North Carolina - Notre Dame Elite Eight Tournament Tidbits

• North Carolina is in the Final Four for the 19^th time and the first time since 2009 when they defeated to Villanova 83-69.  They are 9-9 in the National Semifinals.
• North Carolina is now 4-0 vs. Notre Dame in the tournament.  It is North Carolina’s second best record vs. any team.  They are 5-0 vs. Michigan State.
• North Carolina is 2-0 vs. teams from the ACC.  They defeated Virginia 78-65 in the 1981 National Semifinals.
• Notre Dame is now 0-9 vs. the ACC.  It is the worst record by any team against any conference.
• Notre Dame is now 0-6 vs. #1 seeds.  Only Temple (9), Arkansas (8) and Gonzaga (7) have more losses without a win vs. #1 seeds.
• North Carolina’s win is their 54^th as a #1 seed.  It is the most wins by any team for any seed.
• This is the 6^th time in 7 years that the Final Four has featured 1 or fewer #1 seeds.

Syracuse - Virginia Elite Eight Tournament Tidbits

• Syracuse is in the Final Four for the 6^th time and the first time since 2013 when they lost to Michigan 61-56.  They are 2-3 in the National Semifinals.
• Syracuse is now 2-1 vs. Virginia in the tournament.  They lost to Virginia 63-55 in the 1984 Sweet Sixteen and defeated Virginia 63-61 in the 1990 Second Round.
• Syracuse’s win is their 5^th vs. a #1 seed.  They are now 5-6 vs. #1 seeds.
• Syracuse is the 1st #10 seed in the Final Four ever to advance to the Final Four.  They are the 4^th double-digit seed to advance to the Final Four.  The other three were #11 seeds (1986 – LSU, 2006 – George Mason, 2011 – VCU)
• Syracuse’s win is their 15^th tournament win since 2010 matching Michigan State and Louisville for the 5^th most this decade.  Only Kentucky (23), Duke (19), Wisconsin (16) and Kansas (16) have won more.
• Virginia’s loss is the third by a #1 seed in the Elite Eight.  It is the third time that 3 #1 seeds have lost in the Elite Eight matching 2003 and 2006.  Never have all four #1 seeds lost in the Elite Eight during the same tournament.
• This was the 4th time that Syracuse faced a team from the same conference in the tournament.  When they were in the Big East, they defeated Providence 77-63 in the 1987 National Semifinals, lost to Marquette 66-62 in the 2011 Second Round and defeated Marquette in the 2013 Elite Eight.
• Virginia is now 0-3 when facing teams from the ACC.  They lost to North Carolina 78-65 in the 1981 National Semifinals and to North Carolina State 63-62 in the 1983 Elite Eight.
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Villanova - Kansas Elite Eight Tournament Tidbits

• Villanova is in the Final Four for the 5th time and the first time since 2009 when they lost to North Carolina 83-69.  They are 2-2 in the National Semifinals all-time.
• Villanova is now 1-1 vs. Kansas in the tournament.  They lost to Kansas 72-57 in the 2008 Sweet Sixteen.
• Villanova’s win is their 55^th all-time.  They are now tied for the 11^th most with Ohio State.
• Villanova’s win is their first ever vs. a Big Twelve team in the tournament.
• Villanova’s win is the second all-time in the tournament over an AP #1 ranked team.  Their other win was 66-64 over Georgetown in the 1985 National Championship game.  It is the first time that they have played the #1 ranked team in the tournament since that game.  They lost their first four games vs. #1 ranked teams.
• Villanova is now tied with Louisville for a tournament best 2-0 vs. #1 teams in the RPI.  Their other win over a #1 RPI team was 77-54 over Duke in the 2009 Sweet Sixteen.
• Villanova is a tournament best 4-0 when playing in the state of Kentucky.
• Kansas has been ranked #1 in the AP Poll 3 times in their history.  They have never made the Final Four when they have entered the tournament ranked #1.
• Kansas is the first #1 ranked team to miss the Final Four since Gonzaga in 2013.
• With the loss, Kansas becomes the 28^th #1 Ranked team since 1985 (32 tournaments) that did not win the tournament.  In other words, since 1985, only 4 out of 32 AP #1 teams have won the tournament.
• Kansas misses the Final Four as a #1 team for a record 9^th time.  They have been a #1 seed 12 times, but have only gone to the Final Four 3 out of those 12 times.

