2011 NCAA Tournament/Season Wrap-up
Introduction: Every year during the NCAA Tournament I keep a “key” bracket, filling in the correct results as the Dance goes along. On the back of this “key” bracket, I always keep track of things like seed records, conference records, spreads, margin of victory, etc. When the tournament ends I put my brackets and the key and the notes in a drawer somewhere and move on to other things. This year I was determined to put all of that note keeping to good use. This entry is the result. I am tempted to go back and make similar entries for the past 5 or 6 tournaments, but that probably won’t end up happening.
Anyway, a lot of this is just raw data, and it might actually be really boring to many people. But if you can get through some of the repetitiveness of the first few sections, there is some more interesting stuff ahead. At the very least you should scroll down to the end of this entry and read some of the notes.
Conference Breakdown
Bids into Field of 68
Big East: 11
Big Ten: 7
Big XII: 5
SEC: 5
ACC: 4
Pac-10: 4
A-10: 3
CAA: 3
MWC: 3
C-USA: 2
AmerEast: 1
A-Sun: 1
Big Sky: 1
Big South: 1
Big West: 1
Horizon: 1
Ivy: 1
MAAC: 1
MAC: 1
MEAC: 1
MVC: 1
NE: 1
OVC: 1
Patriot: 1
SoCon: 1
Southland: 1
SWAC: 1
Summit: 1
SBC: 1
WCC: 1
WAC: 1
BCS: 36 (from 6)
Non-BCS: 32 (from 25)
High Major: 48 (from 13)
Mid Major: 7 (from 5)
Low Major: 13 (from 13)
Multi-Bid: 47 (from 10)
Single-Bid: 21 (from 21)
Play-In
ACC: 0(1)-0
Big South: 0(1)-0
Southland: 0(1)-0
CAA: 0(1)-0
SBC: 0-1
C-USA: 0-1
SWAC: 0-1
Pac-10: 0-1
1st Round (and Play-In)
OVC: 1-0
Horizon: 1-0
WCC: 1-0
ACC: 3(4)-1
Pac-10: 3-1
Big Ten: 5-2
A-10: 2-1
CAA: 2(3)-1
MWC: 2-1
Big East: 7-4
Big XII: 3-2
SEC: 2-3
AmerEast: 0-1
A-Sun: 0-1
Big Sky: 0-1
Big South: 0(1)-1
Big West: 0-1
Ivy: 0-1
MAAC: 0-1
MAC: 0-1
MEAC: 0-1
MVC: 0-1
NE: 0-1
Patriot: 0-1
SoCon: 0-1
Southland: 0(1)-1
SWAC: 0-1
Summit: 0-1
SBC: 0-1
WAC: 0-1
C-USA: 0-2
BCS: 23(24)-13
Non-BCS: 9(12)-23
High Major: 27(28)-21
Mid Major: 4(5)-3
Low Major: 1(3)-12
Multi-Bid: 29(31)-18
Single-Bid: 3(5)-18
Into 2nd Round
Big East: 7 (of 11)
Big Ten: 5 (of 7)
ACC: 3 (of 4)
Pac-10: 3 (of 4)
Big XII: 3 (of 5)
A-10: 2 (of 3)
MWC: 2 (of 3)
CAA: 2 (of 3)
SEC: 2 (of 5)
OVC: 1 (of 1)
Horizon: 1 (of 1)
WCC: 1 (of 1)
C-USA: 0 (of 2)
Rest: 0 (of 18)
BCS: 23 (of 36)
Non-BCS: 9 (of 32)
High Major: 27 (of 48)
Mid Major: 4 (of 7)
Low Major: 1 (of 13)
