Today’s Sportstat: April 1, 2019
Does Michigan State become a three-time champ or will it be a first-timer this year?
This year’s Final Four is set with Auburn, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Virginia vying for this year’s title.
Michigan State is the only one of the four schools that has won a title; they won in 1979 and 2000. Auburn, Texas Tech and Virginia have never won a championship.
Michigan State is also one of 35 different schools that won a men’s basketball title since 1939. They are one of 15 schools that won the tournament multiple times (20 schools have won only one title).
Of the 35 schools that have won the men’s basketball championship, Oregon has the longest drought… they won one title, that being in 1939. They have now gone 80 years since that first title.
There have been 11 different schools that have won the championship this century. The 11: Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina, Syracuse, Villanova. UConn, Duke and North Carolina have each won the championship three times this century, Florida has won it twice, the last school to win back-to-back titles.
Here is a look at the last time each of the 35 schools/champs won the title.
1939-Oregon
1941-Wisconsin, 1942-Stanford, 1943-Wyoming, 1944-Utah, 1946-Oklahoma State, 1947-Holy Cross
1950-CCNY, 1954-LaSalle, 1956-San Francisco, 1959-California
1960-Ohio State, 1962-Cincinnati, 1963-Loyola-Chicago, 1966-UTEP
1977-Marquette
1983-North Carolina State, 1984-Georgetown, 1987-Indiana, 1989-Michigan
1990-UNLV, 1994-Arkansas, 1995-UCLA, 1997-Arizona
2000-Michigan State, 2002-Maryland, 2003-Syracuse, 2007-Florida, 2008-Kansas, 2012-Kentucky, 2013-Louisville, 2014-Connecticut, 2015-Duke, 2017-North Carolina, 2018-Villanova
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Today’s Sportstat: March 21, 2019
A Final Four ‘MOP’ Award does not always equal NBA stardom
Back in the 1950’s, future Hall of Famers like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West were recipients of the NCAA basketball tournament most valuable player award, now known as the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) honor. In the 80’s, the MOP award went to eventual NBA stars like Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Akeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing.
Being selected the MOP of a NCAA Final Four, however, does not always translate into an outstanding NBA career. In fact, I would be willing to bet that of the last 20 players to be chosen as the MOP of the Final Four, only two, maybe three, will eventually make basketball’s Hall of Fame. Carmelo Anthony was the 2003 MOP and will likely find a way into the Hall of Fame. Anthony Davis, the 2012 MOP, is another solid Hall candidate, as is Kemba Walker, the 2011 MOP from UConn.
But “great” NBA careers have not followed every MOP honoree. While 18 of the last 20 MOP players have played in the NBA, two, have not. The 2013 MOP, Louisville’s Luke Hancock, was undrafted and retired from basketball in 2014 after tearing a calf muscle playing over in Greece. Joel Berry II, the 2017 MOP from North Carolina, was also undrafted. He did, however, find a spot on the Lakers G League team, but was waived on March 2.
Here’s a look at the past 20 MOPs and how many career NBA points they amassed and how many NBA games they have played in (stats are through NBA games of March 19).
MOP player, Year NBA games NBA career points
*Carmelo Anthony-2003 (Syracuse) 1,064 25,551
Richard Hamilton-1999 (UConn) 921 15,708
*Kemba Walker-2011 (UConn) 593 11,651
*Anthony Davis-2012 (Kentucky) 465 11,047
Shane Battier-2001 (Duke) 977 8,408
Emeka Okafor-2004 (UConn) 616 7,370
*Corey Brewer-2007 (Florida) 802 7,053
*Joakim Noah-2006 (Florida) 665 5,853
Mario Chalmers-2008 (Kansas) 646 5,743
*Wayne Ellington-2009 (North Carolina) 633 5,112
Juan Dixon-2002 (Maryland) 436 3,678
Kyle Singler-2010 (Duke) 356 2,326
*Shabazz Napier-2014 (UConn) 287 1,833
*Tyus Jones-2015 (Duke) 236 1,119
Sean May-2005 (North Carolina) 119 821
Mateen Cleaves-2000 (Mich. St.) 167 609
*Ryan Arcidiacono-2016 (Villanova) 95 488
*Donte DiVincenzo-2018 (Villanova) 27 131
Luke Hancock-2013 (Louisville) 0 0
Joel Berry II-2017 (North Carolina) 0 0
Of the 20 players listed above, exactly half (10) played/or are still playing in the NBA this season. They are listed with an * before their name in the above list.
