Missing in Main Action: Antoine Davis Shut Out of Postseason Despite 5 Years
Naturally, it would be unfair to include "one-and-done" players from three seasons ago as coronavirus prevented them from participating in national postseason competition. But you can go back to Big Ben to assess whether he was a freshman phenom or flop. Seven seasons ago, LSU's Ben Simmons was the first NCAA consensus All-American in 38 years (since Minnesota's Mychal Thompson and Portland State's Freeman Williams in 1978) to leave college after failing to appear in either of the two principal national postseason tournaments during their career. After previously occurring frequently, Army's Kevin Houston (1987) had been the last All-American of any type to miss the NCAA tourney and NIT until Simmons and Detroit's Antoine Davis this season (despite COVID-enhanced five years of eligibility as the Titans went 29 games below .500 during his stint). Davis, Houston, Thompson and Williams comprise four of 24 four- and five-year players among all A-As in this dubious category. Thompson is among a total of 50 such players from Big Ten Conference members.
Simmons' questionable NBA playing status the past couple of seasons is nothing new. He plus fellow All-Americans Kay Felder (Oakland) and Markelle Fultz (Washington freshman six years ago) might have made bigger names for themselves in college if they had participated in national postseason competition prior to declaring early for the NBA draft. Fultz, briefly a teammate of Simmons with the Philadelphia 76ers, became the 126th standout from a member of an existing power league (26 of them consensus) on the following alphabetical list of All-Americans, including Kevin Love's father (Stan Love/Oregon A-A in 1971), who never competed in the NCAA playoffs or NIT since the national-tourney events were introduced in the late 1930s:
*Number of times named an NCAA consensus All-American.
Exit Strategy: Big East Makes Big Moves to Try to Return to Playoff Success
By the end of March Madness, more 2023 NCAA tourney coaches than ever before had capitalized on notoriety to move on to new outposts. Maddeningly to many jilted fans, an average of four coaches per tourney leave NCAA playoff teams since seeding started in 1979 although there was a minimum of seven such pilots bailing out the last four years. The first tournament mentors to depart this season were involved in the Big East Conference - Ed Cooley (Providence to Georgetown) and Rick Pitino (Iona to St. John's after previously coaching PC). In 2005, Pitino became the first coach to guide three different schools to the Final Four after directing the Friars, Kentucky and Louisville to the Promised Land.
In every year since 1968, directing a team to the NCAA Tournament has been a springboard to what many believed was bigger-and-better things at a "poach-a-coach" school. Connecticut has had two bench bosses in this category go on to direct the Huskies to national crowns (Jim Calhoun from Northeastern and Danny Hurley from Rhode Island). Following are head coaches since the tourney field expanded to at least 64 entrants in 1985 who had a change of heart and accepted similar job at a different major college promptly after directing team to the NCAA playoffs:
1985 (six) - J.D. Barnett (Virginia Commonwealth to Tulsa), Craig Littlepage (Penn to Rutgers), Nolan Richardson Jr. (Tulsa to Arkansas), Andy Russo (Louisiana Tech to Washington), Tom Schneider (Lehigh to Penn), Eddie Sutton (Arkansas to Kentucky)
1986 (four) - Jim Calhoun (Northeastern to Connecticut), Paul Evans (Navy to Pittsburgh), Clem Haskins (Western Kentucky to Minnesota), George Raveling (Iowa to Southern California)
1987 (two) - Jim Brandenburg (Wyoming to San Diego State), Benny Dees (New Orleans to Wyoming)
1988 (two) - Dave Bliss (Southern Methodist to New Mexico), Tom Penders (Rhode Island to Texas)
1989 (four) - Tommy Joe Eagles (Louisiana Tech to Auburn), Bill Frieder (Michigan to Arizona State), Rick Majerus (Ball State to Utah), Lynn Nance (Saint Mary's to Washington)
1990 (five) - Kermit Davis Jr. (Idaho to Texas A&M), Mike Jarvis (Boston University to George Washington), Lon Kruger (Kansas State to Florida), Mike Newell (UALR to Lamar), Les Robinson (East Tennessee State to North Carolina State)
1991 (four) - Tony Barone (Creighton to Texas A&M), Jim Molinari (Northern Illinois to Bradley), Stew Morrill (Montana to Colorado State), Steve Newton (Murray State to South Carolina)
1992 (one) - Charlie Spoonhour (Southwest Missouri State to Saint Louis)
1993 (one) - Eddie Fogler (Vanderbilt to South Carolina)
1994 (eight) - Tom Asbury (Pepperdine to Kansas State), Rick Barnes (Providence to Clemson), Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T to Old Dominion), Kevin O'Neill (Marquette to Tennessee), Skip Prosser (Loyola MD to Xavier), Kelvin Sampson (Washington State to Oklahoma), Ralph Willard (Western Kentucky to Pittsburgh), Jim Wooldridge (Southwest Texas State to Louisiana Tech)
1995 (three) - Dick Bennett (Wisconsin-Green Bay to Wisconsin), Scott Edgar (Murray State to Duquesne), Tubby Smith (Tulsa to Georgia)
1996 (one) - Ben Braun (Eastern Michigan to California)
1997 (five) - Ernie Kent (Saint Mary's to Oregon), Mack McCarthy (UT-Chattanooga to Virginia Commonwealth), Jim O'Brien (Boston College to Ohio State), Steve Robinson (Tulsa to Florida State), Al Skinner (Rhode Island to Boston College), Tubby Smith (Georgia to Kentucky)
1998 (seven) - Rick Barnes (Clemson to Texas), Larry Eustachy (Utah State to Iowa State), Rob Evans (Mississippi to Arizona State), Mark Gottfried (Murray State to Alabama), Mike Jarvis (George Washington to St. John's), Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte to Texas A&M), Tim Welsh (Iona to Providence)
