Round of 64 Tidbits - Friday Afternoon

#9 Baylor 75 #8 Mississippi State 72

• Baylor wins their 7th consecutive Round of 64 game.
• Baylor wins their 10th tournament game this decade.
• Baylor is 4-0 in tournament games on March 21.
• Baylor is 9-2 in tournament games on Friday.
• Mississippi State loses their 4th consecutive Round of 64 game and 6th tournament game overall.
• Mississippi State is 0-2 vs. the Big Twelve in the tournament.
• Mississippi State loses in North Carolina in the Round of 64 in back-to-back years.

#2 Alabama 90 #15 Robert Morris 81

• Alabama is 4-0 vs #15 seeds.
• Alabama snaps a 3-game tournament losing streak on March 21.
• Robert Morris is 2-9 all-time in the tournament, but 0-9 in the Round of 64.
• Robert Morris is 0-4 vs #2 seeds.

#3 Iowa State 82 #14 Lipscomb 55

• T.J.Otzelberger passes Tim Floyd and Fred Hoiberg for the most tournament wins for Iowa State with 5.
• Iowa State’s 27-point margin of victory is their largest in 24 tournament wins.  The previous high was 24 when they defeated UCLA 80-56 in the 2000 Sweet Sixteen.
• Lipscomb is 0-2 all-time in the tournament.

#12 Colorado State 78 #5 Memphis 70

• Colorado State wins in the Round of 64 for the first time since 2013.
• Memphis is 0-3 all-time as a #5 seed

#1 Duke 93 #16 Mt. St. Mary's 49

• Duke wins their 9th consecutive Round of 64 game.
• Duke is 15-0 vs #16 seeds.
• Duke is 35-6 in games played in North Carolina.
• Duke wins their 10th consecutive tournament game on a Friday.
• Mt. St. Mary’s is 0-5 in Round of 64 games.

#7 Saint Mary's 59 #10 Vanderbilt 56

• Saint Mary’s is 2-0 in tournament games in Ohio.
• Vanderbilt is 0-3 vs #7 seeds.
• Vanderbilt loses their 4th consecutive tournament game.

#6 Mississippi 71 #11 North Carolina 64

• Mississippi wins their first tournament game since 2015.
• North Carolina loses their 4th consecutive tournament game against the SEC.
• North Carolina ends a 6-game winning streak against #6 seeds.
• North Carolina is 0-3 in tournament games in Wisconsin.
• North Carolina ends an 8-game winning streak on March 21.
• The ACC has only 1 team in the Round of 32.  Since the tournament expandedto 32 teams in 1975, this is the first time that the ACC has not had multiple teams in the Round of 32.

#4 Maryland 81 #13 Grand Canyon 49

• Maryland wins their 4th consecutive Round of 64 game.
• Maryland’s 32-point margin of victory is their largest in the tournament.  Their previous high was 30 vs Wisconsin in the 2002 Round of 32.
• Maryland is 8-0 vs #13 seeds.
• Maryland wins their 4th consecutive tournament game on a Friday.

Round of 64 Tidbits - Thursday Evening

#2 Tennessee 77 #15 Wofford 62

• Tennessee wins their 4th consecutive Round of 64 game.
• Tennessee is 5-0 vs. a #15 seed.
• Wofford is 0-3 vs. the SEC in the tournament.

#10 Arkansas 79 #7 Kansas 72

• Arkansas is 2-1 vs. Kansas in the tournament.
• John Calipari becomes the 8th different coach to win a tournament game for Arkansas.
• Arkansas is 3-1 vs. the Big 12 in the tournament.
• Arkansas has won 4 consecutive games in the Round of 64.
• Arkansas is 3-0 in tournament games played in Rhode Island.
• Kansas has lost their last 4 tournament games against the SEC.
• Arkansas snaps a 17-game winning streak for Kansas in the Round of 64.
• Arkansas snaps a 16-game tournament winning streak for Kansas on a Thursday.
• Kansas is eliminated before the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in 6 tournaments.
• Kansas's 7-point loss is their largest margin of defeat in a Round of 64 game.