Multi-Bid: 29 (of 47)
Single-Bid: 3 (of 21)
2nd Round
ACC: 3-0
SEC: 2-0
MWC: 2-0
Horizon: 1-0
A-10: 1-1
CAA: 1-1
Big Ten: 2-3
Big XII: 1-2
Pac-10: 1-2
Big East: 2-5
OVC: 0-1
WCC: 0-1
BCS: 11-12
Non-BCS: 5-4
High Major: 14-13
Mid Major: 2-2
Low Major: 0-1
Multi-Bid: 15-14
Single-Bid: 1-2
Through 2nd Round
Horizon: 2-0
ACC: 6(7)-1
MWC: 4-1
A-10: 3-2
CAA: 3(4)-2
Big Ten: 7-5
SEC: 4-3
Pac-10: 4-3
Big East: 9-9
Big XII: 4-4
OVC: 1-1
WCC: 1-1
C-USA: 0-2
Rest: 0(2)-18
BCS: 34(36)-25
Non-BCS: 14(16)-27
High Major: 41(42)-34
Mid Major: 6(7)-5
Low Major: 1(3)-13
Multi-Bid: 44(46)-32
Single-Bid: 4(6)-20
Into Sweet 16
ACC: 3 (of 4)
MWC: 2 (of 3)
SEC: 2 (of 5)
Big Ten: 2 (of 7)
Big East: 2 (of 11)
Horizon: 1 (of 1)
A-10: 1 (of 3)
CAA: 1 (of 3)
Pac-10: 1 (of 4)
Big XII: 1 (of 5)
C-USA: 0 (of 2)
Rest: 0 (of 20)
BCS: 11 (of 36)
Non-BCS: 5 (of 32)
High Major: 14 (of 48)
Mid Major: 2 (of 7)
Low Major: 0 (of 13)
Multi-Bid: 15 (of 47)
Single-Bid: 1 (of 21)
3rd Round
SEC: 2-0
Horizon: 1-0
CAA: 1-0
Big XII: 1-0
Pac-10: 1-0
Big East: 1-1
ACC: 1-2
A-10: 0-1
MWC: 0-2
Big Ten: 0-2
BCS: 6-5
Non-BCS: 2-3
High Major: 6-8
Mid Major: 2-0
Multi-Bid: 7-8
Single-Bid: 1-0
Through 3rd Round
Horizon: 3-0
ACC: 7(8)-3
SEC: 6-3
CAA: 4(5)-2
Pac-10: 5-3
MWC: 4-3
Big XII: 5-4
Big East: 10-10
Big Ten: 7-7
A-10: 3-3
OVC: 1-1
WCC: 1-1
C-USA: 0-2
Rest: 0(2)-18
BCS: 40(42)-30
Non-BCS: 16(18)-30
High Major: 47(48)-42
Mid Major: 8(9)-5
Low Major: 1(3)-13
Multi-Bid: 51(53)-40
Single-Bid: 5(7)-20
Into Elite Eight
SEC: 2 (of 5)
Horizon: 1 (of 1)
CAA: 1 (of 3)
ACC: 1 (of 4)
Pac-10: 1 (of 4)
Big XII: 1 (of 5)
Big East: 1 (of 11)
Big Ten: 0 (of 7)
A-10: 0 (of 3)
MWC: 0 (of 3)
C-USA: 0 (of 2)
Rest: 0 (of 20)
BCS: 6 (of 36)
Non-BCS: 2 (of 32)
High Major: 6 (of 48)
Mid Major: 2 (of 7)
Low Major: 0 (of 13)
Multi-Bid: 7 (of 47)
Single-Bid: 1 (of 21)
4th Round
Big East: 1-0
CAA: 1-0
Horizon: 1-0
SEC: 1-1
ACC: 0-1
Pac-10: 0-1
Big XII: 0-1
BCS: 2-4
Non-BCS: 2-0
High Major: 2-4
Mid Major: 2-0
Multi-Bid: 3-4
Single-Bid: 1-0
Through 4th Round
Horizon: 4-0
CAA: 5(6)-2
ACC: 7(8)-4
SEC: 7-4
MWC: 4-3
Pac-10: 5-4
Big East: 11-10
Big Ten: 7-7
Big XII: 5-5
A-10: 3-3
OVC: 1-1
WCC: 1-1
C-USA: 0-2
Rest: 0(2)-18
BCS: 42(44)-34
Non-BCS: 18(20)-30
High Major: 49(50)-46
Mid Major: 10(11)-5
Low Major: 1(3)-13
Multi-Bid: 54(56)-44
Single-Bid: 6(8)-20
Into Final Four
Horizon: 1 (of 1)
CAA: 1 (of 3)
SEC: 1 (of 5)
Big East: 1 (of 11)
Big Ten: 0 (of 7)
Big XII: 0 (of 5)
