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).

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

When Thomas Wolfe penned, "you can never come home again," he didn't have some successful college basketball coaches in mind. Playoff participation must be extra gratifying for the following nine individuals guiding their alma mater in college basketball's grandest prize - a berth in the NCAA Tournament (five of them from power-conference members):

If you're a history buff, don't forget about the 32-team NIT field in aftermath of decision to leave New York City for Las Vegas and Indianapolis the next two years. Although it appears the case, the Final Four hasn't eternally been the final word in national postseason competition. The 68-team NCAA playoffs, which played second fiddle to the National Invitation Tournament in their formative years, seemed to haughtily look down upon the NIT as little more than an acronym contest for derisive entries such as National Insignificant Tournament, Not Influential Tournament, Nominally Important Tournament, No Interest Tournament, Nearly Ignominious Tournament, Naturally Impaired Tournament, Never Impressionable Tournament, etc.

The NIT champion can proclaim, "We're No. 69!" But in an earlier era, the NIT was superior to the NCAA at a time when airplanes didn't dominate the transportation industry, television was in its infancy and New York's Madison Square Garden was the place to be if a team wanted extensive national exposure. If ever there was a concept whose time had arrived, it was the NIT in 1938. If ever there was a location to conduct a national tourney at a time when the sports page was the principal place to digest sports news, it was in New York because of Gotham's 20 or so daily newspapers at the time.

Following are top 40 hits for the event, citing nuggets you should know about the history of the nation's oldest national postseason tournament:

1. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White was Colorado's second-leading scorer with 10 points when the Buffaloes bowed to Temple in the inaugural NIT in 1938.

2. The 1939 NIT final featured two unbeaten teams when Long Island University defeated Loyola of Chicago, 44-32, marking the only matchup in major-college history when two undefeated major colleges met in a national postseason tournament. LIU finished with a 23-0 record and Loyola 21-1.

3. Frankie Baumholtz capped his Ohio University college basketball career by earning MVP honors in the 1941 NIT when he led the tourney in scoring with 53 points in three games for the second-place Bobcats, including a game-high 19 in the final. He went on to become a major-league outfielder who led the National League in pinch hits in 1955 and 1956.

4. Rudy Baric, MVP of the 1942 NIT for titlist West Virginia, guided his alma mater to a 14-7 record the next year in his only season as the Mountaineers' head coach.

5. Long before Michigan's "Fab Five" made headlines as a freshman-dominated team reaching the 1992 NCAA Tournament final, Toledo's similar squad finished runner-up to St. John's in the 1943 NIT. The Rockets were dubbed "Friddle's Freshmen" because first-year coach Berle Friddle had an all-freshman starting lineup. Toledo's roster included Emlen Tunnell, who went on to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after playing in nine Pro Bowls as a defensive back.

6. Utah won the 1944 NCAA crown after the Utes were eliminated in the opening round of the NIT by eventual third-place finisher Kentucky (46-38).

7. In the early years of national postseason competition, the NCAA playoffs were scheduled after the NIT, which was clearly basketball's showcase event. For instance, NIT runner-up Rhode Island State upended Bowling Green in overtime in their NIT opener in 1946 after the Rams' Ernie Calverley swished a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of regulation in perhaps the most exciting moment in NIT history.

8. Many observers think the 1948 NIT, starting the tourney's second decade, was the best from a strength standpoint. If there had been a national poll at the time, it is believed that five of the nation's top seven teams were in the NIT, which was won that year by Ed Macauley-led St. Louis University.

9. Western Kentucky (28-2, .933), the 1948 NIT third-place finisher, and Seton Hall (31-2, .939), the 1953 NIT champion, led the nation in winning percentage those seasons.

10. The 1949 opening-round pair of doubleheaders was a dark day and evening for Big Apple hoops as CCNY, Manhattan, NYU and St. John's dropped their openers by an average of 18.75 points.

11. Trivia buffs should know that the basketball publicist for 1949 champion San Francisco was Pete Rozelle, who went on to become commissioner of the National Football League.

12. In each of the first two years the Associated Press conducted national rankings (1949 and 1950), five of the top 10 teams participated in the NIT.

13. The four seeded teams in the 1949 NIT all were upset in the quarterfinals after receiving first-round byes - Kentucky, St. Louis, Western Kentucky and Utah.

14. The final year teams participated in both national tournaments was 1952, when Dayton, Duquesne, St. John's and St. Louis doubled up on postseason participation. St. John's was runner-up to Kansas in the NCAA Tournament that year after the Redmen lost their opener in the NIT against La Salle (51-45).

15. In 1954, the last four NIT survivors (Holy Cross, Duquesne, Niagara and Western Kentucky) combined to win 91% of their games entering the semifinals, while their NCAA Final Four counterparts (La Salle, Bradley, Penn State and Southern California) combined to win barely over 70% of their games. Niagara, the third-place finisher in the NIT, defeated 1954 NCAA champion La Salle twice during the regular season by a total of 27 points.

16. Dave Ricketts, a sophomore starter for Duquesne's 1955 NIT champion, went on to become a major-league catcher who played with the Cardinals in the 1967 and 1968 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

17. NIT champion-to-be Louisville was ranked 4th in the nation by AP in mid-February of 1956 when it lost by 40 points at Xavier (99-59). Two years later, Xavier lost 10 of its final 15 regular-season games after a 10-1 start and the NIT asked the Musketeers to give back its NIT bid. Xavier, however, said "no" and went on to win the 1958 NIT title despite being seeded last under first-year head coach Jim McCafferty.

18. Garry Roggenburk, the leading scorer for Dayton's 1962 NIT titlist, went on to become a lefthanded pitcher for five seasons later in the decade with three American League teams - the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Pilots.

19. The prestigious ACC, prior to its inaugural season in 1953-54, instituted a rule that no member could participate in the NIT. The ban remained in place until Duke was eliminated by Southern Illinois in the [1967] quarterfinals. The final NIT at the old Garden in 1967 belonged to SIU, a so-called "small" school sparked by a smooth swingman named Walt Frazier. He wasn't Clyde yet, but the future Knick was well on his way.

20. One of the most bizarre incidents in NIT history was halftime of a game in 1968 when Oklahoma City coach Abe Lemons, annoyed with his team after playing poorly in the first half against Duke, ordered the Chiefs back to the court during intermission to scrimmage rather than to the dressing room to rest and regroup. Announcer Howard Cosell rattled off several questions to Lemons: "Coach, are you crazy? Won't your boys be too tired to play the second half? Where did you learn this coaching tactic? Did you do this to amuse the crowd?" Lemons, as determined not to respond to the questions as Cosell was at getting an answer, fired back, "Listen mister, you may be big stuff in New York, but you ain't nothin' in Walters, Okla. (Lemons' humble hometown)."

21. The issue of "choice" came to a head in 1970 when Marquette, an independent school coached by fiesty Al McGuire, won the NIT after rejecting an NCAA at-large invitation because the Warriors were going to be placed in the NCAA Midwest Regional (Fort Worth, Tex.) instead of closer to home in the Mideast Regional (Dayton, Ohio). McGuire's snub led the NCAA to decree any school offered an NCAA bid must accept it or be prohibited from participating in postseason competition.

22. SEC rival Tennessee was the only school to hold Pete Maravich under 30 points until Georgetown and Marquette achieved the feat in the 1970 NIT. Maravich, the highest scorer in NCAA history, ended his career at the NIT sitting on the bench in civilian clothes because of ankle and hip injuries, watching his father's LSU team finish fourth by losing to Bob Knight-coached Army. Pistol Pete had, for him, endured a suspect tourney in the brightest postseason spotlight ever focused on his extraordinary abilities. He averaged 25.7 points per game in three NIT assignments (18.5 ppg lower than his career average).

23. Julius Erving's final college game with Massachusetts was a 90-49 loss to eventual NIT champion North Carolina in the first round in 1971. The Tar Heels captured the crown although their leading scorer, junior forward Dennis Wuycik (18.4 ppg), suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Minutemen.

