College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 12)
March 22nd, 2012 - 1:01
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 12 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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.com's year-by-year highlights):
1. Who is the only championship team player to have a season scoring average of less than six points per game entering a Final Four but tally more than 30 points in the national semifinals and final? Hint: He is the only player with a single-digit season scoring average to score more than 25 points in an NCAA championship game.
2. Who is the only player to score at least 25 points in eight consecutive NCAA playoff games? Hint: He is the only player to rank among the top five in scoring average in both the NCAA Tournament and NBA playoffs. He was denied a championship ring in his only Final Four appearance when a player who would become an NBA teammate tipped in a decisive basket in the closing seconds.
3. Name the only Final Four Most Outstanding Player who wasn't among the top five scorers on his team. Hint: The only other player to earn the award who wasn't among the top four scorers on his team attended the same university.
4. Who is the only individual to be named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and NIT Most Valuable Player? Hint: As a freshman, he shared one of the awards with a teammate.
5. Who is the only U.S. Congressman to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee after playing in the NCAA Tournament championship game? Hint: Starting out as a Democrat, he became a 12-term Republican Congressman from Illinois.
6. Who is the only individual to be named Final Four Most Outstanding Player and NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in back-to-back seasons? Hint: He holds the NBA Finals single-game record for most points by a rookie.
7. Name the freshman who had the highest season scoring average for a team to reach the NCAA Tournament championship game until Carmelo Anthony achieved the feat for 2003 champion Syracuse. Hint: The word "Boss" is tattooed to his chest for a good reason because he also led his team in assists as a freshman.
8. Who is the only freshman to score more than 30 points in a national semifinal or championship game before failing to score more than half that total in his next four playoff outings? Hint: He didn't score more than 15 points in any of his next four NCAA playoff games, all defeats, and he averaged a modest 8.2 points per game in an eight-year NBA career with an all-time pro season high of 11.4 ppg and game high of 28.
9. Who is the only freshman on a Final Four team to score more than 20 points in as many as four tournament games? Hint: He did not play in the national championship game and his school lost in the NCAA playoffs to opponents with double-digit seeds each of the four seasons before he arrived.
10. Name the only season-leading scorer of a titlist to be held more than 14 points below his average in the NCAA championship game. Hint: He was named national player of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. He is one of four Final Four Most Outstanding Players held scoreless in their NCAA Tournament debuts in a previous season. He is also the only individual to become a member of three NCAA titlists after playing one season in junior college.
Dynamic Debuts: Haith Becomes Sixth Coach of Year in First Season
March 21st, 2012 - 21:19
Missouri's Frank Haith, honored by the USBWA, became the sixth individual named national coach of the year in his debut season for a school after serving in a similar capacity the previous campaign with another NCAA Division I institution. Although hamstrung by a roster featuring only seven scholarship players, the guard-oriented Tigers won a school-record 14 Big 12 Conference games. Mizzou was in its final season as a member of the league before joining the SEC, where Haith will compete against his predecessor (Arkansas' Mike Anderson).
Haith, the 12th African-American named national coach of the year, joined the following chronological list of veteran coaches who earned one of the major awards in their initial season with a school:
Coach of Year Debut Season With New School Predecessor Previous School Eddie Hickey 23-6 (Marquette in 1958-59) Jack Nagle St. Louis Eddie Sutton 32-4 (Kentucky in 1985-86) Joe B. Hall Arkansas Tom Davis 30-5 (Iowa in 1986-87) George Raveling Stanford Kelvin Sampson 23-9 (Oklahoma in 1994-95) Billy Tubbs Washington State Matt Doherty 26-7 (North Carolina in 2000-01) Bill Guthridge Notre Dame
Bottom of Bracket Racket: OU 7th Team Seeded 13th/14th to Reach Sweet 16
March 21st, 2012 - 21:14
NCAA tournament seedings can be misleading. With more bracket balance than ever before, there isn't a significant difference between a No. 3 seed and a double-digit seed. For instance, at least two double-digit seeded teams reached an NCAA Tournament regional semifinal seven straight seasons from 1997 through 2003.
If you make the criteria more restrictive, Ohio University became the 26th team seeded 12th or worse to win at least two games since the NCAA playoff field expanded to at least 64 entrants in 1985. If you make the parameters even more restrictive, the Bobcats became the seventh school seeded 13th or worse to win two playoff contests in the same year.
None of the first six "bottom of the bracket" clubs won their regional semifinal contest. Here is a look at the squads seeded 13th or worse that ignored the Division I committee's branding and exceeded expectations:
Year 13th or 14th Seed Coach Regional Two NCAA Tournament Victories 1986 #14 Cleveland State Kevin Mackey East Indiana (83-79) and St. Joseph's (75-69) 1988 #13 Richmond Dick Tarrant East Indiana (72-69) and Georgia Tech (59-55) 1997 #14 Chattanooga Mack McCarthy Southeast Georgia (73-70) and Illinois (75-63) 1998 #13 Valparaiso Homer Drew Midwest Ole Miss (70-69) and Florida State (83-77) 1999 #13 Oklahoma Kelvin Sampson Midwest Arizona (61-60) and UNC Charlotte (85-72) 2006 #13 Bradley Jim Les West Kansas (77-73) and Pittsburgh (72-66) 2012 #13 Ohio University John Groce Midwest Michigan (65-60) and South Florida (62-56)
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 11)
March 21st, 2012 - 1:01
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 11 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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.com's year-by-year highlights):
1. Who is the only one of the 60 or so two-time consensus first-team All-Americans since 1946 never to participate in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT? Hint: His school was a total of 10 games over .500 in Big Ten Conference competition in his junior and senior seasons. He never played on a team to win a playoff series in his nine-year NBA career.
2. Who is the only player to score more than 20,000 pro points yet never reach the conference finals in the NBA playoffs after playing at least two seasons of varsity basketball at a major college and never participating in the NCAA Division I playoffs? Hint: The college he attended made its NCAA Tournament debut the first year after he left school early to become the third pick overall in the NBA draft.
3. Who is the only coach since the tourney field expanded to at least 48 teams to take two different universities to the playoffs when the schools appeared in the tournament for the first time? Hint: His last name begins with a "F" and he no longer is a Division I head coach.
4. Name the only school with a losing record to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs by winning a regular-season conference title. Hint: The league started a postseason tournament two years later and the school in question has lost all six times it reached the conference tourney championship game.
