Elite Hate: Six Power-League Members Never Reaching NCAA Regional Final

March 28th, 2025 - 20:50

First things first! This admonition for handful of prominent schools is finally winning an NCAA playoff regional semifinal game. Nebraska didn't get out of starter's block again last year while Mississippi and Texas A&M failed to capitalize on an opportunity to erase that resume blemish this year. The Aggies made a herculean comeback against #1 seed Houston last year before losing in overtime, nixing trip to Sweet 16 and possibly advance to initial "Elite Eight." Did back-to-back frustration, along with pending roster overhaul, trigger coach Buzz Williams to leave A&M for Maryland, which advanced to back-to-back Final Fours in 2001 and 2002?

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 Rebels and 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 84 NCAA playoff appearances (including 2025) and 62-76 record (.449), 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, Dexter Cambridge, Jahii Carson, Tony Cerkvenik, Ike Diogu, Jamal Faulkner (transferred to Alabama), James Harden, Tra Holder, DJ Horne (transferred to North Carolina State), 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 10 7-10 .412 Keith Carter, Carlos Clark, Terence Davis, Aaron Harper, Marshall Henderson, Marcus Hicks, Stefan Moody, Justin Reed, Sean Pedulla, Ansu Sesay, Elston Turner and Breein Tyree
Nebraska 8 0-8 .000 Cookie Belcher, Jaron Boone, Derrick Chandler, Bernard Day, Juwan Gary, Venson Hamilton, Carl Hayes, Rich King, Tyronn Lue, Rienk Mast, Terran Petteway, Eric Piatkowski, Shavon Shields, Erick Strickland, Keisei Tominaga, Brice Williams and Andre Woolridge (transferred to Iowa)
Northwestern 3 3-3 .500 Chase Audige, Brooks Barnhizer, Boo Buie, Ryan Langborg, Vic Law, Scottie Lindsey, Bryant McIntosh and Dererk Pardon
Texas A&M 17 15-18 .455 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, Zhuric Phelps, Tyrece Radford, Claude Riley, Vernon Smith, Wade Taylor IV, Robert Williams, Rudy Woods and Rynn Wright