#4 Texas A&M 80 #13 Yale 71

• Texas A&M is 2-0 in the tournament vs. the Ivy League.
• Texas A&M is 3-0 on March 20.

#11 Drake 67 #6 Missouri 57

• Ben McCollum wins his first tournament game in his first appearance.
• Drake wins in the Round of 64 for the first time ever.
• Drake is 5-2 in tournament games in Kansas.
• Missouri is 0-3 vs. teams from Iowa in the tournament.
• Missouri loses as a higher seed for the 7th time in tournament history.

#7 UCLA 72 #10 Utah State 47

• UCLA is 4-0 vs. Utah State in the tournament.
• UCLA won its 7th consecutive Round of 64 game.
• UCLA won its 5th consecutive game vs. a #10 seed.
• UCLA won its 7th consecutive tournament game in Kentucky.
• UCLA is 12-1 in tournament games on March 20.  Utah State is 0-4.
• Utah State lost its 6th consecutive tournament game on a Thursday.
• Utah State is 2-16 in the Round of 64.
• Utah State is 0-5 as a #10 seed.

#2 St. John's 83 #15 Omaha 53

• St. John’s wins their first tournament game since 2000.
• St. John’s is 2-0 vs. teams from the Summit League.
• St. John’s snaps a 5-game tournament losing streak on March 20.

#4 Michigan 68 #13 UC San Diego 65

• Dusty May becomes the 9th coach to win a tournament game for Michigan.
• Michigan won their 6th consecutive game in the Round of 64.

#3 Texas Tech 82 #14 UNC Wilmington 72

• Grant McCasland becomes the 8th coach to win a tournament game at Texas Tech.
• Texas Tech is 5-0 as a #3 seed in the Round of 64.
• UNC Wilmington is 1-7 all-time in the tournament.

Round of 64 Tidbits - Thursday Afternoon

#9 Creighton 89 #8 Louisville 75

• Creighton's 89 points is tied for the most that they have scored in 47 tournament games.  They also scored 89 vs Oklahoma City in the 1964 Round of 32.
• Creighton wins their 5th consecutive Round of 64 game.
• Creighton is 3-0 vs. Louisville in the tournament.
• Creighton is 2-0 vs. #8 seeds.
• Creighton wins their 9th tournament game of the decade.
• Defeated Louisville 80-71 in the 1974 Regional Third Place Game
• Defeated Louisville 62-58 in the 1999 Round of 64
• Creighton snaps a 10-game winning streak by Louisville on March 20.
• Louisville loses to a #9 seed for the first time in 4 games.

#4 Purdue 75 #13 High Point 63

• Purdue faces a team in the first tournament game for the 3rd time.
• 1994 – Defeated Central Florida 98-67
• 1996 – Defeated Western Carolina 73-71
• Purdue’s game was the first tournament game vs the Big South.
• Big Ten schools are now 4-0 vs the Big South.

#3 Wisconsin 85 #14 Montana 66

• Wisconsin’s win is the 5th consecutive by a Big Ten team vs the Big South.
• Wisconsin is 3-0 vs the Big Sky.
• Wisconsin is 2-0 vs. Montana in the tournament.
• Wisconsin is 4-0 vs. #14 seeds.
• Wisconsin wins their 5th consecutive Thursday game.
• Montana loses their 7th consecutive tournament game.
• Montana loses their 6th consecutive Thursday game.

#1 Houston 78 #16 SIU Edwardsville 40

• Houston faced a team in the first tournament game for the 1st time.
• Houston wins their 12th game of the decade.
• Houston won their 7th consecutive round of 64 game.
• Houston is 3-0 vs #16 seeds.
• Houston wins their 4th consecutive Thursday game.
• Houston is 3-0 vs teams from Illinois.
• The Big Twelve is 6-0 vs the Ohio Valley

#1 Auburn 83 #16 Alabama State 63

• With the win, Bruce Pearl becomes Auburn’s winningest tournament coach with 8.
• Auburn is 2-0 vs. teams from Alabama in the tournament.
• Auburn is 2-0 vs #16 seeds.
• Auburn wins their 4th consecutive Thursday game.

