Failing to make Sweet Sixteen as Top 2 seed

Kansas failed to make the Sweet Sixteen as a Top 2 seed for a record 6th time.  However, they have had many opportunities.  So the question was posed, what percentage of time have they failed.  Here are teams that have failed the highest percentage of times (minimum 5 times with a Top 2 seed):

Team	Top Two Seeds	First Weekend Losses	Pct.
Cincinnati	5	3	60.0%
Purdue	5	2	40.0%
Kansas	18	6	33.3%
Georgetown	7	2	28.6%
Syracuse	7	2	28.6%
Arizona	12	3	25.0%
Oklahoma	7	1	14.3%
Duke	22	3	13.6%
Ohio State	8	1	12.5%
North Carolina	17	2	11.8%
Connecticut	11	1	9.1%
Kentucky	15	1	6.7%
Indiana	6	0	0.0%
Michigan State	6	0	0.0%
UCLA	6	0	0.0%
Memphis	5	0	0.0%

Both 1 and 2 seed missing Sweet Sixteen in Same Regional

Both #1 Villanova and #2 Virginia were defeated in the Round of 32 in the East Regional.  This marks the 6th time since the field expanded to 64 that both the #1 and #2 seeds failed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

• 1990 Midwest - #1 Oklahoma, #2 Purdue
• 1992 Midwest - #1 Kansas, #2 Southern California
• 2000 South - #1 Stanford, #2 Cincinnati
• 2000 West - #1 Arizona, #2 St. John's
• 2004 Midwest - #1 Kentucky, #2 Gonzaga
• 2015 East - #1 Villanova, #2 Virginia

Missing Sweet 16 in consecutive years as 1 or 2 seed.

With Villanova and Kansas losing, they miss the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year as a 1 or 2 seed.  They become the 5th and 6th teams to accomplish that feat and the first since 2000.

DePaul:

• 1980 #1 DePaul lost to #8 UCLA in Round of 32
• 1981 #1 DePaul lost to #9 St. Joseph's in Round of 32
• 1982 #1 DePaul lost to #8 Boston College in Round of 32

Oregon State

• 1980 #2 Oregon State lost to #10 Lamar in Round of 32
• 1981 #1 Oregon State lost to #8 Kansas State in Round of 32

Michigan

• 1985 #1 Michigan lost to #8 Villanova in Round of 32
• 1986 #2 Michigan lost to #7 Iowa State in Round of 32

Stanford

• 1999 #2 Stanford lost to #10 Gonzaga in Round of 32
• 2000 #1 Stanford lost to #8 North Carolina in Round of 32 

Villanova

• 2014 #2 Villanova lost to #7 Connecticut in Round of 32
• 2015 #1 Villanova lost to #8 North Carolina State in Round of 32 

 Kansas

• 2014 #2 Kansas lost to #10 Stanford in Round of 32
• 2015 #2 Kansas lost to #7 Wichita State in Round of 32

 

Sunday Round of 32 Rematches

Omaha

• Wichita State defeated Kansas 66-65 in the 1981 Sweet Sixteen
• Wisconsin defeated Oregon 85-77 in the 2014 Round of 32

Charlotte

• Michigan State defeated Virginia 61-59 in the 2014 Sweet Sixteen

Columbus

• Maryland defeated West Virginia 102-77 in the 1984 Round of 32 
• Dayton defeated Oklahoma 89-85 in the 1984 Round of 32

Round of 32 Streaks

Here are the teams that have been in 3 or more consecutive Round of 32 and their Round of 64 matchup in this year's tournament:

• Kansas - 8 (New Mexico State)
• Gonzaga - 6 (North Dakota State)
• Syracuse - 6 Not in Tournament
• Florida - 4 Not in Tournament
• North Carolina - 4 (Harvard)
• Creighton - 3 Not in Tournament
• Iowa State - 3 (UAB)
• Louisville - 3 (Cal-Irvine)
• Michigan State - 3 (Georgia)
• Saint Louis - 3 Not in Tournament

North Carolina holds the record for the most consecutive Round of 32 appearances with 24.  Here are the longest all-time streaks:

• North Carolina - 24 (1975 to 1998)
• Kentucky - 16 (1992 to 2007)
• Kansas - 15 (1990 to 2004)
• Duke - 11 (1984 to 1994)
• Georgetown - 11 (1982 to 1992)
• Duke - 10 (1997 to 2006)
• Stanford - 10 (1995 to 2004)
• Marquette - 9 (1971 to 1979)
• UNLV - 9 (1983 to 1991)
• Arkansas - 8 (1989 to 1996)
• Cincinnati - 8 (1995 to 2002)
• Idaho State - 8 (1953 to 1960)
• Kansas - 8 (2007 to 2014)
• Louisville - 8 (1977 to 1994)
• Notre Dame - 8 (1974 to 1981)
• Oklahoma - 8 (1983 to 1990)
• Syracuse - 8 (1973 to 1980)
• Syracuse - 8 (1983 to 1990) 

By Year - Longest Current Streak (starting in 1954 because 1953 was first year with Round of 32)

Note:  This only includes teams that played in this round.  There were byes in the Round of 32 through 1974.

1954 - 2 (Fordham, Idaho State, Navy, Notre Dame, Santa Clara, Seattle)
1955 - 3 (Idaho State, Seattle)
1956 - 4 (Idaho State, Seattle)
1957 - 5 (Idaho State)
1958 - 6 (Idaho State)
1959 - 7 (Idaho State)
1960 - 8 (Idaho State)
1961 - 2 (Ohio, Oregon, Princeton, USC)
1962 - 2 (Arizona State, Seattle, Wake Forest)
1963 - 3 (Arizona State, Seattle)
1964 - 4 (Arizona State, Seattle)
1965 - 3 (Connecticut, Oklahoma City, Princeton)
1966 - 4 (Oklahoma City)
1967 - 3 (Dayton, Houston)
1968 - 4 (Houston)
1969 - 3 (New Mexico State, St. John's)
1970 - 4 (New Mexico State)
1971 - 5 (New Mexico State)
1972 - 5 (Weber State)
1973 - 6 (Weber State)
1974 - 5 (Penn)
1975 - 6 (Penn)
1976 - 6 (Marquette)
1977 - 7 (Marquette)
1978 - 8 (Marquette)
1979 - 9 (Marquette)
1980 - 8 (Syracuse)
1981 - 8 (Notre Dame)
1982 - 8 (North Carolina)
1983 - 9 (North Carolina)
1984 - 10 (North Carolina)
1985 - 11 (North Carolina)
1986 - 12 (North Carolina)
1987 - 13 (North Carolina)
1988 - 14 (North Carolina)
1989 - 15 (North Carolina)
1990 - 16 (North Carolina)
1991 - 17 (North Carolina)
1992 - 18 (North Carolina)
1993 - 19 (North Carolina)
1994 - 20 (North Carolina)
1995 - 21 (North Carolina)
1996 - 22 (North Carolina)
1997 - 23 (North Carolina)
1998 - 24 (North Carolina)
1999 - 10 (Kansas)
2000 - 11 (Kansas)
2001 - 12 (Kansas)
2002 - 13 (Kansas)
2003 - 14 (Kansas)
2004 - 15 (Kansas)
2005 - 14 (Kentucky)
2006 - 15 (Kentucky)
2007 - 16 (Kentucky)
2008 - 5 (North Carolina)
2009 - 6 (North Carolina)
2010 - 5 (Pittsburgh, Texas A&M)
2011 - 6 (Pittsburgh)
2012 - 6 (Kansas, Purdue, Wisconsin)
2013 - 7 (Kansas)
2014 - 8 (Kansas)

Consecutive Tournament Appearances

Mike Krzyzewski will be coaching in his 20th consecutive tournament.  Kansas will be playing in their 26th consecutive tournament.  Where do they rank all-time?

Most consecutive tournament appearances for a coach (all-time):

• Lute Olson - 23 (1985 - 2007)
• Dean Smith - 23 (1975 - 1997)
• Mike Krzyzewski - 20 (1996 - 2015)
• Roy Williams - 20 (1990 - 2009)
• Tom Izzo - 18 (1998 - 2015)
• Rick Barnes - 17 (1996 - 2012)
• Bill Self - 17 (1999 - 2015)
• Mark Few - 16 (2001 - 2015)
• Bob Knight - 15 (1986 - 2000)
• Bog Huggins - 14 (1992 - 2005)
• Bo Ryan - 14 (2002 - 2015) 
• Tubby Smith - 14 (1994 - 2007)
• John Thompson - 14 (1979 - 1992)