5. Name the only major university to have two graduates score more than 17,000 points in the NBA after playing at least three varsity seasons in college and failing to appear in the NCAA Tournament. Hint: The school has had three other players score more than 10,000 points in the NBA after never appearing in the NCAA playoffs.
6. Name the only former titlist to have an all-time playoff record 10 games below the .500 mark. Hint: Longtime network broadcaster Curt Gowdy played in the tournament for the school.
7. Name the only state with three schools to compile tournament records at least nine games below .500. Hint: The three institutions from the same state are members of different conferences.
8. Who was the only player shorter than Bobby Hurley, Duke's 6-0 guard, to play for a championship team and be selected as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player? Hint: There was another Final Four MOP who was also shorter than 6-0, but he played for a national third-place finisher in the mid-1950s.
9. Who is the only individual to play in an NCAA Tournament championship game and later coach his alma mater to a final? Hint: He served as an assistant to the coach with the most NCAA playoff victories and a college teammate is one of the winningest coaches of all time.
10. Name the only one of the schools with multiple national titles to have two teams participate in the NCAA playoffs as defending champions but lose their opening-round game. Hint: Both of the opening-round setbacks for the school when it was defending champion occurred in the East Regional.
Long Waiting List: Natural Rivalries Should Come Out of Hibernation
March 20th, 2012 - 18:45
Cincinnati's ballyhooed intrastate clash with Ohio State in the East Regional, resurrecting title-game memories of their memorable matchups five decades ago, showed again why some major schools should be ashamed of themselves for ducking nearby quality opponents. Why in the world did they have to resort to a national tournament assignment hundreds of miles from their fan base to oppose each other?
In a "Days of Whine and Hoses" era when many cash-strapped athletic departments are begging for revenue, they still schedule numerous poorly-attended home games against inferior opponents. It defies logic as to why tradition-rich schools forsake entertaining non-conference contests with natural rivals while scheduling more than their share of meaningless "rout-a-matics" at home.
The normal intensity of an NCAA Tournament assignment escalates even more in "bragging rights" games between neighboring opponents that rarely if ever tangle on the same floor unless forced to compete against each other by a postseason bracket. For instance, it is a sad state of affairs for Show-Me State fans to need to hope Missouri and Saint Louis advanced to the West Regional final for them to finally meet on the hardwood again. The chances of that occurring were remote insofar as neither school ever has reached the Final Four.
A classic example of the scheduling neglect was an intense 2001 West Regional matchup between Maryland and Georgetown. Of course, the Washington, D.C., area isn't the only region with a scheduling complex. As emotional as it was, the Hoya Paranoia-Terrapin Trepidation confrontation didn't stack up among the following top 10 intrastate contests in NCAA playoff history:
1. 1961 NCAA Championship Game (Cincinnati 70, Ohio State 65 in OT)
Paul Hogue, a 6-9 center who hit just 51.8% of his free-throw attempts during the season, sank only two of 10 foul shots in his two previous contests before putting Cincinnati ahead to stay with a pair of pivotal free throws in overtime in a victory over previously undefeated Ohio State.
2. 1998 East Regional second round (North Carolina 93, UNCC 83 in OT)
UNC Charlotte forward DeMarco Johnson outplayed national player of the year Antawn Jamison of the Tar Heels, but Carolina got a total of 55 points from Shammond Williams and Vince Carter to withstand the 49ers' bid for an upset.
3. 1983 Mideast Regional final (Louisville 80, Kentucky 68 in OT)
The first meeting between in-state rivals Kentucky and Louisville in more than 24 years was memorable as the Cardinals outscored the Wildcats 18-6 in overtime to reach the Final Four.
4. 1981 Midwest Regional semifinals (Wichita State 66, Kansas 65)
Mike Jones hit two long-range baskets in the last 50 seconds for Wichita State in the first game between the intrastate rivals in 36 years.
5. 1989 Southeast Regional first round (South Alabama 86, Alabama 84)
In an exciting intrastate battle, South Alabama erased a 16-point halftime deficit. Jeff Hodge and Gabe Estaba combined for 55 points for USA.
6. 1971 West Regional final (UCLA 57, Long Beach State 55)
The closest result for UCLA during the Bruins' 38-game playoff winning streak from 1967 to 1973 came when they had to erase an 11-point deficit despite 29 percent field-goal shooting to edge Jerry Tarkanian-coached Long Beach State.
7. 1971 Mideast Regional semifinals (Western Kentucky 107, Kentucky 83)
This year's game wasn't anything like when WKU, long regarded as poor country cousins by Kentucky, whipped the Wildcats in their first-ever meeting when All-American Jim McDaniels poured in 35 points for the Hilltoppers.
8. 1959 Mideast Regional semifinals (Louisville 76, Kentucky 61)
Second-ranked Kentucky (24-3) hit less than one-third of its field-goal attempts in blowing a 15-point lead against intrastate rival Louisville (19-12). The Cardinals had lost to Georgetown (KY) earlier in the season.
9. 1964 Midwest Regional first round (Texas Western 68, Texas A&M 62)
Jim "Bad News" Barnes took out his do-it-yourself kit and accounted for 61.8% of Texas Western's offense by scoring 42 points.
10. 1962 NCAA Championship Game (Cincinnati 71, Ohio State 59)
Ohio State All-American center Jerry Lucas wrenched his left knee in the national semifinals against Wake Forest, limiting his effectiveness against Cincinnati counterpart Paul Hogue in the Bearcats' 71-59 triumph in the final.
State's Evidence: Ohio Has Multiple National Titles at Each Level
March 20th, 2012 - 18:39
It shouldn't be much of a surprise that Ohio became the first state to feature four schools among the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Division I bracket expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. After all, Ohio is the only state with at least two national titles from each level of four-year college men's basketball - NCAA Division I, NIT, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Illinois is the only other state to boast at least one champion from all five levels. Among the 12 states amassing a total of more than 10 national crowns, Missouri is the only one in that group without a Division I championship.
The biggest surprise among states never to capture a national title is Iowa. Following is how states stack up by national titles including the NIT and various levels of small-college basketball through Wisconsin-Whitewater's DIII success last week:
| State | DI | NIT | DII | DIII | NAIA | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
| Kentucky | 9 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 28 |
| Ohio | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 19 |
| North Carolina | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| Illinois | 1 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 15 |
| New York | 2 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 15 |
| Indiana | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| Missouri | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| Kansas | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Virginia | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Texas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| Michigan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Alabama | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Maryland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Utah | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| West Virginia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Colorado | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Louisiana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| New Jersey | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Arkansas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Rhode Island | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| New Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wyoming | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
NOTE: Eight states - Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont - have never had a four-year school win a men's national championship.
