***Official March Madness Thread***
- Thread starter IndyClone15
- Start date
Deflating to start hot like that, then fade. Goes to show, it's a marathon, not a sprint. I got none of the F4 correct, but I was teetering on irrelevance even before E8.
Auburn is in the Final Four for the first time in school history. It is also Bruce Pearl's first Final Four.
This is the second time in three years where the Final Four has three new coaches.
Auburn becomes the second school to defeat North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky in a single tournament. Arizona also did in 1997.
Auburn's game was their first ever tournament game against a SEC team. Kentucky's was their third. They are now 1-2. Both of Kentucky's losses are in the Elite Eight.
Bruce Pearl ties Cliff Ellis for 2nd all-time in Auburn history with his 5th tournament win. Sonny Smith is first in Auburn history with 7 tournament wins.
Auburn now has 2 straight wins over #2 seeds after losing their first 3.
Kentucky is 8-3 vs. #5 seeds, but have lost their last 2. Kentucky is 0-2 vs. #5 seeds when seeded #2.
Kentucky's loss is only their second ever in the state of Missouri. They are now 8-2. Their other loss was to Michigan State in the 1999 Elite Eight.
Kentucky's loss is their 21st all-time in the Elite Eight which is a tournament record.
Auburn is 2-0 in OT games in the tournament.
Kentucky 4-6 in OT games in the tournament. The 6 losses are 3rd most all-time behind Ohio State and Syracuse who have 7 losses.
The 77-71 Auburn win over Kentucky is 11th time for that score in NCAA Tournament History. Only 69-67 (15 times) and 75-72 (13 times) have occurred more often
Michigan State is in the Final Four for the first time since 2015 and the 10th time overall. They are 3-6 in the National Semifinals. Michigan State lost to Duke 81-61 in the 2015 Final Four.
Michigan State is 7-10 vs. #1 seeds. The 7 wins vs. #1 seeds is 4th all-time. Only Duke (9), Kansas (8) and North Carolina (8) have more.
Michigan State is in the Final Four for the 5th time not seeded #1. They tie Duke, Kansas, Louisville and Syracuse for the most Final Fours when not seeded #1.
Michigan State's win is their 18th all-time vs. a higher seed which is a tournament high.
Duke's loss is their 24th all-time vs. a lower seed which is a tournament high.
Duke is 15-5 vs. the Big Ten.
Duke is 16-6 in the Elite Eight. Michigan State is 10-4 in the Elite Eight.
The average margin of victory in the Elite Eight was 4.5. It was the 2nd lowest in history in Elite Eight. The lowest was 3.75 in 1942.
The average margin in regulation was 1.75. It was the 2nd lowest in history in the Elite Eight. The lowest was 1.5 in 2005.
It is only the 4th time in history that all four Elite Eight games were decided by single digits and only the second time that all four were decided by 6 or less. Here is the maximum margin of victory in each of those years:
The Final Four has teams from four difference conferences for the 2nd consecutive year. It is the first time since 2012 that has happened.
It is the 4th consecutive year that the AP #1 team missed the Final Four. It is the longest streak of the #1 team missing the Final Four in tournament history.
It is the 7th consecutive year that the AP #1 team failed to win the National Championship. Since the field expanded to 64, the #1 team has won the tournament only 4 times or 11.4% of the time.
https://hoopstournament.blogspot.com/2019/03/elite-eight-tidbits-sunday.html
This is the second time in three years where the Final Four has three new coaches.
Auburn becomes the second school to defeat North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky in a single tournament. Arizona also did in 1997.
Auburn's game was their first ever tournament game against a SEC team. Kentucky's was their third. They are now 1-2. Both of Kentucky's losses are in the Elite Eight.
Bruce Pearl ties Cliff Ellis for 2nd all-time in Auburn history with his 5th tournament win. Sonny Smith is first in Auburn history with 7 tournament wins.
Auburn now has 2 straight wins over #2 seeds after losing their first 3.
Kentucky is 8-3 vs. #5 seeds, but have lost their last 2. Kentucky is 0-2 vs. #5 seeds when seeded #2.
Kentucky's loss is only their second ever in the state of Missouri. They are now 8-2. Their other loss was to Michigan State in the 1999 Elite Eight.
Kentucky's loss is their 21st all-time in the Elite Eight which is a tournament record.
Auburn is 2-0 in OT games in the tournament.
Kentucky 4-6 in OT games in the tournament. The 6 losses are 3rd most all-time behind Ohio State and Syracuse who have 7 losses.
The 77-71 Auburn win over Kentucky is 11th time for that score in NCAA Tournament History. Only 69-67 (15 times) and 75-72 (13 times) have occurred more often
Michigan State is in the Final Four for the first time since 2015 and the 10th time overall. They are 3-6 in the National Semifinals. Michigan State lost to Duke 81-61 in the 2015 Final Four.
Michigan State is 7-10 vs. #1 seeds. The 7 wins vs. #1 seeds is 4th all-time. Only Duke (9), Kansas (8) and North Carolina (8) have more.