24. The competitive NIT, boasting three double overtime games in 1971, was a stark contrast in than period to the NCAA Tournament otherwise known as the "UCLA Invitational." Seemingly invincible UCLA captured seven consecutive NCAA titles from 1967 through 1973 by winning 28 tournament games by an average of almost 18 points per contest. In 1973, the Bruins' four tournament victories were by an average of 16 points, including a 21-point triumph over Memphis State in the championship game. Meanwhile, NIT champion Virginia Tech won four exciting postseason games that year by a total of five points, including a game-winning basket at the buzzer in overtime in the final against Notre Dame. The next year, seven of the total of 12 NIT games in the first round and quarterfinals were decided by four points or less.

25. Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson never appeared in the NIT in his 34-year career with Long Beach State, Iowa and Arizona.

26. The last wire-service top 10 team to appear in the NIT was North Carolina, a first-round loser against Purdue in 1974.

27. Anthony Roberts' NIT single-game standard of 65 points accounted for 73 percent of Oral Roberts' output in a 90-89 loss to Oregon in the 1977 first round. Roberts' outburst is even more impressive because the Ducks ranked fifth in the nation in team defense (60.9 points per game).

28. NIT attendance slipped to an all-time low in 1976 although national power Kentucky won the title. In 1977, former executive director Pete Carlesimo, the father of former Seton Hall coach P.J. Carlesimo, saved the NIT by implementing a plan whereby early-round games were played at campus sites and locations across the country before the four semifinalists advanced to New York.

29. In a five-year span from 1980 through 1984 when the NCAA field ranged from 48 to 52 teams, Virginia (1980 NIT champion), DePaul (1983 runner-up) and Michigan (1984 champion) became NCAA regional No. 1 seeds the year after reaching an NIT final.

30. Tulsa was a No. 3 seed under coach Nolan Richardson Jr. in the 1982 NCAA Tournament after capturing the 1981 NIT by winning its last three games by a total of five points.

31. In 1985, the NIT started a preseason tournament, which evolved into the nation's premier in-season tourney and carried as much clout, if not more, than the postseason NIT. Coaches were fond of the preseason NIT because those games were exempt from counting against their regular-season limit of contests.

32. The NCAA postseason record of 14 three-point field goals was set by Kansas State guard Askia Jones in a 115-77 victory over Fresno State in the 1994 NIT quarterfinals. Jones, the son of former Villanova standout guard Wali Jones, poured in 28 of his Big Eight Conference-record 45 second-half points in the first 7:12 after intermission. His final total of 62 points, spurred by nine consecutive successful three-point shots bridging the first and second halves, was the second-highest scoring output in major-college postseason history.

33. The NIT's first nine champions lost a total of 25 games, but its 15 titlists from 1986 through 2000 combined to go 32 games below .500 in conference competition, including a 4-12 league mark compiled by 1988 Big East cellar dweller Connecticut and a 4-10 league record registered by 1996 Big Eight seventh-place team Nebraska.

34. The NIT's "final four" participants have combined to average more than 13 defeats per team since the NCAA field expanded to at least 64 entrants, including a grim 19-18 mark by 1985 NIT fourth-place finisher Louisville.

35. Former St. John's coach Joe Lapchick was the winningest coach in NIT history with a 21-10 record until Dave Odom tied him (21-3). St. John's has made more NIT appearances, won more NIT games and captured more NIT championships (six) than any school.

36. Four of the winningest schools percentagewise in NIT history are from the Big Ten Conference - Michigan, Purdue, Ohio State and Penn State.

37. The NIT titlists since 1985 combined for a losing national postseason tournament record the year after capturing an NIT championship.

38. Virginia's NIT title in 1992 enabled Jeff Jones to become the only person to win NIT crowns as a player (Virginia in 1980) and a coach.

39. In 2000, Notre Dame forward Troy Murphy became the first consensus first-team All-American to participate in the NIT since forward Larry Bird of Indiana State, a loser at Rutgers in the 1978 quarterfinals.

40. Arizona (0-3), Arizona State (5-11), Miami FL (6-10), Missouri (1-7) and Seton Hall (6-18) all have disturbing NIT marks at least three games below .500.

Wally was in a hoops world of his own in NCAA Tournament lore when Wally Szczerbiak of Miami (Ohio) scored a career-high 43 points in a 59-58 victory over Washington in the first round of 1999 Midwest Regional. Never before or since has a sterling player been such a dominant solo act in NCAA playoff history. Wally World, a senior forward, accounted for an incredible 72.9% of the RedHawks' output.