League of Their Own: Davids Defeat Goliaths More Than 100 Times
March 20th, 2012 - 18:27
If the upper-crust elite snobbily look down their noses, they might find their opponents boast the upper hand by looking down the barrel of a gun.
When Ohio University upended Michigan in their NCAA playoff opener, the Wolverines became the 18th former national champion to lose 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 six setbacks as a total of 12 former NCAA titlists have lost three or more such contests.
A total of 76 different lower-profile schools and current members of 23 different mid-major conferences (all but Great West, Northeast and Summit) have won such games since seeding was introduced in 1979. The mid-major school with the most "David vs. Goliath" victories in the following list is Richmond with six.
ACC (16 defeats to mid-major opponents seeded five or more places worse) - Boston College (lost to #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005); Clemson (lost to #13 Southwest Missouri State in 1987 and #11 Western Michigan in 1998); Duke (lost to #11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2007 and #15 Lehigh in 2012); Florida State (lost to #13 Middle Tennessee State in 1989); Georgia Tech (lost to #13 Richmond in 1988 and #13 Southern in 1993); Maryland (lost to #12 College of Charleston in 1997); North Carolina (lost to #9 Penn in 1979, #14 Weber State in 1999 and #11 George Mason in 2006); North Carolina State (lost to #14 Murray State in 1988); Virginia (lost to #12 Wyoming in 1987 and #12 Gonzaga in 2001); Wake Forest (#13 Cleveland State in 2009)
BIG EAST (26) - Connecticut (lost to #11 George Mason in 2006 and #13 San Diego in 2008); DePaul (#12 New Mexico State in 1992); Georgetown (#10 Davidson in 2008, #14 Ohio University in 2010 and #11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011); Louisville (#12 Ball State in 1990, #12 Butler in 2003 and #13 Morehead State in 2011); Marquette (#12 Tulsa in 2002); Notre Dame (lost to #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); Providence (#12 Pacific in 2004); St. John's (#10 Gonzaga in 2000 and #11 Gonzaga in 2011); Seton Hall (#7 Western Kentucky in 1993); Syracuse (#7 Navy in 1986, #11 Rhode Island in 1988, #15 Richmond in 1991 and #13 Vermont in 2005); Villanova (#14 Old Dominion in 1995 and #10 Saint Mary's in 2010)
BIG TEN (22) - Illinois (lost to #14 Austin Peay State in 1987, #12 Dayton in 1990, #14 Chattanooga in 1997 and Western Kentucky in 2009); 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); Michigan (#11 Loyola Marymount in 1990 and #13 Ohio University in 2012); Michigan State (#14 Weber State in 1995 and #11 George Mason in 2006); Nebraska (#14 Xavier in 1991 and #11 Penn in 1994); Ohio State (#12 Utah State in 2001); Purdue (#11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011); 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 (20) - Iowa State (lost to #15 Hampton in 2001); 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 and #11 Virginia Commonwealth in 2011); Kansas State (#11 Tulane in 1993); Missouri (#13 Xavier in 1987, #11 Rhode Island in 1988, #14 Northern Iowa in 1990 and #15 Norfolk State in 2012); Oklahoma (#13 Southwestern Louisiana in 1992, #13 Manhattan in 1995, #13 Indiana State in 2001 and #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2006); Oklahoma State (#12 Princeton in 1983, #10 Temple in 1991 and #12 Tulsa in 1994); Texas Tech (#11 Southern Illinois in 2002)
PACIFIC-12 (17) - Arizona (lost to #14 East Tennessee State in 1992, #15 Santa Clara in 1993 and #12 Miami of Ohio in 1995); California (#12 Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1994); 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); Washington State (#12 Penn in 1980)
SEC (26) - 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 and #8 Butler in 2011); Georgia (#14 Chattanooga in 1997 and #11 Southern Illinois in 2002); Kentucky (#7 UAB in 1981, #11 Middle Tennessee State in 1982 and #9 UAB in 2004); 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 and #7 Xavier in 2004); South Carolina (#15 Coppin State in 1997 and #14 Richmond in 1998); Tennessee (#12 Southwest Missouri State in 1999 and #7 Wichita State in 2006); 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. . . . Notre Dame was an independent in 1986. . . . Florida State, Louisville and Tulane were members of the Metro Conference in 1989, 1990 and 1993, respectively. . . . 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 the Missouri Valley in 1994 and 2002. . . . Boston College was a member of the Big East in 2005.
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 10)
March 20th, 2012 - 1:01
Emphasizing a "one-and-only" theme for a "one-and-only" event, here is Day 10 of a treasure-trove of tantalizing NCAA Tournament trivia questions from CollegeHoopedia.com (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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 is the only All-American to coach three different schools in the NCAA playoffs? Hint: He was the leading scorer for an NCAA champion.
2. Who is the only coach to take three different schools to a regional final in a 10-year span? Hint: He is the only individual to meet two different schools in the playoffs he had previously coached to the Final Four. He had a chance to become the first coach to guide three different universities to the national semifinals, but retired and turned the reins over to his son.
3. Who is the only seven-foot player to lead a Final Four in scoring and win a conference high jump title in the same year? Hint: He is the only player to lead the NBA in rebounds and assists in the same season.
4. Of the total of 10 different teams in the 1980s to defeat a school twice in a season the opponent eventually won the national title, name the only one of the 10 to fail to win its NCAA Tournament opener. Hint: The team had the misfortune of opening the playoffs on the home court of its opponent.
5. Of the Final Four teams in the last several decades to have standouts whose high school coach was reunited with a star player as a college assistant, name the only school to win a national championship. Hint: The high school coach who tagged along with his prep All-American as a college assistant was also the first minority player to play for his alma mater.
6. Who is the only coach to take a team more than two games below .500 one season to the national title the next year? Hint: He is the only championship team coach to finish his college career with a losing record. He is also the only major-college coach to stay at a school at least 25 seasons and finish with a losing career record at that institution.
7. Who is the only coach to reach the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and NIT at least five times apiece? Hint: Of the coaches to win basketball championships at every major level (the NCAA, NIT and Summer Olympics), he is the only one to capture the "Triple Crown" in a span of less than 10 years.
8. Of the players to score more than 225 points in the playoffs and/or average in excess of 25 points per tournament game (minimum of six games), who is the only individual to score more than 22 points in every postseason contest? Hint: He is the only player from the group to have a single-digit differential between his highest-scoring game and his lowest-scoring game.