Oklahoma - Oregon Elite Eight Tournament Tidbits

• Oklahoma is in the Final Four for the 5th time and the first time since 2002 when they lost to Indiana 73-64.  They are 2-2 in the National Semifinals all-time.
• Oklahoma is now 1-1 vs. Oregon.  This is the first time they have played Oregon since the 1939 National Semifinals when they lost 55-37.  It is the longest span between successive games between two teams in tournament history
• Oklahoma’s coach, Lon Kruger, is in the Final Four with his second school.  He also coached in the Final Four at Florida in 1994.  He is the 15^th coach to advance to the Final Four with two different schools.  The 22 years between successive Final Fours with different schools is the longest span in tournament history.
•          Forddy Anderson (Bradley – 1950, 1954; Michigan State – 1957)
•          Gene Bartow (Memphis – 1973; UCLA – 1976)
•          Larry Brown (UCLA – 1980; Kansas – 1986, 1988)
•          John Calipari (Massachusetts – 1996; Memphis – 2008; Kentucky – 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015)
•          Hugh Durham (Florida State – 1972; Georgia – 1983)
•          Jack Gardner (Kansas State – 1948, 1951; Utah – 1961, 1966)
•          Lou Henson (New Mexico State – 1970; Illinois – 1988)
•          Bob Huggins (Cincinnati – 1992; West Virginia – 2010)
•          Frank McGuire (St. John’s – 1952; North Carolina – 1957)
•          Lute Olson (Iowa – 1980; Arizona – 1988, 1994, 1997, 2001)
•          Rick Pitino (Providence – 1987; Kentucky – 1993, 1996, 1997; Louisville – 2005, 2012, 2013)
•          Lee Rose (Charlotte – 1977; Purdue – 1980)
•          Eddie Sutton (Arkansas – 1978; Oklahoma State – 1995, 2004)
•          Roy Williams (Kansas – 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003; North Carolina – 2005, 2008, 2009)           
• Oklahoma’s win is their 7^th all-time vs. the Pacific Twelve in the tournament.  Only Kansas has more with 9.
• Oklahoma’s win is their second all-time vs. a #1 seed.  Their other win was 86-78 over Arizona in the 1988 National Semifinals.  They are now 2-3 vs. #1 seeds.
• Out of Oklahoma’s 5 Elite Eight wins, 3 of them have been played in the state of California.  They defeated Utah State 50-39 in 1939 in San Francisco and Missouri 81-75 in 2002 in San Jose.
• Pacific Twelve teams are now 0-6 all-time in the Elite Eight when playing in Anaheim.  5 of the 6 were #1 seeds.
• Oregon is now 1-5 in Elite Eight games.  They have lost 5 consecutive since they won their first Elite Eight game in 1939.  Only Kansas State has lost most consecutive Elite Eight games which currently stands at 6.  Arizona, Missouri and Temple also currently have 5 game Elite Eight losing streaks.
• Oregon’s loss was their first in 8 games when playing in the state of California.  They did have a tournament best 7-0 record coming into the game.  Seattle and Wisconsin now have the most wins without a loss at 4.  The best record with a minimum of 5 games is UCLA at 27-1.