1999 (four) - Steve Alford (Southwest Missouri State to Iowa), Dave Bliss (New Mexico to Baylor), Jim Harrick (Rhode Island to Georgia), Dan Monson (Gonzaga to Minnesota)
2000 (four) - Barry Collier (Butler to Nebraska), Ray McCallum (Ball State) to Houston), Buzz Peterson (Appalachian State to Tulsa), Bill Self (Tulsa to Illinois)
2001 (five) - Thad Matta (Butler to Xavier), Dave Odom (Wake Forest to South Carolina), Skip Prosser (Xavier to Wake Forest), Gary Waters (Kent State to Rutgers), Jay Wright (Hofstra to Villanova)
2002 (three) - Stan Heath (Kent State to Arkansas), Steve Merfeld (Hampton to Evansville), Jerry Wainwright (UNC Wilmington to Richmond)
2003 (eight) - Cy Alexander (South Carolina State to Tennessee State), Ed DeChellis (East Tennessee State to Penn State), Dennis Felton (Western Kentucky to Georgia), Ben Howland (Pittsburgh to UCLA), Oliver Purnell (Dayton to Clemson), Bill Self (Illinois to Kansas), Dereck Whittenburg (Wagner to Fordham), Roy Williams (Kansas to North Carolina)
2004 (eight) - Jessie Evans (Louisiana-Lafayette to San Francisco), Ray Giacoletti (Eastern Washington to Utah), Billy Gillispie (Texas-El Paso to Texas A&M, Trent Johnson (Nevada to Stanford), Thad Matta (Xavier to Ohio State), Matt Painter (Southern Illinois to Purdue), Joe Scott (Air Force to Princeton), John Thompson III (Princeton to Georgetown)
2005 (two) - Travis Ford (Eastern Kentucky to Massachusetts), Bruce Pearl (Wisconsin-Milwaukee to Tennessee)
2006 (eight) - Mike Anderson (UAB to Missouri), Brad Brownell (UNC Wilmington to Wright State), Mick Cronin (Murray State to Cincinnati), Mike Davis (Indiana to UAB), Fran Dunphy (Penn to Temple), Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa to Iowa State), Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma to Indiana), Herb Sendek (North Carolina State to Arizona State)
2007 (four) - Ronnie Arrow (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to South Alabama), Todd Lickliter (Butler to Iowa), Billy Gillispie (Texas A&M to Kentucky), Gregg Marshall (Winthrop to Wichita State)
2008 (five) - Jim Christian (Kent State to Texas Christian), Tom Crean (Marquette to Indiana), Keno Davis (Drake to Providence), Darrin Horn (Western Kentucky to South Carolina), Trent Johnson (Stanford to Louisiana State)
2009 (three) - John Calipari (Memphis to Kentucky), Anthony Grant (Virginia Commonwealth to Alabama), Sean Miller (Xavier to Arizona)
2010 (five) - Tony Barbee (Texas-El Paso to Auburn), Steve Donahue (Cornell to Boston College), Bob Marlin (Sam Houston State to Louisiana-Lafayette), Fran McCaffery (Siena to Iowa), Oliver Purnell (Clemson to DePaul).
2011 (seven) - Mike Anderson (Missouri to Arkansas), Patrick Chambers (Boston University to Penn State), Ed DeChellis (Penn State to Navy), Sydney Johnson (Princeton to Fairfield), Lon Kruger (UNLV to Oklahoma), Jim Larranaga (George Mason to Miami FL), Mark Turgeon (Texas A&M to Maryland)
2012 (six) - Larry Eustachy (Southern Mississippi to Colorado State), Jim Ferry (Long Island to Duquesne), John Groce (Ohio University to Illinois), Frank Martin (Kansas State to South Carolina), Tim Miles (Colorado State to Nebraska), Sean Woods (Mississippi Valley State to Morehead State)
2013 (two) - Steve Alford (New Mexico to UCLA), Andy Enfield (Florida Gulf Coast to Southern California)
2014 (three) - Danny Manning (Tulsa to Wake Forest), Cuonzo Martin (Tennessee to California), Saul Phillips (North Dakota State to Ohio University)
2015 (two) - Bobby Hurley (Buffalo to Arizona State), Shaka Smart (Virginia Commonwealth to Texas)
2016 (seven) - Chris Beard (UALR to UNLV to Texas Tech), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh to Texas Christian), Scott Nagy (South Dakota State to Wright State), Steve Pikiell (Stony Brook to Rutgers), Tubby Smith (Texas Tech to Memphis), Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt to Pittsburgh), Brad Underwood (Stephen F. Austin to Oklahoma State)
2017 (six) - Chris Holtmann (Butler to Ohio State), Kevin Keatts (UNC Wilmington to North Carolina State), Archie Miller (Dayton to Indiana), Brad Underwood (Oklahoma State to Illinois), Will Wade (Virginia Commonwealth to Louisiana State), Paul Weir (New Mexico State to New Mexico)
2018 (three) - Mike Davis (Texas Southern to Detroit), Danny Hurley (Rhode Island to Connecticut), Chris Mack (Xavier to Louisville)
2019 (seven) - John Brannen (Northern Kentucky to Cincinnati), Mick Cronin (Cincinnati to UCLA), Ron Hunter (Georgia State to Tulane), Eric Musselman (Nevada to Arkansas), Nate Oats (Buffalo to Alabama), Buzz Williams (Virginia Tech to Texas A&M), Mike Young (Wofford to Virginia Tech)
2021 (eight) - Chris Beard (Texas Tech to Texas), Joe Golding (Abilene Christian to Texas-El Paso), Pat Kelsey (Winthrop to College of Charleston), Shantay Legans (Eastern Washington to Portland), Wes Miller (UNC Greensboro to Cincinnati), Porter Moser (Loyola of Chicago to Oklahoma), Shaka Smart (Texas to Marquette), Craig Smith (Utah State to Utah)
2022 (seven) - Todd Golden (San Francisco to Florida), Shaheen Holloway (Saint Peter's to Seton Hall), Chris Jans (New Mexico State to Mississippi State), Rob Lanier (Georgia State to Southern Methodist), Matt McMahon (Murray State to Louisiana State), Lamont Paris (Chattanooga to South Carolina), Kevin Willard (Seton Hall to Maryland)
2023 (11) - Amir Abdur-Rahim (Kennesaw State to South Florida), Tobin Anderson (Fairleigh Dickinson to Iona), Chris Beard (Texas* to Mississippi), Ed Cooley (Providence to Georgetown), Steve Lutz (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to Western Kentucky), Paul Mills (Oral Roberts to Wichita State), Ryan Odom (Utah State to Virginia Commonwealth), Rick Pitino (Iona to St. John's), Mike Rhoades (Virginia Commonwealth to Penn State), Micah Shrewsberry (Penn State to Notre Dame), Danny Sprinkle (Montana State to Utah State)
*Fired in mid-season.