9. Who is the only one of the first 20 players to accumulate at least 235 points in NCAA playoff competition to fail to score at least 25 points in a tournament game? Hint: He is the only one of the more recent Most Outstanding Players to score fewer than 28 points in two Final Four games and his highest-scoring playoff performance couldn't avert a defeat in the only one of his four years he didn't participate in the Final Four.
10. Among the all-time leading scorers in NCAA Tournament history, who is the only player in this group to go scoreless in a playoff game? Hint: He scored less than 10 points in six consecutive tournament games before averaging 20 points per game in his last 11 playoff outings.
Bracket Busted? Take Time Tracking Torturous Tourney Trail Trivia
March 19th, 2012 - 22:01
We have been reminded anew how the NCAA playoffs are akin to walking a tightrope, playing Russian roulette or participating in a crapshoot. When March arrives, it's time for Madness while witnessing postseason competition fraught with sentiment and punctuated by compelling drama.
Since your bracket likely already is only good for kindling, it might be worth investing your time steering clear of the nerve-wracking tension and simply focusing on becoming a more astute observer. In addition to testing your skills with CollegeHoopedia.com's daily dose of trivia questions, another way to enhance your knowledge might be to assess the wide range of personalities described in our "Who Am I?" collection of former tourney players who went on to distinction in endeavors off the playing court. At the very least, it won't be a win-or-go-home format.
You Would Cry Too If It Happened to You: Tar Heel Trail of Tears
March 19th, 2012 - 6:55
The prognosis of a promising postseason for North Carolina was already on shaky ground after the Tar Heels lost a couple of regular-rotation players because of injuries. But it really took an abrupt turn near the end of their NCAA Tournament second-round victory against Creighton when playmaker deluxe Kendall Marshall sustained a fractured right wrist.
Over the years, Carolina has had more than its fair share of national contenders see their playoff hopes dashed by injuries to vital players. No school's NCAA championship aspirations have been short-circuited more by an assortment of major injuries than UNC's M.A.S.H. unit. Consider this lengthy list of Tar Heel tourney trauma (rankings are by AP unless otherwise noted):
1958 - Joe Quigg, the starting center for Carolina's unbeaten NCAA champion in 1957, was sidelined his entire senior season following a leg injury in the team's first big scrimmage. The 13th-ranked Tar Heels blew a seven-point halftime lead against Maryland in the ACC Tournament final.
1969 - Starting guard Dick Grubar, averaging 13 points per game, injured a knee in the ACC Tournament and was lost for the NCAA playoffs. A standout defensive player, the senior would have drawn the assignment of facing explosive Purdue guard Rick Mount, a 36-point scorer in a national semifinal victory over fourth-ranked Carolina.
1976 - Sophomore playmaker Phil Ford, a second-team consensus All-American, injured a knee in a pickup game after the ACC Tournament and was ineffective (two points, three assists, five turnovers) in the eighth-ranked Tar Heels' 79-64 NCAA Tournament first-round defeat against Alabama.
1977 - Senior center Tom LaGarde was averaging 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game when he injured a knee at midseason and was lost for the remainder of the year. Ford, a first-team consensus All-America and fifth-ranked Carolina's leading scorer, hyperextended his shooting elbow (right) in the East Regional semifinals and scored a total of just 20 points in the team's last three playoff games, including six points on 3 of 10 field-goal shooting in a national final defeat against Marquette.
1980 - Standout freshman forward James Worthy was averaging 12.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game when he sustained a broken ankle at midseason and was lost for the remainder of the year. The 15th-ranked Tar Heels lost their NCAA playoff opener in double overtime against Texas A&M.
1984 - Mercurial freshman guard Kenny Smith, still hampered after missing eight games because of a broken wrist, wasn't 100% when the top-ranked Heels were kayoed by Indiana, 72-68. Of course, the biggest problem for Carolina was national player of the year Michael Jordan being limited to 13 points, one rebound and one assist.
1985 - Junior guard Steve Hale was unable to play the remainder of the tournament after suffering a broken collarbone when thrown to the floor while driving to the basket in Carolina's NCAA playoff opener against Middle Tennessee State. The seventh-ranked Tar Heels were eliminated in the Southeast Regional final by champion-to-be Villanova (56-44).
How Sweet It Is! Personal Items on NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Coaches
March 19th, 2012 - 6:51
There is a tendency to overindulge at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Anyone digesting the following assortment of incisive facts on the remaining 16 NCAA Tournament coaches should find that variety is the spice of CollegeHoopedia's smorgasbord. Remember: If a morsel isn't appetizing, don't be a glutton for punishment in trying to comprehend what makes the Sweet 16 coaching community tick. Just proceed directly to the next tidbit. Sooner or later, there's bound to be a factoid you can savor en route to the Final Four in New Orleans.
BAYLOR: Scott Drew served as coach of an Athletes In Action (AIA) squad that toured Croatia and Bosnia in the summer of 1997.
CINCINNATI: Mick Cronin's father, Harold "Hep" Cronin, compiled more than 400 victories as a high school coach in the greater Cincinnati area.
FLORIDA: Billy Donovan, a third-round pick from Providence in the 1987 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, was selected ahead of Yale center Chris Dudley. Donovan averaged 2.8 points per game his first two seasons with the Friars before averaging 18 ppg his last two campaigns. Donovan's teammates with the New York Knicks in 1987-88 included eventual Division I head coaches Sidney Green and Louis Orr. His high school coach (St. Agnes, N.Y.), Frank Morris, coached former Gators starting guard Teddy Dupay in high school (Ft. Myers, Fla.). Donovan was an assistant with Herb Sendek, Tubby Smith and Ralph Willard on Rick Pitino's coaching staff at Kentucky in 1989-90 after working with an investment banking firm on Wall Street. Donovan, who led the Big East Conference in steals in 1986-87 with 1.9 per game, is the son of William Donovan, Boston College's captain as a senior in 1961-62.
INDIANA: Tom Crean, a brother-in-law of San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, coached at Alma College and Mount Pleasant High School while he was an undergraduate student at Central Michigan.
KANSAS: Bill Self served as an assistant on the Big Eight Conference coaching staffs of Larry Brown (Kansas) and Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State). Self, an Oklahoma State alumnus, played in the Big Eight against Maryland coach Mark Turgeon (Kansas) and top two NBA draft picks Steve Stipanovich (2nd selection overall in 1983/attended Missouri), Wayman Tisdale (2nd in 1985/Oklahoma) and Danny Manning (1st in 1988/Kansas). Self, Oklahoma's High School Player of the Year over Tisdale in 1980-81, directed Oral Roberts to the nation's best winning percentage among independent schools in 1996 (18-9) and 1997 (21-7).