ACC: 0 (of 4)
Pac-10: 0 (of 4)
A-10: 0 (of 3)
MWC: 0 (of 3)
C-USA: 0 (of 2)
Rest: 0 (of 20)
BCS: 2 (of 36)
Non-BCS: 2 (of 32)
High Major: 2 (of 48)
Mid Major: 2 (of 7)
Low Major: 0 (of 13)
Multi-Bid: 3 (of 47)
Single-Bid: 1 (of 21)
5th Round
Big East: 1-0
Horizon: 1-0
SEC: 0-1
CAA: 0-1
BCS: 1-1
Non-BCS: 1-1
High Major: 1-1
Mid Major: 1-1
Multi-Bid: 1-2
Single-Bid: 1-0
Through 5th Round
Horizon: 5-0
ACC: 7(8)-4
CAA: 5(6)-3
SEC: 7-5
MWC: 4-3
Pac-10: 5-4
Big East: 12-10
Big Ten: 7-7
Big XII: 5-5
A-10: 3-3
OVC: 1-1
WCC: 1-1
C-USA: 0-2
Rest: 0(2)-18
BCS: 43(45)-35
Non-BCS: 19(21)-31
High Major: 50(51)-47
Mid Major: 11(12)-6
Low Major: 1(3)-13
Multi-Bid: 55(57)-46
Single-Bid: 7(9)-20
Into Championship Game
Horizon: 1 (of 1)
Big East: 1 (of 11)
Big Ten: 0 (of 7)
Big XII: 0 (of 5)
SEC: 0 (of 5)
ACC: 0 (of 4)
Pac-10: 0 (of 4)
A-10: 0 (of 3)
MWC: 0 (of 3)
CAA: 0 (of 3)
C-USA: 0 (of 2)
Rest: 0 (of 20)
BCS: 1 (of 36)
Non-BCS: 1 (of 32)
High Major: 1 (of 48)
Mid Major: 1 (of 7)
Low Major: 0 (of 13)
Multi-Bid: 1 (of 47)
Single-Bid: 1 (of 21)
6th Round
Big East: 1-0
Horizon: 0-1
BCS: 1-0
Non-BCS: 0-1
High Major: 1-0
Mid Major: 0-1
Multi-Bid: 1-0
Single-Bid: 0-1
Through 6th Round
Horizon: 5-1
ACC: 7(8)-4
CAA: 5(6)-3
SEC: 7-5
MWC: 4-3
Big East: 13-10
Pac-10: 5-4
Big Ten: 7-7
Big XII: 5-5
A-10: 3-3
OVC: 1-1
WCC: 1-1
C-USA: 0-2
Rest: 0(2)-18
BCS: 44(46)-35
Non-BCS: 19(21)-32
High Major: 51(52)-47
Mid Major: 11(12)-7
Low Major: 1(3)-13
Multi-Bid: 56(58)-46
Single-Bid: 7(9)-21
Champion
Big East: 1 (of 11)
Big Ten: 0 (of 7)
Big XII: 0 (of 5)
SEC: 0 (of 5)
ACC: 0 (of 4)
Pac-10: 0 (of 4)
A-10: 0 (of 3)
MWC: 0 (of 3)
CAA: 0 (of 3)
C-USA: 0 (of 2)
Rest: 0 (of 21)
BCS: 1 (of 36)
Non-BCS: 0 (of 32)
High Major: 1 (of 48)
Mid Major: 0 (of 7)
Low Major: 0 (of 13)
Multi-Bid: 1 (of 47)
Single-Bid: 0 (of 21)
Seeds Breakdown
1st Round
#1: 4-0
#2: 4-0
#3: 4-0
#4: 3-1
#5: 3-1
#6: 1-3
#7: 3-1
#8: 3-1
#9: 1-3
#10: 1-3
#11: 3-1
#12: 1-3
#13: 1-3
#14: 0-4
#15: 0-4
#16: 0-4
#1-3: 12-0
#1-5: 18-2
#1-8: 25-7
#9-13: 7-13
#14-16: 0-12
#9-16: 7-25
Into 2nd Round
#1: 4/4
#2: 4/4
#3: 4/4
#4: 3/4
#5: 3/4
#6: 1/4
#7: 3/4
#8: 3/4
#9: 1/4
#10: 1/4
#11: 3/4
#12: 1/4
#13: 1/4
#14: 0/4
#15: 0/4
#16: 0/4
#1-3: 12/12
#1-5: 18/20
#1-8: 25/32
#9-13: 7/20
#14-16: 0/12
#9-16: 7/32
2nd Round
#1: 3-1
#2: 3-1
#3: 2-2
#4: 2-1
#5: 1-2
#6: 0-1
#7: 0-3
#8: 1-2
#9: 0-1
#10: 1-0
#11: 2-1
#12: 1-0
#13: 0-1
#1-4: 10-5
#5-8: 2-8