Slow Start: All-American Kris Murray Averaged Only 0.6 PPG as IA Freshman
In a microwave atmosphere of instant expectations, Iowa's Kris Murray (0.6 points per game in 2020-21) failed to generate national headlines in his freshman season with the Hawkeyes before blossoming into an All-American two years later. He is a textbook example why fans shouldn't put too much stock in freshman statistics.
Murray, posting the lowest-ever freshman scoring average for an eventual All-American, isn't the only standout who endured growing pains. The following alphabetical list of players averaged fewer than three points per game as a freshman before eventually earning All-American acclaim:
Eventual All-American Pos. A-A School Freshman Scoring Average Cole Aldrich C Kansas 2.8 ppg in 2007-08 Lorenzo Charles F North Carolina State 2.2 ppg in 1981-82 Rakeem Christmas F Syracuse 2.8 ppg in 2011-12 Keith Edmonson G Purdue 1.3 ppg in 1978-79 Aaron Gray C Pittsburgh 1.7 ppg in 2003-04 Erick Green G Virginia Tech 2.6 ppg in 2009-10 Tom Gugliotta F North Carolina State 2.7 ppg in 1988-89 Rui Hachimura F Gonzaga 2.6 ppg in 2016-17 Roy Hamilton G UCLA 1.2 ppg in 1975-76 Jeff Jonas G Utah 2.8 ppg in 1973-74 Johnny Juzang G UCLA 2.9 ppg in 2019-20 with Kentucky Frank Kaminsky C-F Wisconsin 1.8 ppg in 2011-12 Ted Kitchel F Indiana 1.7 ppg in 1979-80 Bob Kurland C Oklahoma A&M 2.5 ppg in 1942-43 Tom LaGarde C North Carolina 2.2 ppg in 1973-74 Jock Landale C Saint Mary's 2.1 ppg in 2014-15 Kenyon Martin C Cincinnati 2.8 ppg in 1996-97 Luke Maye F North Carolina 1.2 ppg in 2015-16 Kris Murray F Iowa 0.6 ppg in 2020-21 John Pilch G Wyoming 2.4 ppg in 1946-47 Thomas Robinson F Kansas 2.5 ppg in 2009-10 Steve Scheffler C Purdue 1.5 ppg in 1986-87 Russ Smith G Louisville 2.2 ppg in 2010-11 Earl Tatum G-F Marquette 1.5 ppg in 1972-73 Kurt Thomas F-C Texas Christian 0.8 ppg in 1990-91 Al Thornton F Florida State 2.8 ppg in 2003-04 B.J. Tyler G Texas 2.9 ppg in 1989-90 with DePaul Scottie Wilbekin G Florida 2.4 ppg in 2010-11 Jeff Withey C Kansas 1.3 ppg in 2009-10 NOTES: Oregon's Wally Borrevik (1.8 ppg in 1940-41), Wisconsin's Gene Englund (2.3 ppg in 1938-39), California's Darrall Imhoff (0.9 ppg in 1957-58), Kansas' Dean Kelley (0.8 in 1950-51), Purdue's Bob Kessler (2.3 ppg in 1933-34), Notre Dame's Leo Klier (2.7 in 1942-43), Oklahoma A&M's Gale McArthur (2.96 ppg in 1948-49), Notre Dame's Bob Rensberger (1.5 ppg in 1940-41) and Stanford's George Yardley (2.9 ppg in 1947-48) averaged fewer than three points per game as sophomores when freshmen weren't eligible to play varsity basketball before becoming All-Americans. . . . Withey originally attended Arizona.
Juwan and Only: NCAA Playoff Coaching Records For Former All-Americans
A modest total of 14 individuals have emerged victorious as both an All-American player and head coach in NCAA Tournament competition. Michigan's Juwan Howard is the only one of them to compile winning NCAA tourney records at least two games above .500 in each category. Howard, joining Memphis' Penny Hardaway, Duke's Jon Scheyer and Indiana's Mike Woodson as former All-Americans coaching their alma mater in either of the last two NCAA playoffs, advanced to a Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons. Michigan was projected as a playoff team again this year but had a mediocre campaign, preventing the Wolverines from becoming the sixth squad in this year's tourney coached by a former All-American.
Indiana's Branch McCracken, who directed the Hoosiers to NCAA tourney titles in 1940 and 1953, is the only one of the first nearly 70 All-Americans becoming major-college mentors to finish his coaching career compiling a higher winning percentage as coach. But McCracken and Whitey Baccus, Tom Churchill, Jack Gray, Moose Krause plus John Wooden were A-As before the NCAA Tournament was introduced in 1939. More than 40 All-Americans who became major-college coaches either did not play or coach in NCAA playoffs. Five Duke graduates are among the following alphabetical list of 24 individuals participating in national tourney as an All-American player and bench boss (nine of them guiding their alma mater):
| All-American/Tourney Coach | Playoff Record as Player | Playoff Record as Head Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Steve Alford | 8-2 with Indiana | 11-12 with Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico, UCLA and Nevada |
| Tommy Amaker | 8-4 with Duke | 4-5 with Seton Hall and Harvard |
| Alfred "Butch" Beard | 1-3 with Louisville | 0-1 with Howard University |
| Henry Bibby | 12-0 with UCLA | 3-3 with Southern California |
| Jimmy Collins | 7-4 with New Mexico State | 0-3 with Illinois-Chicago |
| Bob Cousy | 5-1 with Holy Cross | 2-2 with Boston College |
| Howie Dallmar | 3-0 with Stanford | 1-1 with Penn |
| Johnny Dawkins | 6-3 with Duke | 3-2 with Stanford and UCF |
| Patrick Ewing Sr. | 15-3 with Georgetown | 0-1 with Georgetown |
| Larry Finch Sr. | 3-1 with Memphis State | 6-6 with Memphis State |
| Sidney Green | 0-1 with UNLV | 0-1 with Florida Atlantic |
| Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway | 1-1 with Memphis State | 2-2 with Memphis |
| Clem Haskins | 2-2 with Western Kentucky | 11-8 with Western Kentucky and Minnesota |
| Walt Hazzard | 6-4 with UCLA | 1-1 with UCLA |
| Juwan Howard | 13-3 with Michigan | 5-2 with Michigan |
| Bobby Hurley Jr. | 18-2 with Duke | 2-4 with Buffalo and Arizona State |
| Danny Manning | 13-3 with Kansas | 0-2 with Tulsa and Wake Forest |
| Chris Mullin | 6-4 with St. John's | 0-1 with St. John's |
| Jeff Mullins | 6-2 with Duke | 0-3 with UNC Charlotte |
| Jeff Ruland | 1-2 with Iona | 0-3 with Iona |
| Jon Scheyer | 9-3 with Duke | 1-1 with Duke |
| John Shumate | 2-1 with Notre Dame | 0-1 with Southern Methodist |
| John Thompson Jr. | 0-1 with Providence | 34-19 with Georgetown |
| Mike Woodson | 2-2 with Indiana | 2-2 with Indiana |
Mid-Major Gladness: Gonzaga Reaches Sweet 16 for Eighth Straight Tourney
In 2023, there could be a chance of three mid-major Final Four participants duplicating what Jacksonville, New Mexico State and St. Bonaventure achieved in 1970. After an average of four mid-level schools reached the Sweet 16 in a six-year span from 2006 through 2011, the previous decade could have cemented the premise about mid-major schools deserving additional at-large consideration. But that was before nine mid-level schools - UCF, Gonzaga, New Mexico, St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Saint Mary's, Southern Mississippi, UNLV and Virginia Commonwealth - were eliminated in games against power six conference members by an average of only four points in 2012, the Mountain West Conference flopped in 2013, only two mid-majors reached the Sweet 16 in 2014 and 2015, Northern Iowa and Stephen F. Austin frittered away last-minute leads against power-league opponents in 2016 and Rhode Island squandered a significant lead against Oregon.
