Championship Game Nonsense

As you watch tonight's NCAA championship game between the forces of evil and Bill Self.  I don't really care about Kansas, but I hate Kentucky.  Plus, Jester will succeed where I have failed (i.e., in March Madness bracket pools) if Kansas wins.  Here are some stats to consider when you are watching the game tonight, but not before and not after:

• This is the third time that schools beginning with the same letter are playing for the national championship (and taking "University of" our of the equation).  The other years this happened were 1941 (Wisconsin over Washington State) and 1951 (Kentucky over Kansas State).
• Between the two schools, they have 10 combined national titles (7 for Kentucky and 3 for Kansas).  This is the only the fifth time the schools meeting for the national title have 10 or more titles between them (at the time of that particular game), and the first time that has been done without UCLA participating.
• 1975:  13 - UCLA (9), Kentucky (4)
• 1980:  10 – Louisville (0), UCLA (10)
• 1995:  11 - UCLA (10), Arkansas (1)
• 2006: 11 - Florida (0), UCLA (11)
• 2012:  10 - Kentucky (7), Kansas (3)
• The schools also have 29 combined Final Fours (15 for Kentucky and 14 for Kansas).  If you look at all-time Final Fours for championship game teams (regardless of whether they were obtained that year, prior, or after, or if they were later vacated), this year's championship game is one of only ten where the championship game participants' combined Final Fours is 25 or more (in order for this to happen, two of the nine teams with at least 8 Final Fours that I mentioned last week have to be involved).
• 1968:  36 – UCLA (18), North Carolina (18)
• 1975:  33 – UCLA (18), Kentucky (15)
• 1964:  33 – UCLA (18), Duke (15)
• 1957:  32 – North Carolina (18), Kansas (14)
• 1978:  30 – Kentucky (15), Duke (15)
• 2012:  29 – Kentucky (15), Kansas (14)
• 1991:  29 – Duke (15), Kansas (14)
• 1980:  27 – Louisville (9), UCLA (18)
• 2009:  26 – North Carolina (18), Michigan State (8)
• 1981:  26 – Indiana (8), North Carolina (18)
• If you take away subsequent Final Fours and only count the Final Fours earned up to the date of the championship game (including that year's Final Four), the 29 between Kentucky and Kansas is the most ever for two teams playing in the championship game, and only the fourth time the schools in the championship game have 20 or more combined Final Fours.
• 2012:  29 – Kentucky (15), Kansas (14)
• 2009:  25 – North Carolina (18), Michigan State (7)
• 2005:  22 – North Carolina (17), Illinois (5)
• 1995:  21 - UCLA (15), Arkansas (6)
• Bill Self coached Kansas to the 2008 national title over John Calipari's Memphis Tigers.  This is only the third time that the same two coaches will coach against each other for the second time in a national title game.  The other sets of coaches with which this happened were Cincinnati's Ed Jucker, who defeated Ohio State's Fred Taylor in 1961 and 1962, and Indiana's Branch McCracken, who defeated Kansas's Phog Allen in 1940 and 1953.
• If Kansas wins, Bill Self will become the 14th coach to win two or more NCAA titles, much to the chagrin of Illinois fans.
• If Kentucky wins, John Calipari –- who is already one of only two coaches in NCAA history to have two Final Fours vacated -- will become the first coach to have an NCAA title vacated, much to the delight of everyone except Kentucky fans.