While not measuring up to Szczerbiak, four previous players took out do-it-yourself kits and scored more than 60% of their team's points in a single NCAA Tournament game. Following is a summary of the first four one-man shows:

• Danny Manning supplied 62.7% of Kansas' offense by scoring 42 points in the Jayhawks' 67-63 victory against Southwest Missouri State in the second round of the 1987 Southeast Regional. Kansas lost to Georgetown in the regional semifinals, 70-57, when Manning scored 23 points.
• Jim "Bad News" Barnes accounted for 61.8% of Texas Western's offense by scoring 42 points in the Miners' 68-62 victory against Texas A&M in first round of 1964 Midwest Regional. In an abrupt turnaround, it was definitely bad news for Texas Western in its next playoff game. Barnes was whistled for three quick personal fouls in the opening minutes against Kansas State and spent almost the entire first half on the bench. He was assessed fouls No. 4 and No. 5 early in the second half and fouled out with only four points in the Miners' 64-60 defeat.
• Hal Lear manufactured 61.5% of Temple's offense by scoring 40 points in the Owls' 65-59 victory against Connecticut in 1956 East Regional semifinals. Lear tallied 14 points when Temple edged Canisius, 60-58, in regional final before the Owls bowed to Iowa, 83-76, at Final Four despite Lear's 32 points.
• David Robinson furnished 61% of Navy's offense by scoring 50 points in the Middies' 97-82 loss against Michigan in first round of 1987 East Regional.

The three players thus far this century carrying the load coming closest to scoring 60% of their team's points in an NCAA tournament game included:

2013 East Regional Second Round: Khalif Wyatt tallied 31 (59.6% of Temple's output) in a 58-52 setback against Indiana
2011 Southeast Regional Second Round: Jacob Pullen poured in 38 (58.5% of Kansas State's output) in a 70-65 reversal against Wisconsin
2018 West Regional First Round: Rob Gray registered 39 (58.2% of Houston's output) in a 67-65 win against San Diego State

Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper for the next Dr. Fraudci pandemic, siphoning gas or cowering in fetal position from college basketball version of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds "dark winter" waiting for Plagiarist Biledumb to finally do something incisive or traverse up Air Force One steps without trepidation, 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.

Well, is that your final answer? Do you have the wit, guile and endurance to be a "Survivor" answering 10 daily questions about "The Amazing Race" otherwise known as the NCAA Tournament?

Standardized testing is controversial, but it's time to put your NCAA playoff knowledge on the line and attempt a free shot at CollegeHoopedia.com's challenging tourney-time questions. Your "scoring ability" on these one-of-a-kind trivia quizzes will reflect retention of critical knowledge, jogging your memory, exhibiting your lack of attention to detail or revealing once and for all you didn't major in "Hoopology" or take an advanced course in Basketball History.

As you're aware, many participants in the NCAA playoffs believe it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Similarly, more and more all-around sports fans probably would pick the Final Four over the World Series and Super Bowl if they were forced to choose one of the prestigious events they could attend.

In accordance with that "one-and-only" theme, following are a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions by CollegeHoopedia.com dealing with the only coach, conference, player or school to be linked to a distinguished or dubious achievement (click here for answers or conduct PhD degree-like research digesting historical morsels in CollegeHoopedia's year-by-year highlights):

1. Name the only NCAA champion to have three players eventually score more than 15,000 points apiece in the NBA. Hint: Each of the trio was named an All-American at least two seasons and helped the school compete in 27 consecutive NCAA playoffs.

2. Name the only NBA team to have two teammates go on to coach teams in the Final Four. Hint: They were among the top three scorers for their team the first three seasons in NBA history. Their team posted the best regular-season record in the league's inaugural campaign and participated in the 1949 NBA Finals.

3. Name the only state currently with at least 10 Division I schools never to send a team to the Final Four. Hint: Just one school from the state won any NCAA playoff games from 1974 through 1996.

