Irvine in 2019 and #9 Florida Atlantic in 2023); Oklahoma (#13 Southwestern Louisiana in 1992, #13 Manhattan in 1995, #13 Indiana State in 2001, #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2006 and #12 North Dakota State in 2014); Oklahoma State (#12 Princeton in 1983, #10 Temple in 1991 and #12 Tulsa in 1994); Texas (#11 Northern Iowa in 2016 and #14 Abilene Christian in 2021); Texas Tech (#11 Southern Illinois in 2002); West Virginia (#14 Stephen F. Austin in 2016)
PACIFIC-12 (22) - Arizona (lost to #14 East Tennessee State in 1992, #15 Santa Clara in 1993, #12 Miami of Ohio in 1995, #11 Wichita State in 2016, #13 Buffalo in 2018 and #15 Princeton in 2023); California (#12 Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1994 and #13 Hawaii in 2016); Oregon State (#10 Lamar in 1980, #11 Evansville in 1989 and #12 Ball State in 1990); Southern California (#13 UNC Wilmington in 2002); Stanford (#14 Siena in 1989 and #10 Gonzaga in 1999); UCLA (#12 Wyoming in 1987, #13 Penn State in 1991, #12 Tulsa in 1994, #13 Princeton in 1996 and #12 Detroit in 1999); Utah (#10 Miami of Ohio in 1999 and #11 Gonzaga in 2016); Washington State (#12 Penn in 1980)
SEC (36) - Alabama (lost to #11 Lamar in 1983, #11 South Alabama in 1989, #10 Kent State in 2002 and #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005); Auburn (#12 Richmond in 1984); Florida (#12 Creighton in 2002, #12 Manhattan in 2003, #8 Butler in 2011 and #15 Oral Roberts in 2021); Georgia (#14 Chattanooga in 1997 and #11 Southern Illinois in 2002); Kentucky (#7 UAB in 1981, #11 Middle Tennessee State in 1982, #9 UAB in 2004 and #15 Saint Peter's in 2022); Louisiana State (#13 Navy in 1985 and #11 UAB in 2005); Mississippi (#13 Valparaiso in 1998); Mississippi State (#12 Eastern Michigan in 1991, #12 Butler in 2003, #7 Xavier in 2004 and #12 Liberty in 2019); Missouri (#13 Xavier in 1987, #11 Rhode Island in 1988, #14 Northern Iowa in 1990, #15 Norfolk State in 2012 and #15 Princeton in 2023); South Carolina (#15 Coppin State in 1997 and #14 Richmond in 1998); Tennessee (#12 Southwest Missouri State in 1999, #7 Wichita State in 2006, #11 Loyola of Chicago in 2018 and #9 Florida Atlantic in 2023); Vanderbilt (#13 Siena in 2008, #13 Murray State in 2010 and #12 Richmond in 2011)
NOTES: Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were members of the Big Eight until 1997. Mizzou left the Big 12 for SEC in 2013. . . . Notre Dame was an independent in 1986. . . . Florida State, Louisville and Tulane were members of the Metro Conference in 1989, 1990 and 1993, respectively. . . . Butler was a member of the Horizon League in 2003 and 2011. . . . Dayton was a member of the Midwestern Collegiate in 1990. . . . DePaul was a member of the Great Midwest in 1992. . . . Texas-El Paso and Utah were members of the WAC in 1992 and 1999, respectively. . . . Marquette and Louisville were members of Conference USA in 2002 and 2004, respectively. . . . Tulsa was a member of Missouri Valley in 1994 and 2002. . . . Xavier was a member of Midwestern Collegiate in 1987 and 1991 and Atlantic 10 in 2004. . . . Boston College was a member of the Big East in 2005. . . . Defeats for Maryland (ACC), Louisville (Big East), Pittsburgh (Big East) and Syracuse (Big East) came when they were members of another power league.
Big Blunders: Clark's Collegiate Career Goes From March Gladness to Sadness
Feeling the pressure? If looking at tournament glass as half empty, the coronavirus outbreak was culprit bringing postseason competition to a screeching halt three years ago. If gazing at glass as half full, the shutdown possibly averted additional tourney stigma now attached to Virginia playmaker Kihei Clark, who went from adroit delivery as freshman helping Cavaliers capture 2019 NCAA crown to senseless panic pass (surrounded by defenders in corner with option of requesting team timeout still remaining) allowing Furman a last-second opportunity for game-winning three-pointer in his college career finale. Two seasons ago, Alabama's Herb Jones, the SEC Player of the Year, committed a pair of offensive fouls in opening minute before missing three of four free throws in the last 37 seconds of regulation, making only 2-of-7 from the charity stripe for the entire game, as #2 seed was eliminated by #11 seed UCLA in overtime in regional semifinal.
Remember Northern Iowa's 2016 complete collapse in squandering a 12-point lead in the last 35 seconds of regulation against Texas A&M en route to a 92-88 setback in double overtime. The Panthers' cataclysmic cave-in almost makes you forget about Arizona's fiasco flop when the Wildcats frittered away a 15-point advantage with four minutes remaining in regulation against Illinois in 2005 playoffs.
If you think about gaffes from a human perspective for a moment, having their playoff balloon pop by dull pin is terrible thing to happen to a team. On the other hand, a scorned squad can share the blame-game burden while an individual player could be branded for lifetime. Truth be told, some players probably will live with major miscue in front of God and country for the remainder of their Earthly existence. No one deserves a humiliating label, even after bad blunder on the biggest stage, but spit happens where temperatures rise and afflicted seek a stay-at-home order. Punctuated by fable-like failure, the following chronological list details 10 additional fatal stumbles at the wrong time since the tourney field expanded to at least 32 teams in 1975:
1975: Louisville reserve guard Terry Howard, after converting all 28 of his previous foul shots during season, missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 20 seconds remaining in overtime and the Cardinals leading by one point. UCLA prevailed in national semifinal, 75-74, when Richard Washington sank short jumper from right baseline in closing seconds.
1982: Georgetown sophomore guard Fred Brown's errant pass, ostensibly seeing a teammate out of the corner of his right eye, went directly to North Carolina forward James Worthy and prevented the Hoyas from attempting a potential game-winning shot in the closing seconds of 63-62 setback against the Tar Heels.
1993: Michigan rallied to trim deficit to 73-71 before two North Carolina players trapped Chris Webber on the right sideline with only 11 seconds remaining after he dribbled downcourt when referees failed to call him for walking after grabbing rebound of missed free-throw attempt. The Wolverines' consensus first-team All-American called a fateful timeout his team did not have. Donald Williams wrapped up the game with four consecutive free throws to give Carolina a 77-71 triumph. "Sometimes winning a basketball game is just plain luck," UNC coach Dean Smith said. Meanwhile, Webber's family took mental lapse in stride and showed time heals all wounds when his father, Mayce, acquired a vanity license plate proclaiming "Timeout," a reference to his son's excruciating blunder.
1994: The score was tied when Connecticut All-American Donyell Marshall, who hit 77% of his foul shots during three-year college career, missed two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation in East Regional semifinals. UConn wound up losing to Florida, 69-60, in overtime.
1995: Upon making splendid steal off baseline in-bounds pass by Arkansas, Lucious Jackson called an unnecessary timeout while prone in right corner with 4.3 seconds remaining in regulation although Syracuse was out of them and had possession arrow pointing in direction of the Orange. The Razorbacks made one-of-two technical foul charity tosses to knot score, 82-82, and won second-round game in overtime, 96-94.
2006: In the last 20 seconds, Gonzaga's Jose Bautista committed a foul going for rebound following teammate's missed field-goal attempt and subsequently had ball stolen from him after receiving in-bounds pass triggering go-ahead basket for UCLA, giving the Bruins their first lead of game en route to 73-71 come-from-behind victory. The reversal left national player of the year Adam Morrison of the Zags weeping prostrate at mid-court.
2008: Given multiple chances to put away Kansas in national final including leading by nine points with fewer than two minutes remaining in regulation, Memphis All-Americans Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts combined to convert only one of five foul shots in the final 1:12 of regulation (including one front end of a one-and-one). They were 1-of-4 in the last 16 seconds. Rose and Douglas-Roberts had collaborated to sink 20-of-23 in a semifinal rout of UCLA. The Tigers hit only 59% from the line for the season after losing to KU, 75-68.
2014: Virginia Commonwealth's JeQuan Lewis ran into Stephen F. Austin player (Desmond Haymon) as lefthander made three-point field goal with 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation in second round of South Regional. After Haymon converted free throw to complete four-point play, VCU went on to lose in overtime, 77-75.
2019: New Mexico State's Terrell Brown missed two of three free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining in a 78-77 opening-round setback against Auburn after getting fouled by Bryce Brown beyond the three-point arc. Terrell Brown made a team-leading 77.6% of his charity tosses during the entire season.
2019: Auburn's Samir Doughty fouled Virginia's Kyle Guy at buzzer when sharpshooter launched a three-point attempt from the left corner. Guy sank all three free throws to give the Cavaliers a 63-62 win in national semifinals.
Shock Treatment: FDU Knights Become 2nd #16 Seed to Upset #1 Seed
You're supposed to expect the unexpected but no unbiased observer with a pulse promoted idea in the preseason that Furman would eventually upend ACC powerhouse Virginia for the Cavaliers' third "bottom-of-bracket" reversal in last five NCAA Tournaments, Princeton would kayo another Western dignitary and pint-sized FDU DII transfers would frustrate massive Zach Edey (7-4). In the first six years of the NCAA tourney seeding process from 1979 through 1984 when the playoff field ranged from 40 to 53 teams, the bottom of the bracket racket included a total of 13 No. 1 and 2 seeds losing their openers. Notwithstanding the misleading media's spin, the NCAA tourney hasn't been saturated with authentic upsets since the playoff field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. On the other hand, there were only five years in that span failing to provide a first-round shocker from the bottom of the bracket (1994, 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2017).
Teams seeded 13th or worse defeated teams seeded among the top four in a regional a total of 64 times in the last 38 tourneys after the Paladins emerged victorious in opening-round game this year. At least Kentucky's stunning reversal last year against Saint Peter's wasn't as ugly as a couple of sorry SEC setbacks when Navy overwhelmed LSU by 23 points in 1985 and Siena smothered Vanderbilt by 21 in 2008.
Arizona's similar shocking defeat against Santa Clara in 1993 materialized despite the Wildcats reeling off 25 unanswered points in a stretch bridging the last five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half. Gary Waters is the only coach to win two opening-round games in this category while in charge of two different schools (Kent State in 2001 and Cleveland State in 2009).
Until Virginia's 1 vs. 16 debacle five years ago, Michigan State was the only #2 seed to lose its playoff opener after spending a portion of the regular season atop the AP national poll. Following is a rundown of the first 64 first-round knockouts by the bottom of the bracket (#13 through #16 seeds) since the NCAA field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985:
#16 seed (2 victories)
Year | #16 Seed Winner | Coach | #1 Seed Loser | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Maryland-Baltimore County | Ryan Odom | Virginia | 74-54 |
2023 | Fairleigh Dickinson | Tobin Anderson | Purdue | 63-58 |
#15 seed (11 victories)
Year | #15 Seed Winner | Coach | #2 Seed Loser | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Richmond | Dick Tarrant | Syracuse | 73-69 |
1993 | Santa Clara | Dick Davey | Arizona | 64-61 |
1997 | Coppin State | Ron "Fang" Mitchell | South Carolina | 78-65 |
2001 | Hampton | Steve Merfeld | Iowa State | 58-57 |
2012 | Lehigh | Dr. Brett Reed | Duke | 75-70 |
2012 | Norfolk State | Anthony Evans | Missouri | 86-84 |
2013 | Florida Gulf Coast | Andy Enfield | Georgetown | 78-68 |
2016 | Middle Tennessee State | Kermit Davis Jr. | Michigan State | 90-81 |
2021 | Oral Roberts | Paul Mills | Ohio State | 75-72 (OT) |
2022 | Saint Peter's | Shaheen Holloway | Kentucky | 85-79 (OT) |
2023 | Princeton | Mitch Henderson | Arizona | 59-55 |
#14 seed (21 victories)
#13 seed (32 victories)
From Peon to Pedestal: Small-College Transfers Impacting NCAA Playoffs
After previously toiling in obscurity, multiple small-college standouts have helped propel Fairleigh Dickinson (pint-sized Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton plus small forward Sean Moore from St. Thomas Aquinas NY) and College of Charleston (Dalton Bolon from West Liberty WV, Ante Brzovic from Southeastern Oklahoma State and Pat Robinson III from Holy Family PA via West Liberty WV) to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They are joined there by prominent players Dale Bonner (Baylor from Fairmont State WV), Xavier Rhodes (Northern Kentucky from Florida Southern) and Ross Williams (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi from Colorado Christian) on center stage in the NCAA Division I Tournament. Bonner, Brzovic, Moore, Rhodes, Roberts, Robinson, Singleton and Williams joined a long list of small-school transfer players going from nowhere to prospect of Cloud Nine in the NCAA DI playoffs.
Arkansas, Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Nevada and Wisconsin featured small-college transfers in regular rotations of previous NCAA tourney squads. There was even a coach in recent tourney who was in this rare category as a player - Montana's Travis DeCuire (Chaminade HI prior to his current pitstop).
Of course, the most prominent player in history in this category is all-time great Elgin Baylor (Seattle), the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1958. Consider this alphabetical list of the nearly 50 transfers going from non-Division I schools to bright lights of the NCAA Division I Tournament:
Adonis Arms, G (Northwest Nazarene ID 19/Winthrop 21 & Texas Tech 22)
Juco recruit was named GNAC Player of the Year when averaging 20.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 3.3 apg while shooting 55% from the floor. Contributed 10 points and 3 rebounds for Winthrop against Villanova in 2021 playoffs before averaging 11 ppg, 6.3 rpg and 4.7 apg in three 2022 tourney contests with the Red Raiders (including game-high 7 assists against Duke).
Desi Barmore, F (Southeast Missouri State 79/Alabama 81 and Fresno State 82-83)
Averaged 5.8 ppg and 3.3 rpg at DI level after averaging 15.4 ppg and 7.3 rpg with SEMO as a freshman. Appeared in 1982 NCAA playoffs with FSU, scoring eight points in 58-40 second-round West Regional semifinal defeat against eventual national runner-up Georgetown.
Scott Barnes, C (Eastern Montana 81-82/Fresno State 84-85)
Averaged 9.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg for Eastern Montana before averaging 11.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg for Fresno State. Barnes was an All-PCAA second-team selection as a senior when he led the Bulldogs in rebounding (7.4 rpg). Grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds against Karl Malone-led Louisiana Tech when Fresno bowed to the Bulldogs in the first round of 1984 NCAA playoffs.
Elgin Baylor, F (College of Idaho 55/Seattle 57-58)
Averaged 31.3 ppg and 18.9 rpg for College of Idaho (now Albertson College) before averaging 31.2 ppg and 19.8 rpg for Seattle. He was an NCAA unanimous first-team All-American and Final Four Most Outstanding Player as a junior in 1957-58 after averaging 27 points in five playoff games.
Andrew Benson, F (Prairie View A&M/Houston 67)
Averaged 2.4 ppg and 1.7 rpg for UH's national third-place team.
Davion Berry, G-F (Cal State Montery Bay 10-11/Weber State 13-14)
Big Sky Conference MVP scored a game-high 24 points in 68-59 opening-game defeat against Arizona in 2014.
Don Boldebuck, C (Nebraska Wesleyan 52-53/Houston 55-56)
Averaged more than 20 ppg for Nebraska Wesleyan before averaging 23 ppg and 17 rpg in leading UH in scoring and rebounding both of his seasons with the Cougars. He paced them in scoring in both of their NCAA playoff games in 1956.
Mike Born, G (Nebraska-Omaha 85-86/Iowa State 88-89)
Averaged 10.5 ppg for Nebraska-Omaha before averaging 8.6 ppg and 2.5 apg for two NCAA Tournament teams at Iowa State. Scored six points in each of his NCAA playoff games.
Jim Boylan, G (Assumption MA 74-75/Marquette 77-78)
Fifth-leading scorer for 1977 NCAA Tournament champion. He scored 14 points in the tourney final against Phil Ford-led North Carolina.
