First Tournament

Three teams will be making their first tournament appearance.

• Buffalo
• Cal-Irvine
• North Florida

Ten coaches will be making their first tournament appearance.

• Bill Coen, Northeastern
• Matthew Driscoll, North Florida
• Jerod Hasse, UAB
• Jim Hayford, Eastern Washington
• Chris Holtmann, Butler
• Bobby Hurley, Buffalo
• David Richman, North Dakota State
• Larry Shyatt, Wyoming
• Andrew Toole, Robert Morris
• Russell Turner, Cal-Irvine

Six coaches that have been in the tournament before will be making their first tournament appearance with a new team.

• Mike Anderson, Arkansas (UAB - 2004-06; Missouri - 2009-11)
• Larry Brown, Southern Methodist (UCLA - 1980-81; Kansas - 1984-88)
• Ron Hunter, Georgia State (IUPUI - 2003)
• Johnny Jones, Louisiana State (North Texas - 2007, 2010)
• Larry Krystkowiak, Utah (Montana - 2005-06)
• Mark Turgeon, Maryland (Wichita State - 2006, Texas A&M - 2008-11)

Marquette - Butler Tournament Facts

Here are some NCAA Tournament facts about Marquette and Butler:

Post-Game:
Marquette is in the Sweet Sixteen for the 16th time.  It is their 3rd consecutive trip.

Both of Marquette's victories are by 2 points or less.  Marquette is 7-6 in games decided by 1 or 2 points.

Marquette is only the 9th team since 1985 to win their first two games by 2 points or less.  Only 3 of the prior 8 won their next game.  Here are the results:

1985       Auburn – Sweet Sixteen

1985       Boston College – Sweet Sixteen

1990       Ball State – Sweet Sixteen

1995       Arkansas – National Runner-up

2000       Seton Hall – Sweet Sixteen         

2004       UAB – Sweet Sixteen

2011       Arizona – Elite Eight

2011       Butler – National Runner-up

Butler loses for the first time on a Saturday in the tournament.

Pre-Game:
Marquette is in the Round of 32 for the 23rd time.  It is their 3rd consecutive trip.  They are 15-7 in the Round of 32.


Marquette is 1-1 vs. the Atlantic Ten:

• 1980 - Lost to Villanova 77-59 in Round of 64
• 2011 - Defeated Xavier 66-55 in Round of 64

Marquette is 8-3 as a #3 seed.    They were a #3 seed in 2003 when they went to the Final Four.

Butler is in the Round of 32 for the 8th time.  It is their 3rd appearance in 4 years.  They are 5-2 in the Round of 32.

Butler is 8-0 on Saturdays.  That is the best record on any single day of the week in tournament history.

Butler is 2-1 vs. the Big East:

• 2010 - Defeated Syracuse 63-59 in Sweet Sixteen
• 2011 - Defeated Pittsburgh 71-70 in Round of 32
• 2011 - Lost to Connecticut 53-41 in National Championship Game

Butler is second in wins since 2010 with 11.  Kentucky has the most with 13.

Butler is 0-2 vs. #3 seeds.  Connecticut was a #3 seed in 2011.  They also lost to Cincinnati 86-69 in 1997 Round of 64.

Butler - Bucknell Tournament Facts

Here are some NCAA Tournament Facts about Butler and Bucknell:

Post-Game
With Butler's win, the Atlantic Ten has won multiple games in the tournament for 6 consecutive years.  The conference high is 9 from 1991 to 1999.

The Atlantic Ten is now 4-0 vs. the Patriot League.

• Butler 68 Bucknell 56 in 2013 Round of 64
• Xavier 70 Lehigh 58 in 2012 Round of 32
• Temple 73 Lafayette 47 in 2000 Round of 64
• Massachusetts 85 Fordham 58 in 1992 Round of 64

Butler is now 2-0 vs. teams from Pennsylvania.  Their other victory was 71-70 over Pittsburgh in 2011 Round of 32.

Pre-Game
Butler has the best winning percentage this decade of any of this year's tournament teams at 10-2 (.833).  The only two teams that have a better winning percentage this decade are Kentucky at 13-2 (.867) and Connecticut at 6-1 (.857).

Butler is 1-1 when playing in Kentucky.  They defeated Bowling Green 56-55 in the 1962 Round of 32 in Lexington and lost to New Mexico in the 1998 Round of 64 also in Lexington.

Butler is 2-0 on March 21.  They defeated South Alabama 81-61 in the 2008 Round of 64 and defeated Mississippi State 47-46 in the 2003 Round of 64.

Bucknell is 2-5 all-time in the tournament.  Their wins came in 2005 over Kansas and 2006 over Arkansas.

Tournament Appearances by State

Most appearances by State

• California 5 (California, Pacific, St. Mary's, San Diego State, UCLA)
• North Carolina 5 (Davidson, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State)
• Pennsylvania 5 (Bucknell, La Salle, Pittsburgh, Temple, Villanova)
• Indiana 4 (Butler, Indiana, Notre Dame, Valparaiso)
• New York 4 (Albany, Iona, Long Island-Brooklyn, Syracuse)

Consecutive years with at least one school in the tournament
1. California 64
2. Kentucky 50
3. New York 41
4. North Carolina 40
5. Pennsylvania 37
6. Ohio 32
7. Kansas 30
8. Florida 16
    Michigan 16
    Washington 16

Texas has no teams in the tournament for the first time since 1977 ending a string of 35 consecutive appearances.  Utah has no teams for the first time since 1994 ending a string of 18 consecutive appearances.

Consecutive years with at least two schools in the tournament
1. North Carolina 37
2. California 27
3. Kentucky 22
4. Ohio 17
5. New York 16
6. Pennsylvania 15
7. Wisconsin 9
8. Tennessee 8
9. Indiana 7
10. Michigan 5
      Virginia 5

Texas had at least two teams for the last 11 tournaments before having no teams this year.

Consecutive years with at least three schools in the tournament
1. California 9
2. Tennessee 8
3. New York 5
    Ohio 5
5. Indiana 4
6. North Carolina 3
    Virginia 3

Texas had at least three teams for the last 6 tournaments before having no teams this year.  Kentucky also had at least three teams for the last 6 tournaments before having two teams this year.

California has at least 4 schools in the tournament for the 9th consecutive year.

North Carolina has 5 schools in the tournament for the 2nd consecutive year.

The Big East is Dead, Long Live the Big East

The Big East is Dead:

Syracuse, Louisville put the Big East to bed

Long Live the Big East:

Sources: Big East at 10 for 2013-2014

The question that everyone is asking (ok, maybe only me) is will the new Big East keep the history of the old Big East or will it be considered a completely new conference?  (Will this be like the Baltimore Ravens-Cleveland Browns situation?)