Michigan State is in the Final Four for the 5th time not seeded #1. They tie Duke, Kansas, Louisville and Syracuse for the most Final Fours when not seeded #1.
Michigan State's win is their 18th all-time vs. a higher seed which is a tournament high.
Duke's loss is their 24th all-time vs. a lower seed which is a tournament high.
Duke is 15-5 vs. the Big Ten.
Duke is 16-6 in the Elite Eight. Michigan State is 10-4 in the Elite Eight.
The average margin of victory in the Elite Eight was 4.5. It was the 2nd lowest in history in Elite Eight. The lowest was 3.75 in 1942.
The average margin in regulation was 1.75. It was the 2nd lowest in history in the Elite Eight. The lowest was 1.5 in 2005.
It is only the 4th time in history that all four Elite Eight games were decided by single digits and only the second time that all four were decided by 6 or less. Here is the maximum margin of victory in each of those years:
- 1942 - 6
- 2019 - 6
- 2010 - 7
- 2005 - 8
- 2005 - 3
- 1992 - 2
- 2006 - 2
- 2019 - 2
The Final Four has teams from four difference conferences for the 2nd consecutive year. It is the first time since 2012 that has happened.
It is the 4th consecutive year that the AP #1 team missed the Final Four. It is the longest streak of the #1 team missing the Final Four in tournament history.
It is the 7th consecutive year that the AP #1 team failed to win the National Championship. Since the field expanded to 64, the #1 team has won the tournament only 4 times or 11.4% of the time.
https://hoopstournament.blogspot.com/2019/03/elite-eight-tidbits-sunday.html
The 6 winningest programs in NCAA Tournament History are
Kentucky - 131 wins
North Carolina - 126 wins
Duke - 114 wins
Kansas - 108 wins
UCLA - 106 wins
Louisville - 76 wins
This is the first time since 1987 that none of those 6 are in the Final Four.
Kentucky - 131 wins
North Carolina - 126 wins
Duke - 114 wins
Kansas - 108 wins
UCLA - 106 wins
Louisville - 76 wins
This is the first time since 1987 that none of those 6 are in the Final Four.
Here are the #5 seeds that went to the Final Four:
1996 - Mississippi State
2000 - Florida
2002 - Indiana
2005 - Michigan State
2010 - Butler and Michigan State
Here are the results of the other 5 seeds each year:
1996: Iowa State lost in second round, Memphis and Penn State lost in first round
2000: Kentucky, Texas and UConn all lost in second round
2002: Florida, Miami (Fla.) and Marquette all lost in first round
2005: Alabama lost in first round, Georgia Tech lost in second round and Villanova lost in Sweet Sixteen
2010: Temple lost in first round, Texas A&M lost in second round
So the answer is YES, it happened in 2002.
I used to until Roy went there and stole Barnes and Paige from the state of Iowa. UNC has passed Duke in my list of most hated teams since then.
The only reason that Iowa Hawkeye tears are not as tasty is because they are so stale. Tears are tastier when you fall from lofty (realistic) expectations.
Eh, we're probably better off for it... imagine if he'd stayed and given *just enough* hope for McDermott to last even longer? The renaissance we've seen since Hoiberg may never have happened.
It has happened 3 times in history for all seeds.
1986 - #11 LSU in Final Four; Missouri, Iowa and Richmond lost first Round
2002 - #5 Michigan State in Final Four; Florida, Miami (Fla.) and Marquette lost first Round
2019 - #5 Auburn in Final Four; Mississippi State, Marquette and Wisconsin lost first Round
Truth is, it's been ~15 years since Roy moved to UNC. In that time my hate for him has really dwindled. It was easy to hate him in the early 2000s when he was coaching KU and I was attending ISU, but that was a long time ago. And while I hated that he pilfered Barnes from us, it was for the best in the long run.
I still like to tell Roy to sit down, but that's more about fond Hilton Magic memories than any real hatred anymore.
Bump. Gameday.
Starting out with some envy since my niece and her hubby (Michigan State alumni) are driving up for the game and staying here tonight. Wondering whether, with an ISU appearance, I'd opt for nose bleeding seats at the venue or just attend local ISU rally stuff and watch nearby.
Starting out with some envy since my niece and her hubby (Michigan State alumni) are driving up for the game and staying here tonight. Wondering whether, with an ISU appearance, I'd opt for nose bleeding seats at the venue or just attend local ISU rally stuff and watch nearby.
I was wondering this today too about if I'd drive to Minneapolis and honestly while the atmosphere would be cool usually the Final Four arenas look terrible for seating.
What would a nosebleed seat at Final Four cost? That'd be a tipping point for me, if ISU was involved.
What are your predictions for today's matchups? Which teams do you prefer to advance (if it differs from answer to Q1)?
Although it could lead to a hard-on-the-eyes title game, my preference is Tech and Virginia to advance. If not for Pearl, I'd want Auburn to win semifinal, since it's the lowest seed underdog.