Most consecutive tournament appearances for coaches in this year's tournament:

• Mike Krzyzewski, Duke - 20
• Tom Izzo, Michigan State - 18
• Bill Self, Kansas - 17
• Mark Few, Gonzaga - 16
• Bo Ryan, Wisconsin - 14 
• Rick Pitino, Louisville - 9
• Thad Matta, Ohio State - 7
• Steve Fisher, San Diego State - 6
• Mick Cronin, Cincinnati - 5
• Shaka Smart, VCU - 5
• Roy Williams, North Carolina - 5

Most consecutive tournament appearances (All-Time):

• North Carolina - 27 (1975 - 2001)
• Kansas - 26 (2000 - 2015)
• Arizona - 25 (1985 - 2009)
• Duke - 20 (1996 - 2015)
• Indiana - 18 (1986 - 2003)
• Michigan State - 18 (1998 - 2015)
• Gonzaga - 17 (1999 - 2015)
• Kentucky - 17 (1992 - 2008)
• Wisconsin - 17 (1999 - 2015)
• UCLA - 15 (1967 - 1981)

Most consecutive tournament appearances for teams in this year's tournament:

• Kansas - 26
• Duke - 20
• Michigan State - 18
• Gonzaga - 17
• Wisconsin - 17
• Louisville - 9
• Ohio State - 7
• San Diego State - 6
• Cincinnati - 5
• North Carolina - 5
• VCU - 5

Longest streaks snapped this year for schools:

• Jim Boeheim, Syracuse - 6
• Billy Donovan, Florida -5
• Josh Pastner, Memphis - 4
• John Beilein, Michigan - 4
• Tad Boyle, Colorado - 3
• Greg McDermott, Creighton - 3

Longest streaks snapped this year for teams:

• Syracuse - 6
• Florida - 5
• Kansas State - 5
• Memphis - 4
• Michigan - 4

Defending Champ missing tournament

Connecticut will most likely not make the tournament this year.  Here are the teams that failed to make the tournament the following season (since 1985):

1986 Louisville
1988 Kansas
2007 Florida
2009 North Carolina
2012 Kentucky
2014 Connecticut

Double Digit Seed Matchups

#11 Dayton vs. #10 Stanford is only the third matchup of double-digit seeds in the Sweet Sixteen in tournament history.

The other two were

• 2011 - #11 VCU 72 #10 Florida State 71
• 1997 - #10 Providence 71 #14 Chattanooga 65

VCU defeated Kansas 71-61 to advance to the Final Four in 2011.
Providence lost to Arizona in OT 96-92 in the Elite Eight 1997.

There have been 19 matchups of double-digit seeds in the Round of 32.  Since 2011, there has been at least one each year.

Round of 32 Rematches

The following games in the Round of 32 are rematches from past tournaments:

• Kansas defeated Stanford 86-63 in the 2002 Round of 32
• North Carolina is 2-0 vs. Iowa State (73-51 in 1995 Round of 32, 92-65 in 2005 Round of 32)
• Arizona defeated Gonzaga 96-95 (2OT) in the 2003 Round of 32
• Texas and Michigan are 1-1 vs. each other (Michigan won 84-79 in 1994 Round of 32, Texas won 80-76 in 1996 Round of 64)

National Champions Previous Result

The last two national champions (Louisville and Kentucky) lost in the national semifinals the previous year.  If the streak were to continue, then either Syracuse or Wichita State will win the tournament.  Considering that both are the only remaining unbeaten teams this year, it would not be a shock for one of them to win. 

Here are the past 5 national champions and their previous year's result:

2013: Louisville - lost to Kentucky 69-61 in 2012 in national semifinals
2012: Kentucky - lost to Connecticut 56-55 in 2011 in national semifinals
2011: Connecticut - did not make the tournament in 2010 (but did lose in national semifinals in 2009)
2010: Duke - lost to Villanova 77-54 in 2009 in Sweet Sixteen
2009: North Carolina - lost to Kansas 84-66 in 2008 in national semifinals

South Region Tournament Facts

Here are some tournament facts about tonight's South Region Semifinalists:

Michigan is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994.  It is their 12th Elite Eight.

John Beilein is in the Elite Eight for the 2nd time and the 1st with Michigan.

Michigan is 11-1 in the Sweet Sixteen.

