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, this year marked only the sixth time in that span failing to provide a first-round shocker from the bottom of the bracket (1994, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2017 and 2025).

Teams seeded 13th or worse defeated teams seeded among the top four in a regional a total of 68 times in the last 40 tourneys. At least Kentucky's stunning reversals against Saint Peter's and Oakland weren'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 seven 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 67 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)

#15 seed (11 victories)

#14 seed (22 victories)

#13 seed (33 victories)

Unless you're still busy hoarding toilet paper, seeking translator to figure out what Plagiarist Biledumb is talking about or cowering in fetal position because of alleged impending climate-change catastrophe, 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.

Answers (Day 7)
Day 6 Questions and Answers
Day 5 Questions and Answers
Day 4 Questions and Answers
Day 3 Questions and Answers
Day 2 Questions and Answers
Day 1 Questions and Answers

North Carolina, trailing by 18 points at halftime in eventual seven-point setback against Ole Miss in first round, had researchers scurrying at intermission to discern the Tar Heels' most-lopsided loss in NCAA playoff history. Well, the Tar Heels crashed and burned against Purdue by 27 points at the 1969 Final Four.

In the second round, Baylor, four years removed from an NCAA title, was dumped by Duke by 23 points. An embarrassing NCAA Tournament defeat is almost inevitable. For instance, it was a jolt to Indiana fans when the Hoosiers were smothered by Saint Mary's, 82-53, in the first round of the 2022 East Regional. But their ardent followers could take some solace in fact that 13 other former champions lost an NCAA Tournament game by as many points over the years.

On the other end of the setback spectrum, is a traditional blueblood other than Connecticut, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA or Villanova the only former national kingpin never to lose an NCAA playoff game by fewer than 15 points? No, but the ex-champ holding this distinction boasts school colors of Blue and Gold. It's La Salle, the 1954 titlist which subsequently lost three separate tourney games by 14 points.

Ohio State is the lone power-conference member in this group never to incur an NCAA playoff setback by at least 20 points. Former NCAA champions Wyoming (49 points) and UConn (47) sustained the worst reversals on the following list of most-lopsided losses in NCAA Tournament competition among the 37 former titlists:

Prior to coronavirus cancellation five seasons ago, the national tourney in 2020 was expected to be a bonanza year for mid-majors with Dayton (Atlantic 10), Gonzaga (West Coast) and San Diego State (Mountain West) ranked in national Top 10 polls. When given an opportunity via an at-large invitation to the Big Dance, members from 11 different mid-major conferences have more than held their own against opponents from elite leagues. The greatest example was Virginia Commonwealth, which defeated members from five different power leagues en route to the 2011 Final Four. COVID-19 prevented VCU from possibility of duplicating at-large success three years ago.

It's blatantly clear mid-majors should be given more consideration. After Saint Mary's beat Vanderbilt, mid-major at-large entrants since 1992 included the following success totals against power-league members: Big Eight/Big 12 (24), Big East (19), Big Ten (16), SEC (16), ACC (14) and Pac-12 (11). Kansas has incurred six such setbacks against a mid-major at-large entrant since 1992. The following total of 41 different mid-major at-large entrants went on to win in the NCAA playoffs against a total of 55 different power-conference members (listed in reverse chronological order):

NOTE: Butler (Big East), Cincinnati (Big East), Louisville (Big East and ACC), Utah (Pac-12) and Xavier (Big East) subsequently joined a power conference.

In a microwave atmosphere of instant expectations, please be aware that five All-Americans this season failed to generate national headlines in their freshman campaigns by averaging fewer than 4 ppg - Houston's LJ Cryer (3.4 ppg with Baylor in 2020-21), Villanova's Eric Dixon (3 ppg in 2020-21), Memphis' PJ Haggerty (2.8 ppg with TCU in six games in 2022-23), Tennessee's Chaz Lanier (1.7 ppg with North Florida in 10 games in 2020-21) and Wisconsin's John Tonje (3.6 ppg with Colorado State in 2019-20).

Iowa's Kris Murray (0.6 ppg in 2020-21), posting the lowest-ever freshman scoring average for an eventual All-American, isn't the only standout enduring growing pains early in college career. 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
PJ Haggerty	G	Memphis	2.8 ppg in 2022-23 with TCU
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
Chaz Lanier	G	Tennessee	1.7 ppg in 2020-21 with North Florida
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.

