Personal Items: Few Things You Should Know About 2016 Final Four Coaches

There is a tendency to overindulge at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Anyone digesting the following assortment of did-you-know facts on 2016 Final Four coaches should find that variety is the spice of this smorgasbord:

• Jim Boeheim (Syracuse): Avid golfer, an assistant basketball coach under Roy Danforth, also served as varsity golf coach for the Orange from 1967 until the program disbanded in 1973. Three-year teammate of Syracuse All-American Dave Bing in the mid-1960s played in the CBA for the Scranton Miners. Boeheim made 13-of-19 field-goal attempts (68.4%) in two 1966 NCAA playoff games for East Regional runner-up. On five occasions (1977-84-96-01-03), he guided the Orange to the Top 20 in a final AP poll after they were not ranked that high in the preseason.

• Lon Kruger (Oklahoma): Never has won an undisputed regular-season conference championship (tied for first in SEC with Florida in 1993-94 and in Big Ten with Illinois in 1997-98). He was selected in 12th round of 1970 MLB draft by the Houston Astros out of high school and in 21st round of 1974 MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals after graduating from Kansas State, compiling a 1-6 pitching record in summer of '74 for St. Petersburg (Florida State League/Class A).

• Roy Williams (North Carolina): Coached eventual Tar Heels All-American Brad Daugherty in fourth grade. Williams' son, Scott, was a backup guard with the Tar Heels.

• Jay Wright (Villanova): Worked as an administrative assistant with the Philadelphia Stars football franchise, which captured the 1983 United States Football League championship.

Drawing upon all resources including degrees of success to motivate their teams, following are the educational backgrounds of the Final Four coaches:

Close likely will determine who gets to smoke the victory cigar. Boeheim boasts the best mark among active coaches in tight tilts decided by fewer than six points. Ask Arizona fans if close doesn't count after the Wildcats lost five regional finals from 2003 through 2015 by a total of 14 points. Following is how the 2016 Final Four mentors have fared at the major-college level in games decided by fewer than six points: