Hair Band Friday - 3/31/23

I have to return some videotapes next week, so I leave you with the joys of Hair Band Friday.  And the Hair Band Friday song shuffle gods showered us with a hell of a lineup today.

1.  "Heaven" by Warrant

2.  "One Good Lover" by Ratt

3.  "Kickstart My Heart" (demo) by Mötley Crüe

4.  "Walk All Over You" by AC/DC

5.  "D.O.A." by Van Halen

6.  "Slide It In" by Whitesnake

7.  "Zombie Stomp" by Ozzy Osbourne

8.  "Silent Night" by Bon Jovi

9.  "Heaven's On Fire" by KISS

10.  "Lust or Love" by Scorpions

Retro Video of the Week: "Slam" by Onyx

Tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the release of New York hip hop group Onyx's debut album, Bacdafucup.  See what they did there?  The album was a big success, reaching #17 on the Billboard album chart and #8 on the Billboard R&B albums chart, eventually going platinum in the U.S.

Much of that success is owed to their second single from the album, "Slam," which is the group's highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, going all the way up to #4.  It also topped the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks and Dance Tracks singles charts, and it was the group's highest-charting song in the UK, hitting #31 on the UK pop chart.  The title isn't just a metaphor, as the song is credited with introducing moshing to rap and hip hop.

Admittedly, I wasn't a huge fan of the song when it came out.  It was just a lot rougher sounding that the smoother West Coast rap I was into at the time.  Time heals all wounds, and I don't mind the song now.  So there you have it.

Tuesday Top Ten: Fun Facts About This Year's Final Four

We can just start out by stating the obvious.  This is perhaps the craziest NCAA Tournament ever.  For the first time since seeding began in 1979, all four 1-seeds failed to advance to the Elite Eight, and with only one 2-seed in the Elite Eight (Texas), this tournament featured the fewest combined 1- and 2-seeds in the Elite Eight.  Madness!

Three of the four Elite Eight games came down to the last minute.  In the East Region, 9-seed FAU continued its improbable run by topping 3-seed Kansas state, 79-76, to clinch the Owls' first-ever Final Four.

In the West, in the only blowout of the Elite Eight, 4-seed UConn dominated 3-seed Gonzaga, 82-54.  The Huskies will be going to their 6th Final Four and first since 2014.

In the South, two teams that had never been to the Final Four before battled to an exciting finish, with 5-seed San Diego State getting a free throw with 1.2 seconds left to beat 6-seed Creighton, earning the Aztecs their first Final Four berth.

In the Midwest, 5-seed Miami rallied to beat 2-seed Texas, 88-81, clinching the Hurricanes' first-ever Final Four appearance.

Here is the schedule for this Saturday's semifinal games (times ET).  Both games are on CBS:

(S5) San Diego State vs. (E9) FAU - 6:09 p.m.

(W4) UConn vs. (MW5) Miami - 8:49 p.m.

As I do this time of year, I'm going to drop some Final Four statistical knowledge on you.  Get ready for it.  This is the kind of minutiae that makes me giddy.

17.  For the first time since they began seeding the NCAA Tournament in 1979, there are no 1-seeds, 2-seeds, or 3-seeds in the Final Four.  It is only the second time no 1-seeds or 2-seeds advanced to the Final Four.  The other time it happened was in 2011, when the Final Four was in Houston, and UConn was also the highest-remaining seed.

16.  Among the many crazy facts surrounding FAU's run to the Final Four -- including being on the second-ever 9-seed to make it to the Final Four (Wichita State, 2013) -- is that before this year, the Owls had never even won an NCAA Tournament game.  They become the first school since George Mason in 2006, only the second school since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, and the 22nd school overall since 1951 to make it to a Final Four the same year as it won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game.  I'm only going back to 1951 because that's when the NCAA Tournament expanded to 16 teams, and anything before that would skew the results even more towards the first 25 years of the tournament than they already are.  Anyway, here are the teams since 1951 that went to the Final Four in the same year they won their first-ever NCAA Tournament game:

-2023:  FAU

-2006:  George Mason

-1981:  Virginia

-1979:  Indiana State**

-1977:  UNC Charlotte

-1976:  Rutgers

-1973:  Memphis State**

-1972:  Florida State**

-1970:  Jacksonville**

-1969:  Purdue**, Drake

-1963:  Loyola (IL)*

-1961:  St. Joseph's

-1959:  West Virginia**, Louisville

-1957:  Michigan State

-1956:  SMU

-1955:  San Francisco*, Iowa

-1954:  LaSalle*

-1953:  LSU

-1952:  Santa Clara

*Champions

**Advanced to championship game

15.  FAU and Miami are the fourth and fifth schools from Florida to make the Final Four, making Florida the 7th state that has sent five or more different schools to at least one Final Four.  And San Diego State is the 7th school from California to ever make the Final Four.  Here are all of the states (and the District of Columbia), ranked by how many different Final Four teams each state had had (and listing the schools with how many Final Four appearances each school has had, with the bolded schools being national champs):

Eight (1)