#9-12: 4-2
#13-16: 0-1
Through 2nd Round
#1: 7-1
#2: 7-1
#3: 6-2
#4: 5-2
#5: 4-3
#6: 1-4
#7: 3-4
#8: 4-3
#9: 1-4
#10: 2-3
#11: 5-2
#12: 2-3
#13: 1-4
#14: 0-4
#15: 0-4
#16: 0-4
#1-4: 25-6
#5-8: 12-14
#9-12: 10-12
#13-16: 1-16
Into Sweet Sixteen
#1: 3/4
#2: 3/4
#3: 2/4
#4: 2/4
#5: 1/4
#6: 0/4
#7: 0/4
#8: 1/4
#9: 0/4
#10: 1/4
#11: 2/4
#12: 1/4
#13: 0/4
#14: 0/4
#15: 0/4
#16: 0/4
#1-4: 10/16
#5-8: 2/16
#9-12: 4/16
#13-16: 0/16
3rd Round
#1: 1-2
#2: 2-1
#3: 1-1
#4: 1-1
#5: 1-0
#8: 1-0
#10: 0-1
#11: 1-1
#12: 0-1
#1-2: 3-3
#3-4: 2-2
#5-8: 2-0
#10-12: 1-3
Through 3rd Round
#1: 8-3
#2: 9-2
#3: 7-3
#4: 6-3
#5: 5-3
#6: 1-4
#7: 3-4
#8: 5-3
#9: 1-4
#10: 2-4
#11: 6-3
#12: 2-4
#13: 1-4
#14: 0-4
#15: 0-4
#16: 0-4
#1-2: 17-5
#3-4: 13-6
#5-6: 6-7
#7-8: 8-7
#9-10: 3-8
#11-12: 8-7
#13-14: 1-8
#15-16: 0-8
Into Elite Eight
#1: 1/4
#2: 2/4
#3: 1/4
#4: 1/4
#5: 1/4
#6: 0/4
#7: 0/4
#8: 1/4
#9: 0/4
#10: 0/4
#11: 1/4
#12: 0/4
#13: 0/4
#14: 0/4
#15: 0/4
#16: 0/4
#1-4: 5/16
#5-8: 2/16
#9-12: 1/16
#13-16: 0/16
4th Round
#1: 0-1
#2: 0-2
#3: 1-0
#4: 1-0
#5: 0-1
#8: 1-0
#11: 1-0
#1-2: 0-3
#3-4: 2-0
#5-11: 2-1
Through 4th Round
#1: 8-4
#2: 9-4
#3: 8-3
#4: 7-3
#5: 5-4
#6: 1-4
#7: 3-4
#8: 6-3
#9: 1-4
#10: 2-4
#11: 7-3
#12: 2-4
#13: 1-4
#14: 0-4
#15: 0-4
#16: 0-4
#1-2: 17-8
#3-4: 15-6
#5-6: 6-8
#7-8: 9-7
#9-10: 3-8
#11-12: 9-7
#13-14: 1-8
#15-16: 0-8
Into Final Four
#1: 0/4
#2: 0/4
#3: 1/4
#4: 1/4
#5: 0/4
#6: 0/4
#7: 0/4
#8: 1/4
#9: 0/4
#10: 0/4
#11: 1/4
#12: 0/4
#13: 0/4
#14: 0/4
#15: 0/4
#16: 0/4
#1-4: 2/16
#5-8: 1/16
#9-12: 1/16
#13-16: 0/16
5th Round
#3: 1-0
#4: 0-1
#8: 1-0
#11: 0-1
Through 5th Round
#1: 8-4
#2: 9-4
#3: 9-3
#4: 7-4
#5: 5-4
#6: 1-4
#7: 3-4
#8: 7-3
#9: 1-4
#10: 2-4
#11: 7-4
#12: 2-4
#13: 1-4
#14: 0-4
#15: 0-4
#16: 0-4
#1-2: 17-8
#3-4: 16-7
#5-6: 6-8
#7-8: 10-7
#9-10: 3-8
#11-12: 9-8
#13-14: 1-8
#15-16: 0-8
Into Championship Game
#1: 0/4
#2: 0/4
#3: 1/4
#4: 0/4
#5: 0/4
#6: 0/4
#7: 0/4
#8: 1/4
#9: 0/4
#10: 0/4
#11: 0/4
#12: 0/4
#13: 0/4
#14: 0/4
#15: 0/4
#16: 0/4
#1-4: 1/16
#5-8: 1/16
#9-12: 0/16
#13-16: 0/16
6th Round
#3: 1-0
#8: 0-1
Through 6th Round
#1: 8-4
#2: 9-4
#3: 10-3
#4: 7-4
#5: 5-4
#6: 1-4
#7: 3-4
#8: 7-4
#9: 1-4
#10: 2-4
#11: 7-4
#12: 2-4
#13: 1-4
#14: 0-4
#15: 0-4
#16: 0-4
#1-2: 17-8
#3-4: 17-7
#5-6: 6-8
#7-8: 10-8
#9-10: 3-8
#11-12: 9-8
#13-14: 1-8
#15-16: 0-8
Champion
#1: 0/4
#2: 0/4
#3: 1/4
#4: 0/4
#5: 0/4
#6: 0/4
#7: 0/4
#8: 0/4
#9: 0/4
#10: 0/4
#11: 0/4
#12: 0/4
#13: 0/4