4. Who is the only individual to play and coach in both the NCAA and NBA playoffs? Hint: He played for a 28-5 Oregon State playoff team and on the frontline of an NBA champion with Dolph Schayes and Red Kerr. The leading scorer for his NBA playoff team was Gene Shue and the leading scorer for his NCAA tourney team was Bob Nash.

5. Who is the only coach to direct teams to Final Fours in four different decades in the 20th Century? Hint: He is the only coach to lose more than seven Final Four games and his first three NCAA Tournament championship games. His Final Four defeats were by an average of 15 points.

6. Name the only school to lose against UCLA as many as four times during the Bruins' 38-game winning streak in the NCAA playoffs from 1964 to 1974. Hint: The subject school is one of six other than UCLA to successfully defend a national championship.

7. Name the only All-American to go winless in more than five NCAA Tournament games. Hint: He played for a school winning the NCAA championship earlier in the decade he appeared in the playoffs.

8. Name the only school to reach the Final Four despite compiling a losing record in conference competition and being eliminated in the first round of its league tournament. Hint: The school's leading scorer that year had the lowest team-leading scoring average of any Final Four team since Kansas '74 had five players average from 11.3 to 12.4 points per game. Moreover, it's the only school to have as many as four at-large bids to the tournament despite compiling losing records in league play.

9. Name the only school to be top-ranked entering back-to-back tournaments but lose both opening playoff games. Hint: Two of the team's starters played more than 10 years in the NBA and one of them was on a third team for the school that lost its opening playoff game as a No. 1 seed. One of the two starters was a consensus national player of the year.

10. Name the only top-ranked team to decline a berth in the NCAA playoffs since the AP started conducting polls in 1949. Hint: The school was unbeaten the year it rejected a bid, defeated the national champion-to-be by 13 points and had only two games closer than a 12-point decision.

Day 1 answers.

Arkansas, Mississippi State and West Virginia received 2023 at-large berths despite each of them compiling a record below .500 in a power conference. When will the Division I Committee and "impartial" media promoting leagues with which they have cozy business dealings realize a losing conference record probably should deny any team receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament? In 33 of the last 39 tourneys, the selection committee awarded at least one at-large berth to a squad with a sub-.500 mark in a top-caliber league. History held form, showing the committee pretty much simply wasted everyone's time.

In 2014 and 2015, Oklahoma State became the first school ever to receive an at-large berth in back-to-back campaigns after compiling a losing league record. Since numbers never lie, the cold and hard facts are that Virginia '84 is the only team with a sub-.500 conference mark to reach the Final Four. Three years later, Louisiana State became the last at-large team with a losing league mark to reach a regional final.

Maryland (#5 in 1986 and #4 in 2004) earned the two best seeds for an at-large squad with a losing conference record. Syracuse '18 is the only school in this sub.-500 category in the previous 14 tourneys to advance to the Sweet 16. In the same span, a total of 15 mid-majors reached a regional final or beyond. This striking number of at-large mid-level success stories doesn't even include recent Final Four clubs such as Virginia Commonwealth '11 (fourth-place finisher in Atlantic 10) and Wichita State '13 (second in Missouri Valley). How much more evidence does the committee require to give top-notch mid-majors a closer look rather than issuing handouts to underachieving members of power alliances?

Iowa State '92 is the only school receiving an at-large bid despite losing all of its conference road games. The Cyclones, dropping their seven Big Eight road contests by an average margin of 14.4 points, compiled the worst league mark (5-9) among at-large teams until Florida State '98 (6-10 in ACC with three losses by more than 20 points), Ohio State '19 (8-12 in Big Ten), Oklahoma '19 (7-11 in Big 12) plus West Virginia '23 (7-11 in Big 12).