• Pennsylvania:  Duquesne (1), LaSalle (2), Penn (1), Penn State (1), Pittsburgh (1), St. Joseph's (1), Temple (2), Villanova (7)

Seven (1)

• California:  California (3), San Diego State (1), San Francisco (3), Santa Clara (1), Stanford (2), UCLA (19), USC (2)

Six (1)

• Texas:  Baylor (3), Houston (6), SMU (1), Texas (3), Texas Tech (1), UTEP (1)

Five (4)

• Florida:  FAU (1), Florida (5), Florida State (1), Jacksonville (1), Miami (1)
• Indiana:  Butler (2), Indiana (8), Indiana State (1), Notre Dame (1), Purdue (2)
• New York:  CCNY (2), NYU (2), St. Bonaventure (1), St. John's (2), Syracuse (6)
• North Carolina:  Charlotte (1), Duke (17), North Carolina (21), NC State (3), Wake Forest (1)

Four (2)

• Illinois:  Bradley (2), DePaul (2), Illinois (5), Loyola (IL) (2)
• Washington:  Gonzaga (2), Seattle (1), Washington (1), Washington State (1)

Three (6)

• Iowa:  Drake (1), Iowa (3), Iowa State (1)
• Kansas:  Kansas (16), Kansas State (4), Wichita State (2)
• Kentucky:  Kentucky (17), Louisville (10), Western Kentucky (1)
• New Jersey:  Princeton (1), Rutgers (1), Seton Hall (1)
• Ohio:  Cincinnati (6), Dayton (1), Ohio State (11)
• Virginia:  George Mason (1), VCU (1), Virginia (3)

Two (6)

• Georgia:  Georgia (1), Georgia Tech (2)
• Massachusetts:  Holy Cross (2), UMass (1)
• Michigan:  Michigan (8), Michigan State (10)
• Oklahoma:  Oklahoma (5), Oklahoma State (6)
• Oregon:  Oregon (2), Oregon State (2)
• Wisconsin:  Marquette (3), Wisconsin (4)

One (19)

• Alabama:  Auburn (1)
• Arizona:  Arizona (4)
• Arkansas:  Arkansas (6)
• Colorado:  Colorado (2)
• Connecticut:  UConn (6)
• District of Columbia:  Georgetown (5)
• Louisiana:  LSU (4)
• Maryland:  Maryland (2)
• Minnesota:  Minnesota (1)
• Mississippi:  Mississippi State (1)
• Nevada:  UNLV (4)
• New Hampshire:  Dartmouth (2)
• New Mexico:  New Mexico State (1)
• Rhode Island:  Providence (2)
• South Carolina:  South Carolina (1)
• Tennessee:  Memphis (3)
• Utah:  Utah (4)
• West Virginia:  West Virginia (2)
• Wyoming:  Wyoming (1)

Zero (11)

• Alaska (no D-1 schools)
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Maine
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Vermont

14.  Also, Florida becomes the 6th state to have multiple schools in the same Final Four, and this is only the 11th time in NCAA Tournament history -- but third year in a row -- where two schools from the same state are in the Final Four in the same year.  If both teams win on Saturday, it would be only the 7th time two schools from the same state have faced off in either the semifinal or championship game, and the first time since 1962 (and only the third time ever) that two schools from the same state have faced off in the national title game.  Here are the states that have had multiple teams in the same Final Four and the years in which it happened (with the schools):

• Florida
• 2023 (FAU and Miami)
• Kentucky
• 1975 (Kentucky and Louisville - did not play each other)
• 2012 (Kentucky and Louisville - Kentucky beat Louisville in the semis)
• North Carolina
• 1977 (North Carolina and UNC Charlotte - did not play each other)
• 1991 (Duke and North Carolina - did not play each other)
• 2022 (Duke and North Carolina - Duke beat North Carolina in the semis)
• Ohio
• 1960 (Cincinnati and Ohio State - did not play each other)
• 1961 (Cincinnati and Ohio State - Cincinnati beat Ohio State in the title game)
• 1962 (Cincinnati and Ohio State - Cincinnati beat Ohio State in the title game)
• Pennsylvania
• 1954 (LaSalle and Penn State - LaSalle beat Penn State in the semis)
• Texas
• 2021 (Baylor and Houston - Baylor beat Houston in the semis)

13.  FAU, Miami, and San Diego State are all playing in their first Final Fours, making this the first time since 1970 and only the third time since 1950 that the Final Four features three or more teams playing in their first Final Four.  Here are the years in which at least two teams were playing their first Final Four in the same year (excluding tournaments prior to 1950, since all of them would be included in this group):