Cooper Flagg is the sixth Duke freshman in the last 12 years to be named a first-team All-American. We may have reached an inflection point in replenishing rosters where experienced transfers - seasoned veterans for "won-and-done" aspirations - are more vital than immature "one-and-done" high school recruits. For instance, Duke and Kentucky ranked 1-2, 1-3 or 2-3 in nine of the previous 11 recruiting classes with the Blue Devils also ranked #1 in 2022 after UK was #2 in 2021. But it didn't mean squat of late in terms of success reaching the Final Four. Duke, which lost in national semifinals in 2022, is the only one of the two bluebloods advancing to the F4 in the previous seven tourneys. Similarly, Memphis ranked atop the recruiting list twice in a three-year span from 2019 through 2021 but the Tigers garnered a grand total of two playoff triumphs since 2014 after winning opener this year.

Prior to pathetic playoff performance two years ago, 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. Four 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. Flagg is the 26th yearling on the following chronological list in this rare-air category named first-team A-A:

Clemson bowing to McNeese and Missouri succumbing to Drake exhibited why "The Greatest Show on Earth" is a stage for annual slew of tourney upsets. 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 (recall Florida Atlantic two years ago). Just ask #1 seed Purdue after the Boilermakers were upset by bottom-of-the-bracket mid-majors three consecutive campaigns earlier this decade.

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. Wisconsin has six after the Badgers' reversal against JMU. 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, McNeese, New Mexico State, Oakland, 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 100 different lower-profile schools and current members of 24 different mid-major conferences (all but Northeast) have won 177 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 (35 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, #11 Western Michigan in 1998 and #12 McNeese in 2025); 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 (19) - Connecticut (lost to #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 (35) - 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, #12 Cornell in 2010 and #12 James Madison in 2024)

BIG 12 (30) - Baylor (lost to #14 Georgia State in 2015 and #12 Yale in 2016); Brigham Young (#11 Duquesne in 2024); Cincinnati (#12 Harvard in 2014 and #7 Nevada in 2018); 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 through 2023-24) - 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 before joining Big 12); California (#12 Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1994 and #13 Hawaii in 2016 before joining ACC); Oregon State (#10 Lamar in 1980, #11 Evansville in 1989 and #12 Ball State in 1990 before joining WCC); Southern California (#13 UNC Wilmington in 2002 before joining Big Ten); Stanford (#14 Siena in 1989 and #10 Gonzaga in 1999 before joining ACC); UCLA (#12 Wyoming in 1987, #13 Penn State in 1991, #12 Tulsa in 1994, #13 Princeton in 1996 and #12 Detroit in 1999 before joining Big Ten); Utah (#10 Miami of Ohio in 1999 and #11 Gonzaga in 2016 before joining Big 12); Washington State (#12 Penn in 1980 before joining WCC)

SEC (39) - 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 and #13 Yale in 2024); 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, #15 Saint Peter's in 2022 and #14 Oakland in 2024); 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, #15 Princeton in 2023 and #11 Drake in 2025); 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. . . . Penn State was a member of the Atlantic 10 in 1991. . . . 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 Cincinnati (Big East), Maryland (ACC), Louisville (Big East), Pittsburgh (Big East) and Syracuse (Big East) came when they were members of another power league.

The hoop lowdown might not rise to the level of aggressive African-American commentary on Donald Trump or previous POTUS #AudacityofHype lecturing Christians rather than unprincipled marauders. Nonetheless, it could be time to proclaim white players matter. Many white-privilege provocateurs, who should seek reparations of their own for being exposed to race hustlers such as MSDNC's Joyless Reid and "Not So" Sharpton clamoring for "R-E-S-P-I-C-T," seem to care as much about the basketball topic, however, as far-left zealots are outraged about Muslim terrorists murdering saints and believers.

Is this DEI in reverse? A milestone won't trigger White History Month, but this season marked the first time since 1967-68 through 1969-70 (Pete Maravich era) for multiple NCAA consensus first-team All-American white players in three consecutive campaigns. From 1980 through 2012, less than one-fifth of the NCAA consensus first- and second-team All-Americans were Caucasian. Struggling as much as Marxist BLM founder purchasing luxury homes in white neighborhoods, Plagiarist Biledumb ascending Stair Farce One, #MSLSD's "Resist We Much" RevAl and #JoylessReid plus confused Congresswoman #(Mad)Maxine Waters may consider this repulsive racist research. However, they probably should be more concerned about paying fair share of taxes on filing deadline day, candor about hacked computer and concocting conspiratorial claptrap more worthy of April Fool's Day about CIA planting drugs in the hood.

All of America needs more critical thinking than critical race theory. Unless there are some closet Rachel Dolezals in the identity mix or Jussie Smollett's air-head attorney is accurate about an outbreak of white-face escapades, Gonzaga (Dan Dickau, Blake Stepp, Adam Morrison, Kelly Olynyk, Kyle Wiltjer, Corey Kispert, Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren) was alone boasting the most white consensus All-Americans thus far in 21st Century with eight. Duke is runner-up with seven after Cooper Flagg. It might be accurate-but-unacceptable information to cancel-culture leftists indoctrinating students in public schools with critical race theory, but the Zags in 2020-21 and 2021-22 became the first school to feature a set of white consensus All-Americans in same season since Missouri's Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sundvold in 1982-83.