A breakdown of conference recipients of basically unwarranted at-large bids include the ACC (16), Big Ten (12), Big Eight/Big 12 (12), SEC (seven), Big East (six) and Pacific-12 (two). After registering a 10-5 NCAA playoff mark from 1983 through 1987, teams in this suspect group went 30-48 since 1988 (ACC 12-14, Big East 1-5, Big Eight/Big 12 5-12, Big Ten 10-12, Pac-12 0-2, SEC 3-5). This year, at-large teams Arkansas, MSU and WV joined the following list of underachieving power-league "losers" given preferential treatment over more worthy mid-major conference members:

Year	At-Large Team	Conference	League	Overall	NCAA Playoff Performance
1983	Alabama	SEC	8-10	20-12	#6 seed lost in first round
1984	Virginia	ACC	6-8	21-12	#7 seed lost in national semifinals
1985	Boston College	Big East	7-9	20-11	#11 seed lost in regional semifinals
1986	Maryland	ACC	6-8	19-14	#5 seed lost in second round
1987	Louisiana State	SEC	8-10	24-15	#10 seed lost in regional final
1988	Iowa State	Big Eight	6-8	20-12	#12 seed lost in first round
1988	Maryland	ACC	6-8	18-13	#7 seed lost in second round
1989	Providence	Big East	7-9	18-11	#12 seed lost in first round
1990	Indiana	Big Ten	8-10	18-11	#8 seed lost in first round
1990	Virginia	ACC	6-8	20-12	#7 seed lost in second round
1991	Georgia Tech	ACC	6-8	17-13	#8 seed lost in second round
1991	Villanova	Big East	7-9	17-15	#9 seed lost in second round
1991	Virginia	ACC	6-8	21-12	#7 seed lost in first round
1992	Iowa State	Big Eight	5-9	21-13	#10 seed lost in second round
1992	Wake Forest	ACC	7-9	17-12	#9 seed lost in first round
1994	Seton Hall	Big East	8-10	17-13	#10 seed lost in first round
1994	Wisconsin	Big Ten	8-10	18-11	#9 seed lost in second round
1995	Iowa State	Big Eight	6-8	23-11	#7 seed lost in second round
1996	Clemson	ACC	7-9	18-11	#9 seed lost in first round
1997	Virginia	ACC	7-9	18-13	#9 seed lost in first round
1998	Clemson	ACC	7-9	18-13	#6 seed lost in first round
1998	Florida State	ACC	6-10	17-13	#12 seed lost in second round
1999	Purdue	Big Ten	7-9	21-13	#10 seed lost in regional semifinals
2001	Penn State	Big Ten	7-9	21-12	#7 seed lost in regional semifinals
2003	Alabama	SEC	7-9	17-12	#10 seed lost in first round
2004	Maryland	ACC	7-9	20-12	#4 seed lost in second round
2005	Iowa	Big Ten	7-9	21-12	#10 seed lost in first round
2005	North Carolina State	ACC	7-9	21-14	#10 seed lost in regional semifinals
2007	Arkansas	SEC	7-9	21-13	#12 seed lost in first round
2008	Arizona	Pacific-10	8-10	19-14	#10 seed lost in first round
2009	Maryland	ACC	7-9	20-13	#10 seed lost in second round
2010	Georgia Tech	ACC	7-9	22-12	#10 seed lost in second round
2012	Connecticut	Big East	8-10	20-13	#9 seed lost in first round
2013	Illinois	Big Ten	8-10	22-12	#7 seed lost in second round
2013	Minnesota	Big Ten	8-10	20-12	#11 seed lost in second round
2014	Oklahoma State	Big 12	8-10	21-12	#9 seed lost in first round
2015	Oklahoma State	Big 12	8-10	18-14	#9 seed lost in first round
2015	Texas	Big 12	8-10	20-14	#11 seed lost in first round
2017	Kansas State	Big 12	8-10	21-14	#11 seed lost in first round after play-in win
2018	Alabama	SEC	8-10	19-15	#9 seed lost in second round
2018	Arizona State	Pac 12	8-10	20-11	#11 seed lost play-in game
2018	Oklahoma	Big 12	8-10	18-13	#10 seed lost in first round
2018	Syracuse	ACC	8-10	20-13	#11 seed lost in regional semifinals
2018	Texas	Big 12	8-10	19-14	#10 seed lost in first round
2019	Minnesota	Big Ten	9-11	21-13	#10 seed lost in second round
2019	Ohio State	Big Ten	8-12	19-14	#11 seed lost in second round
2019	Oklahoma	Big 12	7-11	19-13	#9 seed lost in second round
2019	St. John's	Big East	8-10	21-12	#11 seed lost in First Four
2021	Maryland	Big Ten	9-11	17-14	#10 seed lost in second round
2021	Michigan State	Big Ten	9-11	15-13	#11 seed lost in First Four
2022	Indiana	Big Ten	9-11	21-14	#12 seed lost in first round
2022	Texas Christian	Big 12	8-10	21-14	#9 seed lost in second round
2023	Arkansas	SEC	8-10	20-13	#8 seed lost in regional semifinals
2023	Mississippi State	SEC	8-10	21-12	#11 seed lost in First Four
2023	West Virginia	Big 12	7-11	19-14	#9 seed lost in first round