KENTUCKY: John Calipari lettered two years for UNC Wilmington before transferring to Clarion (PA) State.
LOUISVILLE: Rick Pitino averaged more assists per game (5.6) than points (4.7) in his two-year playing career with Massachusetts. Al Skinner, Boston College's all-time winningest coach, was captain of the 1973-74 UMass squad that was led in assists by Pitino for the second straight season.
MARQUETTE: Brent "Buzz" Williams received his nickname while attending Navarro College, where he "buzzed" around the junior college basketball team so often the coach issued him the moniker.
MICHIGAN STATE: Tom Izzo was a teammate in high school (Iron Mountain, Mich.) and college (Northern Michigan) of former Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci. Izzo, a running back, and Mariucci, a quarterback, were the best men in each others' weddings.
NORTH CAROLINA: Roy Williams' son, Scott, was a backup guard with the Tar Heels. The all-time winningest coach through 23 seasons could go winless the next two years and still boast more victories than any mentor through his first 25 campaigns.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Mark Gottfried led Alabama in most three-point field goals with 81 in 1986-87, the first year the rule was introduced nationwide. That squad is one of only three teams in NCAA history with five active players scoring over 1,000 points in their college careers (teammates included Derrick McKey, Terry Coner, Jim Farmer and James Jackson). Mark's father, Joe, coached Southern Illinois for three seasons from 1978-79 through 1980-81 before becoming athletic director at South Alabama. Mark's uncle, Mike, a national game-day announcer for ESPN, was head football coach with Murray State, Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh.
OHIO UNIVERSITY: John Groce played in high school at Danville, Ind., under Todd Lickliter, who went on to coach Butler and Iowa.
OHIO STATE: Thad Matta, a transfer from Southern Illinois, led Butler in assists and three-point field-goal percentage in 1987-88 and free-throw percentage in 1988-89. He was involved in postseason play in each of his six seasons as a full-time assistant coach from 1994-95 through 1999-2000 with Miami (Ohio), Western Carolina and Butler. At first glance, Matta is a native of the ultimate smaller Illinois basketball community named Hoopeston. However, the town rhymes with "up" not "hoop."
SYRACUSE: Jim Boeheim, an avid golfer, served as varsity golf coach for the Orange from 1967 until the program was disbanded in 1973. He was an assistant basketball coach under Roy Danforth during that period. Boeheim, a three-year teammate of Syracuse All-American Dave Bing in the mid-1960s, played in the CBA for the Scranton Miners. On five occasions (1977-84-96-01-03), Boeheim guided the Orangemen to the Top 20 in a final AP poll after they were not ranked that high in the preseason.
WISCONSIN: Bo Ryan, who led Wisconsin-Platteville to four NCAA Division III championships in the 1990s, is one of seven coaches in history to capture four or more NCAA Tournament titles - joining UCLA's John Wooden, Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, Indiana's Bob Knight, Evansville's Arad McCutchan, North Park's Dan McCarrell and Cal State Bakersfield's Pat Douglass. Ryan was the winningest coach by percentage in the 1990s at any NCAA level (266-26, .928). He still holds a Wilkes College record with 18 field goals in a single game and was named conference baseball coach of the year at Racine in 1973-74. Ryan married coach Bill Cofield's secretary, Kelly, when he was an assistant with the Badgers. Ryan was a Badgers aide in 1979-80 when Dick Vitale, less than a month after being fired by the Detroit Pistons, made his ESPN debut as an analyst in a game at DePaul.
XAVIER: Chris Mack played for Athletes in Action in 1993 and in Europe in 1994. His wife, Christi, was Director of Basketball Operations for the Musketeers' women's basketball team from 2001 through 2003.
Naturally, there are varying degrees of success. NCAA Tournament coaches will need to draw upon all of their resources to motivate their clubs in postseason play. Following is a quick glance at the educational backgrounds of the "Sweet 16" mentors in this year's NCAA playoffs:
NCAA Playoff Coach School Bachelor's Master's Jim Boeheim Syracuse Social Science Social Science John Calipari Kentucky Marketing Tom Crean Indiana Parks & Recreation Mick Cronin Cincinnati History Billy Donovan Florida General Social Studies Scott Drew Baylor Liberal Arts Liberal Studies Mark Gottfried North Carolina State Communications John Groce Ohio University Mathematics Tom Izzo Michigan State Health and Physical Education Chris Mack Xavier Communication Arts Thad Matta Ohio State Education Rick Pitino Louisville Political Science Bo Ryan Wisconsin Business Administration Bill Self Kansas Business Athletic Administration Buzz Williams Marquette Kinesiology Kinesiology Roy Williams North Carolina Education Education
It's not a surprise to seasoned observers that a striking number of the remaining playoff coaches graduated from smaller colleges. From 1995 through 2000, five of the six NCAA Tournament championship coaches (Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Tom Izzo, Lute Olson and Tubby Smith) graduated from obscure colleges with smaller enrollments. In fact, it is a rarity for a Final Four not to feature at least one coach who graduated from a non-Division I school.
John Calipari, aspiring to secure his first NCAA title with top-ranked Kentucky, graduated from Clarion (PA) State. He was one of four small-school graduates at last year's Final Four. Following is an alphabetical list of Calipari, Izzo and other "Sweet 16" mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:
NCAA Playoff Coach School Small-College Alma Mater John Calipari Kentucky Clarion (PA) State '82 John Groce Ohio University Taylor (IN) '94 Tom Izzo Michigan State Northern Michigan '77 William "Bo" Ryan Wisconsin Wilkes College (PA) '69 Brent "Buzz" Williams Marquette Oklahoma City '94
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 9)
March 19th, 2012 - 1:01
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 (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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 the last 41 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 the 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 the 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 a playoff game.
10. Who is the only player to score more than 400 points in his playoff career? Hint: He hit two last-second shots to help his team win East Regional final overtime games and is the only player with at least 10 championship game free-throw attempts to convert all of them.
Close But No Cigar: SU 8th #1 Seed to Win Opener By Fewer Than 8 Points
March 18th, 2012 - 14:52
Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, bombs, government work and drive-in movies. A No. 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 112 such matchups since the playoff field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985.