Butler, Gonzaga, Virginia Commonwealth and Wichita State advancing to the Final Four the previous decade was invigorating, but the mid-major community missed out on a potential bonanza. Gonzaga reached the second weekend for the eighth consecutive tourney. Following is a look at how at least one mid-major conference member advanced to a regional semifinal or beyond since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985:
College Exam: Day #9 For One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge
Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper, seeking translator to try to understand Plagiarist Biledumb before his afternoon nap 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 9 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 was the only athlete to lead his championship team in scoring in two Final Four games and pitch in the major leagues the same year? Hint: He was a guard for three consecutive Final Four teams and was selected to the All-NCAA Tournament team as a senior.
2. Name the only school with more than 1,300 victories in the 20th Century never to reach the Final Four. Hint: The school participated in the NCAA playoffs just once (1992) in last 40-plus years.
3. Name the only school to defeat a team three times in a season the opponent captured the NCAA title. Hint: The school also defeated the same conference foe three times the next season as defending national champion.
4. Name the only champion to win its two Final Four games by a total of more than 50 points. Hint: The titlist suffered its only loss that season against one of the Final Four victims.
5. Of the 35 Final Four Most Outstanding Players selected from 1946 through 1981 when there was a national third-place game, who was the only honoree to play for a fourth-place team? Hint: He never averaged as many as nine points per game in four NBA seasons.
6. Name the only school to lose in back-to-back years in the first round to different institutions going on to capture national titles those years. Hint: The school won a total of 47 games in the two seasons. The two defeats were in the middle of six consecutive playoff appearances for the school after it appeared in playoffs just once from 1939 through 1982.
7. Name the only year four teams arrived at the national semifinals with a composite winning percentage of less than 75 percent. Hint: The two schools that met in the national third-place game are traditional football powers. The college losing both of its Final Four games that year is the only national semifinalist to finish a season with as many as 14 defeats.
8. Who is the only player to score more than 60 points in a single playoff game and to score more than 43 points at least twice? Hint: Of the players who scored more than 235 playoff points and/or averaged more than 25 points per tournament game (minimum of three games), he is the only individual from the select group to have a losing playoff record. He is the only one of the top 25 playoff scorers never to reach Final Four.
9. Who is the only male player to score more than 44 points in a single Final Four game? Hint: He is the only player to twice convert more than 12 free throws without a miss in playoff game.
10. Who is the only player to score more than 400 points in his playoff career? Hint: The only individual to start in four straight Final Fours hit two last-second shots to help his team win East Regional final overtime games and is only player with at least 10 championship game free-throw attempts to convert all of them.
League of Their Own: No Power League Provided 4 Sweet 16 Teams in 2023
Packing the court legitimately seven years ago, the ACC set an NCAA Tournament record with six Sweet 16 participants. No power league had as many as four for the second straight year (Big East and SEC tied for high with three apiece while mighty Big 12 had two). In 2016-17, the national media proclaimed the ACC as perhaps the greatest league in history but that assessment came before the nine-bid alliance was fortunate to have one representative among regional semifinalists (North Carolina overcame five-point deficit in last three minutes against Arkansas) and failed to produce a single individual among 19 All-Americans two seasons ago. #MessMedia proclaimed the Big Ten as dominant last season but only one of nine participants survived the first weekend of competition. The Big Ten, after having three NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans out of commission prior to Sweet 16 over the past two years, became the first conference securing at least nine entrants in single tourney and have none of them advance to a regional final in 2022.
In 2009, the Big East became the first conference to boast five playoff teams reaching the regional semifinals in the same year until the ACC duplicated the feat two years ago. The ACC boasted four members advancing that far on eight occasions in a 12-year stretch from 1984 through 1995.
The ACC in 1985 was the only league in this category not to have at least one of the quartet reach the Final Four until the Big East was foiled in 2006. The following list of thoroughbred leagues supplied at least four Sweet 16 participants a total of 30 times since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980:
x-Won NCAA championship
y-Finished national runner-up
z-Reached Final Four
College Exam: Day #8 For One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge
Unless you're still busy hoarding toilet paper, seeking translator to try to understand hair-sniffing Plagiarist Biledumb 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 8 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 school to reach the Final Four three consecutive years on two separate occasions in the 20th Century. Hint: In the first three-year stretch, it became the only school to lose three straight national semifinal games. In the second three-year stretch, the school was involved in only times two teams from same state met each other in championship game.
2. What was the only year two undefeated teams reached the Final Four? Hint: One of the squads had a perfect ending after winning in the national semifinals and championship game by an average of 16 points, while the other club that was unbeaten lost in national semifinals and third-place game by an average of 15 points.
3. Who is the shortest player to lead an NCAA champion in scoring average? Hint: He was part of a three-guard starting lineup, averaging under 5-10 in height, playing the entire championship game for the only current Division I school to capture an NCAA title despite never having an NCAA consensus first- or second-team All-American.