Friday Night Tournament Tidbits (Sweet Sixteen Edition)

Here are tournament tidbits from tonight's games:

• Virginia is in their 6^th Elite Eight and their first since 1995 when they lost to Arkansas 68-61.  They are 2-3 all-time in the Elite Eight.
• Virginia is 8-1 when scoring 80 or more points in the tournament.  Their only loss was 86-85 to Gonzaga in the 2001 First Round.
• The 84 points is the most ever by a Tony Bennett coached team.  The most points ever scored by his dad (Dick Bennett’s) teams was 66.
• Iowa State is now 0-4 all-time vs. #1 seeds.
• Iowa State is 0-5 vs. teams ranked in the Top 4 in the AP Poll in the tournament.  It is tied for the 4^th worst record all-time behind Iowa (0-8), Gonzaga (0-7) and Santa Clara (0-6).
• Iowa State is now tied with Wake Forest for a tournament worst 0-3 on March 25.
• Notre Dame is in their 7^th Elite Eight and their second consecutive.  They lost to Kentucky 68-66 last year.  They are 1-5 all-time in the Elite Eight.
• It is the third time in school history that Notre Dame has been in the Elite Eight in consecutive years.  They also went in 1953 and 1954 and in 1978 and 1979.
• Notre Dame is now 4-0 when playing in the state of Pennsylvania.  Only Duke at 6-0 is better.  Ohio State is also 4-0.
• Wisconsin is now tied with Lafayette, Louisiana State and Massachusetts for a tournament worst 0-3 when playing in the state of Pennsylvania. 
• Syracuse is in their 10^th Elite Eight and their first since 2013 when they defeated Marquette 55-39.  They are 5-4 all-time in the Elite Eight.
• Syracuse is the first #10 seed to advance to the Elite Eight since Davidson in 2008 and the 10^th overall.
• Notre Dame is the only team to repeat as an Elite Eight team from last year.  It is the first time since 2010 where there have been no multiple repeat teams in the Elite Eight.
• Gonzaga is tied with Xavier for the most wins without a Final Four with 24.
• North Carolina is in their 27^th Elite Eight and their first since 2012 when they lost to Kansas 80-67.  They are 18-8 all-time in the Elite Eight.  Their 27 Elite Eights is the 2^nd most all-time behind Kentucky who has 36.
• Roy Williams won his 34^th tournament game with North Carolina.  It matches the number of tournament wins he had with the coach of Kansas. He is the only coach to win 34 or more tournament games with two different schools.  His 68 wins rank second behind Mike Krzyzewski who has won 90 tournament games.  North Carolina is also the only school with two coaches that have 34 or more tournament wins.  Dean Smith had 65.
• North Carolina’s win is their 15^th all-time vs. the Big Ten.  Only Kentucky has more wins vs. the Big Ten with 16.  Duke also has 15 wins.
• North Carolina’s win is their 8^th all-time vs. a #5 seed tying Kentucky for the most all-time.
• North Carolina scored 100 or more points in a tournament game for the first time since 2011 when they defeated Long Island-Brooklyn 102-87 in the second round.  It is the first time they have scored 100 or more in a Sweet Sixteen game or later (excluding Third Place games).
• This is the first year since 2009 in which all 4 #1 seeds are in the Elite Eight.
• With all higher seeds winning, this is only the second time where there were no upsets in the Sweet Sixteen.  The other time was 2007.
• The ACC becomes the second conference to have 4 teams in the Elite Eight matching the 2009 Big East.  It is the first time that two games in the Elite Eight will feature a matchup where all four teams are from the same conference.
• The ACC becomes only the second conference to have 3 or more teams in the Elite Eight in consecutive years.  They had 3 last year with Duke, Louisville and Notre Dame.  The Big 12 had 3 teams in the Elite Eight in 2002 and 2003.