#12 McNeese 69 #5 Clemson 67

• 69-67 is the most common score in tournament history having occurred for the 16th time.
• McNeese wins their first tournament game after losing their first thee games.
• McNeese’s win is the first by a Southland team vs the ACC (8 games).
• Clemson's loss is their 8th as a higher seed.  They are now 7-8 as the higher seed.  They are the only school that has a losing record and has played at least 15 games as a higher seed.

#6 BYU 80 #11 VCU 71

• BYU’s win is their first tournament win since 2012 and ends a 5-game tournament losing streak.
• Kevin Young wins a tournament game in his first appearance.
• BYU defeats an Atlantic Ten school for the first time in 3 tournament games.
• BYU ends a 3-game losing streak against #11 seeds. 
• BYU has won 3 consecutive tournament games in Denver.
• BYU wins on March 20 for the first time.  They were previously 0-7 on March 20.
• VCU loses their 4th consecutive Round of 64 game and 5th consecutive tournament game overall.

#8 Gonzaga 89 #9 Georgia 68

• Gonzaga wins their 16th consecutive Round of 64 game.  They are 23-4 in the Round of 64 all-time.
• Gonzaga wins a tournament-high 13th game of the decade.
• Gonzaga is 3-0 as a #8 seed in the Round of 64.
• Georgia's 25-point loss is their largest margin of defeat in the tournament.  Their previous high was 16 when they lost to Illinois 74-58 in the 1985 Round of 32.
• Georgia loses their 4th consecutive Round of 64 game and 5th consecutive tournament game overall.
• Georgia is 3-9 all-time in the Round of 64.
• Georgia is 0-3 on March 20.

First Four Tidbits - Wednesday

Mt. St. Mary's 83 American 72

Both Duane Simpkins of American and Donny Lind of Mt. St. Mary’s are coaching in their first NCAA tournament game.  All #16 seeds in the First Four featured a coach in his first tournament game.

Mt. St. Mary’s wins an Opening Round game for the 3^rd time.

Mt. St. Mary’s is the first team from the MAAC to win a First Four game (since First Four started in 2011)

American is 0-4 all-time in the tournament.

Xavier 86 Texas 80

This is the 4^th time Texas and Xavier have faced each other in the NCAA Tournament.  The other three games were all in the Sweet Sixteen.

• 1990: Texas 102 Xavier 89
• 2004: Xavier 79 Texas 71
• 2023: Texas 83 Texas 71

Xavier is the 5^th Big East team to play in the First Four.  Big East schools are now 2-3 in the First Four.  Xavier is 1-1 in the First Four.

Xavier wins their 5^th consecutive tournament game against an SEC School. 

• 1997 Round of 64 – Defeated Vanderbilt 80-68
• 2004 Round of 32 – Defeated Mississippi State 89-74
• 2008 Round of 64 – Defeated Georgia 73-61
• 2015 Round of 64 – Defeated Mississippi 76-57

Xavier is 6-0 in the tournament on March 19.  They are tied with Georgetown for the best record on March 19.

Texas’s loss is the 3^rd straight in the First Four for an SEC school.

First Four Tidbits - Tuesday

Alabama State 70 St. Francis 68

Both Tony Madlock of Alabama State and Rob Krimmel of St. Francis are coaching in their first NCAA tournament game.  It is the 2nd consecutive year that a First Four game featured two first-time coaches. (Grambling State and Montana State had first-time coaches last year.) 

Alabama State wins its first NCAA tournament game.  They are now 1-4 all-time in the tournament.  Two of their previous losses were in the Opening Round.  They were in the first-ever First Four in 2011 and in an Opening Round game in 2009.

With Alabama State winning, it is the ninth consecutive tournament in which a school has won its first NCAA tournament game. In all eight previous tournaments, at least two teams won their first tournament game.