But when Syracuse became the 12th #1 seed to win an opener by a single digit, it seems almost inevitable that somehow somewhere someway someday a #16 seed will prevail and become the ultimate giant killer. If history means anything, the single-digit results reveal a chink in their armour. Prospects don't look promising for the Orange to winning the NCAA title because none of the first 11 #1 seeds in this category went on to capture the championship and only three of them advanced to the Final Four.
Year (Margin) Regional Single-Digit Matchup Between #1 and #16 Seeds 1989 (1) East Georgetown 50 (Mourning team-high 21 points), Princeton 49 (Scrabis 15) 1989 (1) Southeast Oklahoma 72 (King 28), East Tennessee State 71 (Dennis 20) 1996 (2) West Purdue 73 (Austin 18), Western Carolina 71 (McCollum 21) 1985 (4) Southeast Michigan 59 (Tarpley 15), Fairleigh Dickinson 55 (Wilson 12) 1990 (4) Southeast Michigan State 75 (Smith 22), Murray State 71 (Jones 37)* 1989 (6) Midwest Illinois 77 (Battle 18), McNeese State 71 (Cutright 28) 1986 (7) East Duke 85 (Dawkins 27), Mississippi Valley State 78 (Coleman 24) 2012 (7) East Syracuse 72 (Southerland 15), UNC Asheville 65 (Primm 18) 1997 (8) East North Carolina 82 (Carter 22), Fairfield 74 (Francis 26) 1986 (9) West St. John's 83 (Berry 31), Montana State 74 (Hampton 21) 1990 (9) Midwest Oklahoma 77 (Jones 19), Towson State 68 (Lee 30) 1996 (9) Southeast Connecticut 68 (Allen 24), Colgate 59 (Foyle 21)
*Overtime.
Exceeding Expectations: What's Ahead for #1 Seed Michigan State?
March 18th, 2012 - 14:48
Associated Press voters should profusely apologize to Michigan State for not having the Spartans in its preseason Top 25 ranking. The Big Ten Conference tri-champion Spartans are the 14th team to earn a #1 seed despite failing to be included among the Top 20 in the AP's preseason poll since seeding was introduced in 1979.
Michigan State's NCAA championship aspirations are dim, however. After exceeding expectations, the schools in this category seem to run out of steam as none of these #1 seeds went on to capture an NCAA title and only two of them (Indiana State '79 and Minnesota '97) advanced to the Final Four.
Year School Coach Regional (NCAA Performance) 1979 Indiana State Bill Hodges Midwest (lost championship game) 1985 Michigan Bill Frieder Southeast (lost in second round) 1986 St. John's Lou Carnesecca West (lost in second round) 1990 Connecticut Jim Calhoun East (lost regional final) 1990 Michigan State Jud Heathcote Southeast (lost regional semifinal) 1994 Missouri Norm Stewart West (lost regional final) 1994 Purdue Gene Keady Southeast (lost regional final) 1995 Wake Forest Dave Odom East (lost regional semifinal) 1996 Purdue Gene Keady West (lost in second round) 1997 Minnesota Clem Haskins Midwest (lost national semifinal) 1999 Auburn Cliff Ellis South (lost regional semifinal) 2002 Cincinnati Bob Huggins West (lost in second round) 2005 Washington Lorenzo Romar West (lost regional semifinal) 2012 Michigan State Tom Izzo West (to be determined)
NOTE: Purdue '94 (21st), Wake Forest '95 (24th), Purdue '96 (24th), Minnesota '97 (22nd) and Washington '05 (22nd) were ranked just outside the Top 20 in AP preseason polls.
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 8)
March 18th, 2012 - 1:01
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 (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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 the only times two teams from the same state met each other in the 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 the 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, that played 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-America.
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 the 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 that led 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 the same season by at least 12 points.
Against All Odds: Playoff Newbie Norfolk State Joins Exclusive Club
March 17th, 2012 - 22:23
Norfolk State, only one season removed from its most defeats in school history (12-20 record), defied the odds by joining Hampton (58-57 over Iowa State in 2001) as the only two NCAA Tournament newcomers in the last 22 years to win a non-preliminary game playoff debut. First-time entrants into the NCAA tourney get no sympathy and face long odds. The average seeding was #14 for schools making their tournament debuts in the first 28 years since the bracket expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985.
Newcomers asserted themselves in the 1980s when they received a decent draw. Four of the six first-timers with seedings 10th or better won their first-round games, including all three times when they had better seeds (sixth-seeded Florida in 1987, seventh-seeded New Orleans in 1987 and eighth-seeded Seton Hall in 1988).
Of the 128 schools to make their tournament debuts in the first 33 years since the field expanded to at least 48 teams in 1980, about one-sixth of them (21; including four preliminary-round games) survived their playoff christenings. Four authentic opening-round winners also won their next game - Clemson '80, Georgia '83, Cleveland State '86 and Florida '87. Georgia '83 was the ultimate underdog as the Bulldogs, the only first-time entrant seeded better than fifth (No. 4 seed in the East Regional) since the field expanded to at least 48 teams, advanced to the Final Four.
Unfinished Business: 'Bama, BYU and Mizzou Are Final Four Forlorn
March 17th, 2012 - 22:21
Weep On It/Think On It/Sleep On It/Drink On It. That could be the motto for Alabama, Brigham Young and Missouri after they remained the "Susan Lucci" schools of Division I upon each of them losing in the NCAA Tournament's second round. The troubled trio have participated in at least 20 NCAA Tournaments but never advanced to a Final Four.
Missouri has participated in a regional final four times but fell short in reaching the Promised Land. Boston College is another bridesmaid on multiple occasions, losing three regional finals (1967, 1982 and 1994) in 18 tourney appearances (22-19 record) since the field expanded beyond eight teams in 1950.
Alabama (20-20) is the only school with a non-losing NCAA playoff record among the following list of five frustrated institutions in a quagmire because they've made a minimum of 20 appearances without reaching the Final Four:
School Tourney Appearances Regional Final Losses Utah State 20 (6-22 mark, .214) 1970 Brigham Young 27 (15-30, .333) 1951 and 1981 Missouri 25 (22-25, .468) 1976, 1994, 2002 and 2009 Xavier 23 (20-22, .476) 2004 and 2008 Alabama 20 (20-20, .500) 2004
NOTE: Xavier's record includes second-round victory over Notre Dame.