Michigan is 4-5 vs. #1 seeds.

Kansas loses for the first time as a #1 seed vs. a Big Ten opponent.  They had won their first 4.

The Big Ten is 15-13 vs. the Big Twelve.

Michigan is 8-10 vs. teams ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll.

Michigan is 6-2 in overtimes.

There is no Big Twelve team in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005.

Florida is in the Elite Eight for the 3rd consecutive year.  It is their 7th Elite Eight and 5th since 2006.

Billy Donovan is in his 6th Elite Eight all with Florida.

Florida is 7-2 in the Sweet Sixteen and has won their last 6 Sweet Sixteen games.

Florida is 14-2 as a #3 seed.  The 14 wins is the most for a #3 seed and only Connecticut has a better winning percentage at 6-0.

Florida is a tournament-best 21-0 when their opponent scores fewer than 64 points.

Florida Gulf Coast loses their first ever tournament game.  They are now 2-1.

South Regional Sweet Sixteen Matchups

Kansas vs. Michigan
Have never played in the tournament

Kansas vs.

• Big Ten:8-5
• State of Michigan:2-1
• Location-Texas:6-6
• Seed - #1: 29-9
• Opp. Seed - #4:3-4

Michigan vs.

• Big Twelve:0-1
• State of Kansas:2-0
• Location-Texas:2-1
• Seed - #4:2-1
• Opp. Seed - #1:3-5

Florida vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Have never played in the tournament

Florida vs. 

• Atlantic Sun:0-0
• State of Florida:0-0
• Location-Texas:2-1
• Seed - #3:13-2
• Opp. Seed - #15:3-0

Florida Gulf Coast vs. 

• Southeastern:0-0
• State of Florida:0-0
• Location-Texas:0-0
• Seed - #15:2-0
• Opp. Seed - #3: 0-0

Sweet Sixteen Tournament Facts

Longest Current Streak of Sweet Sixteen Appearances
1. Ohio State 4
2. Florida 3
    Kansas 3
    Marquette 3
5. Indiana 2
    Louisville 2
    Michigan State 2
    Syracuse 2

Longest Droughts Snapped
1. La Salle (1955)
2. Michigan (1994)
3. Miami, Fla (2000)
4. Wichita State (2006)
5. Oregon (2007)
6. Duke (2011)
    Arizona (2011)

First Appearance
Florida Gulf Coast

Appearances by Conference
1. Big Ten 4
2. Big East 3
3. Atlantic Coast 2
    Pacific Twelve 2
5. Atlantic Sun 1
    Atlantic Ten 1
    Big Twelve 1
    Missouri Valley 1
    Southeastern 1

Consecutive Years with Multiple Sweet Sixteens by Conference
1. Big East 12
2. Big Ten 6
3. Atlantic Coast 3

Big Ten has 4 teams in the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year.  It is the first time in conference history that they have achieved that feat. 

Conferences that have had consecutive years with 4 Sweet Sixteen teams:

• ACC (1984 to 1986, 1989 to 1990, 1992 to 1993)
• Big Ten (2012 to 2013)
• Pacific Twelve (1997 to 1998)

Appearances by State
1. Florida 3
2. Kansas 2 
    Michigan 2 
4. Arizona 1
    Indiana 1
    Kentucky 1
    New York 1
    North Carolina 1
    Ohio 1
    Oregon 1
    Pennsylvania 1
    Wisconsin 1

Consecutive Years with a Sweet Sixteen Bid by State
1. North Carolina 34
2. Kansas 8
3. Ohio 7
4. Kentucky 6
5. Indiana 5
6. Florida 3
    Wisconsin 3
8. Michigan 2
    New York 2

Kansas - North Carolina Tournament Facts

Here are some NCAA Tournament facts about Kansas and North Carolina:

Post-Game:
Kansas is in the Sweet Sixteen for the 28th time.  It is their 3rd consecutive trip.

Roy Williams is now 0-3 vs. Kansas (his former team) in the tournament.  He joins Gene Bartow as the only coach to lose 3 times to a former team in the tournament.  Bartow lost twice to UCLA and once to Memphis.  He was 0-3 vs. his former teams also.

The Big Twelve is now 9-16 vs. the ACC.