For the second consecutive year, a SWAC team has won a First Four game.  SWAC teams are 8-10 in Opening Round games.  The 8 wins match NEC for most Opening Round wins.  A SWAC team has played in a First Four game in each of the last seven tournaments, winning 5.

St. Francis is now 0-2 in the tournament.

North Carolina 95 San Diego State 68

An ACC team is in the First Four for the 4^th consecutive tournament, winning three of them.

North Carolina is 7-2 in the tournament vs. teams from California.  They have won seven straight after losing their first two.

North Carolina’s #11 seed is their lowest seed in school history.

North Carolina is 6-1 vs #11 seeds. 

North Carolina is 6-2 in the tournament when playing in Ohio.

San Diego State is 0-4 vs. the ACC in the tournament.

San Diego State is 0-4 as a #11 seed and 0-3 vs. #11 seeds

Mountain West schools are 1-6 in First Four games.

Round of 64 Tournament Rematches

 The following games in the Round of 64 are tournament rematches:

• Creighton is 2-0 vs. Louisville
• Creighton defeated Louisville 80-71 in the 1974 Regional Third Place Game
• #10 Creighton defeated #7 Louisville 62-58 in the 1999 Round of 64
• Florida is 1-0 vs. Norfolk State
• #7 Florida defeated #15 Norfolk State in the 2012 Round of 32
• Kansas is 1-1 vs. Arkansas
• #3 Kansas defeated #1 Arkansas in the 1991 Elite Eight
• #8 Arkansas defeated #1 Kansas in the 2023 Round of 32
• Wisconsin is 1-0 vs. Montana
• #4 Wisconsin defeated #13 Montana 73-49 in the 2012 Round of 64
• UCLA is 3-0 vs. Utah State
• UCLA defeated Utah State 73-62 in the 1962 Sweet Sixteen
• UCLA defeated Utah State 101-79 in the 1970 Elite Eight
• #4 UCLA defeated #12 Utah State 75-70 in the 2001 Round of 32

Selection Sunday Tidbits

New Teams

Every Tournament in history has had at least one new tournament team.  This year's new tournament teams are High Point, Omaha, SIU-Edwardsville, and UC-San Diego.

New Coaches 

There are 15 coaches who are coaching in the tournament for the first time. 

• Lennie Acuff, Lipscomb
• Brian Barone, SIU-Edwardsville
• Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State
• Chris Crutchfield, Omaha
• Alan Huss, High Point
• Rob Krimmel, St. Francis (Pa)
• Donny Lind, Mt. St. Mary's
• Tony Madlock, Alabama State
• Phil Martelli, Jr., Bryant
• Ben McCollum, Drake
• Eric Olen, UC-San Diego
• Dwight Perry, Wofford
• Takayo Siddle, UNC-Wilmington
• Duane Simpkins, American
• Kevin Young, BYU

Coach First Year with New Team 

11 coaches have coached in the tournament but are making their first appearance with their current team.

• Chris Beard, Mississippi (2016 - Little Rock; 2018, 2019, 2021 - Texas Tech; 2022 - Texas)
• Mark Byington, Vanderbilt (2024 - James Madison)
• John Calipari, Arkansas (1992 to 1996 - Massachusetts; 2003, 2004, 2006 to 2009 - Memphis; 2010 to 2012, 2014 to 2019, 2022 to 2024 - Kentucky)
• Scott Cross, Troy (2008 - UT-Arlington)
• Pat Kelsey, Louisville (2017, 2021 - Winthrop; 2023, 2024 - Charleston)
• Dusty May, Michigan (2023, 2024 - Florida Atlantic)
• Porter Moser, Oklahoma (2018, 2021 - Loyola Chicago)
• Ryan Odom, VCU (2018 - UMBC; 2023 - Utah State)
• Rick Pitino, St. John's (1983 - Boston; 1987 - Providence; 1992 to 1997 - Kentucky; 2003 to 2005, 2007 to 2015, 2017 - Louisville; 2021, 2023 - Iona)
• Mark Pope, Kentucky (2021, 2024 - BYU)
• Mike White, Georgia (2017 to 2019, 2021 - Florida)

Rick Pitino is coaching his sixth different school in the NCAA Tournament.  He passes Steve Alford, Lon Kruger, and Tubby Smith, who each coached five schools in the tournament.