Meet the Spartans: From Elizabeth City to Shining City on Hill
March 17th, 2012 - 12:24
Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse! Norfolk State made a dramatic turnaround this season before ascending to the NCAA Tournament mountaintop with a shocking 86-84 victory over #2 seed Missouri. The reversal had Mizzou and Son, with weary fans still seeking the Tigers to reach the Final Four for the first time, clutching their chest and sounding like Fred Sanford: "Oh, this is the biggest one (disappointment) I ever had. You hear that Elizabeth? I'm coming to join you."
Speaking of Elizabeth, the Spartans lost at home by double digits against Elizabeth City State (NC), 69-57, when they committed more than twice as many turnovers (34) as field goals made. That setback is particularly perplexing because it occurred only two games after NCAA playoff virgin Norfolk narrowly lost to Big East Conference power Marquette, 59-57, in a tournament at the Virgin Islands.
Elizabeth City State, which lost at home to Bowie State (MD) by 25 points, had to win three of its last four games to finish this season with a winning record (15-14). Similar "David vs. Goliath" matchups, including Chaminade (Hawaii) three consecutive seasons from 1982-83 through 1984-85, previously took place. Following is a chronological list of additional victories by small schools over major universities going on to win at least one NCAA playoff game that season:
Small College NCAA Playoff Team (Record) Score Georgetown (KY) Louisville (19-12 in 1958-59) 84-78 St. Mary's (TX) Houston (25-5 in 1969-70) 76-66 Chaminade (Hawaii) Virginia (29-5 in 1982-83) 77-72 Chaminade (Hawaii) Louisville (24-11 in 1983-84) 83-72 Chaminade (Hawaii) Southern Methodist (23-10 in 1984-85) 71-70 Alaska-Anchorage Michigan (30-7 in 1988-89) 70-66 UC Riverside Iowa (23-10 in 1988-89) 110-92 Alaska-Anchorage Wake Forest (21-12 in 1993-94) 70-68 American-Puerto Rico Arkansas (24-9 in 1997-98) 64-59 Bethel (IN) Valparaiso (23-10 in 1997-98) 85-75
NOTES: Michigan '89 became NCAA champion and Louisville '59 reached the Final Four. . . . UC Riverside subsequently moved up to the NCAA Division I level in 2000-01.
Racial Profiling: Norfolk State Upset Sparks History Lesson
March 17th, 2012 - 10:14
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 and Hampton over Iowa State in 2001 before Kyle "The Mighty" O'Quinn powered Norfolk State to a stunning 86-84 decision over Missouri - prior to Lehigh generating a gigantic aftershock with a 75-70 win over Duke.
O'Quinn's stature shouldn't come as a total surprise to anyone who read CollegeHoopedia.com's mid-major summary a couple of weeks ago when he was designated the nation's best-kept secret. Similarly, Lehigh's emotionally- and intellectually-stimulating "road" operation on the Blue Devils could be a byproduct of their doctor/coach Brett Reed (see playoff coaches "Degrees of Success") being uninterested in them celebrating a 20th anniversary of their epic contest with Kentucky in 1991.
Norfolk State's bid to become the first HBCU to reach a Sweet 16 triggers a history lesson. 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.
Most of these HBCU institutions currently are imprisoned at the NCAA Division I level, where they're 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).
Conference members from the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic have won only 10% of their NCAA Division I Tournament games. Alcorn State registered the first three of the following modest total of nine HBCU wins in the DI tourney (four in preliminary round competition; including Florida A&M's 15-point victory over Lehigh in 2004) 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 game-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)
SWAC member Grambling never has appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament. Success wasn't so difficult to find for the Tigers at the small-college level. Beginning with third-rounder Charles Hardnett in 1962, they supplied one of the top 21 NBA draft picks four consecutive years through 1965. A total of 23 products from historically black colleges and universities now at the NCAA DI level were among the following top 22 NBA draft choices in a 20-year span from 1957 through 1976:
1957 - Sam Jones (North Carolina Central/8th pick overall) and Bob McCoy (Grambling/10th)
1958 - Ben Swain (Texas Southern/8th)
1959 - Dick Barnett (Tennessee A&I/5th)
1960 - none
1961 - Ben Warley (Tennessee A&I/6th) and Cleo Hill (Winston-Salem State/8th)
1962 - Zelmo Beaty (Prairie View/3rd) and Charles Hardnett (Grambling/21st)
1963 - Hershell West (Grambling/16th)
1964 - Willis Reed (Grambling/10th)
1965 - Wilbert Frazier (Grambling/12th) and Harold Blevins (Arkansas AM&N/17th)
1966 - none
1967 - Earl Monroe (Winston-Salem State/2nd) and James Jones (Grambling/13th)
1968 - none
1969 - Willie Norwood (Alcorn A&M/19th)
1970 - Jake Ford (Maryland State/20th)
1971 - Fred Hilton (Grambling/19th) and Ted McClain (Tennessee State/22nd)
1972 - none
1973 - none
1974 - Truck Robinson (Tennessee State/22nd)
1975 - Marvin Webster (Morgan State/3rd), Eugene Short (Jackson State and Tom Boswell (South Carolina State before transferring to South Carolina/17th)
1976 - Larry Wright (Grambling/14th)
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 7)
March 17th, 2012 - 1:01
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 (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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 school he played for is tied with UCLA for the most different coaches (seven) who directed teams to the national tournament. Also, 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.
Playing/Coaching Excellence: Alford Guides 3 Schools to Playoffs
March 16th, 2012 - 22:38
Stature as a great player has never had anything to do with becoming a good coach. In fact, it can be a hindrance because of great expectations. But New Mexico's Steve Alford is among the 12 individuals in history to coach a team to the NCAA Division I Tournament after earning a spot on an NCAA first- or second-team consensus All-American squad. Clem Haskins is the only All-American who also played in the NBA to have more NCAA tourney coaching victories than Alford, the lone All-American to coach three different schools in the playoffs. Following are the All-Americans in this category:
| Coach | School | Playoff Years | Alma Mater | All-American Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Alford | Southwest Missouri State | 1999 | Indiana | 1st team in 1986 and 1987 |
| Iowa | 2001-05-06 | |||
| New Mexico | 2010 and 2012 | |||
| Henry Bibby | Southern California | 1997 | UCLA | 1st in 1972 |
| Bob Calihan | Detroit | 1962 | Detroit | 2nd in 1939 |
| Bob Cousy | Boston College | 1967 and 1968 | Holy Cross | 1st in 1950 |
| Larry Finch | Memphis State | 1988-89-92-93-95 | Memphis State | 2nd in 1973 |
| Sidney Green | Florida Atlantic | 2002 | UNLV | 2nd in 1983 |
| Clem Haskins | Western Kentucky | 1981 and 1986 | Western Kentucky | 1st in 1967 |
| Minnesota | 1989-90-94-95-97-99 | |||
| Walt Hazzard | UCLA | 1987 | UCLA | 1st in 1964 |
| Branch McCracken | Indiana | 1940-53-54-58 | Indiana | 1930 |
| Jeff Mullins | UNC Charlotte | 1988 and 1992 | Duke | 2nd in 1964 |
| John Shumate | Southern Methodist | 1993 | Notre Dame | 1st in 1974 |
| John Wooden | UCLA | 1950-52-56-62-63-64-65-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74-75 | Purdue | 1930 through 1932 |
NOTES: The NCAA did not distinguish between first- and second-team All-Americas until 1939. . . . Alford (5-5 NCAA Tournament record after 2012 first-round victory), Bibby (0-1), Cousy (2-2), Green (0-1), Haskins (11-8), Hazzard (1-1), Mullins (0-3) and Shumate (0-1) played in the NBA.