2023:  FAU, Miami, San Diego State

2019:  Auburn, Texas Tech**

2017:  Gonzaga**, South Carolina

1996:  Massachusetts, Mississippi State

1979:  Indiana State**, Pennsylvania

1977:  UNLV, UNC Charlotte

1973:  Memphis State**, Providence

1970:  Jacksonville**, New Mexico State, St. Bonaventure

1969:  Purdue**, Drake

1967:  Dayton**, Houston

1965:  Princeton, Wichita State

1963:  Loyola (IL)*, Duke

1962:  UCLA, Wake Forest

1959:  West Virginia**, Cincinnati, Louisville

1956:  SMU, Temple

1955:  San Francisco*, Iowa

1954:  LaSalle*, Penn State

1953:  LSU, Washington

1952:  St. John's**, Santa Clara

1950:  Bradley**, NC State

*Champions

**Advanced to championship game

If Miami beats UConn Saturday, it will be only the second time since 1990 that two teams without a previous national championship will be playing for the title, the second time since 1979 that two teams will play for the championship without ever having played in the championship game before, and the first time since 1945 (!) that the two teams playing for the championship were also playing in their first Final Four.  Here are the years in which both teams meeting in the championship game had not previously won an NCAA title (excluding the first tournament in 1939), with an asterisk for years in which both teams played in the title game for the first time and a double asterisk for years in which both teams playing in the title game were playing in their first Final Four:

-2019*:  Virginia over Texas Tech

-1990:  UNLV over Duke

-1989:  Michigan over Seton Hall

-1984:  Georgetown over Houston

-1979*:  Michigan State over Indiana State

-1974*:  NC State over Marquette

-1964*:  UCLA over Duke

-1959*:  Cal over West Virginia

-1954:  LaSalle over Bradley

-1952:  Kansas over St. John's

-1950*:  CCNY over Bradley

-1948*:  Kentucky over Baylor

-1947*:  Holy Cross over Oklahoma

-1945**:  Oklahoma A&M over NYU

-1944:  Utah over Dartmouth

-1943**:  Wyoming over Georgetown

-1942**:  Stanford over Dartmouth

-1941**:  Wisconsin over Washington State

-1940**:  Indiana over Kansas

12.  Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga previously took 11-seed George Mason on their magical run to the Final Four in 2006.  The 17 years between Final Four appearances is tied for the 6th largest gap between Final Four appearances for a coach.  Here are the coaches with a gap of 10 or more years between Final Four appearances:

-36 years:  Ray Meyer (DePaul in 1943 and 1979)

-22 years:  Lon Kruger (Florida in 1994 and Oklahoma in 2016)

-19 years:  Lou Henson (New Mexico State in 1970 and Illinois in 1989); Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma in 2002 and Houston in 2021)

-18 years:  Bob Huggins (Cincinnati in 1992 and West Virginia in 2010)

-17 years:  Jim Larrañaga (George Mason in 2006 Miami in 2023); Eddie Sutton (Arkansas in 1978 and Oklahoma State in 1995)

-14 years:  Slats Gill (Oregon State in 1949 and 1963); Guy Lewis (Houston in 1968 and 1982)

-13 years:  Branch McCracken (Indiana in 1940 and 1953)

-12 years:  Phog Allen (Kansas in 1940 and 1952); John Calipari (UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008)

-11 years:  Hugh Durham (Florida State in 1972 and Georgia in 1983)

-10 years:  Jim Boeheim (Syracuse in 2003 and 2013); Jack Gardner (Kansas State in 1951 and Utah in 1961); Jerry Tarkanian (UNLV in 1977 and 1987)

11.  Larrañaga also becomes the 17th head coach to lead at least two different schools to the Final Four:

-Forddy Anderson (Bradley in 1950 and 1954 and Michigan State in 1957)

-Gene Bartow (Memphis in 1973 and UCLA in 1976)

-Larry Brown (UCLA in 1980 and Kansas in 1986 and 1988)

-John Calipari (UMass in 1996, Memphis in 2008, and Kentucky in 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015)

-Hugh Durham (Florida State in 1972 and Georgia in 1983)

-Jack Gardner (Kansas State in 1948 and 1951 and Utah in 1961 and 1966)

-Lou Henson (New Mexico State in 1970 and Illinois in 1989)

-Bob Huggins (Cincinnati in 1992 and West Virginia in 2010)

-Lon Kruger (Florida in 1994 and Oklahoma in 2016)

-Jim Larrañaga (George Mason in 2006, Miami in 2023)

-Frank McGuire (St. John's in 1952 and North Carolina in 1957)

-Lute Olson (Iowa in 1980 and Arizona in 1988, 1994, 1997, and 2001)

-Rick Pitino (Providence in 1987, Kentucky in 1993, 1996, and 1997, and Louisville in 2005, 2012, and 2013)

-Lee Rose (UNC Charlotte in 1977 and Purdue in 1980)

-Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma in 2002 and Houston in 2021)

-Eddie Sutton (Arkansas in 1978 and Oklahoma State in 1995 and 2004)

-Roy Williams (Kansas in 1991, 1993, 2002, and 2003, and North Carolina in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2016, and 2017)

10.  San Diego State is the first Mountain West team to ever make it to a Final Four (as a member of the conference), and FAU is the first Conference USA team since Memphis in 2008 to make it to the Final Four.  Here's every conference's last Final Four team.  Note that, with all of the conference realignments over the years, this is for the conference itself and teams playing in that conference when they made the Final Four, and not necessarily for teams currently in each conference.  I'm going to do it by how many years it's been since the conference's last Final Four, listing the relevant teams.  For conferences with no Final Fours ever, I'll list the year they were founded (and I'm not including defunct conferences).