4. Who is the only U.S. Olympic basketball coach to win the NCAA and NIT titles with different schools? Hint: He never participated in a national postseason tournament with the third university he coached (Michigan State).
5. Who was the only coach to direct two different schools to the Final Four twice apiece in the 20th Century? Hint: He is the only coach to compile a record of more than four games under .500 in Final Four contests and only coach to guide three teams to national fourth-place finishes.
6. Who is the only coach of a championship team other than Rick Pitino to subsequently coach another university and compile a winning NCAA playoff record at his last major-college job? Hint: He is the only coach to win a national title at a school where he stayed less than five seasons.
7. Of the coaches to reach the national semifinals at least twice, who is the only one to compile an undefeated Final Four record? Hint: He won both of his championship games against the same school. He is also the only NCAA consensus first-team All-American to later coach his alma mater to an NCAA title.
8. Name the only school to lead UCLA at halftime in the 22 Final Four games for the Bruins' 11 titlists. Hint: The school leading one of the 11 UCLA champions at intermission of a Final Four game was coached by a John Wooden protege.
9. Of the coaches hired by NBA teams after winning an NCAA championship, who is the only one to compile a non-losing NBA playoff record? Hint: He is one of four different men to coach an undefeated NCAA championship team.
10. Name the only school to defeat a team by as many as 27 points in a season the opponent wound up winning the national title. Hint: The school is also the only one to defeat an eventual national titlist twice in same season by at least 12 points.
One-in-Five Chance: First Year Two First Four Winners Prevail in First Round
Only 21% of Preliminary Round/First Four winners went on to post another victory in their next assignment (14-of-67 from 1983 through 2023; no round of such competition from 1985 through 2000). This year marked the first time two teams coming off a Preliminary Round/First Four success also emerged victorious in their next outing. Eleven of the last 12 NCAA tourneys had a First Four winner seeded from #11 to #13 go on to prevail in a first-round contest. Following is a chronological list of Preliminary Round/First Four participants going on to win a first-round game in regular 64-team bracket:
| Year | Regional | NCAA First-Round Victory for Preliminary Round/First Four Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | West | #12 Princeton 56 (Robinson/Simkus game-high 20 points), #5 Oklahoma State 53 (Clark 15) |
| 1984 | East | #12 Richmond 72 (Newman 26), #5 Auburn 71 (Barkley 23) |
| 2011 | South | #11 Virginia Commonwealth 74 (Rozzell 26), #6 Georgetown 56 (Thompson 24) |
| 2012 | Midwest | #12 South Florida 58 (Collins/Rudd Jr. 17), #5 Temple 44 (Wyatt 19) |
| 2013 | West | #13 La Salle 63 (Wright 21), #4 Kansas State 61 (Henrique/Southwell 17) |
| 2014 | Midwest | #11 Tennessee 86 (Stokes 26), #6 Massachusetts 67 (Esho/Williams 12) |
| 2015 | East | #11 Dayton 66 (Pierre 20), #6 Providence 53 (Henton 18) |
| 2016 | South | #11 Wichita State 65 (VanVleet 16), #6 Arizona 55 (Allen 11) |
| 2017 | East | #11 Southern California 66 (Stewart 22), #6 Southern Methodist 65 (Ojeleye 24) |
| 2018 | Midwest | #11 Syracuse 57 (Dolezaj 17), #6 Texas Christian 52 (Williams 14) |
| 2021 | East | #11 UCLA 73 (Juzang 27), #6 Brigham Young 62 (Barcello 20) |
| 2022 | West | #11 Notre Dame 78 (Ryan 29), #6 Alabama 64 (Ellis 16) |
| 2023 | Midwest | #11 Pittsburgh 59 (Cummings 13), #6 Iowa State 41 (Holmes/Kascheur 12) |
| 2023 | East | #16 Fairleigh Dickinson 63 (Moore 19), #1 Purdue 58 (Edey 21) |
NOTE: VCU '11 and UCLA '21 advanced to Final Four. La Salle '13, Tennessee '14 and Syracuse '18 reached Sweet 16.
Gonzaga Boasts 11 Different NCAA Consensus All-Americans This Century
NBA success in several years likely will reveal voter shortcomings as highly-ranked Gonzaga was the only non-power conference member to supply NCAA consensus All-Americans the past three campaigns. The Zags have a striking number of 11 different players accorded such consensus A-A status thus far this century. Two years ago, they joined Illinois (2004-05) as the only two schools in a 73-season span to feature three consensus All-Americans in same season since Kentucky in 1948-49. Following is a chronological list of mid-level NCAA consensus first- and second-team All-Americans since the ACC was introduced in 1953-54:
As Good As It Got: Schools Entering Playoffs With Longest Winning Streaks
Gonzaga entered NCAA Tournament final two years ago boasting a school-record winning streak (35) before beaten by Baylor. The Zags should know the fact numerous other teams had the daunting task of capturing the NCAA championship or watch even longer school-record winning streaks come to a halt. Oral Roberts entered national playoffs this campaign with a 17-game winning streak, which is significantly shorter than the following alphabetical list of schools boasting still existing all-time DI winning streaks of at least 25 consecutive victories broken during the NCAA playoffs:
| School | Streak | Date Ended | Opponent | Score | NCAA Tourney Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | 26 | 4-5-10 | Duke | 61-59 | Championship Game |
| College of Charleston | 25 | 3-12-99 | Tulsa | 62-53 | East Regional First |
| Columbia | 32 | 3-20-51 | Illinois | 79-71 | East Regional First |
| Davidson | 25 | 3-30-08 | Kansas | 59-57 | Midwest Regional Final |
| Duke | 32 | 3-29-99 | Connecticut | 77-74 | Championship Game |
| Florida | 30 | 4-5-14 | Connecticut | 63-53 | National Semifinals |
| Gonzaga | 35 | 4-5-21 | Baylor | 86-70 | Championship Game |
| Houston | 32 | 3-22-68 | UCLA | 101-69 | National Semifinals |
| Indiana | 34 | 3-22-75 | Kentucky | 92-90 | Mideast Regional Final |
| Indiana State | 33 | 3-26-79 | Michigan State | 75-64 | Championship Game |
| Kentucky | 38 | 4-4-15 | Wisconsin | 71-64 | National Semifinals |
| Loyola Marymount | 25 | 3-19-88 | North Carolina | 123-97 | West Regional Second |
| Marquette | 39 | 3-18-71 | Ohio State | 60-59 | Mideast Regional Semifinals |
| Memphis | 27 | 3-26-09 | Missouri | 102-91 | West Regional Semifinals |
| Ohio State | 32 | 3-25-61 | Cincinnati | 70-65 | Championship Game |
| Rutgers | 31 | 3-27-76 | Michigan | 86-70 | National Semifinals |
| Stephen F. Austin | 29 | 3-23-14 | UCLA | 77-60 | South Regional Second |
| Temple | 25 | 3-21-58 | Kentucky | 61-60 | National Semifinals |
| UNLV | 45 | 3-30-91 | Duke | 79-77 | National Semifinals |
| Wichita State | 35 | 3-23-14 | Kentucky | 78-76 | Midwest Regional Second |
College Exam: Day #7 For One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge
Unless you're still busy hoarding toilet paper, seeking translator to figure out what Plagiarist Biledumb is talking about 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 7 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 coach to grace the NCAA playoffs in five decades. Hint: He achieved the feat with four different universities.