Bryan Bracey, F (Wisconsin-Platteville 97/Oregon 00-01)
Played one game with UWP before transferring to a junior college. Averaged 13.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg with the Ducks, appearing in NCAA tourney as a junior (10 points and 6 rebounds in 72-71 opening-round East Regional defeat in OT against Seton Hall).
Gary Brell, F (North Dakota State 68/Marquette 70-71)
Averaged 15.2 ppg and 12.9 rpg for NDSU before averaging 12.8 ppg and 8.6 rpg with MU. As a senior, he distributed a game-high eight assists in 60-59 NCAA tourney defeat against Ohio State before grabbing nine rebounds in 91-74 win against Kentucky in Mideast Regional third-place game.
Jon Bryant, G (St. Cloud State MN 96-97/Wisconsin 99-00)
All-North Central Conference selection and team MVP with 17.3 ppg as a sophomore after being named NCC Freshman of the Year when he hit 57.4% of his three-point attempts. Third-leading scorer for the Badgers burst on the national scene with seven three-pointers, including four in a zone-busting 1 1/2-minute stretch late in the game, to help the Badgers rally to a 66-56 over Fresno State in the first round of 2000 West Regional.
Ronnie Clark, G (Florida Southern 00/Colorado State 02-04)
Sunshine State Conference freshman of the year was CSU's third-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer in 2003 when the Rams played Duke tough before bowing in the opening round.
Terry Connolly, F (Shepherd WV 87-88/Richmond 90-91)
Averaged 8.2 ppg each of his two seasons with Spider NCAA playoff teams. Member of first #15 seed to defeat a #2 seed (Syracuse in 1991).
Barry Davis, F (Sam Houston State 73/Texas A&M 75-76)
Freshman on Sam Houston State's top-ranked NAIA team. Juco recruit became two-time All-SWC selection, delivering team-high 16 points and game-high 15 rebounds in 87-79 setback against Cincinnati in 1975 Midwest Regional.
Travis DeCuire, G (Chaminade HI 90/Montana 92-94)
Led Chaminade in scoring with 10.9 ppg as a freshman in 1989-90. Averaged 6.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 5 apg for the Grizzlies, including Big Sky Conference-leading 7.1 apg as a senior. Competing against eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, DeCuire scored six points in a 78-68 reversal against Florida State in 1992 NCAA playoffs.
Chris Flemmings, G (Barton NC 13-14/UNC Wilmington 16-17)
Conference Carolinas MVP in 2013-14 with 19.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg before posting team highs of 16.2 ppg and 5.8 rpg for UNCW's 2016 NCAA playoff team losing against Duke despite his 18 points. Flemmings also tallied a team-high 18 points in 76-71 setback against Virginia in 2017 NCAA playoffs.
Freddie Gillespie, F-C (Carleton MN 17/Baylor 19-20)
All-MIAC second-team selection in 2016-17 when leading league in blocked shots. Part-time starter for the Bears in 2018-19 averaged six points and three rebounds in two NCAA playoff games.
Landon Goesling, G (St. Edward's TX 15-18/Houston 19)
Led Heartland Conference with 22.9 ppg in 2017-18. Played briefly for UH in one NCAA playoff game in 2019.
Robert Gray, F (Cal Poly Pomona 72-73/Wichita State 75-76)
Averaged 13 ppg and 5.8 rpg with WSU. As a senior, he collected 10 points and team-high tying 7 rebounds in opening-round defeat against eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up Michigan.
Keenan Gumbs, F (Schreiner TX 15-18/Liberty 19)
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2018. Part-time starter for Liberty's 2019 team posting the school's first-ever NCAA playoff victory. He scored six points in each of two tourney contests.
Tate Hall, G (Indianapolis 17-18/Loyola of Chicago 20-22)
GLVC Freshman of the Year before becoming all-league first-team choice as sophomore. All-MVC selection averaged 2.5 ppg and 3.3 rpg with Ramblers in four NCAA playoff games in 2021 and 2022.
Mike Hansen, G (Tennessee-Martin 89/Louisiana State 91-93)
Scored 40 points vs. LSU as a freshman when leading UTM in scoring (20 ppg) and assists. Erupted for 31 points against both Tennessee and Illinois as a sophomore when he was the Tigers' third-leading scorer (12.7 ppg) before his playing time decreased significantly his final two seasons. Member of three LSU teams participating in the NCAA playoffs.
John Harrell, G (North Carolina Central 76/Duke 78-79)
Averaged 15.7 ppg and led N.C. Central in assists in 1975-76. Averaged 5.1 ppg for Duke's NCAA Tournament runner-up in 1977-78 before playing sparingly the next season.
E.J. Harrison, G (Western Connecticut State 95-96/Connecticut 98-99)
Averaged 1.9 ppg for UConn's 1999 NCAA titlist after averaging team-high 19.3 ppg and 2.7 spg for WCSU in 1995-96. He scored 12 points and had team-high three steals in '99 tourney opener against UTSA and team-high three assists in second-round win over New Mexico.
Ryan Hawkins, F (Northwest Missouri State 17-21/Creighton 22)
All-time leading rebounding for Northwest (948) and in MIAA Tournament (84) was Most Outstanding Player at the 2021 Elite Eight. Leading scorer and rebounder for the Bluejays' NCAA tourney team averaged 12 ppg and 7 rpg in two playoff outings.
Art Helms, F (Southwest Missouri State 53-54/Houston 56)
Averaged 13.7 ppg for SWMS before averaging 13.1 ppg and 10.1 rpg for UH's first NCAA playoff team (grabbed team-high 10 rebounds in tourney debut against SMU).
Curtis High, G (Tennessee-Martin 81-82/Nevada-Reno 84-85)
Tennessee-Martin's second-leading scorer as a freshman (14.3 ppg) and sophomore (12.6 ppg). Led UNR in scoring and assists as a junior (13.3 ppg, 6.3 apg) and senior (17.8 ppg, 6 apg) for two NCAA tourney squads. All-Big Sky Conference first-team selection in 1984-85. Scored a team-high 21 points in 1984 first-round loss to Detlef Schrempf-led Washington.
Roy Howard, F (Tarleton State TX 89/Texas-El Paso 91-93)
Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association Freshman of the Year when he led Tarleton State in scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (11.5 rpg). UTEP's second-leading rebounder as a senior (6.5 rpg). Averaged 4.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for 1992 NCAA playoff team upsetting #1 seed Kansas in Midwest Regional.
Doug Jemison, F (Wright State OH 75/San Francisco 78-79)
Averaged 7.1 ppg for WSU before attending a junior college. Averaged 12.7 ppg and 8.9 rpg for two USF NCAA tourney teams (teammate of All-American Bill Cartwright led Dons in rebounding in two of four playoff games and in blocked shots one contest).
Avery Johnson, G (Cameron OK 85/Southern LA 87-88)
Averaged a modest 4.3 ppg for Cameron before leading the nation in assists with Southern for two NCAA tourney teams. Distributed a total of 17 assists in NCAA playoff games against Temple and Kentucky. Shares NCAA single-game record for most assists with 22. Went on to become principal playmaker for the San Antonio Spurs' NBA champion before coaching in the pros prior to accepting a similar job at Alabama.
Kenny Jones, C (Lincoln Memorial TN 76-78/Virginia Commonwealth 80)
Averaged 8.3 ppg and 5.8 rpg for VCU's first NCAA DI playoff team in 1980. He collected five points and seven rebounds in opening-round defeat against Iowa before the Hawkeyes reached Final Four.
Ron Lacey, G (Northeastern Oklahoma State 87-88)/Northeastern 90-91)
Runner-up in scoring for the Huskies' 1991 NCAA playoff team. He collected 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in opening-round setback against Dean Smith-coached North Carolina.
Fred Lewis, F (Tampa 88/South Florida 90-92)
Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year when he averaged 15.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Averaged 13 ppg and 8 rpg for USF. He was the Bulls' second-leading rebounder all three seasons, including two NCAA playoff teams.
Bob Lochmueller, F (Oakland City IN/Louisville 50-52)
Averaged 15 ppg in his career with the Cardinals, leading their first NCAA Tournament team in scoring as a junior (19 ppg). Grabbed game-high 18 rebounds in 1951 NCAA playoff loss against in-state rival Kentucky.
Tony Massop, C (Sacramento State 87/Kansas State 89-90)
Averaged 10.3 ppg and 8 rpg as a sophomore at Sacramento State. Averaged 5.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg as a junior and 8.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg as a senior for a pair of NCAA tourney teams. He was the Wildcats' leading rebounder in 1989-90.
Boyd McCaslin, F (Hobart NY 45/Dartmouth 46/Michigan 48-49)
All-Ivy League second-team selection went on to participate in Michigan's first NCAA playoff game in 1948 after transferring with coach Ozzie Cowles. Originally lettered with Hobart.
Paul Mickey, C (Troy State AL 63/Penn State 65-67)
Averaged 2.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg for Troy before averaging 9 ppg and 8.7 rpg with the Nittany Lions. Appeared in 1965 NCAA playoffs against Bill Bradley-led Princeton.
Keaton Moffitt, G (Sioux Falls SD 12-13/South Dakota State 15-16)
Posted same scoring average (5.8 ppg) with SF as he did as part-time starter for SDSU's 2016 NCAA DI tourney team. Reserve grabbed three rebounds in 14 minutes of playing time in South Regional 79-74 setback against Maryland.
Bret Mundt, C (Bethel TN/Memphis State 88-89)
Averaged 5.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg in 1987-88 and 6.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg in 1988-89 for a pair of NCAA tourney teams. Scored 13 points when the Tigers lost to Purdue in 1988 Midwest Regional.
Tucker Neale, G (Ashland OH 91/Colgate 93-95)
Averaged 23.1 ppg for Colgate's first NCAA playoff team in 1995. Scored game-high 25 points in loss against Kansas.
Carlton Neverson, G (Elmira NY 78/Pittsburgh 79-81)
Averaged 11.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg with Elmira before transferring to Pitt, where he averaged 11.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 2.3 apg. Appearing in NCAA playoffs as a senior, he scored a team-high 17 points in 74-57 second-round setback against North Carolina after contributing six points in 70-69 win against Idaho.
Anunwa "Nuni" Omot, F (Concordia MN 15/Baylor 17-18)
Member of the Bears' regular rotation much of 2016-17 season as juco recruit. Played briefly in all three NCAA tourney games that year.
Chris Parker, G (Henderson State AR 18-20/Liberty 21)
GAC Tournament MVP in 2020. Son of former NBA player Charlie Parker was assists leader and second-leading scorer for the Flames' NCAA tourney team. He scored 10 points in playoff game against Oklahoma State.
Aaron Preece, G (Illinois College/Bradley 49-51)
Sixth-leading scorer for the Braves' 1950 NCAA and NIT runner-up tallied 12 points in each of the NCAA Final Four games.
Cecil Rellford, F (Kentucky State 74/St. John's 76-77)
Averaged 21.7 ppg and 10 rpg for KSU in six games before averaging 11.2 ppg and 6 rpg with St. John's. Averaged 9 ppg and 4.5 rpg in two NCAA playoff setbacks.
Duncan Robinson, F (Williams MA 14/Michigan 16-18)
Averaged 17.1 ppg and 6.5 rpg for DIII Tournament runner-up as a freshman in 2013-14. Four years later, he led the Wolverines' 2018 DI Tournament runner-up in three-pointers with 78. Also competed in NCAA playoffs in 2016 and 2017.
Khalil Shabazz, G (Central Washington 18/San Francisco 20-23)
GNAC Freshman of the Year averaged 15.3 ppg before transferring to USF. Averaged 14.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg and 1.9 spg with the Dons, leading them in scoring as a senior after collecting 3 points and 4 rebounds in 2022 NCAA tourney overtime setback against Murray State.
Nevil Shed, F (North Carolina A&T/Texas Western 65-67)
"The Shadow" sank the free throw in 1966 NCAA championship game against Kentucky, giving the Miners a lead they never relinquished. He averaged 10.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg for the national titlist.
Bill Sherwood, C-F (Oglethorpe GA 84-85/Oregon State 87-88)
Averaged 7.7 ppg in 1986-87 and 14.7 ppg in 1987-88 for the Beavers. Outscored teammate Gary Payton with 17 points in OSU's 70-61 loss to Louisville in 1988 Southeast Regional.
Danny Singletary, G (Ohio Valley WV/Coppin State 97-98)
Led National Small College Athletic Association in scoring in mid-1990s with 27.6-ppg average before transferring. Averaged 12.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg and 2.3 spg for Coppin State. Scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half of a shocking 78-65 first-round triumph against South Carolina in 1997 NCAA playoffs before collecting team-high 6 assists and game-high 6 steals in 82-81 setback against Texas.
Gregg Smith, C (North Dakota State 00/Eastern Washington 02-04)
Transferred along with coach Ray Giacoletti following freshman season in 1999-00 (5.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg). Averaged 3.4 ppg and 2.3 rpg in three-year career with EWU, scoring team-high 16 points against Oklahoma State in his final game (75-56 setback in 2004 East Regional in East Rutherford).
Scott Snider, C (Pacific Lutheran WA 92-93/Gonzaga 95-96)
Led Pacific Lutheran in scoring as a freshman with 11.9 ppg before averaging 14 ppg and 5.6 rpg as a sophomore. Led the WCC in field-goal shooting (62.9%) as a senior when averaging 10.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg after averaging 5.2 ppg and 4.2 rpg the previous year for the Zags' first NCAA Tournament team.
Jerry Stroman, F (Benedict SC 83/Utah 85-86)
All-WAC first-team selection as a senior when leading the Utes in scoring with 18 ppg. He shared team-high scoring total with 18 points in opening-round loss against North Carolina in 1986 NCAA tourney.
Manny Suarez, C (Adelphi NY 16-17/Creighton 18)
Averaged 15.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 2.2 bpg in two-year career with Adelphi. Played briefly for Creighton in 2018 NCAA playoff opening-round defeat against Kansas State.
Johnny Taylor, F (Knoxville TN 94/Tenn.-Chattanooga 96-97)
Averaged 18.2 ppg and 8.1 rpg with UTC before becoming an NBA first-round draft choice. Southern Conference Player of the Year for UTC team upsetting Georgia and Illinois in 1997 Southeast Regional. He averaged 17.7 ppg and 6 rpg in three NCAA playoff games, scoring a game-high 22 points in defeat against Providence.
Chad Townsend, G (St. Edward's TX 95/Murray State 97-98)
Averaged 22.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg in his final season with St. Edward's. All-Ohio Valley Conference second-team selection averaged 13.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg and a school-record 7.1 apg as a junior when he was OVC Tournament MVP. Played in two NCAA tourneys with the Racers, pacing them in assists in both games while averaging 12 ppg and 5.5 rpg.
Joel Tribelhorn, G (Fort Lewis CO 85-87/Colorado State 89)
Finished third on Fort Lewis' career scoring list with 1,390 points after setting school single-season records for most points (635 in 1986-87), highest scoring average (24.4 ppg in 1985-86) and best three-point field-goal shooting (50% in 1986-87). The NAIA All-American second-team selection as a junior became an All-WAC second-team pick as a senior when he was CSU's second-leading scorer (13.8 ppg), led the Rams in field-goal shooting (53.9%) and paced the league in three-point shooting (56.3%). Scored a game-high 20 points when CSU upset Florida, 68-46, in 1989 Midwest Regional.
Jeff Tyson, G (Aquinas MI 72/Western Michigan 74-76)
Played seven games with Aquinas before averaging 15 ppg and 5.4 rpg with WMU. As a senior, he scored a game-high 25 points in 77-67 decision over Virginia Tech in the Chippewas' first-ever NCAA playoff contest.
Chandler Vaudrin, G (Walsh OH 17-18/Winthrop 20-21)
Averaged team-high 15.5 ppg and ranked fourth in DII with 7.5 apg as sophomore before ranking seventh in DI in assists as senior with 6.9 apg. Also led Winthrop's 2021 NCAA playoff squad in scoring.
Roosevelt Wallace, F (Virginia Union/Arkansas 91-92)
Averaged 8.8 ppg and 5.7 rpg for the Razorbacks' 1992 NCAA playoff squad. He played a total of 16 minutes in two tourney tilts.