Texas Southern (14-20) became the 27th school appearing in the NCAA Tournament despite entering the playoffs with an overall losing record. In 2018, the Tigers posted the best league mark (12-6 in SWAC) among the 27 clubs in this dubious category.

The only one of the sub-.500 schools ever to win two NCAA playoff games was Bradley. The Braves won twice in the 1955 tournament (69-65 over Oklahoma City and 81-79 over SMU) after losing 14 consecutive contests during one stretch in the regular season. Despite the pair of playoff victories, they finished with their worst overall record (9-20) in a 53-year span until going 8-20 in the 1990-91 campaign.

In 1950, Bradley won two games apiece in both the NCAA Tournament and NIT to reach the championship game of both events. The Braves lost against CCNY in each final to finish the season with a 32-5 record under coach Forddy Anderson. Bradley's coach in 1955 was Bob Vanatta. He was in his first of two seasons at the school after succeeding Anderson, who departed for Michigan State after guiding the Braves to a national second-place finish in 1954. Bradley is the only school to go from the Final Four one season to 20 defeats the next year.

Texas, winner of just one non-conference game in the 1973-74 campaign, is the only school with a losing overall record to secure an automatic bid by winning a regular-season league title. Following is a list of the 27 schools polluting the NCAA playoffs by entering the tourney sporting such an impoverished record:

School	W-L	Pct.	Coach	How Team Qualified
Bradley '55	7-19	.269	Bob Vanatta	Independent
Oklahoma City '55	9-17	.346	Doyle Parrack	Independent
George Washington '61	9-16	.360	Bill Reinhart	Won Southern Conference Tournament
Central Florida '96	11-18	.379	Kirk Speraw	Won TAAC Tournament
Fairfield '97	11-18	.379	Paul Cormier	Won MAAC Tournament
Florida International '95	11-18	.379	Bob Weltlich	Won TAAC Tournament
Florida A&M '99	12-18	.400	Mickey Clayton	Won MEAC Tournament
Lehigh '85	12-18	.400	Tom Schneider	Won East Coast Conference Tournament
Oakland '05	12-18	.400	Greg Kampe	Won Mid-Continent Tournament
Cal Poly '14	13-19	.406	Joe Callero	Won Big West Tournament
Texas Southern '23	14-20	.412	Johnny Jones	Won SWAC Tournament
Holy Cross '16	14-19	.424	Bill Carmody	Won Patriot League Tournament
Liberty '13	15-20	.429	Dale Layer	Won Big South Tournament
Texas Southern '18	15-19	.441	Mike Davis	Won SWAC Tournament
Coppin State '08	16-20	.444	Fang Mitchell	Won MEAC Tournament
East Carolina '93	13-16	.448	Eddie Payne	Won Colonial Tournament
Prairie View A&M '98	13-16	.448	Elwood Plummer	Won SWAC Tournament
San Jose State '96	13-16	.448	Stan Morrison	Won Big West Tournament
UNC Asheville '03	14-17	.452	Eddie Biedenbach	Won Big South Tournament
Western Kentucky '12	15-18	.455	Ray Harper	Won Sun Belt Tournament
Texas '74	12-14	.461	Leon Black	SWC regular-season title
Montana State '86	14-16	.466	Stu Starner	Won Big Sky Tournament
Florida A&M '04	14-16	.466	Mike Gillespie	Won MEAC Tournament
Siena '02	16-18	.471	Rob Lanier	Won MAAC Tournament
Jackson State '97	14-15	.482	Andy Stoglin	Won SWAC Tournament
Missouri '78	14-15	.482	Norm Stewart	Won Big Eight Tournament
Hampton '15	16-17	.485	Edward Joyner Jr.	Won MEAC Tournament

NOTE: District 5 committee restricted to District 5 independents (only two in the district) to fill out 1955 bracket; this rule was changed for the 1956 playoffs.