• Zero years (2023):
• ACC:  Miami
• Big East:  UConn
• Conference USA:  FAU
• Mountain West:  San Diego State
• 1 year (2022)
• Big 12:  Kansas
• 2 years (2021)
• AAC:  Houston
• Pac-12:  UCLA
• WCC:  Gonzaga
• 4 years (2019)
• Big Ten:  Michigan State
• SEC:  Auburn
• 5 years (2018)
• Missouri Valley:  Loyola (IL)
• 12 years (2011)
• Colonial:  VCU
• Horizon:  Butler
• 25 years (1998)
• WAC:  Utah
• 27 years (1996)
• Atlantic 10:  UMass
• 32 years (1991)
• Big West:  UNLV
• 44 years (1979)
• Ivy League:  Penn
• 46 years (1977)
• Sun Belt:  UNC Charlotte
• 52 years (1971)
• Ohio Valley:  Western Kentucky
• 73 years (1950)
• SoCon:  NC State
• Never
• America East (founded 1979)
• Atlantic Sun (founded 1978)
• Big Sky (founded 1963)
• Big South (founded 1983)
• MAAC (founded 1980)
• MAC (founded 1946)
• MEAC (founded 1970)
• NEC (founded 1981)
• Patriot League (founded 1986)
• Southland (founded 1963)
• Summit League (founded 1982)
• SWAC (founded 1920)

9.  With Miami making its first Final Four appearance, this leaves only 15 schools from the six "power" conferences -- ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC -- that have never been to a Final Four.  Here are the remaining teams, as well as the furthest they've ever gotten in the NCAA Tournament and the year(s) they got the furthest:

ACC

-Boston College (Elite Eight in 1967, 1982, 1994)

-Clemson (Elite Eight in 1980)

-Virginia Tech (Elite Eight in 1967)

Big 12

-TCU (Elite Eight in 1968)

Big East

-Creighton (Elite Eight in 1941, 2023)

-Xavier (Elite Eight in 2004, 2008, 2017)

Big Ten

-Nebraska (Round of 64 in 1986, 1991-1994, 1998, 2014)

-Northwestern (Round of 32 in 2017, 2023)

Pac-12

-Arizona State (Elite Eight in 1961, 1963, 1975)

SEC

-Alabama (Elite Eight in 2004)

-Missouri (Elite Eight in 1944, 1976, 1994, 2002, 2009)

-Mississippi (Sweet 16 in 2001)

-Tennessee (Elite Eight in 2010)

-Texas A&M (Sweet 16 in 1951, 1969, 1980, 2007, 2016, 2018)

-Vanderbilt (Elite Eight in 1965)

8.  This year's Final Four features three coaches who are coaching in their first-ever Final Fours:  UConn's Dan Hurley, FAU's Dusty May, and San Diego State's Brian Dutcher.  This is a relatively rare occurrence, as this is only the 8th time it has happened since seeding was instituted in 1979, and 19th time overall since 1944 (all of the five Final Fours before that featured four first-time coaches).  Here are the years since 1944 in which three or more coaches made their Final Four debut:

2023:  3:  Brian Dutcher (San Diego State), Dan Hurley (UConn), Dusty May (FAU)

2019:  3:  Tony Bennett (Virginia)*, Chris Beard (Texas Tech)**, Bruce Pearl (Auburn)

2017:  3:  Mark Few (Gonzaga)**, Dana Altman (Oregon), Frank Martin (South Carolina)

2006:  3:  Ben Howland (UCLA)**, John Brady (UCLA), Jim Larrañaga (George Mason)

1999:  3:  Jim Calhoun (UConn)*, Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Jim O'Brien (Ohio State)

1998:  4:  Tubby Smith (Kentucky)*, Rick Majerus (Utah)**, Bill Guthridge (North Carolina), Mike Montgomery (Stanford)

1985:  3:  Rollie Massimino (Villanova)*, Lou Carnesecca (St. John's), Dana Kirk (Memphis State)

1979:  3:  Jud Heathcote (Michigan State)*, Bill Hodges (Indiana State)**, Bob Wienhauer (Penn)

1978:  3:  Bill Foster (Duke)**, Digger Phelps (Notre Dame), Eddie Sutton (Arkansas)

1973:  3:  Gene Bartow (Memphis State)**, Dave Gavitt (Providence), Bob Knight (Indiana)

1971:  3:  Jack Kraft (Villanova)**, Johnny Oldham (Western Kentucky), Ted Owens (Kansas)

1970:  3:  Joe Williams (Jacksonville)**, Lou Henson (New Mexico State), Larry Weise (St. Bonaventure)

1967:  3:  Bob Donoher (Dayton)**, Guy Lewis (Houston), Dean Smith (North Carolina)

1959:  4:  Pete Newell (California)*, Fred Schaus (West Virginia)**, Peck Hickman (Louisville), George Smith (Cincinnati)

1955:  3:  Phil Woolpert (San Francisco)*, Bebe Lee (Colorado), Bucky O'Connor (Iowa)

1954:  3:  Ken Loeffler (LaSalle)*, Elmer Gross (Penn State), Forrest Twogood (USC)