Phil Zevenbergen, F (Seattle Pacific 83/Washington 86-87)
Attended community college before averaging 10.1 ppg and 6.2 rpg for the Huskies. Grabbed two rebounds in nine minutes in 72-70 setback against Michigan State in first round of 1986 Midwest Regional.
NOTE: Missouri State, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, North Dakota State, Omaha, Prairie View, Sacramento State, Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee-Martin, Troy and Wright State subsequently moved up to NCAA Division I status.
College Exam: Day #5 For One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge
Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper for next pandemic, hoping Plagiarist Biledumb makes it up steps of Air Farce One again or cowering in fetal position from college basketball version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, it's your opportunity to start taking online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.
We need something to occupy our minds during quarantine from much of the invective-infected #MessMedia. 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 tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Who is the only player to score more than 30,000 points in his pro career after never appearing in NCAA playoffs? Hint: He is the only former major-college player to become NBA Most Valuable Player after failing to participate in NCAA Tournament. He was 0-2 in the NIT, where he lost his final college game by 41 points, before leaving college for the pros with one season of eligibility remaining.
2. Who is the only person to play for an NBA championship team before coaching an NCAA titlist? Hint: He was a backup to an NBA all-time great after being the leading scorer and rebounder for a team winning an NIT crown.
3. Who became an NCAA playoff coach after being the only player in history to participate with two different schools in the NCAA championship game? Hint: One of the teams he played for was undefeated. He coached two different schools in the tourney.
4. Who is the only coach to engineer a turnaround featuring an NCAA playoff appearance in his first full season at a new job although the school compiled a record of more than 20 games below .500 the previous year? Hint: It was his only year as coach at the school.
5. Name the only mid-major conference to have two different members reach a regional semifinal as at-large teams in the same year, beating opponents from the Big East, Big 12 and SEC in the process. Hint: Two other members of the same league achieved the feat in the previous seven years. Only two of its current members haven't won playoff games when seeded five or more places worse than a major university currently a member of one of the current consensus top six leagues since seeding started in 1979.
6. Name the only former NCAA Tournament champion not to win at least one playoff game since capturing the title. Hint: It's the first NCAA champion to have black players in its starting lineup and is the only school to win the NCAA playoffs and NIT in the same year. The school is also the only former major college to win a Division I Tournament championship.
7. Name the school with the most playoff games decided by one or two points (four) on its way to a championship. Hint: It was the first school to need six victories to claim the national crown and is the only school to have two different coaches capture a national championship after compiling a losing record in their first seasons as a major-college head coach.
8. Who is the only coach to win his first 12 tournament games decided in overtime or by fewer than six points in regulation? Hint: His first of three NCAA championship game teams had four players become NBA first-round draft choices.
9. Name the only state to have more than six different schools reach the Final Four. Hint: The state went 31 years between its two national championships.
10. Name the only person to coach two different universities in back-to-back years when each school made its initial playoff appearance. Hint: He reached the national championship game with one of the schools.
Family Guys: LA Ragin' Cajuns Boast Latest NCAA Playoff Father-Son Legacy
You can't escape the distinguished DNA. Louisiana boasts the latest NCAA playoff father-son combination as the leading scorer and rebounder for the Ragin' Cajuns is Jordan Brown, the son of Dion Brown, who averaged 12.5 ppg and 7.5 rpg in two tourney defeats in 1982 and 1983. Elsewhere, All-American Penny Hardaway's son, Jayden, was a Memphis starter much of this season under his father.
A majority of the fathers averaged more points per game in NCAA playoff competition than their sons in this family category. Princeton is the only mid-major school with a father-son combination collecting total of more than four NCAA playoff triumphs (father Ed Hummer 6/son Ian Hummer 0). BYU also had a couple of additional duos (Craigs and Christensens) among the following father-son combos playing for same school in NCAA tourney (listed by number of family victories):
Family (Overall Record) | School | Summary of Father's NCAA Playoff Career | Summary of Son's NCAA Playoff Career |
---|---|---|---|
Johnsons (21-6) | UCLA | Marques, the national player of the year as a senior, averaged 14.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg in 16 NCAA Tournament games from 1974 through 1977 (13-3 record including three Final Four teams) with high-scoring game of 35 points against Arizona State in 1975. | Kris averaged 9.5 ppg and 3.6 rpg in 11 NCAA Tournament games from 1995 through 1998 (8-3 record; DNP in three contests as freshman) with high-scoring game of 25 points against Michigan in 1998. |
Ewings (20-5) | Georgetown | Patrick Sr., the national player of the year as a senior, averaged 14.2 ppg and 8 rpg in 18 NCAA Tournament games from 1982 through 1985 (15-3 record including three Final Four teams). | Patrick Jr. averaged 4.9 ppg and 3.3 rpg in seven NCAA Tournament games with the Hoyas in 2007 and 2008 (5-2 record including one Final Four team) after transferring from Indiana. |
Mills (15-5) | Kentucky | Terry averaged 7.4 ppg and 2 rpg in five NCAA Tournament games from 1969 through 1971 (1-4 record; DNP in 1969 Regional Third-Place game). | Cameron averaged 5.9 ppg and 1.6 rpg in 15 NCAA Tournament games from 1995 through 1998 including three straight Final Four teams (14-1 record; DNP in seven playoff games as freshman and sophomore). As a junior, he led the Wildcats in 3FG%. |
Valentines (11-5) | Michigan State | Carlton, the Spartans' leading scorer and rebounder as a senior in 1987-88, averaged 3 ppg and 2 rpg in three NCAA Tournament games in 1986 (2-1 record). | Denzel, co-National Player of the Year as a senior after reaching Final Four the previous season, averaged 9.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 3.9 apg in 13 NCAA Tournament games from 2013 through 2016 (9-4 record). |
Morningstars (10-6) | Kansas | Roger, runner-up in scoring for 1974 Final Four team, averaged 10.6 ppg and 4.8 rpg in five NCAA Tournament games in 1974 and 1975 after transferring from a junior college (2-3 record). | Brady averaged 5.5 ppg in 11 NCAA Tournament games from 2007 through 2011 (8-3 record; 2008 redshirt DNP in two games as freshman). Scored team-high 18 points against Richmond in 2011. |
Eiferts (8-5) | Purdue | Greg averaged 1.3 ppg and 2 rpg in three NCAA Tournament games in 1983 and 1984 (1-2 record). | Grady averaged 2.6 ppg in 10 NCAA Tournament games from 2017 through 2019 (7-3 record). |
Williams (8-5) | Illinois | Frank, an All-American in 2000-01, averaged 16.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 4.7 apg in nine NCAA Tournament games from 2000 through 2002 (6-3 record). | Da'Monte averaged 2 ppg and 4 rpg in four NCAA tourney games in 2021 and 2022. |
Childress (6-5) | Wake Forest | Randolph, an All-American as a senior, averaged 17.6 ppg, 3 rpg and 4.9 apg in 10 NCAA Tournament games in 1991 and from 1993 through 1995 (6-4 record) with high-scoring contest of 25 points against Iowa. | Brandon scored 7 points in one NCAA Tournament game in 2017. |
Hummers (6-3) | Princeton | Ed, a Final Four teammate of All-American Bill Bradley in 1965 before becoming an All-Ivy League second-team selection, averaged 10.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg in eight NCAA Tournament games in 1965 and 1967 (6-2 record). His brother, John Hummer, scored 28 points in a 1969 NCAA playoff game against St. John's. | Ian, a three-time All-Ivy League selection, collected 11 points and 8 rebounds in two-point loss against Kentucky in 2011 NCAA playoffs. |
Marbles (6-5) | Iowa | Roy, a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection, averaged 16.3 ppg and 6 rpg in 10 NCAA Tournament games from 1986 through 1989 (6-4 record) with high-scoring contest of 28 points against UTEP in 1987. | Roy Devyn collected 7 points and 5 assists in one NCAA Tournament game in 2014. |
Suttons (6-3) | Oklahoma State | Eddie averaged 6.7 ppg and 3.7 rpg in three NCAA Tournament games in 1958 (2-1 record). | Sean, a transfer from Kentucky, averaged 14.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 4.7 apg in six NCAA Tournament games in 1991 and 1992 (4-2 record). He led the Cowboys in assists and three-point shooting both seasons playing under his father/coach. |
Coffeys (5-4) | Minnesota | Richard averaged 5 ppg and 6.5 rpg in six NCAA Tournament games in 1989 and 1990 (4-2 record; DNP in 1989 opener) including two outings with more than 10 rebounds. | Amir averaged 20.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 3.3 apg in three NCAA Tournament games in 2017 and 2019 (1-2 record). Scored more than half of the Gophers' points with 27 in a 70-50 setback against Michigan State in 2019. |
Rautins (5-3) | Syracuse | Leo, who led the Orangemen in rebounds and assists as a senior when named an All-Big East Conference third-team selection, averaged 18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 3 apg in two NCAA Tournament games in 1983 (1-1 record) after transferring from Minnesota. | Andy, an All-Big East Conference second-team selection as a senior, averaged 13.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 3.7 apg in six NCAA Tournament games in 2009 and 2010 (4-2 record). |
Polites (5-4) | Florida State | Michael averaged 9 ppg and 6.3 rpg in three NCAA Tournament games in 1988 and 1991 (1-2 record). | Anthony averaged 8.7 ppg and 2.7 rpg in six NCAA Tournament games in 2019 and 2021 (4-2 record). He scored a career-high 22 points and contributed game-high 4 steals in second-round triumph against #5 seed Colorado in 2021. |
Brewers (4-3) | Arkansas | Ron, an All-American as a senior for the Hogs' 1978 Final Four team, averaged 19.2 ppg and 4 rpg in six NCAA Tournament games in 1977 and 1978 (4-2 record) with high of 22 points against Cal State Fullerton. | Ronnie, a two-time All-SEC selection, collected 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in one NCAA Tournament game in 2006 before declaring early for the NBA draft. |
Craigs (4-5) | Brigham Young | Robert, a member of the Cougars' 1951 NIT titlist, averaged 1.3 ppg in three NCAA Tournament games in 1950 and 1951 (1-2 record; DNP in two games in 1951). | Steve, a teammate of All-American Danny Ainge, averaged 6.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.7 apg and 1.2 spg in six NCAA Tournament games from 1979 through 1981 (3-3 record). |
Hardaways (4-3) | Memphis | Penny averaged 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5 assists in five NCAA Tournament games in 1992 and 1993 (3-2 record). | Jayden was scoreless in four minutes in 2022 opener before DNP in loss against Gonzaga. |
McKies (4-3) | South Carolina | BJ averaged 20 ppg and 3 rpg in two NCAA Tournament defeats in 1997 and 1998. | Justin averaged 4 ppg in five NCAA Tournament games for 2017 Final Four team (4-1 record). |
Wessons (4-4) | Ohio State | Keith averaged 0.8 ppg and 1.8 rpg in four NCAA Tournament games in 1983 and 1987 (2-2 record; redshirt in 1984-85). | Andre averaged 3 ppg and 4.3 rpg in four NCAA Tournament games in 2018 and 2019 (2-2 record). Kaleb averaged 9.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg in four NCAA Tournament games in 2018 and 2019 (2-2 record). |
Boeheims (3-3) | Syracuse | Jim averaged 14.5 ppg and 2 rpg in two NCAA Tournament games in 1966 (1-1 record). | Buddy averaged 17.3 ppg and 3.8 rpg in four NCAA Tournament games in 2019 and 2021, exploding for total of 55 points in his first two outings in 2021. |
Stephens (3-4) | Purdue | Everette averaged 11.7 ppg and 7 apg in six NCAA Tournament games from 1986 through 1988 (3-3 record) including four contests with at least eight assists. | Kendall, who led the Boilermakers in three-pointers as a freshman and sophomore, scored 5 points in one NCAA Tournament game in 2015 (DNP in 2016) before transferring to Nevada. |
Christensens (2-5) | Brigham Young | Hal, a member of 1951 NIT titlist, averaged 4.3 ppg and 1.7 rpg in three NCAA Tournament games the same year (1-2 record). He was chosen by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1953 NBA draft before having three sons play for the Cougars (two of them in NCAA playoffs). | Craig was scoreless in three NCAA Tournament games in 1979 and 1981 (1-2 record; DNP in two contests). Kurt was scoreless in one NCAA Tournament game in 1993 (0-1 record; DNP in opener). |
Haws (2-6) | Brigham Young | Marty, an All-WAC first-team selection as a senior when leading the Cougars in scoring with 18.5 ppg, averaged 9.3 ppg and 3.3 apg in four NCAA Tournament games in 1987, 1988 and 1990 (1-3 record). | Tyler, BYU's all-time scoring leader (2,720 points) who ranked among the nation's top seven scorers each of his last three seasons, averaged 18.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 2.3 apg in four NCAA Tournament games in 2010, 2014 and 2015 (1-3 record) with high-scoring game of 33 against Ole Miss in 2015. |
Henrys (2-2) | Kansas | Carl, a two-time All-Big Eight Conference selection after transferring from OCU, averaged 11.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg in two NCAA Tournament games in 1984 (1-1 record). | Xavier averaged 9.5 ppg and 7 rpg in two NCAA Tournament games as a freshman in 2010 before leaving early for the NBA draft. |
Kornets (2-4) | Vanderbilt | Frank, an All-SEC second-team selection as a senior before playing a couple of seasons in the NBA, averaged 11.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 2.8 apg in four NCAA Tournament games in 1988 and 1989 (2-2 record). | Luke averaged 11 ppg, 7 rpg and 2.5 bpg in two NCAA Tournament games in 2016 and 2017 (0-2 record). |
Lindseys (2-3) | Baylor | Dennis scored 5 points in one NCAA Tournament game in 1988. | Jake averaged 3 ppg and 2.8 apg in four NCAA Tournament games in 2016 and 2017 (2-2 record). |
Murrays (2-5) | Iowa | Kenyon averaged 10.3 ppg and 4.3 rpg in four NCAA playoff games in 1993 and 1996 under coach Tom Davis (2-2 record). | Twins Keegan and Kris DNP in 2021 opener against Grand Canyon. Keegan averaged 13.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg in two tourney defeats (2021 and 2022). Kris averaged 6 ppg and 5 rpg in three tourney defeats (2021 through 2023). |
Perrys (2-2) | Holy Cross | Ronnie Sr. averaged 16.7 ppg in three NCAA Tournament games in 1953 (2-1 record). | Ronnie Jr., a three-time All-American, scored 24 points in one NCAA Tournament game in 1980 (missed 1977 playoffs because of ankle injury). |
Hammonds (1-4) | Middle Tennessee | Kerry Sr. averaged 13.3 ppg and 9.8 rpg in four NCAA Tournament games in 1985, 1987 and 1989 (1-3 record). | Kerry II collected 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in one NCAA Tournament game in 2013. |
Mayes (1-3) | Florida State | Tharon averaged 18.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg and 2 apg in two NCAA Tournament games in 1988 and 1989. | Xavier Rathan-Mayes averaged 13 ppg, 6 rpg and 4 apg in two NCAA Tournament games in 2017 (1-1 record). |
Burtts (0-2) | Iona | Steve Sr., a two-time MAAC MVP and the Gaels' all-time leading scorer (2,534 points), collected 28 points and 4 rebounds in one NCAA Tournament game in 1984. | Steve Jr., a three-time All-MAAC selection and the Gaels' runner-up in career scoring (2,034 points), tallied 23 points in one NCAA Tournament game in 2006. |
Parkinsons (0-2) | Purdue | Bruce, an All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection as a junior, collected 10 points and 2 assists in one NCAA Tournament game in 1977. | Austin grabbed 2 rebounds in one NCAA Tournament game in 2003 (0-1 record; DNP in second round). |
Paytons (0-4) | Oregon State | Gary Sr., an NCAA unanimous first-team All-American as a senior, averaged 18 ppg, 4 rpg and 7 apg in three NCAA Tournament games from 1988 through 1990 (0-3 record). | Gary II, a juco transfer who became a two-time All-Pac-12 Conference first-team selection/Defensive Player of the Year collected 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in one NCAA Tournament game in 2016. |
Springers (0-2) | Iona | Gary Sr., a three-time All-MAAC selection, collected 8 points and 8 rebounds in one NCAA Tournament game in 1984. | Gary Jr., an All-MAAC third-team selection as a senior in 2008-09, scored 4 points in one NCAA Tournament game in 2006. |
College Exam: Day #4 For One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge
Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper prior to next pandemic or cowering in fetal position from college basketball version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, it's your opportunity to start taking online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.