Fairfield '97 posted the worst league record among teams in this category. Following are regular-season league records of conference tournament champions:

• George Washington '61 (3-9 in Southern Conference before defeating #2 seed Virginia Tech, #3 The Citadel and #4 William & Mary by a total of 19 points).

• Missouri '78 (4-10 in Big Eight before defeating #2 seed Iowa State, #3 Nebraska and #4 Kansas State by a total of seven points).

• Lehigh '85 (6-8 in ECC before defeating #3 seed Drexel, #7 Hofstra and #1 Bucknell by a total of eight points).

• Montana State '86 (6-8 in Big Sky before defeating #4 seed Nevada, #1 Northern Arizona and #2 Montana by a total of 12 points).

• East Carolina '93 (4-10 in Colonial before defeating #2 seed Old Dominion, #6 UNC Wilmington and #1 James Madison by a total of 16 points).

• Florida International '95 (4-12 in Trans America Athletic before defeating #1 seed Stetson, #4 Southeastern Louisiana and #3 Mercer by a total of 19 points).

• Central Florida '96 (6-10 in Trans America Athletic before defeating #3 seed Southeastern Louisiana, #2 Campbell and #5 Mercer by a total of 21 points).

• San Jose State '96 (9-9 in Big West before defeating #3 seed Pacific, #2 UC Irvine and #4 Utah State by a total of 25 points).

• Fairfield '97 (2-12 in Metro Atlantic before defeating #1 seed Iona, #4 St. Peter's and #2 Canisius by a total of 27 points).

• Jackson State '97 (9-5 in Southwestern Athletic before defeating #7 seed Southern, #3 Alcorn State and #1 Mississippi Valley State by a total of 16 points).

• Prairie View '98 (6-10 in Southwestern Athletic before defeating #2 seed Jackson State, #6 Alabama State and #1 Texas Southern by a total of eight points).

• Florida A&M '99 (8-11 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #10 seed Howard, #2 Coppin State, #3 Morgan State and #1 South Carolina State by a total of 42 points).

• Siena '02 (9-9 in Metro Atlantic before defeating #10 seed St. Peter's, #2 Marist, #6 Fairfield and #4 Niagara by a total of 53 points).

• UNC Asheville '03 (7-7 in Big South before defeating #4 seed Elon, #1 Winthrop and #6 Radford by a total of 19 points).

• Florida A&M '04 (10-8 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #4 seed Hampton, #1 South Carolina State and #2 Coppin State by a total of 20 points).

• Oakland '05 (7-9 in Mid-Continent before defeating #2 seed Valparaiso, #6 Chicago State and #1 Oral Roberts by a total of seven points).

• Coppin State '08 (7-9 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating Howard, Hampton, Norfolk State and Morgan State by a total of six points).

• Western Kentucky '12 (7-9 in Sun Belt before defeating #10 seed Florida International, #2 UALR, #3 Denver and #5 North Texas by a total of 17 points).

• Liberty '13 (6-10 in Big South North Division before defeating #4S seed Coastal Carolina, #1N High Point, #2S Gardner-Webb and #1S Charleston Southern by a total of 32 points).

• Cal Poly '14 (6-10 in Big West before defeating #2 seed UC Santa Barbara, #1 UC Irvine and #5 Cal State Northridge by a total of 36 points).

• Hampton '15 (8-8 in Mid-Eastern Athletic before defeating #6 seed Maryland-Eastern Shore, #2 Norfolk State and #5 Delaware State by a total of 37 points).

• Holy Cross '16 (5-13 in Patriot League before defeating #8 seed Loyola MD, #1 Bucknell, #4 Army and #2 Lehigh by a total of 35 points).

• Texas Southern '18 (12-6 in SWAC before defeating #6 seed Alabama State, #2 Prairie View A&M and #1 Arkansas-Pine Bluff by a total of 43 points).

• Texas Southern '23 (7-11 in SWAC before defeating #1 seed Alcorn State, #5 Alabama A&M and #2 Grambling by a total of 20 points).