#14: 0/4
#15: 0/4
#16: 0/4
#1-4: 1/16
#5-8: 0/16
#9-12: 0/16
#13-16: 0/16
Favorites Breakdown
Play-In Round
Favorites: 3-1
ATS: 2-1-1
1st Round
Favorites: 24-8
ATS: 13-19
Through 1st Round
Favorites: 27-9
ATS: 15-20-1
2nd Round
Favorites: 11-5
ATS: 9-7
Through 2nd Round
Favorites: 38-14
ATS: 24-27-1
3rd Round
Favorites: 3-5
ATS: 3-5
Trough 3rd Round
Favorites: 41-19
ATS: 27-32-1
4th Round
Favorites: 2-2
ATS: 1-3
Through 4th Round
Favorites: 43-21
ATS: 28-35-1
5th Round
Favorites: 1-1
ATS: 1-1
Through 5th Round
Favorites: 44-22
ATS: 29-36-1
6th Round
Favorites: 1-0
ATS: 1-0
Through 6th Round
Favorites: 45-22
ATS: 30-36-1
Upset Wins Breakdown (+4 or more)
Play-In Round
VCU (+4)
1st Round
Morehead State (+9)
VCU (+5.5)
2nd Round
VCU (+9.5)
Butler (+8)
Arizona (+5.5)
Marquette (+4.5)
Florida State (+4.5)
3rd Round
Arizona (+9.5)
Kentucky (+5.5)
VCU (+4.5)
Butler (+4.5)
4th Round
VCU (+11.5)
Total
VCU-4th (+11.5)
Arizona-3rd (+9.5)
VCU-2nd (+9.5)
Morehead State-1st (+9)
Butler-2nd (+8)
VCU-1st (+5.5)
Arizona-2nd (+5.5)
Kentucky-3rd (+5.5)
Marquette-2nd (+4.5)
Florida State-2nd (+4.5)
VCU-3rd (+4.5)
Butler-3rd (+4.5)
VCU-Play (+4)
Biggest Covers by Favorites (+10 or more)
Play-In Round
Clemson (+13.5)
1st Round
Michigan (+29)
Duke (+17.5)
Florida (+15.5)
Cincinnati (+14)
Gonzaga (+14)
2nd Round
BYU (+21)
Ohio State (+20.5)
Richmond (+12.5)
3rd Round
UNC (+14.5)
Kansas (+10)
Total
Michigan-1st (+29)
BYU-2nd (+21)
Ohio State-2nd (+20.5)
Duke-1st (+17.5)
Florida-1st (+15.5)
UNC-3rd (+14.5)
Cincinnati-1st (+14)
Gonzaga-1st (+14)
Clemson-Play (+13.5)
Richmond-2nd (+12.5)
Kansas-3rd (+10)
Biggest Covers by Underdogs (+10 or more)
Play-In Round
VCU (+17)
1st Round
VCU (+23.5)
Illinois (+13)
Marquette (+12)
Princeton (+10.5, lost game)
Morehead State (+10)
2nd Round
VCU (+27.5)
Florida State (+18.5)
Michigan (+10.5, lost game)
3rd Round
Arizona (+25.5)
Butler (+11.5)
4th Round
VCU (+21.5)
Total
VCU-2nd (+27.5)
Arizona-3rd (+25.5)
VCU-1st (+23.5)
VCU-4th (+21.5)
Florida State-2nd (+18.5)
VCU-Play (+17)
Illinois-1st (+13)
Marquette-1st (+12)
Butler-3rd (+11.5)
Princeton-1st (+10.5, lost game)
Michgian-2nd (+10.5, lost game)
Morehead State-1st (+10)
Margins Breakdown
Play-In Round (Average: 11)
Clemson (18)
VCU (13)
UTSA (9)
UNCA (4) (OT)
1st Round (Average: 13.2)
Duke (42)
Michigan (30)
Ohio State (29)
Connecticut (29)
Florida (28)
Pittsburgh (23)
Purdue (22)
Kansas (19)
San Diego State (18)