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 tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Name the only conference to have five different members win the national championship although it has only one title in the previous 24 years. Hint: One of the five members to capture a title didn't participate in the NCAA playoffs from 1948 through 1993. The league came within eight points of going 0-11 in the tournament in 1995 and 1996.
2. Name the only conference to have all of its current members win at least one NCAA Tournament game in the 1990s. Hint: It's the only league to have all of its current members participate in at least 10 NCAA playoff games.
3. Who is the only coach to have more than 15 of his teams appear in the playoffs but none reach the Final Four? Hint: He has the worst record in NCAA Tournament history for any coach with at least 25 decisions and was also 1-5 in the NIT. He has more victories as a pitcher in the College World Series for his alma mater than basketball Final Four appearances. He is the only coach with more than 700 victories never to advance to the national semifinals.
4. Who is the only retired major college coach with more than 700 victories never to reach Final Four? Hint: He is the only coach to go at least 20 years between NCAA Tournament appearances with same school.
5. Who is the only coach to leave an NCAA champion before the next season for another coaching job? Hint: He is the only coach to earn a trip to the Final Four in his first college season despite finishing the season with at least 10 defeats. He is also the only coach to reach the NCAA final after finishing fourth or lower in regular-season conference standings. Moreover, he is one of just two coaches, both were also NBA head coaches, to take two different schools to the NCAA playoff championship game.
6. Who is the only coach to direct teams to the NCAA Final Four and the NBA Finals and compile a winning NCAA playoff career record? Hint: His son coached at three Division I schools, taking two of them to the NCAA playoffs.
7. Name the only school to become NCAA champion despite losing five home games during the regular season. Hint: The school didn't participate in nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments and twice in a four-year span in the mid-1970s lost a first-round game after reaching the national final the previous season.
8. Name the only coach of an NCAA titlist to previously play major league baseball. Hint: The Hall of Famer's 18-year college head coaching career was all at one university.
9. Who is the only coach to compile NCAA playoff records at least three games above .500 at two different schools (minimum of five victories at each school) before Rick Pitino arrived at Louisville? Hint: The coach earned a doctorate.
10. Name the only school to have six different coaches take the university to the Final Four. Hint: Of the schools winning at least two national championships, it's the only one in the select group to go more than 25 years between titles.
Elite Hate: Six Power-Conference Members Never Advancing to Regional Final
First things first! This admonition for handful of prominent schools is finally winning an NCAA playoff regional semifinal game. Arizona State, Northwestern and Texas A&M failed to capitalize on an opportunity to erase that resume blemish this year. Coach Buzz Williams may have only himself to blame for lame non-conference schedule, but he denounced Texas A&M's omission from 2022 NCAA playoffs and corresponding nixing of opportunity to finally advance to "Elite Eight."
Some fans hate that their university never has been in a position to secure one more victory and reach the Final Four love-fest. The Aggies are among a total of six existing power-conference members failing to advance to an NCAA Tournament regional final. The frustration list included Miami (Fla.) before the Hurricanes left dubious list with Midwest Regional success at 2022 party. Combining for 79 NCAA playoff appearances (including 2023) and 57-71 record (.445), following is an alphabetical list of the half-dozen "Elite Eight" no-shows from top six leagues:
Power-League Member | App. | Record | Pct. | Premier Players for Previous NCAA Tournament Teams |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arizona State | 17 | 15-18 | .455 | Larry Armstrong, Isaac Austin, Art Becker, Mario Bennett, Joe Caldwell, Jahii Carson, Tony Cerkvenik, Ike Diogu, Jamal Faulkner (transferred to Alabama), James Harden, Tra Holder, Lionel Hollins, Alton Lister, Scott Lloyd, Remy Martin (transferred to Kansas), Kurt Nimphius, Ron Riley, Byron Scott and Rudy White |
Boston College | 18 | 22-19 | .537 | Danya Abrams, Michael Adams, Steve Adelman, John Bagley, Troy Bell, Bob Carrington, Bill Curley, Terry Driscoll, Jared Dudley, Howard Eisley, John Garris, Jay Murphy, James "Scoonie" Penn (transferred to Ohio State), Tyrese Rice and Craig Smith |
Mississippi | 9 | 5-9 | .357 | Keith Carter, Carlos Clark, Terence Davis, Aaron Harper, Marshall Henderson, Marcus Hicks, Stefan Moody, Justin Reed, Ansu Sesay and Elston Turner |
Nebraska | 7 | 0-7 | .000 | Cookie Belcher, Jaron Boone, Derrick Chandler, Bernard Day, Venson Hamilton, Carl Hayes, Rich King, Tyronn Lue, Terran Petteway, Eric Piatkowski, Shavon Shields, Erick Strickland and Andre Woolridge (transferred to Iowa) |
Northwestern | 2 | 2-2 | .500 | Chase Audige, Boo Buie, Vic Law, Scottie Lindsey, Bryant McIntosh and Dererk Pardon |
Texas A&M | 15 | 13-16 | .448 | Billy Bob Barnett, John Beasley, Josh Carter, Winston Crite, Barry Davis, Tyler Davis, Mike Heitmann, Danuel House, Jalen Jones, Joseph Jones, Acie Law IV, Bennie Lenox, Khris Middleton, Steve Niles, Sonny Parker, Ronnie Peret, Claude Riley, Vernon Smith, Wade Taylor IV, Robert Williams, Rudy Woods and Rynn Wright |
They Had Game: "Oscar" Ali Designated One of 25 Greatest Actors of Century
At least LeBron James didn't win Will Smith slap-happy woke award for vilifying law enforcement. Deceased Kobe Bryant, who didn't study film making in college because he went straight to the NBA from high school, won an Oscar five years ago for "best animated short" (Dear Basketball). Six years ago, former Saint Mary's guard Mahershala Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar and also won an Academy Award for his best supporting actor role as a Miami drug dealer named Juan in Moonlight. Among his credits was role as Remy Danton in House of Cards. Ali, named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, secured his second Academy Award for Supporting Actor stemming from his portrayal of Dr. Don Shirley in Green Book.
Ali, previously known as Hershal Gilmore, averaged 3.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per game from 1992-93 through 1995-96 under coach Ernie Kent including 7 ppg as a senior. Said one of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century according to New York Times: "When I graduated, I no longer thought of myself as an athlete. Honestly, I kind of resented basketball by the end of my time there. I'd see guys on the team get chewed up, spat out, and I was personally threatened with being shipped off to the University of Denver. All in the name of wins and productivity."
While Plagiarist Biledumb tries to remain cogent as "windy" presidential actor by sniffing hair trying to ascend Stair Farce One, no one including Chris Rock seems to boast the credentials satisfying everyone to host the overtly-political Oscars these days although Dr. Fraudci probably craves the visibility. Nonetheless, legendary Oscar Robertson would definitely be accurate in a rambling, self-absorbed speech to describe their game as inferior to his era. In deference to woke-inundated Oscar Awards this past weekend, following is an alphabetical list of movie actors/directors nominees who "had game" as well-rehearsed college basketball players before becoming famous entertainers:
DAVID ADKINS, Denver
Comedian known as Sinbad had a show by that name on the Fox Network and was a lead actor in the movie Houseguest. He vaulted to TV prominence as a co-star on the hit series A Different World and later briefly hosted Vibe, a late-night talk show.
Adkins averaged 4.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for Denver in his varsity career from 1974-75 through 1977-78 when the Pioneers were classified as a major-college independent. He shot at least 50% from the floor all four seasons.
LLOYD VERNET "BEAU" BRIDGES, UCLA
Actor with the hit movie Fabulous Baker Boys among his credits. He is the son of Lloyd Bridges and brother of Jeff Bridges.
The 5-9 guard averaged 0.6 ppg and 1.4 rpg for UCLA's 1960-61 freshman team compiling a 20-2 record. He was a frosh teammate of Fred Slaughter, the starting center for the Bruins' first NCAA championship team in 1964.
DONNIE BURKS, St. John's
Boyish-appearing Burks was known for his performances in Broadway musicals (Hair, The American Clock and The Tap Dance Kid). His roles in several movies earned favorable reviews - The Pawnbroker, Shaft and Without a Trace. He had an American soul album (The Swingin' Sound of Soul) released in Europe and was manager of a band called Entourage.
Playmaker averaged 7.6 ppg and 1.9 rpg from 1960-61 through 1962-63 under coach Joe Lapchick after playing in high school under Lou Carnesecca. Burks appeared in 1961 NCAA Tournament against Wake Forest squad featuring All-American Len Chappell and eventual network analyst Billy Packer.
JIM CAVIEZEL, Bellevue (Wash.) Community College
Former Gap model played Jesus in Mel Gibson-directed The Passion of the Christ (2004) and was in Bobby Jones Stroke of Genius the same year. Also played the part of Slovnik in GI Jane (1997) with Demi Moore, Private Wit in Thin Red Line (1998), Catch in Angel Eyes (2001) with Jennifer Lopez, and Ashley Judd's husband in High Crimes (2002) with Morgan Freeman. In the TV drama Person of Interest on CBS, he played the role of Reese, a former member of the elite Special Forces who is now drinking heavily and at the end of his rope in New York City.
Bellevue coach Ernie Woods called Caviezel the hardest worker he had in 30 years. Caviezel's younger brother, Tim, played for the University of Washington, averaging 3.6 ppg in 1990-91 as a freshman and 4.2 ppg in 1991-92 as a sophomore before transferring to Long Beach State. Tim, a 6-7 swingman, subsequently transferred again to Western Washington, where Jim's wife, Kerri, ranks among the career leaders in five statistical categories for the women's basketball squad.
"Basketball taught me to train for every possible situation but always stay in the moment," Caviezel said.
CHEVY CHASE, Haverford (Pa.)
After a one-year stint on Saturday Night Live, Chevy quit to move to Los Angeles. Following mixed success in a variety of films, he became one of the biggest box-office draws in the U.S. in the 1980s with hits such as Caddyshack and National Lampoon's Vacation. One of his popular movie roles was as "Fletch" when he played for the Los Angeles Lakers in a dream sequence.
Chase was a JV basketball and soccer player as a freshman in 1962-63 before transferring to Bard (N.Y.).
MIKE CONNORS, UCLA
Real name of Armenian-descent actor, who had a hit TV series (Mannix) is Kerker J. Ohanian.
The 6-1, 180-pounder, nicknamed "Touch," averaged 4.6 ppg for UCLA's 1946-47 freshman squad compiling a 15-3 record.
JAMES DEAN, Santa Monica City College (Calif.)
Cultural icon of teenage disillusionment died at the age of 24 on September 30, 1955, in crash in his Porsche Spyder, which he owned for nine days. Social estrangement depicted by Dean was expressed in the title of his most celebrated film (Rebel Without a Cause/1955). After his demise, he became the first actor receiving a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor stemming from his role in East of Eden
"He was concise, authoritative, perceptive and alert to all that was around him (on the court)," community coach Samuel Crumpacker said. By the time Indiana native's freshman year was over, he transferred to UCLA to major in theater arts. "He was not a rebel," said Jim Grindle, a high school basketball teammate when Dean was the squad's leading scorer in all three sectional games his senior season. "Jimmy was an ordinary person with a tremendous amount of talent. A very good athlete."
DANE DiLIEGRO, New Hampshire
Actor as the Predator in the film Prey (2022).
The 6-9 DiLiegro averaged 6.9 ppg and 7.4 rpg from 2007-08 through 2010-11, leading the Wildcats in rebounding average all four seasons. His brother, Ross, was a seldom-used forward with Syracuse from 2003-04 through 2006-07.
MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN, Kankakee (Ill.) Community College/Alcorn State
Former bodyguard appeared in four films with Bruce Willis: Armageddon (1998; cast as Bear), Breakfast of Champions (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000) and Sin City (2005; cast as Manute, a powerful mobster). Breakout role occurred when he earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination in The Green Mile. Voiced a dog Sam in Cats & Dogs (2001) and played Colonel Attar, a gorilla, in Planet of the Apes (2001). Starred alongside his friend, The Rock, in The Scorpion King (2002) and was the criminal mastermind behemoth Kingpin in Daredevil (2003).
The 6-5 Duncan was a teammate of eventual Chicago State coach Kevin Jones with Kankakee's 31-4 squad in 1980-81 before enrolling at Alcorn State under coach Davey Whitney. An excerpt in the Braves' 1983-84 media guide said: "He adds size, speed and excellent jumping ability to the roster. A very hard worker, he'll add tremendous depth to the bench." After dropping out of college because of family problems, he spent several years digging ditches for a gas company in his hometown of Chicago. "He was a tough, physical player," Whitney told CBSSports.com. "He was undersized and didn't weigh much back then, but he was very strong and powerful. He was just tough. He'd knock guys around."
TIMON KYLE DURRETT, Alcorn State
Played role of Davis West in "Queen Sugar," a drama premiering in 2017 on Oprah Winfrey's OWN network.
The 6-6 Durrett averaged 1.8 ppg and 1.4 rpg in 12 contests in 1995-96, making 9-of-11 field-goal attempts.
BILL ENGESSER, Southern California
Film actor's roles included Jerry Reed's bodyguard in Gator (1976), Richard/"Bigfoot" in The Secrets of Isis (1975), Krakow the Werewolf in House on Bare Mountain (1962) and a bit part as a man in a gym in The Nutty Professor (1963).
Seven-foot-plus Engesser collected eight points and five rebounds in four basketball games in 1958-59.
TRAVON FREE, Long Beach State
After trying stand-up comedy, he commenced a comedy-writing career that saw him write for The Daily Show and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. For a while, he was the only black writer on staff at the Daily Show, eventually winning two Emmys. He worked on movie called "Two Distant Strangers," earning him an Oscar for "Best Live Action Short Film," at the 2021 Academy Awards. An untitled action feature he wrote (romantic spy thriller set in Africa) starring Idris Elba was purchased at auction by Apple TV+.
The 6-7 Free averaged 2.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg from 2003-04 through 2006-07 (medical redshirt in 2005-06). He made both of his field-goal attempts in four minutes of action in 2007 NCAA playoff setback against Tennessee. Free is one of the first bisexual players in NCAA history to come out of the closet.
DON GIBB, New Mexico/San Diego
Best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted outrageous fraternity brother "Ogre" in several installments of the Revenge of the Nerds film series, as Kumite fighter Ray Jackson in Bloodsport and as Leslie "Dr. Death" Krunchner on the HBO sitcom 1st & Ten. He left acting and went into the brewing business as co-owner of "Trader Todd's Adventure Beer. "
The 6-4 Gibb scored five points in two UNM basketball games in 1972-73 before transferring to USD and averaging 5 ppg plus 2.9 rpg with the Toreros in 1975-76 and 1976-77.
LOUIS GOSSETT JR., New York University
The son of a porter and maid, he turned to acting in high school after a leg injury temporarily impeded his hopes for a basketball career. Following his Broadway debut at 17, he attended NYU on an athletic scholarship while continuing to perform on TV and the stage. He won an Emmy in 1977 for his role in the TV miniseries Roots-Part I before winning an Oscar in 1982 as supporting actor in the box-office hit An Officer and a Gentleman.
Gossett played for NYU's freshman squad in the late 1950s.
JEROD HAYNES, Idaho
Actor and producer known for Project Blue Book (2019), The Village (2019) and Native Son (2019).
Chicago native was starter much of 2004-05 season when he finished runner-up for the Vandals in assists with 3 apg.
JASON JANEGO, Bucknell
Cofounder and co-president of RADiUS-TWC, the boutique arm of the Weinstein Company that was the first studio division dedicated to both multi-platform video on demand (VOD) and theatrical distribution. In February 2014, its film 20 Feet From Stardom won the Oscar for best documentary (feature). The company's first hit was 2012's Bachelorette.
Janego averaged 1.3 ppg from 1991-92 through 1993-94 under coach Charlie Woollum.
