The
first weekend of the NCAA tournament.
St. Patrick's Day. Eighty-degree
weather. Needless to say, Chicago was a
fun place to be last weekend. To
top it off, with a dramatic late 9-point comeback against last year's
tournament darling, VCU, my beloved Hoosiers made the Sweet 16 for the first
time since their magical run to the title game in 2002. The rest of the night was a blur of
happiness, Thin Lizzy, Guinness, fish, and chips.
South
Region
(1)
Kentucky (2011) vs. (4) Indiana (2002) - Friday 3/23 9:45 ET CBS
(3)
Baylor (2010) vs. (10) Xavier (2010) - Friday 3/23 7:15 ET CBS
West
Region
(1)
Michigan State (2010) vs. (4) Louisville (2009) - Thursday 3/22 7:47 ET TBS
(3)
Marquette (2011) vs. (7) Florida (2011) - Thursday 3/22 10:17 ET TBS
East
Region
(1)
Syracuse (2010) vs. (4) Wisconsin (2011) - Thursday 3/22 7:15 ET CBS
(2)
Ohio State (2011) vs. (6) Cincinnati (2001) - Thursday 3/22 9:45 ET CBS
Midwest
Region
(1)
North Carolina (2011) vs. Ohio (1964) - Friday 3/23 7:47 ET TBS
(2)
Kansas (2011) vs. (11) North Carolina State (2005) - Friday 3/23 10:17 ET TBS
If
you're like me -- and you better pray to your deity that you're not –- you not
only love the NCAA tournament, but you are fascinated with the history and
statistical minutiae associated with the tournament. Like I've done the last couple years, I'm
going to destroy your mind with some statistical knowledge. Here are eleven fun (fun for me, anyway)
facts about this year's NCAA tournament.
11. For the first time since 1985, there are no
teams from the Mountain or Pacific time zones in the Sweet 16 and only two
schools located west of the Mississippi River (Kansas and Baylor). Since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in
1951, this is only the second time there have been two or fewer teams located
west of the Mississippi in the Sweet 16 (there were also only two in 1985).
10. Four Sweet 16 teams are from Ohio (Cincinnati,
Ohio, Ohio State, and Xavier), which marks the first time four Sweet 16 teams have
been from the same state, much less the worst state ever.
9. Four of the Sweet 16 schools are
private: Baylor, Marquette, Syracuse,
and Xavier. This is the fewest since
there were only two in 2005's Sweet 16.
8. The Big Ten and Big East both have four teams
in the Sweet 16, which is the first time since 1989 that two conferences have
four teams in the Sweet 16.
7. This is the first time since 2002 that the MAC
has a team in the Sweet 16 (Ohio) and the first time since 1964 that Ohio has
made it to the Sweet 16.
6. Norfolk State's win over Missouri and
Lehigh's win over Duke marked the fifth and sixth times, respectively, that a
15 seed has beaten a 2 seed. It was the
first time it happened twice in the same tournament.
5. Cincinnati's win over Florida State was the
first time in program history that Cincinnati beat a higher-seeded team in the
NCAA tournament.
4. The average seed number for Sweet 16 teams
this year is 4.5625, which is pretty high if you consider that, if the seeding
played out as it should (i.e., all teams seeded 1-4 advancing to the Sweet 16,
which has never happened), the average seed number would be 2.5. Here is the
average seed of Sweet 16 teams since 1985:
2012:
4.5625
2011:
5
2010:
5
2009:
3.0625
2008:
4.375
2007:
3.1875
2006:
4.4375
2005:
4.5
2004:
4.5625
2003:
4.1875
2002:
4.6875
2001:
4.5625
2000:
5.3125
1999:
5.5
1998:
4.75
1997:
4.8125
1996:
3.6875
1995:
3.1875
1994:
4.25
1993:
4.0625
1992:
4.1875
1991:
4
1990:
5.5
1989:
3.125
1988:
4.3125
1987:
4.25
1986:
5.5625
1985:
4.875
3. For the first time since 2005, we only have 2
mid-majors in the Sweet 16. (I consider non-BCS conferences to be mid-majors,
even if a school is now in a BCS conference, so, for instance, Cincinnati,
DePaul, Louisville, and Marquette were mid-majors before joining the Big East
in 2005. It's not a perfect science. Deal with it.) Here is a year-by-year
breakdown of the number of mid-major teams that made it to the Sweet 16 since
1985:
2012:
2 (Ohio, Xavier)
2011:
5 (Butler, BYU, Richmond, San Diego State, VCU)
2010:
5 (Butler, Cornell, Northern Iowa, St. Mary's, Xavier)
2009:
3 (Gonzaga, Memphis, Xavier)
2008:
4 (Davidson, Memphis, Western Kentucky, Xavier)
2007:
4 (Butler, Memphis, Southern Illinois, UNLV)
2006:
5 (Bradley, George Mason, Gonzaga, Memphis, Wichita State)
2005:
2 (Utah, UW-Milwaukee)
2004:
4 (Nevada, St. Joseph's, UAB, Xavier)
2003:
2 (Butler, Marquette)
2002:
2 (Kent State, Southern Illinois)
2001:
2 (Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Temple)
2000:
2 (Gonzaga, Tulsa)
1999:
4 (Gonzaga, Miami (OH), SW Missouri State, Temple)
1998:
3 (Rhode Island, Utah, Valparaiso)
1997:
3 (St. Joseph's, Utah, UT-Chattanooga)
1996:
3 (Cincinnati, Massachusetts, Utah)
1995:
3 (Massachusetts, Memphis, Tulsa)
1994:
2 (Marquette, Tulsa)
1993:
4 (Cincinnati, George Washington, Temple, Western Kentucky)
1992:
5 (Cincinnati, Memphis State, Massachusetts, New Mexico State, UTEP)
1991:
4 (Eastern Michigan, Temple, UNLV, Utah)
1990:
4 (Ball State, Loyola Marymount, UNLV, Xavier)
1989:
2 (Louisville, UNLV)
1988:
4 (Louisville, Rhode Island, Richmond, Temple)
1987:
3 (DePaul, UNLV, Wyoming)
1986:
5 (Cleveland State, DePaul, Louisville, Navy, UNLV)
1985:
3 (Louisiana Tech, Loyola (IL), Memphis State)
2. This year, there are 3 teams seeded 8 or
lower that advanced to the Sweet 16: #10 Xavier, #11 NC State, and #13 Ohio. For the third year in a row (and the fourth
year in the last five), there are at least three double-digit seeds in the
Sweet 16. Here is a year-by-year breakdown of the number of teams seeded #8 or
lower that made it to the Sweet 16 since 1985:
2012:
3 (#10 Xavier, #11 NC State, and #13 Ohio)
2011:
5 (#8 Butler*, #10 Florida State, #11 Marquette, #11 VCU*, and #12 Richmond)
2010:
4 (#9 Northern Iowa, #10 St. Mary's, #11 Washington, #12 Cornell)
2009:
1 (#12 Arizona)
2008:
3 (#10 Davidson, #12 Villanova, #12 Western Kentucky)
2007:
0
2006:
2 (#11 George Mason*, #13 Bradley)
2005:
2 (#10 North Carolina State, #12 UW-Milwaukee)
2004:
3 (#8 Alabama, #9 UAB, #10 Nevada)
2003:
2 (#10 Auburn, #12 Butler)
2002:
4 (#8 UCLA, #10 Kent State, #11 Southern Illinois, #12 Missouri)
2001:
3 (#10 Georgetown, #11 Temple, #12 Gonzaga)
2000:
4 (#8 North Carolina*, #8 Wisconsin*, #10 Seton Hall, #10 Gonzaga)
1999:
5 (#10 Gonzaga, #10 Miami (OH), #10 Purdue, #12 Southwest Missouri State, #13
Oklahoma)
1998:
4 (#8 Rhode Island, #10 West Virginia, #11 Washington, #13 Valparaiso)
1997:
3 (#10 Texas, #10 Providence, #14 UT-Chattanooga)
1996:
2 (#8 Georgia, #12 Arkansas)
1995:
0
1994:
2 (#9 Boston College, #10 Maryland, #12 Tulsa)
1993:
1 (#12 George Washington)
1992:
2 (#9 UTEP, #12 New Mexico State)
1991:
3 (#10 Temple, #11 Connecticut, #12 Eastern Michigan)
1990:
4 (#8 North Carolina, #10 Texas, #11 Loyola Marymount, #12 Ball State)
1989:
1 (#11 Minnesota)
1988:
2 (#11 Rhode Island, #13 Richmond)
1987:
2 (#10 LSU, #12 Wyoming)
1986:
4 (#8 Auburn, #11 LSU*, #12 DePaul, #14 Cleveland State)
1985:
4 (#8 Villanova**, #11 Auburn, #11 Boston College, #12 Kentucky)
*Advanced
to Final Four
**Won
NCAA title
1. The NCAA tournament is even that much more
fun to watch when IU is in it, especially after the last couple years of
despair. I may have to
break another toe this Friday, but if that's what it takes, so be it.
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