With the win, the Big Twelve has at least 1 team in the Sweet Sixteen for the 15th consecutive year.  During that streak, they have had only 1 team 5 times:

• 1999 - Oklahoma
• 2001 - Kansas
• 2006 - Texas
• 2011 - Kansas
• 2013 - Kansas

The 58 points that North Carolina scored is the fewest that they have scored since 1997.  They also scored 58 vs. Arizona in the 1997 National Semifinals.  It is the 3rd fewest that a Roy Williams coached-team has scored.

Pre-Game:
Kansas and North Carolina have played each other 5 times in the tournament.  Kansas is 3-2 vs. North Carolina

• North Carolina defeated Kansas 54-53 (3OT) in 1957 National Championship
• Kansas defeated North Carolina 79-73 in 1991 National Semifinals
• North Carolina defeated Kansas 78-68 in 1993 National Semifinals
• Kansas defeated North Carolina 84-66 in 2008 National Semifinals
• Kansas defeated North Carolina 80-67 in 2012 Elite Eight

Kansas is in the Round of 32 for the 30th time.  They is their 7th consecutive trip which is the longest current streak.  The 30 appearances is 4th all-time.

North Carolina is in the Round of 32 for a record 37th time.  This is their 3rd consecutive trip.

Kansas is 8-9 vs. the Atlantic Coast Conference.  North Carolina is 4-3 vs. the Big Twelve.

Kansas is 49-8 when ranked vs. an unranked opponent.  North Carolina is 4-2 when unranked vs. a ranked opponent.

North Carolina is 9-5 all-time when unranked.

North Carolina is 7-3 vs. #1 seeds.

Kansas is 5-1 vs. #8 seeds.  Their only loss was to Rhode Island in 1998 Round of 32.

North Carolina is 6-1 when playing in the state of Missouri.  Their only loss was to Kansas last year in the Elite Eight.

Kansas is 21-6 when playing in the state of Missouri.  The 21 wins is the most by a team outside of their home state.

Kansas - Western Kentucky Tournament Facts

Here are some NCAA Tournament facts about Kansas and Western Kentucky:

Post-Game:
This is the 11th time that Kansas has been a #1 seed.  This was the closest game that they have had in the Round of 64 as a #1 seed.  Their previous closest game was 11 in 2002 vs. Holy Cross.

Kansas is in the Round of 32 for the 7th consecutive year.  That is the longest current streak.

The Big Twelve is now 2-0 vs. the Sun Belt.

Western Kentucky is now 0-5 vs. #1 seeds.

Pre-Game:
Kansas and Western Kentucky have faced each other two other times in the tournament.  They split the two games:

• 1971: Western Kentucky 77 Kansas 75 - National Third Place Game
• 1995: Kansas 75 Western Kentucky 70 - Round of 32

Kansas is 27-2 in the Round of 64.  Their losses were in 2005 to Bucknell and 2006 to Bradley.

Kansas is 20-6 playing in the state of Missouri.  They are 13-5 in Kansas City.

Kansas is 30-9 on Fridays.   They are tied with North Carolina with the most wins on Fridays.

Kansas is 8-1 on March 22.  They are tied with Kentucky for the most wins on March 22.

Western Kentucky has won a game in each of their last 3 tournament appearances.

Western Kentucky holds a tournament record with 12 different coaches in the tournament and 10 different coaches that have won a tournament game.

Western Kentucky is 0-4 vs. #1 seeds.

Tournament Streaks - Seeds

Here are the current streaks of appearances by seeds:

Consecutive Years Seeded #1
There are no repeat #1 seeds for the second straight year.  It is only the second time that has happened.  1987 and 1988 was the other time.

Duke holds the record with 5 straight #1 seeds from from 1998 to 2002.

Consecutive Years Seeded #1 or #2
1. Duke 6
2. Kansas 4
    Ohio State 4

Duke's current streak is tied for the all-time record.  They also had 6 straight from 1997-2002.

Consecutive Years with Top 3 Seed
1. Kansas 7
2. Duke 6
3. Ohio State 4
4. Georgetown 2
    Marquette 2
    Michigan State 2

North Carolina holds the record with 11 from 1979 to 1989.

Consecutive Years with Top 4 Seed
1. Kansas 13
2. Duke 6
3. Syracuse 5
4. Ohio State 4
5. Louisville 3

Kansas's current streak is the all-time record.