DENNY MILLER, UCLA
Miller became the first blond Tarzan in Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959), which lifted most of its footage from earlier Johnny Weissmuller movies. "Playing Tarzan is like being in a circus," says the 6-4 Miller on his web site. "Go ride that elephant, play with that chimp, swing on that vine. It's a terrific job for a guy who grew up to be a kid." Miller was a regular on Wagon Train in the early 1960s as Duke Shannon (his name was then Scott Miller) and played Juliet Prowse's husband in the TV series Meet Mona McClusky in 1965. For years, he was the "Gorton Fisherman," appearing in numerous commercials in his yellow rain gear.
Denny (7.4 ppg and 5.3 rpg in only eight games) and his brother Kent (7.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg) Miller were on the same Bruins squad in 1958-59 (16-9 record under coach John Wooden) as teammates of decathlete Rafer Johnson and eventual Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. Denny Miller spent three years in the U.S. Army between averaging 4 ppg in 1954-55 and 3.1 ppg and 2.3 rpg in 1957-58.
NYAMBI NYAMBI, Bucknell
His most prominent acting role has been Samuel (Senegalese waiter) as original cast member of CBS sitcom "Mike and Molly." Played law firm investigator Jay DiPersia in the CBS All Access legal drama The Good Fight since 2017.
Played for Bucknell from 1997-98 through 2000-01. His most productive season was as a freshman when he collected 12 points and 7 assists in 17 games.
PAUL ROBESON, Rutgers
World renowned orator and baritone was a 6-3, 215-pound two-way end who finally was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. Valedictorian when he graduated in 1919, learned to speak 15 languages and forge a glorious international career as a singer and actor. Earned law degree from Columbia, financing way through school by playing pro football with the Akron Pros and Milwaukee Badgers (scored two touchdowns). Robeson, son of a runaway slave, was an outspoken antifascist and champion of racial equality and socialist causes who remained enough of a supporter of the Soviet Union to get him blacklisted on Broadway. Founder of the Progressive Party played roles in 11 films and established works such as The Emperor Jones and Show Boat and became the first black to play Othello with a white cast.
Robeson was a center for Rutgers' basketball team.
LEON ROBINSON, Loyola Marymount
Goes by the stage name "Leon." He was a lover-boy idol in Waiting to Exhale, and played a similar character in Tim Reid's acclaimed Once Upon a Time ... When We Were Colored. Robinson was the ruthless killer, Kinette, in Cliffhanger and was Derice, the sweet and charming captain of the Jamaican bobsled team, in the surprise comedy hit, Cool Runnings. Leon appeared as a football teammate of Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves, and was the leading man as New York high school hoop sensation Earl (The Goat) Manigault in Above the Rim. Leon starred opposite Robin Givens in the TV mini-series, The Women of Brewster Place and was cast as Jesus in Madonna's controversial 1989 music video Like a Prayer. Received critical acclaim for his portrayal of two legendary singers in made-for-TV movies: David Ruffin in the 1998 NBC miniseries The Temptations and Little Richard in the self-titled 2000 NBC production based on the life of the rock-and-roll pioneer.
Robinson lettered for the Lions in 1978-79 when he averaged 2.9 ppg and 1.4 rpg. The Bronx native also attended Orange Coast Community College (Calif.).
NED ROLSMA, Iona/Tennessee-Martin
In CBS' "How I met Your Mother," he played the recurring bit role of Marcus Eriksen, brother of Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), one of the lead characters.
Seven-footer averaged 2.6 ppg and 1.8 rpg from 1997-98 through 2001-02.
RaMELL ROSS, Georgetown
Oscar-nominated cinematographer and director for his first movie, a 2018 documentary called Hale County This Morning, This Evening.
The 6-5 Ross averaged 1.7 ppg for the Hoyas from 2000-01 through 2004-05. Participated in 2001 NCAA playoffs (vs. Hampton as teammate of eventual players Mike Sweetney and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje) and 2005 NIT.
LAMMAN RUCKER, Duquesne
Began his career on daytime soap operas As the World Turns and All My Children before roles in Tyler Perry films Why Did I Get Married? (2007), Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010) and Meet the Browns (2008), plus its TV adaptation. In 2016, Rucker began starring as Jacob Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf. He also had a recurring guest spot on the fourth and final season of the hit UPN sitcom, Half & Half.
The 6-3 Rucker grabbed four rebounds in eight games in 1993-94.
TOM SELLECK, Southern California
Television and movie star won an Emmy in 1984 for his work in Magnum, P.I. He had a two-year stint (1974-75) on The Young and the Restless. His big-screen career got a major boost with the box-office hit Three Men and a Baby in 1987.
Selleck was a 6-4, 200-pound forward for Southern California. After serving as captain of the basketball team at Los Angeles Valley Community College, he scored four points in seven games for the Trojans in 1965-66 and was scoreless in three games in 1966-67. Excerpt from USC's school guide: "Agile and quick performer who adds depth on front line. Business administration major is good jumper with fine mobility. Rapidly improving shooter has impressed coaches with his hustle in practice. Needs to work on defense."
RON SHELTON, Westmont (Calif.)
Writer-director is synonymous with sports movies such as The Best of Times (high school football/1986), Bull Durham (minor league baseball/1988), White Men Can't Jump (street basketball/1992), Cobb (major league baseball/1994), Blue Chips (college basketball/1994), Tin Cup (golf/1996) and Play It to the Bone (boxing/1999). One of his non-sports films, Blaze, became a personal milestone for him as he went on to marry one of the stars, Toronto-born Lolita Davidovich. In Blue Chips, actor Nick Nolte was coach Pete Bell, who broke the rules in order to get the players he needed to remain competitive. "I played pickup into my 40s, right up until the time I made White Men Can't Jump," Shelton said. "I knew the game. I just loved that world."
Shelton scored 1,420 points in the mid-1960s, finishing the 20th Century among his alma mater's top 10 career scorers. He went on to play five seasons of Organized Baseball as a second baseman in the Baltimore Orioles' minor league system.
RON TAYLOR, Southern California
Best known for his roles as Lothar in The Rocketeer (1991) and Roc in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). He also played Al, the tall police detective whose face is never seen, in The Naked Gun (1988) and on the TV series Police Squad. Nicknamed "Tiny Ron," the seven-footer also appeared on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the role of the Hupyrian alien Maihar'du.
Three-year USC letterman in the late 1960s was a second-round choice by Seattle in the 1969 NBA draft (18th pick overall). He played three seasons in the ABA before competing professionally in Austria in the 1970s before starting his film career.
SINQUA WALLS, San Francisco
Breakthrough role in 2012 as Sir Lancelot in ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time. He played the role of Shawn in the TV series Power and was cast in Clint Eastwood's biopic The 15:17 to Paris about the thwarted 2015 Thalys train attack. Walls has portrayed Don Cornelius in BET's American Soul, a fictionalized drama series based on long-running TV dance show Soul Train. Previously, he was known for appearing in Friday Night Lights and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Played in five games for USF in 2005-06.
MIKE WARREN, UCLA
Television star portrayed Officer Bobby Hill on hit series Hill Street Blues. Also appeared in the following movies: The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990), Heaven is a Playground (1991), Buffalo Soldiers (1997) and After All (1999).
The 5-11, 160-pound guard averaged 16.6 ppg in 1965-66 as a sophomore, 12.7 in 1966-67 as junior and 12.1 in 1967-68 as senior under coach John Wooden. He was an All-NCAA Tournament selection in 1967 and 1968 when the Bruins won national titles by combining for a 59-1 record. Warren was named to Converse and Helms All-American squads as a junior. In his senior season, he was named to the 10-man United States Basketball Writers Association All-American team and was a third five selection on the Associated Press and United Press International All-American squads. Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 14th round of 1968 NBA draft. Excerpt from school guide: "Named on the Academic All-American first team. One of UCLA's all-time great ballhandlers as well as being an outstanding driver and jump shooter."
DENZEL WASHINGTON, Fordham
Oscar award-winning actor Denzel Washington earned rave reviews for his performance as a high school football coach in Remembering the Titans. Most Hollywood buffs remember Washington's performances as a regular on the TV drama series St. Elsewhere while becoming a critically-acclaimed screen actor and major box-office draw in the 1990s with his performances in hit films Malcolm X, The Pelican Brief, and The Preacher's Wife. The hits continued with Man on Fire (2004).
But what the most ardent moviegoer doesn't know, let alone remember, is that Washington was a walk-on freshman basketball player for Fordham under coach P.J. Carlesimo. Washington probably was acting when he said "he had game" in describing his basketball ability in an interview about his movie role as the father of the nation's No. 1 player in director Spike Lee's 1998 release He Got Game.
SEAN WHITESELL, Northern Iowa
The "Oz" producer and co-executive producer of "The Killing" is a brother of talent agent/WME co-CEO Patrick Whitesell and former Loyola of Chicago coach and current Buffalo mentor Jim Whitesell. Sean began his career acting with notable roles including a recurring character on HBO's Oz (portrayed cannibalistic inmate Donald Groves until character's execution) and appearances on Homicide: Life On the Street.
Walk-on with nickname "S" collected two points and three rebounds with UNI in six games in 1982-83.
KEEDAR WHITTLE, Norfolk State
Comedian and cast member of the hit BET comedy, "Hell Date." Actor known for Inglorious Kill Dogs (2014), Future Man (2017) and Life After Beth (2014). Portrayed Sean in AMC's The Walking Dead and Nino in four episodes of the CW's One Tree Hill.
J.C. product collected 14 points and 10 rebounds in nine games as a 6-8 forward in 2000-01.
IAN WHYTE, Iona/Clarion (Pa.)
Carved out a career as film baddie (including playing part of iconic Predator in Sci Fi action film Alien vs. Predator). In 2010, Whyte played Sheikh Sulieman in Clash of the Titans. Portrayed various characters in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones.
The 7-1 Whyte collected 9 points and 10 rebounds in 17 games for Iona in 1990-91 and 1991-92 before transferring to Clarion, where he averaged 6 ppg and 5.3 rpg in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
The Thrill is Gone: Four Former Final Four Schools Winless in Last 23 Tourneys
Whether we need backbone transplants or vaccine injections emphasized by Dr. Fraudci, these are bubble-wrapped times trying sports fans' souls. Even before cancellation of 2020 extravaganza, a significant number of schools turn sheepish at the mention of recent NCAA Tournament success. Among Division I institutions making at least 10 NCAA playoff appearances, four former Final Four participants - St. John's, San Francisco, Southern Methodist and Texas-El Paso - combined to go winless in the past 23 tourneys after Princeton upset Arizona.
DePaul and San Francisco each have won more than 20 NCAA tourney games but collaborated for only one win in the past 33 years (DePaul over Dayton in double overtime in 2004). With B.B. King "The Thrill is Gone" lyrics in the background, following is an alphabetical list of schools with at least 10 NCAA playoff appearances for which Sweet 16 is a distant memory:
School (Playoff Appearances) Recent NCAA Tournament Travails Boston College (18) winless past 15 tourneys with only one appearance Charlotte (11) no appearance past 17 tourneys; winless past 21 tourneys DePaul (22) no appearance past 18 tourneys; one victory past 33 tourneys George Washington (11) one victory past 28 years Georgia (12) one victory past 26 years Holy Cross (13) posted first win since 1953 seven seasons ago in play-in game Idaho State (11) winless past 45 tourneys Old Dominion (12) one victory past 27 tourneys Penn (24) one victory past 42 tourneys Pepperdine (13) one victory past 40 tourneys St. John's (30) winless past 23 tourneys San Francisco (17) appeared twice past 40 tourneys Santa Clara (11) no appearance past 26 tourneys Seattle (11) winless since 1964 Southern Methodist (12) winless past 34 tourneys Texas-El Paso (17) winless past 30 tourneys Utah State (22) one victory past 52 tourneys Weber State (15) winless past 23 tourneys Wyoming (16) one victory past 35 tourneys
Personal Items: Did You Knows Regarding 2023 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 Division I Tournament coaches should find that variety is the spice of this occasionally irreverent smorgasbord. Remember: If a morsel isn't appetizing, don't be a glutton for punishment in trying to comprehend what makes the coaching community tick. Just proceed directly to the next tidbit. Sooner or later, there's bound to be a factoid you can savor. Florida Atlantic's Dusty May and UC Santa Barbara's Joe Pasternack - student managers under Indiana coach Bob Knight - are among the following 2023 playoff mentors:
ALABAMA: Detroit-area prep coach Nate Oats joined Bobby Hurley's Buffalo staff directly with junior college recruit Justin Moss in 2013 before Moss became Mid-American Conference Player of the Year the next season and one year before center Raheem Johnson aligned with the Bulls as another J.C. signee. Moss and Johnson played under Oats at Romulus H.S.
ARIZONA: Tommy Lloyd's son, Liam, averaged 1.5 ppg for Grand Canyon the previous two seasons before transferring to Northern Arizona and averaging 6 ppg plus 2.2 apg as a starter. During the construction of their home in Spokane while Gonzaga's associate head coach, his family lived in the childhood residence of Zags legend and Hall of Famer John Stockton. Lloyd, known for his international recruiting, spent several months backpacking on several continents before commencing his coaching career in the late 1990s.
ARIZONA STATE: Bobby Hurley appeared in the 1994 feature film Blue Chips, where he played for the Indiana team under coach Bob Knight. Hurley was a Duke teammate of Northwestern coach Chris Collins in 1992-93.
ARKANSAS: Among Eric Musselman's teammates at San Diego was Mike Whitmarsh, who won a silver medal in beach volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Musselman played on same high school team as former NBA player Scott Roth and former NFL Pro Bowl punter Tom Tupa. Musselman's wife, Danyelle, is a former on-air personality and anchor for ESPN, FOX Sports, and the NFL Network. He and his father, Bill, were first father-son combination to both become NBA head coaches.
AUBURN: As an undergraduate at Boston College, Bruce Pearl was Tom Davis' administrative assistant before serving as an assistant coach under Davis at Stanford and Iowa.
BAYLOR: Scott Drew served as coach of an Athletes In Action (AIA) squad touring Croatia and Bosnia in the summer of 1997.
BOISE STATE: Leon Rice's son, Max, is the Broncos' runner-up in scoring this season with 13.9 ppg.
UC SANTA BARBARA: Joe Pasternack III was a student manager for Indiana under coach Bob Knight. Pasternack's brother-in-law, Roxy Bernstein, is a college basketball play-by-play announcer for ESPN.
COLGATE: Matt Langel played under coach Fran Dunphy with Penn before serving as an assistant coach under him at Penn and Temple. As a senior in 1999-00, Langel was the Quakers' runner-up in scoring and assists for an NCAA playoff team.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: One of Pat Kelsey's teammates with Wyoming as a freshman in 1993-94 was Theo Ratliff, who played 16 seasons in the NBA with nine different franchises. After transferring back home to Cincinnati to play with Xavier, one of his teammates was James Posey, who played 12 seasons in the NBA with seven different franchises.
CONNECTICUT: One of Dan Hurley's assistants at previous pitstops Wagner and Rhode Island was brother Bobby Hurley, an All-American guard for Duke's back-to-back NCAA titlists in 1991 and 1992 and current Arizona State coach.
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.
DRAKE: Darian DeVries' brother, Jared, played in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
DUKE: Jon Scheyer was raised in his father's Jewish religion and became a Bar Mitzvah. Scheyer was known as the "Jewish Jordan" and his Illinois high school state championship squad (Glenbrook North; prep alma mater of Northwestern coach and fellow Blue Devils guard Chris Collins) is the nation's only one known to have included an all-Jewish starting lineup. He received a scholarship offer from then Marquette coach Tom Crean as an eighth-grader before playing in high school under former Illini coach Bruce Weber's brother.
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: Tobin Anderson's top two scorers - pint-sized Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton - tagged along with him from St. Thomas Aquinas College NY after the Spartans finished their 2021-22 season as an NCAA Division II Tournament East Region finalist.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Dusty May was hired by athletic director Brian White, the brother of then-Florida coach and May's boss Mike White. May's assistant coach Todd Abernethy is the son of Tom Abernethy, a starting forward for the nation's last undefeated team (Indiana in 1975-76).
FURMAN: Bob Richey has won more than 20 games five times in his six seasons with the Paladins.
GONZAGA: Mark Few never was a head coach at any level before inheriting that position after Dan Monson departed for Minnesota. Few was an assistant for two different Oregon high schools before becoming an aide with the Zags under Dan Fitzgerald and Monson. Few's wedding vows in 1994 were exchanged with Rev. Norm Few, the father of the groom.