1947:  3:  Doggie Julian (Holy Cross)*, Nat Holman (CCNY), Jack Gray (Texas)

1945:  3:  Henry Iba (Oklahoma A&M)*, Howard Cann (NYU)**, Eugene Lambert (Arkansas)

1944:  3:  Vadal Peterson (Utah)*, Earl Brown (Dartmouth)**, Louis Menze (Iowa State)

*Won NCAA championship

**Advanced to title game

7.  On a similar note, if anyone but Miami wins the national title, it will be the 28th time that a first-time Final Four coach will have won the championship.  Of course, those numbers are heavily skewed towards the beginning decades of the NCAA Tournament.  Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, it has only happened 9 times, though in two of the last three tournaments.  Here is everyone (including before 1985), in reverse chronological order:

-Scott Drew (Baylor, 2021)

-Tony Bennett (Virginia, 2019)

-Kevin Ollie (UConn, 2014)

-Bill Self (Kansas, 2008)

-Jim Calhoun (UConn, 1999)

-Tubby Smith (Kentucky, 1998)

-Jim Harrick (UCLA, 1995)

-Steve Fisher (Michigan, 1989)

-Rollie Massimino (Villanova, 1985)

-Jim Valvano (NC State, 1983)

-Jud Heathcote (Michigan State, 1979)

-Norm Sloan (NC State, 1974)

-Don Haskins (Texas Western, 1966)

-George Ireland (Loyola (Ill.), 1963)

-Ed Jucker (Cincinnati, 1961)

-Fred Taylor (Ohio State, 1960)

-Pete Newell (California, 1959)

-Phil Woolpert (San Francisco, 1955)

-Ken Loeffler (LaSalle, 1954)

-Doggie Julian (Holy Cross, 1947)

-Henry Iba (Oklahoma A&M, 1945)

-Vadal Peterson (Utah, 1944)

-Everett Shelton (Wyoming, 1943)

-Everett Dean (Stanford, 1942)

-Harold E. Foster (Wisconsin, 1941)

-Branch McCracken (Indiana, 1940)

-Howard Hobson (Oregon, 1939)

6.  Last year, San Diego State was an 8-seed, losing in the First Round to Creighton (coincidentally, the team they beat to reach the Final Four), and UConn was a 5-seed that was upset by 12-seed New Mexico State in the First Round.  The Aztecs and Huskies join a list of now 52 teams who made the Final Four the year after losing their first game of the NCAA Tournament.  19 of those teams have went onto the title game, with 6 winning it all.  Here are the others who have done it (this does not include teams that made the Final Four a year after not participating in the NCAA Tournament):

2023:  UConn, San Diego State

2022:  North Carolina**

2019:  Virginia*

2015:  Duke*

2014:  Wisconsin

2013:  Michigan**, Wichita State

2012:  Louisville

2010:  Butler**, West Virginia

2009:  UConn

2006:  UCLA**, LSU

2005:  Louisville, Michigan State

2003:  Marquette

2002:  Indiana**, Oklahoma

2000:  North Carolina, Wisconsin

1995:  UCLA*

1994:  Arizona

1990:  Georgia Tech

1988:  Arizona

1987:  Indiana*

1986:  LSU

1985:  St. John's

1983:  NC State*

1982:  Georgetown**, Louisville, Houston

1981:  North Carolina**

1980:  Iowa

1978:  Arkansas

1977:  North Carolina**

1976:  Michigan**, Rutgers

1975:  Louisville, Syracuse

1974:  Marquette**

1973:  Providence

1971:  Western Kentucky

1964:  UCLA*

1961:  St. Joseph's, Utah

1959:  West Virginia**, Cincinnati

1956:  SMU

1955:  Colorado

1944:  Dartmouth**

1942:  Dartmouth**

*Champions

**Advanced to championship game

5.  Along those same lines, last year FAU missed the tournament, and now they're in the Final Four.  Since the NCAA Tournament began in 1939, this is the 113th time that a school has made it to the Final Four the year after missing the NCAA Tournament.  As you can see from the list below, most of the times this happened were in the '40s and '50s (when the tournament was much smaller), and since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, only 20 schools have made it to the Final Four the year after missing the tournament, with only four winning it all in that span and only seven advancing to the title game.

2023:  FAU

2022:  Duke

2021:  UCLA

2018:  Loyola (IL)