VCU (18)
Syracuse (17)
North Carolina (15)
Cincinnati (15)
Gonzaga (15)
Wisconsin (14)
Notre Dame (13)
Marquette (11)
Illinois (11)
BYU (8)
West Virginia (8)
Florida State (7)
Kansas State (5)
George Mason (4)
Texas (4)
Washington (3)
Richmond (3)
Kentucky (2)
Arizona (2)
Temple (2)
Butler (2)
UCLA (2)
Morehead State (1)
2nd Round (Average: 10.4)
Ohio State (32)
BYU (22)
VCU (18)
Richmond (17)
Kansas (14)
Florida State (14)
Connecticut (11)
Kentucky (8)
Florida (8)
San Diego State (7) (OT)
Wisconsin (5)
Marquette (4)
North Carolina (3)
Duke (2)
Arizona (1)
Butler (1)
3rd Round (Average: 10)
Kansas (20)
North Carolina (18)
Arizona (16)
Florida (9) (OT)
Connecticut (7)
Butler (7)
Kentucky (2)
VCU (1) (OT)
4th Round (Average: 5.5)
VCU (10)
Kentucky (7)
Butler (3) (OT)
Connecticut (2)
5th Round (Average: 4.5)
Butler (8)
Connecticut (1)
6th Round (Average: 12)
Connecticut (12)
Total (Average: 11.28)
Duke-1st (42)
Ohio State-2nd (32)
Michigan-1st (30)
Ohio State-1st (29)
Connecticut-1st (29)
Florida-1st (28)
Pittsburgh-1st (23)
Purdue-1st (22)
BYU-2nd (22)
Kansas-3rd (20)
Kansas-1st (19)
Clemson-Play (18)
San Diego State-1st (18)
VCU-1st (18)
VCU-2nd (18)
North Carolina-3rd (18)
Syracuse-1st (17)
Richmond-2nd (17)
Arizona-3rd (16)
North Carolina-1st (15)
Cincinnati-1st (15)
Gonzaga-1st (15)
Wisconsin-1st (14)
Kansas-2nd (14)
Florida State-2nd (14)
VCU-Play (13)
Notre Dame-1st (13)
Connecticut-6th (12)
Marquette-1st (11)
Illinois-1st (11)
Connecticut-2nd (11)
VCU-4th (10)
UTSA-Play (9)
Florida-3rd (9) (OT)
BYU-1st (8)
West Virginia-1st (8)
Kentucky-2nd (8)
Florida-2nd (8)
Butler-5th (8)
Florida State-1st (7)
San Diego State-2nd (7) (OT-II)
Connecticut-3rd (7)
Butler-3rd (7)
Kentucky-4th (7)
Kansas State-1st (5)
Wisconsin-2nd (5)
UNCA-Play (4) (OT)
George Mason-1st (4)
Texas-1st (4)
Marquette-2nd (4)
Washington-1st (3)
Richmond-1st (3)
North Carolina-2nd (3)
Butler-4th (3) (OT)
Kentucky-1st (2)
Arizona-1st (2)
Temple-1st (2)
Butler-1st (2)
UCLA-1st (2)
Duke-2nd (2)
Kentucky-3rd (2)
Connecticut-4th (2)
Morehead State-1st (1)
Arizona-2nd (1)
Butler-2nd (1)
VCU-3rd (1) (OT)
Connecticut-5th (1)
Close Game Breakdown
67 total games
5 OT games (1 double OT)
35 games decided by single digits
23 games decided by 5 points or less
17 games decided by 3 points or less
13 games decided by 2 points or less
5 games decided by 1 point
This March Madness Was So Mad (How Mad Was It?)