GRAND CANYON: Bryce Drew's brother-in-law is Casey Shaw, a second-round draft choice by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1998 out of Toledo.
HOUSTON: Kelvin Sampson was a three-year baseball letterman for Pembroke (N.C.) State.
HOWARD UNIVERSITY: Kenny Blakeney co-founded a fashion accessory company named Sportin' Styles.
ILLINOIS: Brad Underwood, as a juco recruit, took a visit to Oklahoma State, where his player host at the time was current Kansas bench boss Bill Self. Underwood's son, Tyler, played sparingly under his father with OSU and the Illini.
INDIANA: Mike Woodson was head coach for Hoosiers Big Ten Player of the Year Jared Jeffries with the New York Knicks in 2011-12 (4.4 ppg and 3.9 rpg). Woodson's daughter, Alexis, played volleyball one season for IU. Woodson was an assistant coach for six different NBA franchises.
IONA: 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 led in assists by Pitino for the second straight season.
IOWA: Fran McCaffery is believed to have been the youngest coach (28 years old) ever to take a team to the NCAA Tournament when he directed Lehigh to the 1988 playoffs. His wife, the former Margaret Nowlin, ranks among the top scorers in Notre Dame history. She was the catalyst behind the first-ever NCAA women's appearance by the Irish in 1992 and was named MVP of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament that year. Margaret served as an assistant coach at her alma mater in 1996-97.
IOWA STATE: T.J. Otzelberger was an assistant coach with the Cyclones under his three predecessors - Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm. Otzelberger's wife, Alison Lacey, was a three-time All-Big 12 Conference selection for ISU women's basketball program.
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). San Antonio Spurs CEO R.C. Buford was a groomsman in Self's wedding.
KANSAS STATE: Jerome Tang earned his bachelor's degree via online learning with Charter Oak State College. His father is half Black and half Chinese and his mother is Indian.
KENNESAW STATE: One of Amir Abdur-Rahim's 13 siblings is Shareef Abdur-Rahim, an All-American forward with California as a freshman in 1995-96 when averaging 21.1 ppg and 8.4 rpg.
KENT STATE: Rob Senderoff is Jewish and a member of Temple Beth Shalom. He was a student assistant coach in college at Albany (N.Y.).
KENTUCKY: John Calipari lettered two years for UNC-Wilmington before transferring to Clarion (Pa.) State.
LOUISIANA: Bob Marlin won more than 20 games each of his five seasons as coach at Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College from 1990-91 through 1994-95, including a 31-5 record in 1993 for the NJCAA champion. One of his assistants during his J.C. stint was eventual UALR coach Steve Shields..
MARQUETTE: When Shaka Smart graduated, he was the career assists leader for Kenyon College, a liberal arts school in Ohio.
MARYLAND: Kevin Willard played under his father, Ralph, at Western Kentucky and Pittsburgh. Kevin went on to become a coaching intern with the Boston Celtics under Rick Pitino, who was Kentucky's coach in 1989-90 when Ralph was an assistant there with Billy Donovan, Herb Sendek and Tubby Smith.
MEMPHIS: Penny Hardaway's son, Jayden, averaged 3.3 ppg for the Tigers the past four seasons. Hardaway's nickname stems from his grandmother calling him "Pretty" with a southern drawl, thus sounding like "Penny."
MIAMI (FLA.): Providence product Jim Larranaga spent one season as player-coach for a professional team in Belgium. He had six former assistants serving as a Division I head coach in 2005-06. Larranaga's high school teammates in New York City included eventual South Carolina All-American Kevin Joyce (two years ahead of him).
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 STATE: Chris Jans was head coach for three different junior colleges. Despite directing Bowling Green to a 20-win campaign on the heels of a 20-loss season, he was fired after one year with the Falcons after being caught on video drunk in a campus bar making inappropriate comments towards a young woman.
MISSOURI: Dennis Gates' wife, Jocelyn, was the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Boston College. Unlike most of his colleagues, Gates continued to don a suit during coronavirus-impacted season and thereafter.
MONTANA STATE: Danny Sprinkle was Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year with the Bobcats in 1995-96 (9.8 ppg and 43.7 3FG%) before earning all-league honors the next season (13.7 ppg and 48.8 3FG%).
NEVADA: Steve Alford amassed the fourth-best career free-throw percentage in Division I history at the time (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.).
UNC ASHEVILLE: In addition to being a three-year starter in basketball for Milligan (Tenn.), Mike Morrell was a two-time all-league selection in golf.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Kevin Keatts joined Rick Pitino's staff directly with George Mason transfer Luke Hancock in 2011. Hancock had played for him at Hargrave Military Academy (Va.). The next season, forward Montrezl Harrell aligned with the Cardinals after the Hargrave product de-committed from Virginia Tech following coach Seth Greenberg's firing.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY: Darrin Horn achieved the rare distinction of scoring his team's first points of the season four consecutive campaigns with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers from 1991-92 through 1994-95.
NORTHWESTERN: Chris Collins was a Duke teammate of Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley in 1992-93.
ORAL ROBERTS: Paul Mills is the son of a pastor in the Houston-area community of Aldine, Tex. After graduating from college, he got a job as a bond analyst with a bank, moonlighting as coach at a local Christian Academy.
PENN STATE: Micah Shrewsberry was an assistant under Brad Stevens for Butler's back-to-back NCAA playoff runner-ups in 2010 and 2011.
PITTSBURGH: Jeff Capel III, who played professionally in France, was the youngest head coach in Division I at 27 when he was appointed bench boss at Virginia Commonwealth in 2002-03.
PRINCETON: Mitch Henderson, a 1994 MLB draft choice in 29th round by the New York Yankees as an outfielder, was a research associate for Lendx Corporation in San Francisco before entering the coaching profession.
PROVIDENCE: Ed Cooley was a three-year team captain for Stonehill (Mass.).
PURDUE: Matt Painter's father attended Big Ten Conference rival Indiana.
RUTGERS: Steve Pikiell played with his brother, Tim, for Connecticut under coach Jim Calhoun in 1989-90 and 1990-91.
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: Brian Dutcher's contract buyout is only $1 million, not in the $6 million range for any other college, if he has a chance to coach his alma mater (Minnesota). His three sisters and wife also attended Minnesota, where his father, Jim, coached for 11 seasons from mid-1970s to mid-1980s and still resides.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE: Brad Korn (6-9) played for Southern Illinois in five NCAA Tournament games against power-conference opponents from 2002 through 2004 (playoff high of 15 points against Alabama as a senior).
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Andy Enfield (Johns Hopkins MD '91) set the all-time NCAA career free-throw percentage record (92.5%; 431-of-466). His wife, Amanda Marcum, is a Maxim cover girl.
TENNESSEE: Texas' turnaround in 1998-99 (19-13 record after going 14-17 in 1997-98 under Tom Penders) enabled Rick Barnes to become the only active coach to take two different schools to the NCAA playoffs in his maiden voyage with them after they posted a losing mark the previous campaign. He previously achieved the feat with Providence in the late 1980s. Barnes posted the nation's best winning percentage by a first-year major college head coach in 1987-88 when he went 20-10 (.667) in his lone season with George Mason.
TEXAS: Rodney Terry has coached for a total of seven different high schools and colleges in the Longhorn State.
TEXAS A&M: 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.
TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI: Steve Lutz played and coached in junior college.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN: Jamie Dixon, an All-SWC second-team selection as a senior with TCU, was a seventh-round NBA draft choice of the Washington Bullets in 1987. In 1983-84, he was a freshman teammate of former NBA guard and head coach Scott Brooks (coached Washington Wizards for five seasons from 2016-17 to 2020-21).
TEXAS SOUTHERN: Johnny Jones is the only individual in LSU history to play and coach with the Tigers at the Final Four. He achieved the feat in a six-year span. Jones averaged 3.3 ppg as a freshman guard for LSU's 31-5 team in 1981 and later was an assistant coach for the Tigers for 12 seasons (reached national semifinals in 1986). They were eliminated both years by the eventual national champion (Indiana in 1981 and Louisville in 1986). Jones was a high teammate in DeRidder, La., of ex-McNeese State coach Dave Simmons and former UCLA/11-year NBA player Mike Sanders.
UCLA: Mick Cronin's father, Harold "Hep" Cronin, compiled more than 400 victories as a high school coach in the greater Cincinnati area. Hep also scouted for the Atlanta Braves and was chiefly responsible for them selecting Cincy product Drew Denson as their No. 1 draftee in 1984 (19th overall pick).
UTAH STATE: Ryan Odom was a college teammate of Longwood coach Griff Aldrich at Hampden-Sydney (Va.)
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 former Indiana and Illinois State women's coach Kathi Bennett.
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: Mike Rhoades led Lebanon Valley (Pa.) to the 1994 NCAA Division III title and graduated as the college's all-time leading scorer.
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).
XAVIER: Sean Miller was Big East Conference Freshman of the Year in 1987-88 with Pittsburgh (9.3 ppg, 5.8 apg, 85.1 FT%). He has the only two single-season free-throw shooting figures higher than 90% in Pitt history (.914 in in 1988-89 and .905 in 1990-91).
Degrees of Success: Educational Backgrounds of 2023 NCAA Tourney Coaches
NCAA Tournament head coaches need to draw upon all of their resources to motivate their respective clubs in postseason play. Coach K successor Jon Scheyer is among five Duke graduates in the following alphabetical list assessing the educational backgrounds of most of the 68 mentors in 2023 NCAA playoffs:
2023 NCAA Tourney Coach | School | Bachelor's | Master's |
---|---|---|---|
Amir Shareef Abdur-Rahim | Kennesaw State | General Business | |
Steve Alford | Nevada | Business | |
Tobin Anderson | Fairleigh Dickinson | American Studies | Athletic Administration |
Rick Barnes | Tennessee | Health & Physical Education | |
John Becker | Vermont | History | Information Systems |
Randy Bennett | Saint Mary's | Biology | |
Tony Bennett | Virginia | Humanities | |
Kenny Blakeney | Howard University | History | |
John Calipari | Kentucky | Marketing | |
Jeff Capel III | Pittsburgh | History | |
Chris Collins | Northwestern | Sociology | |
Ed Cooley | Providence | History | |
Mick Cronin | UCLA | History | |
Darian DeVries | Drake | Elementary Education | College Counseling |
Jamie Dixon | Texas Christian | Finance | Economics |
Bryce Drew | Grand Canyon | Sports Management | |
Scott Drew | Baylor | Liberal Arts | Liberal Studies |
Brian Dutcher | San Diego State | Physical Education | Physical Education & Athletic Administration |
Andy Enfield | Southern California | Economics | Business Administration |
Mark Few | Gonzaga | Physical Education | Athletic Administration |
Dennis Gates | Missouri | Sociology | Adult Education & Human Resource Development |
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway | Memphis | Professional Studies | |
Mitch Henderson | Princeton | Economics | |
Darrin Horn | Northern Kentucky | Allied Language Arts | |
Bob Huggins | West Virginia | Physical Education | Health Administration |
Bobby Hurley | Arizona State | Sociology | |
Dan Hurley | Connecticut | Business | |
Tom Izzo | Michigan State | Health and Physical Education | |
Chris Jans | Mississippi State | Marketing & Finance | |
Johnny Jones | Texas Southern | General Studies | |
Kevin Keatts | North Carolina State | unavailable | |
Pat Kelsey | College of Charleston | Business Administration & Marketing | |
Brad Korn | Southeast Missouri | Marketing | Administrative Studies |
Matt Langel | Colgate | Management | |
Jim Larranaga | Miami (Fla.) | Economics | |
Tommy Lloyd | Arizona | Biology | |
Steve Lutz | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | Kinesiology | Physical Education |
Bob Marlin | Louisiana | Physical Education | Physical Education |
Dusty May | Florida Atlantic | unavailable | |
Fran McCaffery | Iowa | Economics | Education |
Greg McDermott | Creighton | History | Sports Management |
Sean Miller | Xavier | Communications | |
Paul Mills | Oral Roberts | Finance | |
Mike Morrell | UNC Asheville | History | |
Eric Musselman | Arkansas | unavailable | |
Nate Oats | Alabama | Math Education | |
Ryan Odom | Utah State | Economics | |
T.J. Otzelberger | Iowa State | Business Administration | Curriculum & Instruction |
Matt Painter | Purdue | Sociology | |
Joe Pasternack | UC Santa Barbara | Marketing | |
Bruce Pearl | Auburn | Business Administration | |
Steve Pikiell | Rutgers | Finance | |
Rick Pitino | Iona | Political Science | |
Mike Rhoades | Virginia Commonwealth | History | |
Leon Rice | Boise State | Physical Education | Athletic Administration, Management & Program Development |
Bob Richey | Furman | Business Management | |
Kelvin Sampson | Houston | Health & Physical Education | Coaching & Administration |
Jon Scheyer | Duke | History | |
Bill Self | Kansas | Business | Athletic Administration |
Rob Senderoff | Kent State | Business Administration | Sports Studies |
Micah Shrewsberry | Penn State | Physical Education | Sports Management |
Shaka Smart | Marquette | History | Social Science |
Danny Sprinkle | Montana State | Health & Human Development | |
Jerome Tang | Kansas State | unavailable | |
Rodney Terry | Texas | Business Administration | |
Brad Underwood | Illinois | Radio & TV Communications | |
Kevin Willard | Maryland | unavailable | |
Brent "Buzz" Williams | Texas A&M | Kinesiology | Kinesiology |
Mike Woodson | Indiana | unavailable |
Shootouts at NCAA Corrals: Only 1 Game Had 2 Players Score > 40 Points
There has been a quarantine for scoring outbreaks in NCAA Tournament thus far this Century. What's really alarming to playoff pundits is there hasn't been an NCAA playoff game since 1998 where an individual scored at least 40 points and opponent had team-high scorer with at least 30 points.
The only playoff game in history when each squad had a player score more than 40 points was Kentucky beating Notre Dame in 1970 regional semifinals. It doesn't seem possible, but Irish All-American guard Austin Carr erupted for at least 45 points in three NCAA tourney defeats in 1970 and 1971.
A couple of relatively-obscure guards - Michigan's Garde Thompson (career scoring average of 7.2 ppg) and Fairleigh Dickinson's Elijah Allen (10 ppg) - are included among the 13 NCAA playoff shootouts - three in 1990 - when an individual scored at least 40 points while an opponent had team-high scorer with at least 30 points:
Year (Tourney Round) | Result of Playoff Game When Player Scored At Least 40 and Foe Tallied At Least 30 |
---|---|
1953 (National Third) | Washington 88 (Bob Houbregs game-high 42), Louisiana State 69 (Bob Pettit team-high 36) |
1961 (National Third) | St. Joseph's 127 (Jack Egan 42), Utah 120 (Billy McGill 34)**** |
1970 (Regional Semifinals) | Kentucky 109 (Dan Issel 44), Notre Dame 99 (Austin Carr 52) |
1970 (Regional Third) | Iowa 121 (Chad Calabria/John Johnson 31), Notre Dame 106 (Austin Carr 45) |
1971 (Regional Third) | Houston 119 (James "Poo" Welch 38), Notre Dame 106 (Austin Carr 47) |
1984 (Second Round) | #10 seed Dayton 89 (Roosevelt Chapman 41), #2 Oklahoma 85 (Wayman Tisdale 36) |
1987 (First Round) | #9 Michigan 97 (Garde Thompson 33), #8 Navy 82 (David Robinson 50) |
1988 (First Round) | #8 Auburn 90 (Chris Morris 36), #9 Bradley 86 (Hersey Hawkins 44) |
1989 (Second Round) | #5 North Carolina State 102 (Rodney Monroe 40), #4 Iowa 96 (Ed Horton 32)** |
1990 (First Round) | #10 Texas 100 (Travis Mays 44), #7 Georgia 88 (Alec Kessler 33) |
1990 (Regional Final) | #4 Georgia Tech 93 (Dennis Scott 40), #6 Minnesota 91 (Willie Burton 35) |
1990 (Regional Final) | #1 UNLV 131 (Stacey Augmon 33), #11 Loyola Marymount 101 (Greg "Bo" Kimble 42) |
1998 (First Round) | #2 Connecticut 93 (Richard "Rip" Hamilton 30), #15 Fairleigh Dickinson 85 (Elijah Allen 43) |
**Double Overtime.
****Four Overtimes.
In 1963, St. Joseph's became the only school to win back-to-back NCAA tourney contests despite an individual opponent erupting for at least 40 points. Two years ago, Purdue guard Carsen Edwards became the ninth different all-in-vain scoring machine to be on the losing end despite supplying at least 40 points in a single playoff game. In addition to the five players acknowledged in summary above, following is a list including Edwards and three other such all-for-naught individuals:
Year (Tourney Round) | Result of NCAA Playoff Game When Player on Losing Team Scored At Least 40 Points |
---|---|
1963 (First Round) | St. Joseph's 82 (Steve Courtin 21), Princeton 81 (Bill Bradley 40)* |
1963 (Regional Semifinals) | St. Joseph's 97 (Jim Boyle/Tom Wynne 23), West Virginia 88 (Rod Thorn 44) |
1976 (Regional Final) | Michigan 95 (Rickey Green 23), Missouri 88 (Willie Smith 43) |
2019 (Regional Final) | Virginia 80 (Kyle Guy 25), Purdue 75 (Carsen Edwards 42)* |
*Overtime.