2017:  South Carolina

2016:  Syracuse

2014:  UConn*, Kentucky**

2011:  UConn*, VCU

2006:  George Mason

2004:  Georgia Tech**

2003:  Syracuse*

1999:  Ohio State

1997:  Minnesota

1994:  Florida

1992:  Michigan**, Cincinnati

1987:  Providence

1986:  Louisville*

1983:  Georgia

1981:  Virginia

1980:  Purdue

1979:  Indiana State**

1978:  Duke**

1977:  UNC Charlotte

1975:  Kentucky**

1974:  NC State*, Kansas

1973:  Memphis State**, Indiana

1972:  Florida State**, Louisville, North Carolina

1971:  Kansas

1970:  Jacksonville**, St. Bonaventure

1969:  Purdue**, Drake

1968:  Ohio State

1967:  UCLA*, North Carolina

1966:  Texas Western*, Kentucky**, Duke, Utah

1964:  Kansas State, Michigan

1963:  Loyola (IL)*, Duke

1962:  UCLA

1960:  Ohio State*, NYU

1959:  Louisville

1958:  Seattle**, Kansas State, Temple

1957:  North Carolina*, Kansas**, Michigan State

1956:  Temple

1955:  San Francisco*, Iowa

1954:  LaSalle*, Bradley**, Penn State, USC

1953:  Indiana*, LSU, Washington

1952:  Kansas*, Santa Clara

1951:  Kentucky*, Kansas State, Illinois, Oklahoma A&M

1950:  CCNY*, Bradley**, Baylor, NC State

1949:  Oklahoma A&M**, Illinois, Oregon State

1948:  Kentucky*, Baylor**, Kansas State

1947:  Holy Cross*, Oklahoma**, CCNY, Texas

1946:  North Carolina*, California

1945:  Oklahoma A&M*, NYU**, Arkansas

1944:  Utah*, Iowa State, Ohio State

1943:  Wyoming*, Georgetown, DePaul, Texas

1942:  Stanford*, Colorado, Kentucky

1941:  Wisconsin*, Washington State**, Arkansas, Pittsburgh

1940:  Indiana*, Kansas**, Duquesne, USC

*Champions

**Advanced to championship game

4.  There are 10 schools with 8 or more Final Fours (including vacated appearances):  North Carolina (21), UCLA (19), Duke (17), Kentucky (17), Kansas (16), Ohio State (11), Louisville (10), Michigan State (10), Indiana (8), and Michigan (8).  This is the first time since 1985 and only the second time since the Eisenhower Administration that at least one of those ten teams is not in the Final Four.  In fact, one of those teams has been in all but 9 of 83 Final Fours (1941, 1943, 1947, 1950, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1985, 2023).

3.  As noted above, there are no 1-seeds in the Final Four.  This is only the fourth time since seeding began in 1979 that no 1-seeds made it to the Final Four.  Here is a breakdown of how many #1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four each year since 1979.

2023:  0

2022:  1 (Kansas)

2021:  2 (Baylor*, Gonzaga**)

2019:  1 (Virginia*)

2018:  2 (Villanova*, Kansas)

2017:  2 (North Carolina*, Gonzaga**)

2016: 1 (North Carolina**)

2015: 3 (Duke*, Wisconsin**, Kentucky)

2014: 1 (Florida)

2013: 1 (Louisville*)

2012: 1 (Kentucky*)

2011: 0

2010: 1 (Duke*)

2009: 2 (North Carolina*, Connecticut)

2008: 4 (Kansas*, Memphis**, North Carolina, UCLA)

2007: 2 (Florida*, Ohio State**)

2006: 0

2005: 2 (North Carolina*, Illinois**)

2004: 1 (Duke)

2003: 1 (Texas)

2002: 2 (Maryland*, Kansas)

2001: 2 (Duke*, Michigan State)

2000: 1 (Michigan State*)

1999: 3 (Connecticut*, Duke**, Michigan State)

1998: 1 (North Carolina)

1997: 3 (Kentucky**, North Carolina, Minnesota)

1996: 2 (Kentucky*, Massachusetts)

1995: 1 (UCLA*)

1994: 1 (Arkansas*)

1993: 3 (North Carolina*, Michigan**, Kentucky)

1992: 1 (Duke*)

1991: 2 (UNLV, North Carolina)

1990: 1 (UNLV*)

1989: 1 (Illinois)

1988: 2 (Oklahoma**, Arizona)

1987: 2 (Indiana*, UNLV)

1986: 2 (Duke**, Kansas)

1985: 2 (Georgetown**, St. John's)

1984: 2 (Georgetown*, Kentucky)

1983: 2 (Houston**, Louisville)

1982: 2 (North Carolina*, Georgetown**)

1981: 2 (LSU, Virginia)

1980: 0

1979: 1 (Indiana State**)

*Champions

**Advanced to championship game

2.  The average seed for this year's Final Four is 5.75, which the second-highest average ever (behind only 2011), and only the 5th time the average seed is 5 or higher.  Here are the average seeds for the Final Four since 1979 (with the years it was 5 or higher bolded):

2023:  5.75

2022:  3.25

2021:  3.75

2019:  2.75

2018:  4

2017:  3

2016: 3.75

2015: 2.5

2014: 4.5

2013: 4.5

2012: 2.25

2011: 6.5

2010: 3.25

2009: 1.75

2008: 1

2007: 1.5

2006: 5

2005: 2.75

2004: 2

2003: 2.25

2002: 2.25

2001: 1.75

2000: 5.5

1999: 1.75

1998: 2.25

1997: 1.75

1996: 2.75

1995: 2.25

1994: 2

1993: 1.25

1992: 3.25

1991: 1.75

1990: 3

1989: 2.25

1988: 2.5

1987: 2.5

1986: 3.75

1985: 3

1984: 2.75

1983: 3

1982: 2.75

1981: 1.75

1980: 5.25

1979: 3.5

1.  With FAU, Miami, and San Diego State advancing to the Final Four as a 9-seed and two 5-seeds, respectively, this is the 10th tournament in a row in which at least one team seeded 5 or higher has made it to the Final Four, and only the third tournament where three teams seeded 5 or higher have made it to the Final Four.  Of the prior 33 teams to have accomplished the feat, only 4 have won it all, another 8 have been runners up, and the remaining 21 have lost in the semis.  Here are the years in which there have been any teams seeded 5 or higher in the Final Four since 1979:

2023:  3:  5-seed Miami, 5-seed San Diego State, 9-seed FAU

2022:  1:  8-seed North Carolina**

2021:  1:  11-seed UCLA

2019:  1:  5-seed Auburn

2018:  1:  11-seed Loyola (IL)

2017:  1:  7-seed South Carolina

2016:  1: 10-seed Syracuse

2015:  1: 7-seed Michigan State

2014:  2: 7-seed UConn* and 8-seed Kentucky**

2013:  1: 9-seed Wichita State

2011:  2: 8-seed Butler** and 11-seed VCU

2010:  2: 5-seeds Butler** and Michigan State

2006:  1: 11-seed George Mason

2005:  1: 5-seed Michigan State

2002:  1: 5-seed Indiana**

2000:  3: 5-seed Florida**, 8-seeds North Carolina and Wisconsin

1996:  1: 5-seed Mississippi State

1992:  1: 6-seed Michigan**

1988:  1: 6-seed Kansas*

1987:  1: 6-seed Providence

1986:  1: 11-seed LSU

1985:  1: 8-seed Villanova*

1984:  1: 7-seed Virginia

1983:  1: 6-seed NC State*

1982:  1: 6-seed Houston

1980:  3: 5-seed Purdue, 6-seed Iowa, 8-seed UCLA**

1979:  1: 9-seed Penn

*Champions

**Advanced to championship game

Hair Band Friday - 3/24/23

1.  "Stay" by Giant

2.  "Gonna Getcha" by Great White

3.  "Look My Way" by Britny Fox

4.  "Breakout" by Vinnie Vincent Invasion

5.  "Won't Get Fooled Again" (live) by Van Halen

6.  "Jungle of Love" by Lynch Mob

7.  "Shout at the Devil" by Mötley Crüe

8.  "Homeland" by Europe

9.  "S.M.F." by Twisted Sister

10.  "Smiles Like a Child" by Hurricane

CoronaVinyl Day 453 (Various Artists): The Super Hits Vol. 4 by Various Artists

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "Various Artists," and I recently picked up the 1969 Atlantic Records compilation The Super Hits Vol. 4 after spending far too much time thumbing through lots of crap at Salvation Army.  But hey, finding a couple diamonds in the rough for a couple bucks each is what keeps me alive.

Anywho, it was an easy sell when I saw the cover and the artists whose songs were on the album.  There's soul, pop, R&B, and rock songs, many of which are from future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.  All of the songs were released in 1968.  We have two songs each from the Queen of Soul and Clarence Carter, a civil rights anthem from The (don't call me young) Rascals, pre-disco Bee Gees, some great late '60s soul, the husky-voiced magic of Dusty Springfield, proto-metal from the original and best power trio and supergroup, a song from the original shock rocker, and a Memphis soul legend turning out one of the best covers of a Beatles song ever, featuring a guitar solo from an up-and-coming Muscle Shoals session man named Duane Allman that was so good Eric Clapton called Atlantic Records to find out who it was.

Here's the list of tracks on each side, along with each song's chart positions on the Billboard Hot 100, any other relevant Billboard charts, and any foreign pop chart where it reached the Top 10.

Side 1
1.  "See Saw" by Aretha Franklin - #14 Billboard Hot 100; #9 Billboard R&B Singles
2.  "People Got to Be Free" by The Rascals - #1 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Canada pop chart
3.  "Slip Away" by Clarence Carter - #6 Billboard Hot 100; #2 Billboard R&B Singles
4.  "I Can't Stop Dancing" by Archie Bell & The Drells - #9 Billboard Hot 100; #5 Billboard R&B Singles
5.  "Can I Change My Mind" by Tyrone Davis - #5 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Billboard R&B Singles
6.  "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - #2 Billboard Hot 100; #1 UK and Canada pop charts; #3 Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland pop charts; #4 France and Netherlands pop charts; #7 Austria pop chart; #8 Ireland pop chart

Side 2
1.  "Too Weak to Fight" by Clarence Carter - #13 Billboard Hot 100; #3 Billboard R&B Singles
2.  "I Say a Little Prayer" by Aretha Franklin - #10 Billboard Hot 100; #3 Billboard R&B Singles; #3 Netherlands pop chart; #4 Sweden and UK pop charts; #7 Belgium pop chart; #8 Australia pop chart
3.  "White Room" by Cream - #6 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Australia pop chart; #2 Canada and New Zealand pop charts; #10 Finland pop chart
4.  "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield - #10 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Singapore pop chart; #2 Malaysia pop chart; #3 Switzerland pop chart; #6 Australia and Netherlands pop charts; #7 New Zealand pop chart; #9 UK pop chart; #10 Austria pop chart
5.  "I Started a Joke" by The Bee Gees - #6 Billboard Hot 100; #1 Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, and New Zealand pop charts; #2 South Africa pop chart; #3 France, Indonesia, and Norway pop charts; #5 Switzerland pop chart; #7 Canada pop chart; #8 Belgium pop chart; #9 Netherlands pop chart
6.  "Hey Jude" by Wilson Pickett - #23 Billboard Hot 100; #13 Billboard R&B Singles

