Unfinished Business: BYU and Xavier Still Aspire to Reach NCAA Final Four

March 20th, 2014 - 8:11

Weep On It/Think On It/Sleep On It/Drink On It. That could be the motto for Brigham Young and Xavier after they remained "Susan Lucci" schools in Division I after losing their openers in the NCAA Tournament. BYU and X are among the schools participating in at least 20 NCAA Tournaments but never advancing to a Final Four.

BYU and Xavier have twice reached a regional final but fell short in advancing to the Promised Land, which is half as many times as Missouri has been in that spot. Boston College is another bridesmaid on multiple occasions, losing three regional finals (1967, 1982 and 1994) in 18 tourney appearances (22-19 record) since the field expanded beyond eight teams in 1950.

Alabama (20-20) is the only school with a non-losing NCAA playoff record among the following list of five frustrated institutions in a quagmire because they've made a minimum of 20 appearances without reaching the Final Four:

School Tourney Appearances (Playoff Record) Regional Final Losses
Utah State 20 (6-22 mark, .214) 1970
Brigham Young 28 (15-31, .326) 1951 and 1981
Missouri 26 (22-26, .458) 1976, 1994, 2002 and 2009
Xavier 24 (21-24, .467) 2004 and 2008
Alabama 20 (20-20, .500) 2004