2. Who is the only player to score a team-high point total in his prominent school's first NCAA Tournament victory the same year he earned All-American honors as a quarterback for a national football champion? Hint: He later became executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after coaching two different universities when they participated in the Rose Bowl.
3. Who is the only individual to be more than 10 games below .500 in his initial campaign as a major-college head coach and subsequently guide a team to a national championship? Hint: He won his last 10 NCAA Tournament games decided by fewer than five points. In his last two playoff appearances with the former titlist, it became the only school to receive at-large bids in back-to-back years with as many as 14 defeats entering the tourney.
4. Name the only school to be denied three NCAA Tournament berths because it was on probation. Hint: The three times the school didn't participate in the national playoffs because of NCAA probation were from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.
5. Who was the only player to score more than 40 points in his first tournament game? Hint: The university left the Division I level for 28 years and was UCLA's first victim when the Bruins started a 38-game winning streak in the playoffs. He and his twin brother were infielders together with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
6. Name the only school to deploy just five players in an entire championship game. Hint: The school, participating in the playoffs for the first time that year, set a record for largest winning margin with a 69-point victory in its first-round game. The school is the only former NCAA champion never to compete against legendary coaches Bob Knight and Dean Smith.
7. Who is the only individual to go as many as 25 years between coaching teams in the NCAA Tournament? Hint: His first two playoff teams were eliminated in their tourney openers by eventual championship game participants.
8. Name the only school to have more than one two-time first-team All-American never reach the Final Four. Hint: One of the players is the only three-time first-team All-America to fail to appear in the NCAA playoffs. The school is the only top four seed to lose a first-round game by more than 20 points.
9. Who is the only player to have season scoring averages of fewer than 10 points per game in back-to-back years he was named to the All-NCAA Tournament team? Hint: His school reached the national championship game each season and had two different centers named Final Four Most Outstanding Player. Also, he is part of the only set of brothers to play together in two NCAA title games. One of their teammates became a marquee coach.
10. Who is the only individual to play for an NCAA basketball champion and in a major league baseball World Series? Hint: He was primarily a relief pitcher for six different teams in 13 big league seasons from 1975 through 1989.
Mixing March Madness & Sadness: Two More #1 Seeds Exit Before Sweet 16
For all the bitter disappointment experienced by fans of a highly-ranked team such as Purdue bowing out of the provocative NCAA Tournament early, there is an equal amount of euphoria emanating from supporters of the victor. The range of disparate emotions is one of the reasons there is such a fascination with upsets because nothing is guaranteed as evidenced by a power team knocked off its high horse by a darkhorse.
Until 20 1/2-point underdog UMBC blew out Virginia by 20 points in 2018, the ultimate in March Madness materialized in 1993 when Arizona, ranked fifth by AP, was stunned in the first round of the West Regional by Santa Clara (64-61). In terms of point spreads, it was the biggest upset in NCAA playoff history in the 20th Century because Santa Clara was a 20-point underdog. Norfolk State subsequently ignored a 21 1/2-point margin to knock off Missouri.
A total of 29 No. 1 seeds, including DePaul three straight years from 1980 through 1982, failed to reach the regional semifinals since seeding was introduced in 1979. Villanova, bowing out in this category twice in three seasons earlier during the previous decade, was the sixth #1 seed in eight-year span - losing by an average of fewer than three points - joining the following crestfallen top-seeded teams:
| Year | No. 1 Seed | Regional | Loss in Second Round | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | North Carolina | East | #9 seed Penn | 72-71 |
| 1980 | DePaul | West | #8 UCLA | 77-71 |
| 1981 | DePaul | Mideast | #9 St. Joseph's | 49-48 |
| 1981 | Oregon State | West | #8 Kansas State | 50-48 |
| 1982 | DePaul | Midwest | #8 Boston College | 82-75 |
| 1985 | Michigan | Southeast | #8 Villanova | 59-55 |
| 1986 | St. John's | West | #8 Auburn | 81-65 |
| 1990 | Oklahoma | Midwest | #8 North Carolina | 79-77 |
| 1992 | Kansas | Midwest | #9 Texas-El Paso | 66-60 |
| 1994 | North Carolina | East | #9 Boston College | 75-72 |
| 1996 | Purdue | West | #8 Georgia | 76-69 |
| 1998 | Kansas | Midwest | #8 Rhode Island | 80-75 |
| 2000 | Arizona | West | #8 Wisconsin | 66-59 |
| 2000 | Stanford | South | #8 North Carolina | 60-53 |
| 2002 | Cincinnati | West | #8 UCLA | 105-101 (2OT) |
| 2004 | Kentucky | St. Louis/Midwest | #9 UAB | 76-75 |
| 2004 | Stanford | Phoenix/West | #8 Alabama | 70-67 |
| 2010 | Kansas | Midwest | #9 Northern Iowa | 69-67 |
| 2011 | Pittsburgh | Southeast | #8 Butler | 71-70 |
| 2013 | Gonzaga | West | #9 Wichita State | 76-70 |
| 2014 | Wichita State | Midwest | #8 Kentucky | 78-76 |
| 2015 | Villanova | East | #8 North Carolina State | 71-68 |
| 2017 | Villanova | East | #8 Wisconsin | 65-62 |
| 2018 | Xavier | West | #9 Florida State | 75-70 |
| 2021 | Illinois | Midwest | #8 Loyola of Chicago | 71-58 |
| 2022 | Baylor | East | #8 North Carolina | 93-86 (OT) |
| 2023 | Kansas | West | #8 Arkansas | 72-71 |
| Year | No. 1 Seed | Regional | Loss in First Round | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Virginia | South | #16 Maryland-Baltimore County | 74-54 |
| 2023 | Purdue | East | #16 Fairleigh Dickinson | 63-58 |
Fall-Americans: NCAA Consensus First-Team A-As Denied Reaching Sweet 16
Exit of Zach Edey (Purdue) is nothing new for Big Ten Conference "big-boy busts." Last year marked the first time four available NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans - three from Big Ten - failed to reach the national tournament Sweet 16 since 1975 when field expanded to 32 teams and every entrant had to win at least one game before advancing to regional semifinals. This was the third consecutive campaign when at least three consensus first-team All-Americans didn't advance to Sweet 16. Hopefully, none of the dearly departed will cross over to women's tourney to try to be hoops version of Lia Thomas.
