Did You Know? Final Four Edition
Here’s a look at a few stats you might not have known about the teams participating in today’s Final Four semi-final games.
Did you know?…
… This will be the 14th match-up of #1 seeds in the Final Four semi-finals since 1979 (when the NCAA went to the seeded format) and the first since 2008 when both semi-finals were games played between #1 seeds (the only year all four #1 seeds made the Final Four). Kentucky will be playing in their fifth #1 seed match-up in the Final Four semis, most of any school. They have won two and lost two of their previous games. The team that has won these #1 vs. #1 games in the semi-finals has only won the championship game five times (losing eight times).
… Wisconsin is one of nine schools to have their football team win 11 games in a season and their men’s basketball team win 30 games at least once since 2010. The others: Baylor, Louisville, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Utah State. Wisconsin is one of only three schools to have their football team win 11 games in a season and their men’s basketball team win 30 games both twice since 2010 (also Louisville and Ohio State). The Badgers, Louisville and Ohio State are the only schools to have their football team win 11 games and their men’s basketball team win 30 games in the same season. Ohio State did it in 2010 (their football team won 12 games in 2010; their men’s basketball team won 34 in 2010-11); Louisville did it in 2012 (their football team won 11 in 2012; their men’s basketball team won 35 in 2012-13); Wisconsin did it this year (their football team won 11 in 2014; their men’s basketball team has won 35 in 2014-15).
… In the 37 years since the NCAA went to a seeded format, 22 times there have been two schools from the same conference make the Final Four. This is the 22nd time with both Wisconsin and Michigan State from the Big Ten Conference making the Final Four. In the 21 times previous to this year, a school from that conference has won the championship nine times (1985-Georgetown, 1988-Kansas, 1989-Michigan, 1991-Duke, 1996-Kentucky, 2000-Michigan State, 2001-Duke, 2006-Florida, 2013-Louisville). Since 1979, the Big Ten has had two or more teams in the Final Four seven times (including this year), most of the conferences. The ACC is next with five years, followed by Big East (four times), SEC (three times), Big 12 (twice) and Big Eight (once). Michigan State and Wisconsin both made the Final Four from the Big Ten in 2000 with Michigan State winning the title that year.
… Michigan State and Duke have each lost five times in the Final Four semi-finals. Kentucky has lost three times and Wisconsin twice in the national semis. North Carolina tops the list with nine semi-final losses in the Final Four followed by Louisville with seven. Both Kansas and UCLA have lost five times in the Final Four semis.
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Kansas, Purdue & Wisconsin extend NCAA men’s bball tourney streaks with first round wins
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Prior to the start of this year’s NCAA Div. I men’s tournament, eight different schools had active streaks of consecutive years with at least one win in three or more NCAA tournaments. Leading the way was Pittsburgh with six straight years with at least one win in the tourney. Here’s a look at those eight schools and how their streaks were affected after first round play on Thursday and Friday.
Pittsburgh (six straight tournaments with one or more win): That streak ended when Pittsburgh failed to get a berth to this year’s tournament.
Kansas (five straight tournaments with one or more win): Extended their streak to six years with a 65-50 win over Detroit.
Purdue (five straight tournaments with one or more win): Extended their streak to six years with a three-point first round win over St.Mary‘s.
Wisconsin (five straight tournaments with one or more win): Made it six straight after a convincing 73-49 win over Montana on Thursday.
Duke (four straight tournaments with one or more win): Upset by #15 Lehigh in the first round on Friday to end their streak.
Syracuse (three straight tournaments with one or more win): Dodged the upset bullet with a first round victory against #16 NC-Asheville extending their streak to four straight years.
Washington (three straight tournaments with one or more win): Streak ended when they did not get invited to this year’s tournament.
Gonzaga (three straight tournaments with one or more win): Extended their streak to four years with a first-round win over West Virginia.
Note: With victories in first round games, four schools have now won at least one game in three straight tournaments… Ohio State, Kentucky, Kansas State and Brigham Young.
Kansas gets 12th straight top four regional seed in NCAA tournament
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With their number 2 seed in the NCAA Midwest regional this year, the Kansas Jayhawks extended their current streak of receiving a #1, #2, #3, or #4 seed in a region for the 12th straight year. The last time Kansas was not a 1, 2, 3, or 4 seed in a region was in 2000 when they were the #8 seed in the East region in that tourney.
Four other schools this year received a top four regional seed for the third straight year (or more). Duke is a #2 seed in the South, giving them five straight years with a top four regional seed. Syracuse is the #1 seed in the East, the fourth straight year they have been a top four regional seed. A pair of Big Ten schools, Ohio State and Wisconsin both received top four regional seeds this year (Ohio State #2 in the East; Wisconsin #4 in the East) giving them each their third straight top four regional seed.