Texas Tech Nearly Joined List of Schools Losing to Titlist Three Straight Years
A total of 10 power-conference members - Boston College, Clemson, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington - never have incurred an NCAA tourney setback against an opponent capturing the NCAA title that season. On the other end of the spectrum, Kansas has an all-time high 13 such reversals (1940-53-57-66-71-91-93-97 and 2002-03-12-16-18). Right behind KU are Duke (12 defeats), Utah (11), North Carolina (11) and Oklahoma (10).
Texas Tech, losing in back-to-back playoffs against titlists Villanova (2018) and Virginia (2019) before 2020 tourney cancellation, earned an at-large bid two seasons ago. If Arkansas had won the national title that year, the Red Raiders would have been eliminated by the eventual national champion for the third consecutive NCAA playoff. They would have joined the following chronological list of schools in rare category of bowing out in back-to-back-to-back tourneys against kingpin:
School | Coach (Vital Players All Three Years) | Tourney Defeats vs. NCAA Champion in Three Straight Seasons |
---|---|---|
New Mexico State | Lou Henson (Jimmy Collins/Sam Lacey) | Lost to UCLA in 1968 (Regional Semifinal), 1969 (Regional Semifinal) and 1970 (National Semifinal) |
Long Beach State | Jerry Tarkanian (no player in regular rotation all three seasons) | Lost to UCLA in 1970 (Regional Semifinal), 1971 (Regional Final) and 1972 (Regional Final) |
Louisiana State | Dale Brown (Greg Cook/Ethan Martin/Willie Sims) | Lost to Michigan State in 1979 (Regional Semifinal), Louisville in 1980 (Regional Final) and Indiana in 1981 (National Semifinal) |
Houston | Guy Lewis (Eric Dickens/Reid Gettys/Akeem Olajuwon/Michael Young) | Lost to North Carolina in 1982 (National Semifinal), North Carolina State in 1983 (National Final) and Georgetown in 1984 (National Final) |
Duke | Mike Krzyzewski (Danny Ferry/Billy King/John Smith/Quin Snyder/Kevin Strickland) | Lost to Louisville in 1986 (National Final), Indiana in 1987 (Regional Semifinal) and Kansas in 1988 (National Semifinal) |
Michigan | Steve Fisher (Juwan Howard/Ray Jackson/Jimmy King/Jalen Rose) | Lost to Duke in 1992 (National Final), North Carolina in 1993 (National Final) and Arkansas in 1994 (Regional Final) |
Four seasons ago, Texas Tech joined the following chronological list of schools - including Duke three additional times and Villanova twice - eliminated in back-to-back years in NCAA playoffs by teams winning national title those seasons:
- Dartmouth (regular-rotation players both years: George Munroe/James Olsen/Stanley Skaug) - defeated in tourney by champions Wisconsin in 1941 and Stanford in 1942
- NYU (Don Forman/Frank Mangiapane/Dolph Schayes/Sid Tanenbaum) - Oklahoma A&M in 1945 and 1946
- St. John's (Ron MacGilvray/Jack McMahon/Bob Zawoluk) - Kentucky in 1951 and Kansas in 1952
- Utah (Gary Bergen/Morris Buckwalter/Art Bunte/Curtis Jenson) - San Francisco in 1955 and 1956
- Ohio State (Gary Gearhart/John Havlicek/Bob Knight/Jerry Lucas/Mel Nowell) - Cincinnati in 1961 and 1962
- Duke (Jay Buckley/Denny Ferguson/Buzz Harrison/Ron Herbster/Jeff Mullins/Hack Tison) - Loyola of Chicago in 1963 and UCLA in 1964
- San Francisco (Joe Ellis/Ollie Johnson/Erwin Mueller) - UCLA in 1964 and 1965
- Houston (Don Chaney/Elvin Hayes/Theodis Lee/Vern Lewis/Ken Spain) - UCLA in 1967 and 1968
- Santa Clara (Dennis Awtrey/Chris Dempsey/Joe Diffey/Terry O'Brien/Bud Ogden/Ralph Ogden) - UCLA in 1968 and 1969
- Michigan (Dave Baxter/Wayman Britt/Steve Grote/John Robinson) - UCLA in 1975 and Indiana in 1976
- UNLV (Eric Booker/Paul Brozovich/Jeff Collins/Danny Tarkanian) - North Carolina State in 1983 and Georgetown in 1984
- Dayton (Dan Christie/Damon Goodwin/Ted Harris/Larry Schellenberg/Sedric Toney/Jeff Zern) - Georgetown in 1984 and Villanova in 1985
- North Carolina (Brad Daugherty/Steve Hale/Curtis Hunter/Warren Martin/Dave Popson/Kenny Smith/Ranzino Smith/Joe Wolf) - Villanova in 1985 and Louisville in 1986
- Auburn (Frank Ford/Terrance Howard/Mike Jones/Jeff Moore/Chris Morris/Gerald White) - Louisville in 1986 and Indiana in 1987
- Louisiana State (Oliver Brown/Jose Vargas/Anthony Wilson/Bernard Woodside) - Louisville in 1986 and Indiana in 1987
- Duke (Alaa Abdelnaby/Robert Brickey/Danny Ferry/Billy King/John Smith/Quin Snyder/Kevin Strickland) - Indiana in 1987 and Kansas in 1988
- Xavier (Tyrone Hill/Stan Kimbrough/Derek Strong/Jamal Walker) - Kansas in 1988 and Michigan in 1989
- Iowa (Val Barnes/Rodell Davis/Acie Earl/James Moses/Troy Skinner/Kevin Smith/Chris Street/James Winters) - Duke in 1991 and 1992
- Duke (William Avery/Shane Battier/Elton Brand/Chris Burgess/Chris Carrawell/Trajan Langdon) - Kentucky in 1998 and Connecticut in 1999
- Kansas (Nick Collison/Kirk Hinrich/Keith Langford/Aaron Miles) - Maryland in 2002 and Syracuse in 2003
- Villanova (Randy Foye/Jason Fraser/Kyle Lowry/Mike Nardi/Allan Ray/Will Sheridan) - North Carolina in 2005 and Florida in 2006
- UCLA (Alfred Aboya/Aaron Affalo/Darren Collison/Lorenzo Mata-Real/Luc Richard Mbah a Moute/Michael Roll) - Florida in 2006 and 2007
- Villanova (Dwayne Anderson/Shane Clark/Dante Cunningham/Corey Fisher/Antonio Pena/Reggie Redding/Scottie Reynolds/Corey Stokes) - Kansas in 2008 and North Carolina in 2009
- Butler (Zach Hahn/Matt Howard/Shelvin Mack/Ronald Nored/Shawn Vanzant) - Duke in 2010 and Connecticut in 2011
- Michigan State (Matt Costello/Branden Dawson/Alvin Ellis/Gavin Schilling/Travis Trice/Denzel Valentine) - Connecticut in 2014 and Duke in 2015
- Texas Tech (Jarrett Culver/Brandone Francis/David Moretti/Norense Odiase) - Villanova in 2018 and Virginia in 2019
Unsung Heroes: Saving Ryan's Nearly Private Tale of NCAA Playoff Success
Since they usually weren't the focal point of offense, their postseason competition achievement can get lost in normal All-American traffic for the 14 schools boasting multiple national championships. Despite never participating in a Final Four themselves, there are often-overlooked players who exhibited authentic "One Shining Moment" in NCAA Tournament for a blue-blood program. Two undervalued guards from prominent programs deserving special mention are:
- Ryan Robertson - 31-point outburst for Kansas against Kentucky in overtime in 1999 is higher than all-time tourney best for any of his more-publicized teammates during four-year career (including Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Scot Pollard and Jacque Vaughn). KU's Robertson, taking only 10 field-goal attempts, is one of six opposing players (including Dayton's Henry Finkel in 1966, Notre Dame's Austin Carr in 1970, Indiana's Kent Benson in 1975, Iowa State's Justus Thigpen Jr. in 1992 and Wichita State's Cleanthony Early in 2014) to score more than 30 points in defeat amid UK's NCAA tourney-high 131 victories. Among the 14 schools with multiple NCAA titles, Academic All-American Robertson has the lowest career scoring average (7.4 ppg) for a "blue-blood school" individual meeting the challenge and registering more than 30 points in a single NCAA playoff game.
- Ranzino Smith - 27-point uprising for North Carolina in only 18 minutes against Loyola Marymount in 1988 matches Michael Jordan's NCAA playoff high (against Temple in 1984). Among the 14 NCAA titlists in question, Smith has the lowest career scoring average (6.5 ppg) for an individual supplying more than 25 points in a single NCAA playoff game.
Eleven of the 13 tourney games summarized below occurred in first or second round. Restricting alphabetical list to schools capturing more than one NCAA title, the following individuals tallied at least 25 points in an NCAA playoff game despite college career scoring average lower than 13 ppg and subsequently not selected in first round of NBA draft:
Multiple-Title School | Unsung Hero (Career Avg.) | HG | NCAA Playoff Opponent | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati | Leonard Stokes (10.2) | 39 | UCLA (Second Round) | 3-17-02 |
Duke | Doug Kistler (11.5) | 26 | Princeton (First Round) | 3-8-60 |
Florida | KeVaughn Allen (12.1) | 35 | Wisconsin (Regional Semifinals) | 3-24-17 |
Indiana | Andrae Patterson (11.3) | 26 | Oklahoma (First Round) | 3-12-98 |
Kansas | Ryan Robertson (7.4) | 31 | Kentucky (Second Round) | 3-14-99 |
Kentucky | Joe Crawford (11.3) | 35 | Marquette (First Round) | 3-20-08 |
Louisville | Edgar Sosa (9.7) | 31 | Texas A&M (Second Round) | 3-17-07 |
North Carolina | Ranzino Smith (6.5) | 27 | Loyola Marymount (Second Round) | 3-19-88 |
North Carolina State | Ilian Evtimov (9.3) | 28 | Vanderbilt (Second Round) | 3-21-04 |
Oklahoma State | Corey Williams (10.3) | 27 | Tulane (Second Round) | 3-22-92 |
San Francisco | Mike Quick (12.6) | 25 | Long Beach State (Regional Semifinals) | 3-15-73 |
UCLA | Tony Parker (8.3) | 28 | UAB (Second Round) | 3-21-15 |
Villanova | Alvin Williams (10.9) | 31 | California (Second Round) | 3-15-97 |
NOTE: Michigan State has not had a player meet this criteria.
College Exam: Day #3 For One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge
Unless you're still busy hoarding toilet paper or cowering in fetal position from college basketball version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds, it's your opportunity to start taking online tests for 23 quarantined days symbolic of normal time frame from Selection Sunday to Monday evening championship contest.
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, following is Day 3 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com tracking the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):
1. Who is the only coach to lose as many as five games in the 20th Century to teams with double-digit seeds? Hint: Four of the defeats in this category were in consecutive years.
2. Name the only historically black college and university to win multiple NCAA Tournament games in the 20th Century. Hint: It posted the first three HBCU victories in the early 1980s.
3. Who was the coach of the only University of Detroit team to win an NCAA playoff game until the Titans defeated St. John's in 1998? Hint: Detroit lost to an in-state rival in a regional semifinal four days after posting its first tournament victory. The coach of that squad is the only Seton Hall graduate to win an NCAA tourney game.
4. Name the only school with more than 30 NCAA Tournament appearances to compile a losing playoff record and never appear in the national championship game. Hint: It's the only school to finish more than 10 seasons ranked in an AP Top 10 since the wire service's first poll in 1949 to never win an NCAA Tournament title.
5. Name the only first-time entrant to be seeded better than fifth since the field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980. Hint: The school reached the Final Four in its playoff debut.
6. Name the only conference to have three representatives at a single Final Four by winning regional finals against three members from another league. Hint: No player scored more than 20 points in the three Final Four games that year.
7. Who is the only coach with six or more NCAA playoff appearances to reach a regional final every time? Hint: His school is the only one to win back-to-back NCAA championships in its first two appearances in the tournament. His son was coach of a school in the same conference when the institution participated in the tourney for the initial time.
8. Name the only school to win at least one playoff game in a year it entered the tournament with a losing record after suffering 14 consecutive defeats during one stretch of the regular season. Hint: The school participated in the national championship game the previous year and was once runner-up in the NCAA Tournament and NIT in the same season. The school has also won just one playoff game since 1955, the season it finished with its worst overall record in a 53-year span and became only team ever to enter playoffs with a record of more than 10 games under .500.
9. Name the only school to have as many as seven different coaches compile losing NCAA playoff records. Hint: The school is more games under .500 in tournament play than any institution, but pulled off a first-round upset of a defending champion behind a star player who subsequently entered the coaching profession and compiled a 6-3 NCAA Tournament record with another university in the same state from 1989-90 through 1991-92.
10. Name the only school to advance to a regional semifinal in three consecutive campaigns despite having a double-digit seed each year. Hint: The school defeated teams from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, C-USA, Pacific-10 and SEC during the NCAA playoffs in that span.
Like Father/Like Son: Bennett, Capel, Drews, Musselman & Odom Like Dad
Six years ago, most media mavens focused on Rick Pitino joined in NCAA Tournament by his son (Richard with Minnesota before heading to New Mexico) - the first father-son duo in the same tourney although chip-off-the-old-block Little Richard didn't last long when promptly eliminated from playoffs by Middle Tennessee State. Four seasons ago, Little Richie guided the Gophers to an opening-round triumph against The Ville after UL had its fill of father's flaws and dismissed him before he subsequently returned to the scene at Iona. The elder Pitino's playoff appearance with the Gaels this year could be a springboard to returning to a power-league position.