Consecutive Years with Top 5 Seed
1. Kansas 13
2. Duke 6
3. Syracuse 5
4. Ohio State 4
    Wisconsin 4

Kentucky holds the record with 14 from 1992 to 2005.

Consecutive Years with Top 6 Seed
1. Duke 17
2. Kansas 13
3. Syracuse 5
4. Georgetown 4
    Ohio State 4
    Wisconsin 4

Duke's current streak is the all-time record.

Consecutive years with Top 7 Seed

1. Duke 17
2. Kansas 13
3. Syracuse 5
4. Georgetown 4
    Notre Dame 4
    Ohio State 4
    Wisconsin 4

Duke's current streak is the all-time record.

Consecutive years with Top 8 Seed
1. Kansas 24
2. Duke 18
3. Ohio State 5
    Syracuse 5
5. Georgetown 4
    Kansas State 4
    UNLV 4
    Notre Dame 4
    Wisconsin 4

Kansas breaks North Carolina's record of 23 straight from 1979 to 2001

Schools that achieved their highest ever Seed

Teams that achieved their highest ever Seed in this tournament.  Those that achieved it for the first time are in bold.

#1 Seed

• Gonzaga (1st time) - Previous high #2 in 2004
• Indiana (3rd time) - Last time was 1993
• Kansas (11th time) - Last time was 2011
• Louisville (3rd time) - Last time was 2009

#2 Seed

• Miami, Florida (2nd time) - Last time was 1999

 #3 Seed

• New Mexico (3rd time) - Last time was 2010
• Marquette (4th time) - 2nd consecutive year

#4 Seed

• Saint Louis (1st time) - Previous high #7 in 1994

#8 Seed

• Colorado State (1st time) - Previous high #10 in 1989 and 1990

#11 Seed

• Belmont (1st time) - Previous high #13 in 2011
• Middle Tennessee State (2nd time) - Last time was 1982

#12 Seed

•  Akron (1st time) - Previous high #13 in 2009

#13 Seed

• Boise State (1st time) - Previous high #14 in 1988, 1993, 1994 and 2008
• South Dakota State (1st time) - Previous high #14 in 2012

#14 Seed

• Northwestern State (2nd time) - Last time was 2006

#15 Seed

• Florida Gulf Coast (1st time) - First tournament appearance

 #16 Seed

• Liberty (3rd time) - Last time was 2004

RPI Facts - NCAA Tournament

Southern Mississippi has the highest RPI of any team that missed this year's tournament at #30.

California has the lowest RPI of any at-large team that made this year's tournament at #53.  The record is #74 held by New Mexico in 1999.

Duke is the 6th team to finish #1 in the RPI (since it began in 1994) and not receive a #1 seed.  The other #1 RPI teams to not get a #1 seed and their results are:

• 1995 North Carolina - #2 Seed - Lost in National Semifinals to Arkansas 
• 2000 Cincinnati - #2 Seed - Lost in Round of 32 to Tulsa
• 2005 Kansas - #3 Seed - Lost in Round of 64 to Bucknell
• 2008 Tennessee - #2 Seed - Lost in Sweet Sixteen to Louisville
• 2009 Duke - #2 Seed - Lost in Sweet Sixteen to Villanova

The top 2 teams in the RPI (Duke and New Mexico) did not receive a #1 seed.  It is the first time that neither of the top 2 teams in the RPI were a #1 seed.

This is the 6th time that Duke has finished #1 in the RPI.  Kansas has finished #1 5 times.  The only other teams to finish #1 multiple times are Kentucky and North Carolina with 2.

Duke has finished in the Top 10 of the RPI 6 consecutive years and 15 of the last 17.  Miami and Indiana finish in the Top 10 of the RPI for the first time since it began in 1994.

The RPI's of the #1 Seeds are:

• #3 Louisville
• #5 Kansas
• #6 Gonzaga
• #7 Indiana

The sum of their RPI's is 21.  That is the second highest RPI sum of the #1 seeds since 1994.  The highest was 27 in 2000 when the #1 Seeds and their RPI's were:

• #2 Duke
• #3 Arizona
• #9 Stanford
• #13 Michigan State

Only 2 teams that finished #1 in the RPI have won the National Championship in the 19 years of the RPI.  They were Kentucky in 1996 and Duke in 2001.  Both of them were #1 seeds also.