· 6 double digit seed winners in Round 1.
· 5 seeds #8 or higher win in Round 2.
· #4, #5, #8, #11 seeds in Elite Eight.
· Seed sum of 36 in Elite Eight.
· #3, #4, #8, #11 seeds in Final Four (seed sum of 26).
· #3 and #8 seeds meet in championship game (seed sum of 11).
· #3 seed wins tournament.
· No #1 or #2 seeds in Final Four.
· Just 3 #1 seeds in Sweet 16, 1 in Elite Eight, none in Final Four.
· Just 3 #2 seeds in Sweet 16, 2 in Elite Eight, none in Final Four.
· Kentucky reached Final Four after having 5 players drafted in 1st round of previous NBA draft.
· Connecticut won 6 games to win the NCAA Tournament after winning 5 games to win the Big East Tournament.
· Butler reached the National Championship Game for the 2nd year in a row, despite losing best player from previous year’s squad to early entry in NBA draft, and making the tournament as a #8 seed.
· VCU had to win play-in game against USC just to get into the field of 64 as a #11 seed with 11 losses, and then won 4 more games to reach the Final Four.
· Final Four teams had combined 37 losses in regular season. Both of the teams in Championship Game had 9 regular season losses.
· Ohio State, who had lost only 2 games all season, lost in the regional semifinals to a Kentucky team with 8 losses, who had beaten Princeton by two points in Round 1.
· Kansas, who had lost only 2 games all season, lost in the regional finals by 10 points to a VCU team with 11 losses, who had finished 4th in CAA and hadn’t won their conference tournament.
· Duke, who went 30-4 in the regular season, won the ACC Tournament, and was a #1 seed, lost to a #5 seed Arizona team by 16 points in the regional semifinals.
· Pittsburgh, who went 15-3 in conference play during a season in which the Big East put 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament, lost in the 2nd round as a #1 seed to a Butler team that lost 5 games in the Horizon League.
· The Big East placed 11 teams in the field of 64, but they placed the same number of teams in the Sweet Sixteen (2) as the city of Richmond, Virginia.
· Despite 10 of the 11 Big East teams being eliminated in the first 3 rounds, their only team to make the Elite Eight ended up winning the tournament.
· 1 of the 2 Big East teams to make the Sweet Sixteen was #11 seed Villanova, the highest seeded Big East team.
· Notre Dame, who had lost only 6 games all season, lost in Chicago by 14 points in the 2nd round to an FSU team that came into the tournament with 5 losses in their last 11 games.
· The 3rd most lopsided game of the entire tournament (30 points) was an #8 vs. #9 matchup.
· A pair of mid-major teams seeded #8 and #11 faced off against each other in the Final Four.
· In the National Championship Game, Butler went 12 for 64 from the field to shoot 18.8%, the worst in Championship Game history, the 3rd worst in NCAA Tournament history, and the worst in any tournament game since 1946. Their 12 field goals tied Oklahoma State’s record low from 1949.