Four consensus first-teamers didn't reach Sweet 16 in 2000 but one of them was injured (Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin broke his right leg in C-USA Tournament). There has been only one year (2006) when every consensus first-teamer appeared in Sweet 16 since seeding was introduced in 1979. Seven different first-teamers lost in the opening round in the past 10 tourneys (cancelled in 2020).
Creighton's Doug McDermott is the only first-teamer in that span failing to play in second weekend three straight seasons (2012 through 2014) and DePaul's Mark Aguirre is lone first-teamer to be eliminated in opening round in back-to-back years (1980 and 1981). New Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire (Arizona) is among the following NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans failing to appear in Sweet 16 since 1975 (listed in reverse order):
^Lost opening-round game.
NOTE: Martin was injured (broke his right leg in 2000 C-USA Tournament).
Youth Movement: Alabama's Brandon Miller Falls Just Short of Fab Frosh List
Prior to pathetic playoff performance, Brandon Miller (Alabama) was outstanding as a freshman in becoming an NCAA consensus second-team All-American. But he fell short of first-team acclaim. Two years ago, Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham achieved a distinction luminaries Mark Aguirre, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Patrick Ewing, Phil Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, James Harden, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Bernard King, Alonzo Mourning, Shaquille O'Neal, Derrick Rose, Ralph Sampson and Russell Westbrook failed to do. Cunningham became an NCAA consensus first-team All-American as a freshman. He was the 25th yearling on the following chronological list in this rare-air category named first-team A-A:
| Freshman First-Team All-American | Pos. | College | Year | Freshman All-American Recognition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arnie Ferrin | F | Utah | 1944 | C1 |
| Tom Gola | C-F | La Salle | 1952 | C1 |
| Keith Lee | C | Memphis State | 1982 | C1, AP2 |
| Wayman Tisdale | F-C | Oklahoma | 1983 | AP1, C1, USBWA1, UPI2, NABC3 |
| Chris Jackson | G | Louisiana State | 1989 | AP1, UPI1, USBWA1, NABC2 |
| Kenny Anderson | G | Georgia Tech | 1990 | NABC1, AP3 |
| Kevin Durant | F | Texas | 2007 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Greg Oden | C | Ohio State | 2007 | AP1, NABC2, USBWA2 |
| Michael Beasley | F | Kansas State | 2008 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Kevin Love | C | UCLA | 2008 | AP1, USBWA1, NABC2 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | C | Kentucky | 2010 | AP1, NABC2, USBWA2 |
| John Wall | G | Kentucky | 2010 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Jared Sullinger | F-C | Ohio State | 2011 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Anthony Davis | C | Kentucky | 2012 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Jabari Parker | F | Duke | 2014 | USBWA1 |
| Jahlil Okafor | C | Duke | 2015 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| D'Angelo Russell | G | Ohio State | 2015 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Ben Simmons | F-G | Louisiana State | 2016 | NABC1, USBWA1, AP2 |
| Lonzo Ball | G | UCLA | 2017 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Deandre Ayton | C | Arizona | 2018 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Marvin Bagley III | F-C | Duke | 2018 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Trae Young | G | Oklahoma | 2018 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| R.J. Barrett | G | Duke | 2019 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Zion Williamson | F | Duke | 2019 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
| Cade Cunningham | G | Oklahoma State | 2021 | AP1, NABC1, USBWA1 |
Player Outcasts: Awesome All-Americans MIA From NCAA Tournament Play
It doesn't take a genius to deduce All-American players are all-important to teams. Detroit's Antoine Davis (third-team selection by USBWA) is the only one of this year's 18 A-As not participating in the 2023 NCAA playoffs. Since the national tourney expanded to at least 32 teams in 1975, only three consensus first-team All-Americans never appeared in the NCAA playoffs - Houston guard Otis Birdsong (1977), Minnesota center Mychal Thompson (1978) and LSU swingman Ben Simmons (2016) - until Dayton's Obi Toppin became standout #4 in this category due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Terry Dischinger averaged 28.3 ppg in his three-year varsity career with Purdue in the early 1960s, but he is the only two-time consensus first-team All-American since World War II never to compete in the NCAA Tournament or NIT. Dischinger also endured a star-scorned nine-year NBA career without playing on a squad winning a playoff series. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year as a member of the Chicago Zephyrs in 1962-63 despite playing in only 57 games as he skipped many of the road contests to continue his education. His dedication to the classroom paid off as he became an orthodontist.
Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham averaged 24.8 ppg in his three-year varsity career with North Carolina in the mid-1960s, but he also never appeared in the NCAA tourney or NIT. How good were the players in that era if Cunningham never was a consensus first-team All-American? Auburn's Charles Barkley (defeated by Richmond in 1984) and Florida State's Dave Cowens (East Tennessee State in 1968) were All-Americans but each lost his only NCAA playoff game against a mid-major opponent. Following is a look at Dischinger and three other multiple-year NCAA consensus first-team All-Americans since the mid-1950s never to participate in the NCAA Tournament:
| Two- or Three-Time NCAA Consensus First-Team A-A | Pos. | School | Years 1st-Team A-A | NIT Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Dischinger | F | Purdue | 1961 and 1962 | DNP |
| Sihugo Green | G | Duquesne | 1955 and 1956 | 6-2 |
| Pete Maravich | G | Louisiana State | 1968 through 1970 | 2-2 |
| Chet Walker | F | Bradley | 1961 and 1962 | 3-1 |
No multiple-season All-American failed to appear in national postseason competition since the NCAA tourney expanded to at least 40 entrants in the late 1970s. Notre Dame guard Kevin O'Shea is the only four-time A-A never to appear in the NCAA playoffs and National Invitation Tournament. While not an NCAA consensus first-team selection multiple times like Dischinger, following is an alphabetical list including O'Shea and six additional three-time All-Americans never participating in a "Big Dance" (NCAA playoffs and NIT):
| Three- or Four-Time All-American | Pos. | School | Seasons as A-A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Ebert | C | Ohio State | 1952 through 1954 |
| Fred Hetzel | F-C | Davidson | 1963 through 1965 |
| Kevin O'Shea | G | Notre Dame | 1947 through 1950 |
| Robert Parish | C | Centenary | 1974 through 1976 |
| Frank Selvy | F | Furman | 1952 through 1954 |
| Meyer "Whitey" Skoog | F-G | Minnesota | 1949 through 1951 |
| Doug Smart | F-C | Washington | 1957 through 1959 |
NOTE: NCAA playoff field ranged from 22 to 25 entrants during 16-year span from 1955 through 1970.
MIA: Premier Programs Failing to Meet Each Other in NCAA Tournament Play
Although the event is in its ninth decade, there are attractive power school match-ups never to have occurred in NCAA Tournament. Long before we ever heard of coronavirus, the potentially entertaining intra-sectional playoff contests between storied programs never to take place in the NCAA playoffs included:
- Georgetown vs. Indiana
- Georgetown vs. Michigan
- Georgetown vs. UCLA
- Michigan vs. St. John's
- North Carolina vs. St. John's
- Notre Dame vs. St. John's
- Notre Dame vs. UCLA
- Notre Dame vs. Villanova
- St. John's vs. UCLA
- Syracuse vs. UCLA
College Exam: Day #6 For One-and-Only NCAA Tournament Trivia Challenge
Unless you're busy hoarding toilet paper and elaborate masks 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 6 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 was the only player to lead nation in scoring average in same season he played for a team reaching NCAA Tournament championship game? Hint: He was the first player to score more than 30 points in a Final Four game and the only individual to crack the 30-point plateau in national semifinals and final in same season. He was also the only Big Eight Conference player to lead nation in scoring.
2. Of the 60 or so different players to score at least 2,500 points and/or rank among the top 25 in career scoring average, who was the only one to have a winning NCAA playoff record in his career plus post higher scoring, rebounding and field-goal shooting playoff averages than he compiled in regular season? Hint: The player scored at least 17 points in all 10 of his NCAA playoff games.
3. Who was the only football Heisman Trophy winner to play in the basketball Final Four? Hint: He won the Most Outstanding Player Award in a Liberty Bowl after setting a school record for longest run from scrimmage.
4. What was the only Final Four match-up to have both coaches opposing his alma mater? Hint: It's happened twice. The protege was an assistant at his alma mater for 10 years.
5. Who is the only coach to oppose his alma mater more than twice at the Final Four? Hint: He is also the only coach in the 20th Century to twice win conference and NCAA tournaments in same year.
6. Who is the only unbeaten coach in NCAA playoff history? Hint: He is the only NCAA basketball championship coach to also be baseball coach at the same school when it won a College World Series game.
7. Who was the only coach with more than 30 NCAA Tournament victories to earn those wins at more than one school until Lute Olson (Iowa and Arizona) joined him in 1998? Hint: Three schools for the first coach were slapped with an NCAA probation during his stints there.
8. Who is the only coach in back-to-back years to win at least one NCAA playoff game in his first season with two different schools? He coached Butler the previous campaign. Hint: He was an assistant under three coaches who directed two different schools to the NCAA Tournament (Charlie Coles, Tates Locke and Herb Sendek).
9. Name the only school to gain an at-large invitation despite losing all of its conference road games. Hint: Three years earlier, the school received an at-large bid despite losing four league road games by at least 25 points.
10. Of the individuals to both play and coach in the NCAA Tournament, who leads that group in both scoring and rebounding totals? Hint: He was the leading scorer in biggest blowout in regional final history.
False Starts: Utah State and West Virginia Prone to Early NCAA Playoff Exits
North Carolina A&T appeared in the NCAA playoffs the most times (nine) without winning a tournament game until prevailing in 2013 First Four. But N.C. A&T still has a long way to go to join the ranks of "quick-exit" schools such as battered Brigham Young, the only institution with as many as 20 opening-round reversals in NCAA tourney.
Connecticut, after absorbing nine opening-round losses in 17 years from 1951 through 1967, had the most opening-round setbacks for an extended period. But the Huskies didn't incur an opening-round reversal for 28 years until suffering two in a recent five-year span before leaving again early in back-to-back recent playoffs. Similarly, St. John's suffered eight opening-round losses in a 20-year stretch from 1973 through 1992.
Maryland was the first school to incur at least 10 NCAA Tournament defeats but never absorb an opening-round setback until the Terrapins lost to Santa Clara in 1996. Mizzou's loss against former Big Eight/Big 12 rival Oklahoma, eight years after toothless Tigers were embarrassed by Norfolk State despite being favored by more than 20 points, left them among the following schools most prone to sustaining an opening-round NCAA tourney defeat:
School (Playoff Losses) NCAA Tournament Opening-Round Defeats Brigham Young (33) 20 (1950-57-65-69-72-79-80-87-90-92-95-01-03-04-07-08-09-14-15-21) Utah State (23) 19 (1939-63-71-75-79-80-83-88-98-00-03-05-06-09-10-11-19-21-23) Princeton (29) 17 (1952-55-60-63-69-76-77-81-89-90-91-92-97-01-04-11-17) Temple (33) 16 (1944-64-67-70-72-79-90-92-95-98-08-09-10-12-16-19) Missouri (28) 16 (1944-78-81-83-86-87-88-90-93-99-00-11-12-13-18-21) St. John's (32) 15 (1961-68-73-76-77-78-80-84-88-92-98-02-11-15-19) West Virginia (28) 15 (1955-56-57-58-62-65-67-83-86-87-92-09-12-16-23)
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)
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