Regal Rookie: First-Year Coach Becker Bends Rules in Playoff Debut
March 16th, 2012 - 21:50
It might not end up on his tombstone but Vermont's John Becker achieved something NCAA championship coaches Jim Calhoun, Billy Donovan, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, Bill Self, Tubby Smith and Roy Williams failed to do - win NCAA playoff debut in his first season as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Krzyzewski (Duke) and Calhoun (Connecticut) were eliminated in the first round in back-to-back years by Anthony Grant (Virginia Commonwealth in 2007) and Bill Grier (San Diego in 2008). Following is an alphabetical list of active coaches who guided teams to an NCAA Tournament triumph in their first full season at the DI level:
NOTE: Barnes (Cal State Bakersfield), Bennett (Virginia), Fisher (San Diego State), Fox (Georgia), Grant (Alabama), Heath (South Florida), Hunsaker (Utah Valley), Lavin (St. John's) and Matta (Ohio State) coached different schools this season. Fisher was interim coach in 1989 when he directed Michigan to the NCAA title.
College Exam: NCAA Tournament One-and-Only Challenge (Day 6)
March 16th, 2012 - 0:14
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 (10 per day from Selection Sunday through the championship game) 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 the nation in scoring average in the same season he played for a team reaching the 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 the national semifinals and final in the same season. He was also the only Big Eight Conference player to lead the 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 the 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 matchup 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 the 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 the biggest blowout in regional final history.
From Ball Boys to Bad Boys: Boeheim Forced to Keep Putting Out Fires
March 16th, 2012 - 0:08
On the hardwood, Syracuse was white hot, compiling the best regular-season mark (31-2) in coach Jim Boeheim's 36-year stint and matching a Big East Conference record set by Connecticut in 1995-96 by capturing the league's regular-season crown (17-1).
Off the court, Boeheim was fire chief extraordinaire, putting out fire after fire for about a year stemming from calling an NCAA proposal "completely nuts" requiring teams to be on track to graduating half their players, the dismissal of assistant coach Bernie Fine amid predator allegations and Yahoo Sports publishing a story claiming SU didn't follow its drug-testing policies in allowing 10 players in the previous decade to continue playing after positive results. Right as one might think Boeheim deserved fire retardant, center Fab Melo added fuel to the flames when the Big East Defensive Player of the Year was suspended because of an eligibiity issue.
The heat from the firestorm could have intensified if the Orange became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed. But buttressed by some woeful second-half officiating, the Orange prevailed against UNC Asheville in a game where the score was tied with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
Beleaguered Boeheim didn't help defuse the scrunity when it appeared beneath his dignity to address any significant issues at a pre-tourney press conference. The surly mentor sounded as if he needed some Melodrama truth serum when saying that Melo "didn't let the team down."
The tales of tumult escalate when Boeheim fails to control his tongue, let alone disdainful facial expressions. Apology notwithstanding, his incendiary money-motivated defense of the alleged 'Cuse Abuse certainly wasn't "fine" when considering the "high" number of suspect students he recruited.
Syracuse is one of 13 schools in the 2012 playoffs that would not be participating in the tournament if a new APR (Academic Progress Rate) was in effect this year. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who averaged a team-high 16.9 points per game for Harvard in 1986-87, didn't mention Boeheim by name but seemed to take a backhanded slap at him when discussing graduation rates.
"When athletic programs have their priorities in order," Duncan was quoted in USA Today, "there are simply no better ways to teach invaluable life lessons than on the playing field or on the court. I just never understood why a small number of universities and colleges allowed rogue programs and coaches to taint that tremendous record of achievement and success."
SU had a longstanding reputation for giving the most clang for your buck when it came to sucess at the foul line. A need for eye exams and other physical testing may explain the previous faulty free-throw marksmanship if players indeed were immersed in alleged off-the-court shenanigans.
Fine has not been charged with a crime and refuted the allegations lodged against him. But is accuser Bobby Davis, a former ball boy who unsuccessfully tried to sue Boeheim and the university for defamation, lying about him being noticed in Fine's road hotel room or is additional backtracking in the offing for Boeheim? In a worst-case scenario, could he be equally oblivious to the problematical academic progress and drug testing?
Post-college career or not, it isn't worth recounting the off-the-court distractions encountered by a disconcerting number of "Boeheim Bad Boys" who were All-Big East selections. There doesn't appear to be a smoking gun. But where there's smoke, there's a high likelihood of fire. By any measure, the unseemly incidents and scholastic neglect covering an extended period leave an unsavory smell.
Humble Backgrounds: Small-College Grads Make Big News in Tourney
March 15th, 2012 - 11:30
In a caste-like era separating the haves from the have-nots, imperial universities are seeking megaconferences and, perhaps in the near future, a restrictive upper division. But the socially elite won't ever be able to exclude small schools from making a big impact on the NCAA playoffs.
Smaller colleges, many of them in the hinterlands, have supplied a striking number of the biggest names in coaching. From 1995 through 2000, five of the six NCAA Tournament championship coaches (Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Tom Izzo, Lute Olson and Tubby Smith) graduated from obscure colleges with smaller enrollments. In fact, it is a rarity for a Final Four not to feature at least one coach who graduated from a non-Division I school.
John Calipari, aspiring to secure his first NCAA title with top-ranked Kentucky, graduated from Clarion (Pa.) State. Following is an alphabetical list of Calhoun, Calipari, Izzo and other NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:
NOTES: Elon, Illinois State, Long Beach State and Tennessee-Martin are now classified as NCAA Division I colleges.
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