· Butler was 3 for 31 (9.7%) on 2-point shots. Their three 2-point field goals were 6 fewer than any other team in the Championship Game.
· During one stretch in the 2nd half, Butler made only 1 basket over 13:26. They missed their first 21 shots from the paint, and scored only 2 points in the paint in the game. UConn tied their own record with 10 blocked shots.
· Butler’s 41 points were 10 fewer than previous worst in National Championship Game during shot clock era. Fewest points in NCG since Ok State scored 36 points in 1949.
· UConn’s 51 points were fewest for any National Champ since Kentucky scored 46 in 1949. The Huskies shot just 34.5%, including 1 for 11 from 3-point range (tying record for 3-point futility in NCG), yet they won by 12 points.
· The 94 combined points was lowest total in NCG since 1950.
· Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard combined to shoot 5 for 28. 7ft center Andrew Smith was somehow 2 for 9, almost exclusively on layups. The Butler bench combined to go 0 for 6. The Bulldogs were just 8 for 14 from the free-throw line (57.1%).
· Of more than 5.9 million brackets entered in the ESPN tournament challenge, only 2 picked all 4 Final Four teams. Only 1,093 had 3 of 4 Final Four teams. Just 2.1% had 2 of the 4 Final Four teams. 70.3% of brackets had zero Final Four teams correct.
· 0.6% had Butler in the Final Four. 0.1% had VCU in the Final Four. 192 entries had Butler vs. VCU in the Final Four.
· 1.9% had Kentucky vs. UConn in the Final Four.
· 23.1% had Connecticut in the Final Four. 8.0% had Kentucky in the Final Four.
· 9.48% had 1 of 2 NCG teams correct. Just 881 brackets had both teams correct.
· 9.3% had UConn in the NCG game; 4.7% had UConn winning it all. Only 11,326 brackets had Butler in the NCG game.
· Of the 14 so-called “experts” on ESPN.com, 12 had none of the Final Four teams correct. None of the 14 had more than 1 Final Four teams correct.
The Three Teams We’ll Remember Most
VCU: The Rams lost to Northeastern (6-12 in CAA, 11-20 overall) by 11 points on February 2nd. On Selection Sunday they were 23-11, having lost 6 of their last 11 games, finishing 4th in the CAA, and losing in the conference tournament championship game. They would get into the Field of 68 out of nowhere. Along with UAB, the Rams were singled out as undeserving of an NCAA bid. Regardless of what VCU did in the tournament, the fact still remains that they had absolutely no business making it to the Dance.
But they got a gift and made the most of their opportunity, winning a play-in game to get into the field of 64, and then winning 4 more games to reach the Final Four. Their run was simply mindboggling. They beat USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas, going 5-0 against teams from BCS conferences.
VCU was an underdog in all 6 of their tournament games. They went 5-1 (5-1 ATS). The Rams pulled off 5 upsets when they were at least 4-point dogs (+4, +4.5, +5.5, +9.5, +11.5). Most amazingly of all, they didn’t just squeak by; they buried their opponents. VCU covered by 17, 23.5, 27.5, 5.5, and 21.5 in their 5 NCAA Tournament upsets. After subtracting 4.5 from their loss to Butler in the Final Four, VCU ended up +90.5 ATS over the course of their 6 tournament games.
Butler: The Bulldogs lost to Youngstown State (2-16 in Horizon, 9-21 overall) on February 3rd. They would then win 14 straight before falling again in the NCG. During their run to the title game, Butler defeated ODU, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Florida, and VCU. They went 5-1 ATS in the tournament, going 4-1 as underdogs. They were 1-0 as a favorite. They pulled off 4 upsets (+1, +8, +4.5, +3.5). They were +34.5 ATS prior to the NCG. They ended up +25.5 ATS.
Connecticut: UConn finished the regular season 9-9 in conference play, having lost 7 of their final 11 games. They then won 5 games over 5 days at Madison Square Garden to win the Big East Tournament. Then they won 6 NCAA Tourney games over roughly 3 weeks. During their 11 game win streak from March 8th to April 4th, the Huskies defeated Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Louisville, Cincinnati, San Diego State, Arizona, Kentucky, and Butler. They were 5-1 ATS in the NCAA Tournament.
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