The most common RPI to win the Championship is #3 which has 5 Championships.  No other RPI has more than 2.  Louisville is #3 in the RPI this year.  Those 5 are:

• Kentucky - 1998
• Connecticut - 1999
• Maryland - 2002
• North Carolina - 2009
• Duke - 2010

Out of those 5, only Kentucky was not a #1 seed.

Tournament Streaks

As Selection Sunday approaches, I thought I would take a look at some active streaks that are in jeopardy.

Consecutive Tournament Appearances:

1. Kansas 23
2. Duke 17
3. Michigan State 15
4. Gonzaga 14
    Texas 14
    Wisconsin 14

Texas' string of appearances will end at 14 while the others are definite locks.

Other streaks in jeopardy:
Xavier - 7
Brigham Young - 6
Purdue - 6
West Virginia - 5

Consecutive At-Large Appearances:
1. Texas 14
2. Marquette 7
3. Brigham Young 6
    Xavier 6
5. Syracuse 4
    Wisconsin 4

Texas, Brigham Young and Xavier will all miss the tournament this year, so Marquette will now have the most consecutive at-large apperances.  Syracuse and Wisconsin are in, but their streaks would be snapped if they win their conference tournaments.

The 14 consecutive at-large bids for Texas is an all-time tournament record.

Consecutive years with at least a Top 4 seed:

1. Kansas 12
2. Duke 5
3. Syracuse 4
4. Kentucky 3
    Ohio State 3
    Wisconsin 3

Kansas, Duke and Ohio State are safely Top 4 seeds. ESPN Bracketology had Syracuse at a 4 in yesterday's bracket, but with their run in the Big East tournament, they will most likely continue that streak.  Wisconsin was on the 5 line, so they are on the borderline of receiving a Top 4 seed.  Kentucky will definitely not be a Top 4 seed and may not even make the tournament.

Consecutive appearances in Round of 32:

1. Kansas 6
    Purdue 6
    Wisconsin 6
4. Gonzaga 4
    Syracuse 4
6. Kansas State 3
    Kentucky 3
    Ohio State 3

For the teams making the tournament, we will have to wait until Thursday or Friday to find out if they continue the streak, but Purdue's streak will come to an end and Kentucky's streak is in serious jeopardy.

Consecutive appearance in Sweet Sixteen:

Kentucky and Ohio State have both been to the last 3 Sweet Sixteens.  Kentucky's streak is most likely to end even if they make the tournament.  Ohio State has a great shot to return.  Five teams (Florida, Kansas, Marquette, North Carolina and Wisconsin) have all been to the Sweet Sixteen the last two years.  All have a legitimate shot of returning with North Carolina projected as the lowest seed (#7) on yesterday's bracketology.

Biggest Win over #1 Ranked Team

With Miami's 27-point win over #1 Duke last night, I wondered what the largest defeats by #1 teams in the tournament have been.

The following are the largest margin of defeat for teams that were ranked #1 in the AP Poll entering the tournament:

• #2 UCLA defeated #1 Houston 101-69 (32 points) in 1968 National Semifinals
• #4 Kansas defeated #1 North Carolina 84-66 (18 points) in 2008 National Semifinals
• #9 Marquette defeated #1 Kentucky 83-69 (14 points) in 2003 Elite Eight
• #2 Cincinnati defeated #1 Ohio State 71-59 (12 points) in 1962 National Championship
• #8 Michigan State defeated #1 Louisville 64-52 (12 points) in 2009 Elite Eight
• #3 Michigan State defeated #1 Indiana State 75-64 (11 points) in 1979 National Championship
• #2 UCLA defeated #1 Michigan 91-80 (11 points) in 1965 National Championship
• #5 Duke defeated #1 Temple 63-53 (10 points) in 1988 Elite Eight
• #5 Cincinnati defeated #1 Kansas State 85-75 (10 points) in 1959 Elite Eight

The largest margin of defeat for a #1 team in the Sweet Sixteen is #13 Florida over #1 Duke 87-78 in 2000.

The largest margin of defeat for a #1 team in the Round of 32 is UCLA over #1 DePaul 77-71 in 1980.  That game is also the largest margin of defeat for an unranked team over a #1 team.

Between 2006 and 2009, the #1 team was defeated by 8 or more points each year.  Only one other time in tournament history had there even been consecutive years in which the #1 team lost by 8 or more points (1959 and 1960).