Consecutive Tournaments

• Kansas 35
• Michigan State 27
• Gonzaga 26
• Purdue 10
• Houston 7
• Tennessee 7
• Baylor 6
• Alabama 5
• Connecticut 5
• Creighton 5
• Illinois 5
• San Diego State 5
• Texas 5
• Arizona 4
• Auburn 4
• Duke 4
• Iowa State 4
• Kentucky 4
• Marquette 4
• Saint Mary's 4
• Drake 3
• Grand Canyon 3
• Mississippi State 3
• Texas A&M 3
• Utah State 3
• Akron 2
• BYU 2
• Clemson 2
• Colorado State 2
• Florida 2
• McNeese 2
• New Mexico 2
• North Carolina 2
• Oregon 2
• Texas Tech 2
• Wisconsin 2
• Yale 2

Consecutive Appearances Snapped

• Colgate 5
• Boise State 3
• Montana State 3
• TCU 3
• Vermont 3
• Charleston 2
• Florida Atlantic 2
• Howard 2
• Nevada 2
• North Carolina State 2
• Northwestern 2
• Virginia 2

Top 10 Longest Droughts Broken

• St. Francis 1991
• Alabama State 2011
• American 2014
• Georgia 2015
• Robert Morris 2015
• UNC Wilmington 2017
• Troy 2017
• Vanderbilt 2017
• Lipscomb 2018
• Louisville 2019
• Mississippi 2019
• Montana 2019
• St. John's 2019
• Wofford 2019

Consecutive Top 4 Seeds

• #4 Purdue 8
• #2 Tennessee 4
• #4 Arizona 4
• #2 Alabama 3
• #1 Houston 3 (3 consecutive #1 seeds)
• #1 Auburn 2
• #1 Duke 2
• #3 Iowa State 2
• #3 Kentucky 2

Last Top 4 Seed (for those that weren't Top 4 last year)

• #3 Texas Tech (2022 - #3 seed)
• #3 Wisconsin (2022 - #3 seed)
• #2 Michigan State (2019 - #2 seed)
• #1 Florida (2017 - #4 seed)
• #4 Texas A&M (2016 - #3 seed)
• #4 Maryland (2015 - #4 seed)
• #2 St. John's (2000 - #2 seed)

Consecutive Top 4 Seeds Snapped

• Kansas 23
• Baylor 4
• UConn 2
• Marquette 2

#1 Seed History

Auburn is the overall #1 seed for the 1st time in school history.

• Auburn - 2nd #1 seed (1999, 2025)
• Duke - 15th #1 seed (1986, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2025)
• Houston - 4th #1 seed (1983, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Florida - 3rd #1 seed (2007, 2014, 2025)

Other Seeds - Teams achieving best seeds in school history

• Tennessee - #2 (5th Time - 2006, 2008, 2019, 2024, 2025)
• Texas Tech - #3 (5th Time - 1996, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2025)
• McNeese - #12 (2nd Time - 2024, 2025)
• Liberty - #12 (2nd Time - 2019, 2025)
• UC-San Diego - #12 (1st Time - 2025)
• High Point - #13 (1st Time - 2025)
• Troy - #14 (2nd Time - 2003, 2025)
• Lipscomb - #14 (1st Time - 2025)
• Omaha - #15 (1st Time - 2025)
• Bryant - #15 (1st Time - 2025)
• SIU-Edwardsville - #16 (1st Time - 2025)
• Mt. St. Mary's - #16 (7th Time - 1995, 1999, 2008, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2025)
• Alabama State - #16 (5th Time - 2001, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2025)