Following are the schools which have had the most top four regional seeds in the past 13 tournaments (since 2000)
Most top four regional seeds since 2000, schools
12: Duke, Kansas
8: Kentucky, North Carolina, Pittsburgh
7: Connecticut, Ohio State, Syracuse
6: Florida, Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas
Did you know? Six different schools have been a number 1 in a regional three or more times since 2000. Leading the list is Duke which has been a number 1 seed eight times in the last 13 years. They are followed by North Carolina and Kansas with five, Kentucky with four, and Stanford and Michigan State with three.
SIX STATS you might not know about… Marquette & Wisconsin in the Big East and Big Ten conference tourneys
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1. Marquette has played in six Big East Conference men’s basketball tournaments. They were a #4 seed (2006), twice a #5 seed (2009 and 2010), twice a #6 (2007, 2008) and the #11 seed in 2011. They are the number 2 seed this year.
2. Wisconsin has played in 14 Big Ten Conference men’s basketball tournaments. They have been the #1 seed three times (2002, 2003 and 2008), the #2 seed twice (2004, 2007), the #3 seed twice (2005, 2011), the #4 seed four times (1999, 2006, 2009, 2010) and the #5, #6 and #10 seed once apiece. Wisconsin is the #4 seed in this year’s tourney. The last three times the Badgers were the number 4 seed in the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament they lost their first game to the #5 seed (2010, 2009 and 2006).
3. Marquette has won 8 and lost 6 in Big East tourney play.
4. Wisconsin has won 14 and lost 12 in Big Ten Conference tourney play.
5. Marquette has defeated St. John’s three times in the tournament. They have lost to Georgetown and Pittsburgh twice each in the tourney. The Golden Eagles are 5-3 in games against teams that were lower seeds than them; they are 3-3 against teams that were higher seeds.
6. Wisconsin has defeated Michigan State and Illinois three times each in the tournament. They have lost to Illinois and Ohio State three times each in the tourney. The Badgers are 3-6 in games against teams that were higher seeds than them; they are 11-6 against teams that were lower seeds. They have been beat by a lower seeded team in their first game in each of the past three seasons.
SIX STATS you might not know about… Wisconsin’s appearances in the Rose Bowl
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“SIX STATS…” is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ and is published every Friday.
The Wisconsin Badgers take on the Oregon Ducks on January 2 in the 98th Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California. Here are a few stats about the Badgers appearances in this game.
1. This is Wisconsin‘s eighth time in the Rose Bowl. They have a 3-4 record. They rank third in the Big Ten Conference in Rose Bowl appearances; Michigan leads with 20, followed by Ohio State with 14. In six of the seven games, the outcome has been decided by eight points or less.
2. Barry Alvarez was 3-0 in Rose Bowl appearances. The other Wisconsin coaches who coached in the Rose Bowl: Ivy Williamson (1953), Milt Bruhn (1960, 1963) and Bret Bielema (2011). Bielema last year became the ninth person in Rose Bowl history to both play and coach in the Rose Bowl.
3. This is the first time that the Badgers have played the Rose Bowl game on a Monday. They are 0-1 on Tuesday, 0-1 on Thursday, 1-1 on Friday, 2-1 on Saturday. This is also the first time they’ve played the Rose Bowl on a date other than January 1.
4. This is Wisconsin’s 23rd bowl game. They have a 11-11 record. This is their 10th straight year with a bowl game bid and the 17th year in the last 19 where they have played in a bowl game.
5. This is the fifth time that Wisconsin will face a team ranked higher than them in the Rose Bowl. In the 1963 game between Wisconsin and USC, it was the first time in history that the number 1 ranked and number 2 ranked teams faced off in a bowl game.
6. A few other odds and ends:
* The 7-0 loss the Badgers suffered in 1953 is the second lowest scoring game in Rose Bowl history.
* The Badgers and UCLA set a Rose Bowl record in 1999 when they combined for 1,035 total yards.
* In 2000, Ron Dayne became the third player in Rose Bowl history to be selected game MVP for the second time.
* The 24 combined points scored in the first quarter by Wisconsin and TCU in last year’s game was the most points scored by two teams in the first quarter in Rose Bowl history.
* This is the first time a Big Ten team has make back-to-back appearances in the Rose Bowl since Michigan did it in 2004, 2005. Prior to that, Wisconsin make consecutive Rose Bowl appearances in 1999, 2000.
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