This year's event has Virginia's Tony Bennett, Pittsburgh's Jeff Capel III, Baylor's Scott Drew, Grand Canyon's Bryce Drew, Arkansas' Eric Musselman and Utah State's Ryan Odom following in the NCAA dance-party footsteps of their respective fathers. Scott Drew and Musselman both advanced as far as a regional final two years ago with Drew winning it all. John Thompson Jr. and John III are the only one of the following 16 father-son combinations to each win more than six NCAA playoff games:
Gene Bartow (Memphis State, UCLA and UAB; 14-12 record in 1973-76-77-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-90-94)/Murry Bartow (UAB and East Tennessee State; 0-4 in 1999 and 2004-09-10)
Dick Bennett (Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin; 5-6 in 1991-94-95-97-99-00)/Tony Bennett (Washington State and Virginia; 16-9 in 2007-08-12-14-15-16-17-18-19-21)
Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T and Old Dominion; 1-3 in 1994-95-97)/Jeff Capel III (Virginia Commonwealth, Oklahoma and Pittsburgh); 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; 18-9 in 2008-10-12-14-15-16-17-19-21-22) and Bryce Drew (Valparaiso, Vanderbilt and Grand Canyon; 0-5 in 2013-15-16-17-21)
Clarence Iba (Tulsa; 1-1 in 1955)/Gene Iba (Houston Baptist and Baylor; 0-2 in 1984 and 1988)
Hank Iba (Oklahoma State; 15-7 in 1945-46-49-51-53-54-58-65)/Moe Iba (Nebraska; 0-1 in 1986)
Bob Knight (Indiana and Texas Tech; 45-25 in 1973-75-76-78-80-81-82-83-84-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99 and 2000-02-04-05-07)/Pat Knight (Lamar; 0-1 in 2012)
Ray Meyer (DePaul; 14-16 in 1943-53-56-59-60-65-76-78-79-80-81-82-84)/Joey Meyer (DePaul; 6-7 in 1985-86-87-88-89-91-92)
Don Monson (Idaho; 1-2 in 1981 and 1982)/Dan Monson (Gonzaga, Minnesota and Long Beach State; 3-3 in 1999, 2005 and 2012)
Bill Musselman (Minnesota and South Alabama; 1-2 in 1972 and 1997)/Eric Musselman (Nevada and Arkansas; 8-5 in 2017-18-19-21-22)
Dave Odom (Wake Forest and South Carolina; 10-9 in 1991-92-93-94-95-96-97-01-04)/Ryan Odom (UMBC and Utah State); 1-1 in 2018)
Rick Pitino (Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona; 54-19 in 1983-87-92-93-94-95-96-97-03-04-05-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14-15-17 entering 2021)/Richard Pitino (Minnesota; 1-2 in 2017 and 2019)
Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State; 39-26 in 1974-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-91-92-93-94-95-98-99 and 2000-01-02-03-04-05)/Scott Sutton (Oral Roberts; 0-3 in 2006-07-08)
John Thompson Jr. (Georgetown; 34-19 in 1975-76-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-94-95-96-97)/John Thompson III (Princeton and Georgetown; 9-10 in 2001-04-06-07-08-10-11-12-13-15)
Butch van Breda Kolff (Princeton; 7-5 in 1963-64-65-67)/Jan van Breda Kolff (Vanderbilt and Pepperdine; 1-2 in 1997 and 2000)
Hype Hangover: NBA MVPs Haunted By Dismal NCAA Playoff Performances
Russell Westbrook has discerned anew the past couple of seasons that success isn't guaranteed at every pitstop in a hoops career. In monumental miscarriage of justice several years ago, Michael Jordan (North Carolina) and Larry Bird (Indiana State) reached finale stemming from online voting for ESPN's college basketball's greatest of all-time (GOAT) bracket. MJ deserved to be national POY over Virginia senior Ralph Sampson in 1982-83, but the ESPN debacle was an obvious benchmark exhibiting historical level of ignorance and how much ill-informed younger generations are self-absorbed mental midgets completely influenced by TV commercials. Actually, ESPN's politically-correct bracket was flawed from the outset when a race-to-erase masculinity had females comprising 1/4 of the entrants. Where were bathroom-barging transgender candidates impacting site selection?
A more accurate barometer for determining college impact and individual excellence is Collegehoopedia's authoritative "All-Time Top 100 Players." Truth be told when it comes to NCAA Tournament history, MJ and Larry Legend probably rank 1-2 only in assessing a "goat" for most disappointing college playoff performances by individuals eventually earning at least three NBA Most Valuable Player awards. Despite both of them reaching an NCAA championship contest, there is a striking number of other individuals who should be on college basketball's Mount Rushmore after excelling the most as NCAA playoff performers. For instance, UCLA's Lew Alcindor earned three consecutive Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards from 1967 through 1969; Ohio State's Jerry Lucas was a three-time Big Ten Conference MVP who led the nation in FG% all three seasons from 1960 through 1962; Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson amassed 33 consecutive double-doubles en route to pacing country in scoring three times from 1958 through 1960; San Francisco's Bill Russell registered an incredible four-game total of 84 rebounds in back-to-back Final Fours in 1955 and 1956, and UCLA's Bill Walton was the main cog for first school in history to compile back-to-back perfect seasons (1972 and 1973).
It's a simplistic cop-out to accept the one-name icon visibility of Michael, Bird and Magic Johnson (Michigan State) and designate them among the premier players in NCAA tourney history. Compared to their unquestionable NBA exploits (where MJ should rank #1 if wearing uniform No. 23 rather than 45), they were more duds than studs in NCAA playoffs warranting inclusion among the following not-so-super seven NBA MVPs faltering at times in college postseason competition:
Michael Jordan (North Carolina) - His NBA playoff scoring average with the Chicago Bulls more than doubled the NCAA Tournament scoring average he compiled for Carolina. Jordan averaged 16.5 points per NCAA playoff game with the Tar Heels, scoring 20 or more in just two of 10 postseason games from 1982 through 1984. His Airness scored fewer than 18 points in two of the four playoff contests he led Carolina in scoring. Most people don't remember his inauspicious playoff debut when he collected six points, one rebound, no assists and no steals in 37 minutes of a 52-50 opening-round victory against James Madison in the East Regional. And Jordan's final NCAA Tournament appearance before he left school early for the NBA was nothing to write home about, either. The college player of the year was restricted to six points in the first 35 minutes of his collegiate swan song in the East Regional semifinals against Indiana, finishing with 13 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in 26 foul-plagued minutes when the top-ranked Tar Heels were eliminated (72-68). A total of 25 different Carolina players - including Ranzino Smith with modest career average of 6.5 ppg - posted NCAA playoff scoring high matching or greater than Jordan's best of 27.
Larry Bird (Indiana State) - Boosted the Sycamores to the 1979 final in his lone NCAA tourney, but put the 'oops' in hoops by committing a Final Four-record 17 turnovers. He hit just 7-of-21 field-goal attempts and had three times as many turnovers (six) as assists (two) against Michigan State in the championship game, which was essentially the equivalent of a boring Super Bowl failing to live up to hype.
James Harden (Arizona State) - Averaged 9.5 points in two NCAA Tournament games in 2009.
Dave Cowens (Florida State) - Collected 11 points and 4 rebounds in one NCAA Tournament game against East Tennessee State in the playoff debuts for both schools in 1968.
Charles Barkley (Auburn) - Lost only NCAA Tournament game as junior in 1984 against mid-major Richmond (#12 seed).
Russell Westbrook (UCLA) - Averaged 8.2 points and 2.2 assists in 10 NCAA Tournament games for Final Four teams in 2007 and 2008.
Magic Johnson (Michigan State) - Shot an anemic 27.8% from the floor (10-of-36) in three 1978 tourney games as a freshman before leading Spartans to NCAA title the next year. He had more turnovers (six) than assists (five) in the over-hyped 1979 final, a mediocre contest paling in comparison to the last eight finals of the 1980s when seven of them were decided by an average of two points. Johnson outscored and outrebounded teammate Greg Kelser in just one of eight playoff games they played together. Kelser simply contributed more than Magic to MSU's cause in NCAA competition.
First Families of NCAA Tourney: Drake/Iowa/Boise Boast Father-Son Combos
Drake, Iowa, Boise State and Memphis featured the most prominent father-son/coach-player combinations appearing in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. On paper, Drake's Tucker DeVries was most likely to challenge what UCF's Aubrey Dawkins achieved four years ago under his father (Johnny Dawkins). Averaging fewer than 10 points per game during his three-year college career, a dynamic 32-point performance by Michigan transfer Aubrey against Duke - dad's alma mater - was four points higher than his All-American father's NCAA playoff single-game best of 28 against Navy in 1986. However, DeVries hit only 1-of-11 three-pointers in opening-round loss, finishing with three points.
Two years ago, Buddy Boeheim was on fire in torching San Diego State with 30 points, including 16 straight in first half, under retiring Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. The Dawkins duo is atop the following high-game list of seven sons of coaches at same school at same time scoring more than 25 points in an NCAA playoff contest:
Player/Son | School | Coach/Father | HG | NCAA Tournament Opponent (Result) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aubrey Dawkins | UCF | Johnny Dawkins | 32 | Duke in 2019 East Regional Second Round (L 77-76) |
Buddy Boeheim | Syracuse | Jim Boeheim | 30 | San Diego State in 2021 Midwest Regional First Round (W 78-62) |
Doug McDermott | Creighton | Greg McDermott | 30 | Louisiana-Lafayette in 2014 West Regional First Round (W 76-66) |
Mark Acres | Oral Roberts | Dick Acres | 28 | Memphis State in 1984 Midwest Regional First Round (L 92-83) |
Bryce Drew | Valparaiso | Homer Drew | 27 | Boston College in 1997 West Regional First Round (L 73-66) |
Bryce Alford | UCLA | Steve Alford | 27 | Southern Methodist in 2015 South Regional First Round (W 60-59) |
Steve Connor | Boise State | Doran "Bus" Connor | 26 | UNLV in 1976 West Regional First Round (L 103-78) |
NOTE: Steve Alford's NCAA playoff-game high for Indiana was 33 points against UNLV in 1987 National Semifinal. Combined with son Bryce's best of 27, their total of 60 matched cumulative high-game outputs for Johnny and Aubrey Dawkins.
Stars Burn Out: Premier Programs Missing in Action From 2023 NCAA Tourney
At least 10 of the 37 schools appearing in excess of 50 NCAA playoff games failed to participate in the tourney each year since the field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985, including 17 former Final Four schools this season. Fifteen is the average number of schools in this category over the last eight tourneys.
Nearly half of the "star schools" stayed home in 2004, including Houston when the Cougars were in the midst of a 17-year playoff drought from 1993 through 2009. Following is a chronological list of big-name universities who were tourney outcasts since 1985:
1985 (14) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Indiana, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
1986 (12) - Arkansas, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Kansas State, Marquette, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA, Wake Forest
1987 (13) - Arkansas, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis State, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Utah, Villanova, Wake Forest
1988 (12) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Marquette, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas, UCLA, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
1989 (15) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, Utah, Wake Forest
1990 (12) - Cincinnati, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis State, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
1991 (14) - Cincinnati, Florida, Illinois, Houston, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, West Virginia
1992 (11) - Florida, Illinois, Kansas State, Marquette, Maryland, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Purdue, UNLV, Utah, Villanova
1993 (15) - Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Texas, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
1994 (13) - Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Memphis, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, St. John's, UNLV, Utah, Villanova, West Virginia
1995 (11) - Duke, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Marquette, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, St. John's, UNLV, West Virginia
1996 (11) - Florida, Houston, Illinois, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, UNLV, West Virginia
1997 (16) - Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Kansas State, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, UNLV, West Virginia
1998 (14) - Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Villanova, Wake Forest
1999 (12) - Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Kansas State, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, UNLV, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2000 (12) - Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Villanova, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2001 (14) - Connecticut, Houston, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina State, Purdue, St. John's, UNLV, Utah, Villanova, West Virginia
2002 (15) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
2003 (14) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, St. John's, Temple, UCLA, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
2004 (18) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Marquette, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UCLA, UNLV, Villanova, West Virginia
2005 (15) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Indiana, Kansas State, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UNLV
2006 (14) - Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest
2007 (15) - Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Michigan, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2008 (14) - Cincinnati, Florida, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, Utah, Wake Forest
2009 (13) - Arkansas, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, St. John's, UNLV
2010 (15) - Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, St. John's, UCLA, Utah
2011 (10) - Arkansas, Houston, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Utah, Wake Forest
2012 (13) - Arizona, Arkansas, Houston, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, St. John's, UCLA, Utah, Villanova, Wake Forest
2013 (11) - Arkansas, Connecticut, Houston, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Purdue, St. John's, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2014 (15) - Arkansas, Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Marquette, Maryland, Notre Dame, Purdue, St. John's, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2015 (12) - Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Illinois, Kansas State, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Wake Forest
2016 (16) - Arkansas, Florida, Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Kansas State, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, St. John's, UCLA, UNLV, Wake Forest
2017 (15) - Connecticut, Georgetown, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Memphis, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Utah
2018 (16) - Connecticut, Georgetown, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Marquette, Maryland, Memphis, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest
2019 (15) - Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgetown, Illinois, Indiana, Memphis, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, UCLA, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2021 (16) - Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, St. John's, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest
2022 (16) - Cincinnati, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, North Carolina State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Wake Forest, West Virginia
2023 (17) - Cincinnati, Florida, Georgetown, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, UNLV, Utah, Villanova, Wake Forest
Scoring Preliminary Round/First Four: Who Scored > 30 Points in Early Going?
There is a tendency to shun March Madness preliminary-round games eliminating four "non-essential" entrants and gear up for "real" 64-team bracket later in the week. The "qualifying" round typically featured "last four in" teams or members of automatic-qualification leagues that probably shouldn't be designated NCAA Division I. For instance, the only year a HBCU didn't participate in the first 21 preliminary-round (1983, 1984 and 2001 through 2010) or First Four (since 2011) competition was 2001 when Northwestern State beat Winthrop.
Texas Southern's Aaric Murray, the only HBCU player to crack 30-point plateau in the NCAA DI Tournament, shares high-scoring honors at this "prelim" level with Princeton's Kevin Mullin (38 points). No one scored more than 23 points in the 2023 First Four. A year ago, Wright State's Holden Tanner fell one basket shy of setting a new preliminary-round mark while joining the following chronological list of authentic "One Shining Moment" scoring performances by seven players manufacturing more than 30 points in a preliminary-round game or First Four assignment:
Year Player School Points Preliminary Round/First Four Foe 1984 Kevin Mullin Princeton 38 defeated San Diego (65-56) 2002 Prosper Karangwa Siena 31 defeated Alcorn State (81-77) 2007 Clif Brown Niagara 32 defeated Florida A&M (77-69) 2014 Aaric Murray Texas Southern 38 lost against Cal Poly (81-69) 2015 Tyler Haws Brigham Young 33 lost against Mississippi (94-90) 2019 Darnell Edge Fairleigh Dickinson 33 defeated Prairie View (82-76) 2022 Holden Tanner Wright State 37 defeated Bryant (93-82)
NOTE: District "play-in" games were conducted from 1939 through 1942 and 1947 through 1950. The highest-scoring game was in 1948 when Baylor beat Arizona, 65-59.
Humble Backgrounds: Many Small-College Grads Coach DI Tourney Teams
In a caste-like era separating the haves from the have-nots, imperial universities are seeking mega-conferences and, perhaps in the near future, a restrictive upper division. But the socially elite won't ever be able to exclude small schools from making a big impact on the NCAA playoffs.
Smaller colleges, many of them in the hinterlands, have supplied a striking number of the biggest names in coaching. From 1995 through 2000, five of the six NCAA Tournament championship coaches (Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Tom Izzo, Lute Olson and Tubby Smith) graduated from obscure colleges with smaller enrollments. In fact, it is a rarity for a Final Four not to feature at least one coach who graduated from a non-Division I school.
John Calipari, a graduate of Clarion (Pa.) State, guided Kentucky to the 2012 national championship before Michigan's John Beilein (Wheeling Jesuit NY) and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall (Randolph-Macon VA) directed teams to the Final Four seven years ago. Following is an alphabetical list of 2023 NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small college:
2023 NCAA Playoff Coach School Small-College Alma Mater Tobin Anderson Fairleigh Dickinson Wesleyan (Conn.) '95 Rick Barnes Tennessee Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) '77 John Becker Vermont Catholic (D.C.) '90 Randy Bennett Saint Mary's UC San Diego '96 John Calipari Kentucky Clarion State (Pa.) '82 Ed Cooley Providence Stonehill (Mass.) '94 Andy Enfield Southern California Johns Hopkins (Md.) '91 Tom Izzo Michigan State Northern Michigan '77 Chris Jans Mississippi State Loras (Iowa) '91 Kevin Keatts North Carolina State Ferrum (Va.) '95 Tommy Lloyd Arizona Whitman (Wash.) '98 Steve Lutz Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Texas Lutheran '95 Mike Morrell UNC Asheville Milligan (Tenn.) '05 Nate Oats Alabama Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) '97 T.J. Otzelberger Iowa State Wisconsin-Whitewater '01 Mike Rhoades Virginia Commonwealth Lebanon Valley (Pa.) '94 Bob Richey Furman North Greenville (S.C.) '06 Kelvin Sampson Houston Pembroke (N.C.) State '78 Rob Senderoff Kent State Albany (N.Y.) '95 Micah Shrewsberry Penn State Hanover (Ind.) '99 Shaka Smart Marquette Kenyon (Ohio) '99 Jerome Tang Kansas State North Central Bible College (Minn.) Rodney Terry Texas St. Edward's (Tex.) '90
NOTE: Albany was subsequently classified as an NCAA Division I university.