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Today’s Sports Stat: April 3, 2018
Villanova’s win over Michigan for the 2018 NCAA men’s basketball tournament put them in some pretty impressive company. Since they also won the title in 2016, they became one of only a handful of teams to win two or more titles in a three-year span.
The last team to win back-to-back titles was Florida in 2006 and 2007. The last team to win a title and then win it again two years later was Kentucky in 1996 and 1998.
Here’s a look at the schools that won the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tourney in back-to-back years and those who won two in three years by winning one year and then winning again two years later.
Back-to-Back Titles
Oklahoma State, 1945, 1946
Kentucky, 1948, 1949
San Francisco, 1955, 1956
Cincinnati, 1961, 1962
UCLA, 1964, 1965
UCLA, 1967-73 (seven straight)
Duke, 1991, 1992
Florida, 2006, 2007
Title and then another title two years later
Kentucky, 1949, 1951
UCLA, 1965, 1967
UCLA, 1973, 1975
Kentucky, 1996, 1998
Villanova, 2016, 2018
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Today’s Sports Stat: March 19, 2018
How does your bracket look? The NCAA men’s tourney is set with the “Sweet 16.”
Included in the 16 teams remaining in the tourney are four teams who were seeded from #8 to #16. The four: #9 seeds Kansas State and Florida State, and #11 seeds Loyola-Illinois and Syracuse.
Will anyone of these four make it to the Final Four? Based on past history, there have been 11 teams seeded from #8-#16 that have made it to the Final Four since 1979 when the tournament went to the current seeded system.
Here’s a look at the teams seeded #8 through #16 that have made it to the Final Four since 1979.
1979: #9 seed Pennsylvania
1980: #8 seed UCLA
1985: #8 seed Villanova
2000: #8 seed North Carolina and #8 seed Wisconsin
2006: #11 seed George Mason
2011: # 8 seed Butler and #11 VCU
2013: #9 seed Wichita State
2014: #8 seed Kentucky
2016: #10 seed Syracuse
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Did You Know? Final Four Edition (Part 2)
Here’s a look at a few more stats/numbers you might not know about tonight’s Final Four title game.
Did you know…
… A Wisconsin victory will give Duke seven Final Four championship game losses, a record. The Blue Devils are currently tied with Kansas with six title game losses. Other teams with multiple Final Four championship game losses: 5-Michigan; 4-Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State; 3-Georgetown; 2-Bradley, Butler, Dartmouth, Houston, Memphis, Oklahoma, Syracuse, UCLA.
… Seven title games have gone into overtime. The last was in 2008 when Kansas defeated Memphis.
… The Big Ten Conference has lost five straight Final Four championship games.
… Sixteen title games have been decided by three points or less. The last was in 2010 when Duke beat Butler 61-59. Three teams have lost multiple title games by three points or less, led by Kansas which has lost three such games. Duke and Georgetown both lost two championship games by three points or less.
… Teams that score 60 points in the championship game are 62-48 (.564 winning percentage). Teams that score 70 or more points in the game are 49-28 (.636 winning percentage). Teams that score 80 or more points in the championship game are 26-4 (.867 winning percentage).
… The ACC and the Big Ten have faced each other six times in the final game (tonight is the seventh time). The ACC has won five and only lost once. The only Big Ten Conference win over an ACC school in the final was in 1981 when Indiana beat North Carolina. The ACC has won the last five championship games over a Big Ten opponent.
… Wisconsin could become the first Big Ten school since Michigan State in 2000 to win the title and also win the title the same year they won a football bowl game. Michigan State won the Florida Citrus Bowl in 1999 and then won the NCAA men’s basketball title in 2000 (the 1999-2000 season). Louisville is the last school to win a football bowl game and men’s national basketball title in the same year (2011 football bowl game, 2012 basketball title).
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