It might not reign purple important as a photograph of Prince in a junior high basketball uniform to African-American Studies majors but we could be in the midst of a modest resurgence for the white player represented each year thus far this century. After all, Duke was the nation's only school to supply a white first-team All-American in a nine-year span from 1987-88 through 1995-96 (Danny Ferry in 1989, Christian Laettner in 1992 and Bobby Hurley in 1993). For those monitoring such identity demographics or who might be a dues-paying member of an alternative version of NAACP (National Association for Advancement of Caucasian Players), following is a list of white NCAA consensus first- and second-team All-Americans since Indiana State's Larry Bird was unanimous national player of the year in 1979:

It doesn't take a genius to deduce All-American players are all-important to teams. Villanova's third-team All-American Eric Dixon, the nation's scoring leader, is the only one of this year's 16 A-As not participating in the 2025 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:

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):

NOTE: NCAA playoff field ranged from 22 to 25 entrants during 16-year span from 1955 through 1970.

You can't escape the distinguished DNA. Mercurial freshman guard Jase Richardson, Michigan State's runner-up in scoring with 12 ppg, is the son of Jason Richardson, a Spartans All-American in 2000-01 before declaring early for the NBA draft after being a frosh regular for their 2000 NCAA titlist. Jason, despite going scoreless in three consecutive playoff games as a freshman, compiled a 10-1 playoff record in his two college seasons prior to 13-year NBA career. Upon MSU reaching the Sweet 16, the Richardsons supplanted Carlton and Denzel Valentine for most NCAA tourney wins by father-son tandem in school history.

Kentucky's Reed Sheppard, perhaps the nation's premier freshman a year ago, is the son of former Wildcats star Jeff Sheppard, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1998. If Reed had shepherded UK to a national title, they would have become the winningest father-son combination at same school in NCAA playoff history. Alas, Reed incurred growing pains and made only one field goal in upset loss to Oakland. Jeff averaged 9.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 2.6 apg in 17 NCAA Tournament games from 1994 through 1998 (16-1 record; did not play in one game in 1994). If the Wildcats had reached the national semifinals last year, they would have become the third father-son tandem to crack the 20-win plateau, joining UCLA's Marques/Kris Johnson and Georgetown's Patrick Sr./Patrick Jr. Ewing.

A majority of the fathers averaged more points per game in NCAA playoff competition than their sons in this family category. Princeton is the only mid-major school with a father-son combination collecting total of more than four NCAA playoff triumphs (father Ed Hummer 6/son Ian Hummer 0). BYU also had a couple of additional duos (Craigs and Christensens) among the following father-son combos playing for same school in NCAA tourney (listed by number of family victories):

Darian DeVries won 59.4% of his games in only season (19-13 record) with West Virginia before seeking greener pastures at Indiana. But a surprising number of previous "won-and-done" mentors posted even higher winning percentages in "short-and-sweet" one-year stints since the generally recognized start of the modern era of college basketball in the early 1950s. DeVries' successor at Drake (Ben McCollum) also promptly moved on to higher ground at Iowa after earning distinction as the winningest one-year wonder in NCAA history (31-4).

Fordham improved by 14 games in Digger Phelps' only season with the Rams in 1970-71, a mark that stood for one-year wonders until Chris Beard broke it with a 15-game improvement after UALR (30-5) went 13-18 in 2014-15. Buzz Peterson, the only coach to win a national postseason championship in his only season at a school (NIT with Tulsa), is among the following "one-and-done" coaches - including 2025 NCAA playoff bench bosses Rick Barnes (George Mason), Scott Drew (Valparaiso), Grant McCasland (Texas Tech), Matt Painter (Southern Illinois) and Brad Underwood (Oklahoma State) plus McCollum - winning more than 60% of their games in one-year tenures in the last 70 years:

*Harding became coach for Minnesota (ABA) for portion of 1968-69 season.

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 was the lone school in this group to go on and post a triumph in the NCAA Division I playoffs until newcomer Grambling State outlasted Montana State in overtime last year. Success wasn't so difficult to find for Grambling at the small-college level 60 years ago. Beginning with third-rounder Charles Hardnett in 1962, the Tigers supplied one of the top 21 NBA draft choices four consecutive years through 1965.

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. Alcorn State registered the first three of the following modest total of 16 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)
2024 Preliminary Round: Grambling State 88 (Cofer 19), Montana State 81 (Ford 26)
2025 Preliminary Round: Alabama State 70 (Knox 16), Saint Francis PA 68 (Cranford Jr. 18)