Thursday Night Tournament Tidbits (Sweet Sixteen Edition)

Here are tournament tidbits from tonight's game:

• Villanova is in their 13^th Elite Eight and their first since 2009 when they defeated Pittsburgh 78-76.  They are 4-8 all-time in the Elite Eight.  Their 13 Elite Eights is tied with Michigan and Michigan State for the 8^th most.
• Villanova’s win over Miami is their 7^th all-time vs. the ACC in the tournament.  That is tied for 3^rd most with Louisville behind Kentucky who has 10 and Kansas who has 9.
• Villanova is now a tournament best 3-0 when playing in the state of Kentucky.  Their last game in Kentucky before tonight was the 1985 National Championship win over Georgetown.
• Villanova is now a tournament best 4-0 on March 24.
• Villanova is 11-0 when scoring 90 or more points.  That is the 5^th best in tournament history.

North Carolina	23	0
Duke	21	0
Kansas	20	0
Arkansas	12	0
Villanova	11	0

• Oklahoma is in their 9^th Elite Eight and their first since 2009 when they lost to North Carolina 72-60.  They are 4-4 all-time in the Elite Eight.
• With Texas A&M’s loss to Oklahoma, they are now tied with Texas Tech for a tournament worst 0-5 in the Sweet Sixteen.
• Oklahoma’s win is their 20^th as a member of the Big 12.  They also won 20 as a member of the Big Eight.  They are only the 3^rd school to win 20 or more games as a member of 2 different conferences.
• Kansas (54 – Big Eight, 46 – Big Twelve)
• Arkansas (21 – Southwest, 20 – Southeastern)
• Kansas is in their 22^nd Elite Eight and their first since 2012 when they defeated North Carolina 80-67.  They are 14-7 all-time in the Elite Eight.  Their 22 Elite Eights is tied with UCLA for 3^rd most.
• Kansas becomes the 5^th school to win 100 tournament games.  The top 5 in tournament wins are:
•  Kentucky 123
•  North Carolina 114
•  Duke 107
•  UCLA 104
•  Kansas 100
• Kansas is now a tournament best 4-0 vs. #5 seeds.
• This is the third time that Kansas has been ranked #1 in the AP Poll entering the tournament.  It is the first time they have advanced to the Elite Eight when ranked #1.  They had previously lost to Arizona in the 1997 Sweet Sixteen and Northern Iowa in the 2010 Second Round.
• Kansas’s win is a tournament best 34^th on Fridays.
• Oregon is in their 6^th Elite Eight and their first since 2007 when they lost to Florida 85-77.  They are 1-4 all-time in the Elite Eight.
• Dana Altman advances to the Elite Eight for the first time in 13 tournaments.  He was second all-time for the most tournament appearances with no Elite Eights.
• Dana Altman passes Ernie Kent as the winningest tournament coach in Oregon history with 7.
• Oregon is a tournament best 7-0 when playing in California.
• Duke is now 0-3 when playing in California.  Only New Mexico State has a worse record at 0-4.  All 3 of Duke’s losses have been in Anaheim in the Sweet Sixteen.
• The average margin of victory for the 4 games was 16.75.  It ties the largest margin of victory for the Thursday Sweet Sixteen games since 1978 when the tournament went to the Thursday/Friday format for Sweet Sixteen games.  Last year’s margin of victory was 16.25 on Thursday.
• It is only the second time in which all 4 higher seeds won by double digits on a single day in the Sweet Sixteen.  The other time was in 1995, also on Thursday.
• Duke becomes the first team to lose by 14 or more twice in the tournament the year after winning a championship.  They lost by 16 to Arizona in 2011.

Lowest Seed for Final Four

Since the seeds started in 1979, 9 schools have been to the Final Four at least 5 times.  Out of those schools, Duke has been there 12 times, but never as a #4 seed or worse.  Here is the lowest seed for each of these schools with number of Final Fours since 1979:

• Duke #3 (12 Final Fours)
• Louisville #4 (7)
• Florida #5 (5)
• Kansas #6 (8)
• Connecticut #7 (5)
• Michigan State #7 (8)
• Kentucky #8 (9)
• North Carolina #8 (11)
• UCLA #8 (5)