The album isn't on Spotify, but I'm embedding YouTube videos of my favorite songs from each side.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
"I am the god of hellfire / And I bring you / Fire."  One of the greatest opening lines in rock history set the tone for British shock rockers The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's biggest hit.  Lead singer Arthur Brown was one of the first rockers to put on face paint on stage and use theatrics (like lighting his head on fire) on stage, and the band members wore costumes as well.  "Fire" is a psychedelic rock/soul song that presumably terrified a lot of parents, particularly if they saw Brown perform the song on TV.  The version I'm embedding is from when the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (though the song itself is the recorded version). 

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "White Room" by Cream
Side 2 has some great songs, like Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," Aretha's version of "I Say a Little Prayer," and Wilson Pickett's amazing cover of "Hey Jude," but I couldn't pass over the song that made me fall in love with Cream, "White Room."  It's still as fresh and powerful as the first time I heard it, showcasing the musicianship of the greatest power trio of all time.  Separately, they are Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, and Eric Clapton.  Together, they are The Cream.  Or were.  RIP Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.

CoronaVinyl Day 452 (W): Number 1's by Stevie Wonder

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "W," and for the last week, I've been listening to Stevie Wonder's 2007 compilation, Number 1's.  In 2020, Target released a limited edition 2-LP vinyl version, with red vinyl, and one of my spawn was nice enough to buy it for me for my birthday last year.

I will look past the fact that the apostrophe in the album title is grammatically incorrect -- the man is blind, after all -- and say that I definitely enjoyed listening to this record.  And who wouldn't?  It's Stevie Wonder, one of the true musical geniuses of the last 60 years.  His career is ridiculously expansive, and I always find it amazing that he is younger than both of my parents.

As the album title alludes to, this is a collection of Wonder's #1 hits throughout the years, on either the Billboard Hot 100 or other Billboard singles charts (R&B Singles, Adult Contemporary, etc.), starting with "Fingertips, Part 2," which he recorded in June 1962, a month after he turned 12 (!), to 2005's "What the Fuss" (featuring Prince and En Vogue).  Over his career, he has had 8 #1s on the Billboard Hot 100, 19 #1s on the Billboard R&B Singles chart, and 6#1s on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart (with some songs topping more than one of those charts).  This album doesn't have all of them, but it has a good cross section of one of the most sustained musical careers anyone has ever had, from the early Motown poppy soul days to the more socially focused funk and soul of the '70s to the pop of the '80s (and that one song from 2005).

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Uptight (Everything Is Alright)"
Side 1 goes from 1963 to 1973.  "Uptight (Everything Is Alright)," released in 1965, is one of those songs that puts me in a good mood.  It was Wonder's second Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (#3) and second #1 on the Billboard R&B charts, and it was released at a time when Motown was having doubts about his viability, since, I kid you not, his voice was changing.  You know, because he was 15 when this song was released.  What's even crazier is that the song's co-writer, Sylvia Moy, completed the lyrics and brought them to the recording session, but forgot to bring a Braille copy for Wonder, so when the song was recorded, she sang a line and then Wonder repeated them as he heard them.  That's how the song was recorded.

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "Living For The City"
Side 2 is definitely the funk side, taking us from 1973 to 1976.  I love all the songs, but I went with "Living For The City," off of 1973's Innervisions.  The album and the song marked a change in lyrical content from poppier topics to social and political issues.  This song is about the systemic racism that faced Black Americans in the 1970s, telling the story of a young Black man from Mississippi who takes a bus to New York, where he is framed for a crime he didn't commit, convicted, and sentenced to ten years in prison.  There are various city sounds (buses, voices, hustle and bustle, etc.) that are mixed in with the music that gives it even that much more of a real feel.  My only gripe is that the version on the Number 1's album is the single version, so it's only 3:41, instead of the 7:23 version on Innervisions.

Favorite Song on Side 3:  "Sir Duke"
Side 3 brings us from the late '70s funk and soul era to the mid '80s pop and Wonder's biggest worldwide hit, "I Just Called To Say I Love You."  "Sir Duke" is from his epic 1976 album Songs In the Key of Life, and it's a tribute to jazz legend Duke Ellington, who died in 1974.

Favorite Song on Side 4:  "Skeletons"
The last side takes us from "Part-Time Lover," which hit #1 in 1985, to the aforementioned "So What the Fuss" in 2005.  I went with "Skeletons," from Wonder's 1987 album Characters.  It's a funky song, but in the '80s funk sense (i.e., a lot of synthesizers and electronic drums), and it's about people with skeletons in their closets.