Championship Game Tidbits

Virginia wins their first National Championship.

Virginia's championship is the 15th for the ACC tying the Pacific Twelve for the most all-time.  It is the ACC's 3rd championship in the last 5 years.

The last Pacific Twelve team to win a National Championship was Arizona in 1997.  Since then the ACC has won 8 National Championships.

Virginia is the first team from the state of Virginia to win a National Championship.

Tony Bennett becomes the 3rd coach to win the championship in his first appearance in the title game since 2014.  Jay Wright (Villanova, 2016) and Kevin Ollie (Connecticut, 2014) won in their first appearance.

With Virginia winning, it is the 3rd straight year that a #1 seed has won a National Championship.

Texas Tech loses to the team that won the championship for the second consecutive tournament.  They lost to Villanova in the Elite Eight last year.  Before last year, the only other time they lost to the eventual champion was 1961 when they lost to Cincinnati in the Sweet Sixteen.

Virginia is the first team to win two overtime games in a single tournament since 2000 (Seton Hall).  They are the first National Champion to win two overtime games in a single tournament since 1997 (Arizona).

Chris Beard

Chris Beard is 9-2 in the NCAA Tournament.  Here are the 15 coaches that have coached in 11 or more tournament games that won at least 9 of their first 11:

• Ed Jucker 11 (Cincinnati 11-0)
• Phil Woolpert 11 (San Francisco 11-0)
• Steve Fisher 10 (Michigan 10-1)
• Henry Iba 10 (Oklahoma State 10-1)
• Fred Taylor 10 (Ohio State 10-1)
• Phog Allen 9 (Kansas 9-2)
• Chris Beard 9 (Arkansas-Little Rock 1-1, Texas Tech 8-1)
• P.J. Carlesimo 9 (Seton Hall 9-2)
• Tom Izzo 9 (Michigan State 9-2)
• Doggie Julian 9 (Holy Cross 5-1, Dartmouth 4-1)
• Bob Knight 9 (Indiana 9-2)
• Branch McCracken 9 (Indiana 9-2)
• Frank McGuire 9 (St. John's 5-2, North Carolina 4-0)
• Pete Newell 9 (California 9-2)
• Adolph Rupp 9 (Kentucky 9-2)

Final Four Tidbits

Virginia is in the National Championship Game for the first time in tournament history.

Tony Bennett is in his first National Championship Game.

A #1 seed is in the National Championship Game for the 5th consecutive year.

Virginia is the 4th ACC team in the last 5 years to play in the National Championship Game.  Virginia is the 6th school from the ACC to play in the Championship Game.  Duke has played in 11, North Carolina in 10, North Carolina State in 2 and Maryland and Georgia Tech in 1 each.

Virginia is 4-4 vs. the SEC.  The win ends a 4-game tournament losing streak vs. the SEC.

The ACC has won 5 straight National Semifinal Games against non-ACC teams.  The last National Semifinal Game that an ACC team lost to a team from another conference was 2008 when Kansas defeated North Carolina 84-66.

Virginia's Last 3 games were decided by 4 or fewer points or in overtime.  The only other team that to advance to the championship game by doing that was 1992 Michigan.

The SEC has lost 3 straight National Semifinal Games.  The last National Semifinal Game won by an SEC team was 2014 when Kentucky defeated Wisconsin 74-73.

Texas Tech is in the National Championship Game for the first time in tournament history.

Chris Beard is in his first National Championship Game.

The last time that both teams were making their first championship game appearance was 1979 when Michigan State played Indiana State.

The last time that both coaches were making their first championship game appearance was 2008 when Bill Self (Kansas) coached against John Calipari (Memphis)

Texas Tech is the first Big Twelve team in the National Championship Game since 2012 when Kansas played Kentucky.  Texas Tech is the first Big Twelve team other than Kansas to play in a National Championship Game.

Big Twelve teams are now 4-6 in National Semifinal Games.

Texas Tech is 3-0 vs. the Big Ten in the tournament.

Texas Tech is the first team to ever beat Michigan and Michigan State in the same tournament.

Texas Tech is the first team from the state of Texas to play in the National Championship Game since 1984 when Houston played Georgetown.

It is the second consecutive year that a #1 seed will play a #3 seed in the National Championship Game.  #1 Villanova defeated #3 Michigan last year.  Before last year, only one other time did #1 play #3 (1990 - #1 UNLV defeated #3 Duke)

#3 seeds are now 12-7 in National Semifinal Games.

A decade of Final Fours

The last Final Four of the 2010s has been filled.  In the decade, only two schools went to the Final Four more than twice.  Kentucky led with 4 Final Fours.  Michigan State is in their third Final Four of the decade.

Here is the school that made the most Final Fours each decade:

2010s - Kentucky (4)
2000s - Michigan State, North Carolina (4)
1990s - Duke, North Carolina (5)
1980s - Louisville (4)
1970s - UCLA (7)
1960s - UCLA (6)
1950s - Kansas, San Francisco (3)
1940s - Kentucky, Ohio State, Oklahoma State (3)

25 different schools made it to the Final Four during this decade.  Here is the number of different schools by decade:

2010s - 25
2000s - 25
1990s - 23
1980s - 26
1970s - 28
1960s - 22
1950s - 29
1940s - 30

The Big Ten had the most Final Four appearances with 8.  Here is the number of appearances by conference:

Big Ten - 8
Big East - 7
SEC - 7
ACC - 6
Big Twelve - 4
Horizon - 2
Missouri Valley - 2
American - 1
Colonial - 1
Pacific Twelve - 1
West Coast - 1

The conference with the most Final Four appearances by decade are:

2010s - Big Ten (8)
2000s - ACC (9)
1990s - ACC (11)
1980s - ACC, Big East (8)
1970s - Pacific Ten (7)
1960s - ACC, Big Ten, Pacific Ten (7)
1950s - Big Eight, Big Ten (6)
1940s - Big Ten (6)

The Pacific Twelve had only one Final Four appearance in the 2010s.  That is the fewest in their history.  Here is the number of Final Fours for the Pacific Twelve by Decade:

2010s - 1
2000s - 4
1990s - 4
1980s - 2
1970s - 7
1960s - 7
1950s - 3
1940s - 5