Alamodome, San Antonio
It happened. It, as in, the impossible. Sure, you can say it was inevitable, but I've been on this planet 50 years and the thought of a 16 beating a 1 was nothing ever more than a joke. A fantasy. Until now. I've always tried to put such a thing into perspective and I've wondered, would Portland State ever beat a 1-seed? Ever? Maybe. I imagine them playing an overrated Big East team or a 1-seed (from an inferior conference) like Wichita State or VCU. Maybe it could happen. And now that Virginia's lost, everyone's been talking about it like they weren't surprised. The only thing you can say is Virginia's defensive-oriented style makes them susceptible to an upset, because they play down to the level of their opponent and they aren't explosive offensively, but nobody expected a 16-seed to pummel em. The Cavaliers were horrible in this game. I kept thinking, there's no way they're going to lose, but at the same time, I kept wondering how were they going to overcome this deficit. And they didn't.
The answer to the most googled question is University of Maryland, Baltimore County.  |
Loyola last danced in 1985 where they lost to Georgetown in the S16. The last time they reached the Final 4 was 1963 when they actually won it all. They're back and now this 11-seed has reached the final 4 after beating Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and Kansas St. However, the buck stopped there when they couldn't get past Michigan.
 Remember Krutwig? Big, savvy post-player  Donte Ingram hits buzzer-beater vs Canes   Sister Jean   |
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The Seminoles received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after finishing the 2017-18 season in a tie for eighth place. In the Sweet 16, they put their defense on display and trounced 4-seeded Gonzaga 75-60. Terance Mann (#14 - 2nd pic) scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and the Seminoles outscored the Bulldogs' bench 30-6. |
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| Brunson is a floor general, excelling in every aspect of the game. He's the first Villanova player to win the Naismith and Wooden awards. He averaged 19 pts, 5 assists, and 3 boards, while shooting 53% from the floor, 41% downtown, and 81% from the charity stripe. To top off his magnificent season, he guided Villanova to a National Championship. Of course he had a great team around him, but he was the catalyst. |
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Coach Jay Wright, Villanova While there are coaches out there that are known for running certain types of offenses, Jay is more-so known for building a specific basketball DNA at Nova. He's always wanted talented kids who know how to win, which is reflected in recruits such as Arcidiacono, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson and more. Villanova's always had a pretty successful basketball program, but it was the Rollie Massamino era that truly put them on the map, because it was 1985 when they won the infamous National Championship game over Georgetown. An 8-seed over a 1. Jay's been the Head Coach since 2001 and in the first 3 years, they went to the NIT. Since then, Villanova's danced every year but 1, they've reached the Final 4 three times and won 2 championships in the last 3 years. He's the first Nova coach to win 2 National Championships. Update: Coach Wright retired after the 2022 season, which was the 4th time they reached the Final 4 (and the last time Villanova's made it to the tournament (as of 2024)). |
| Coach John Beilein, Michigan His coaching career spans nearly 5 decades and he's been with Michigan since 2007. He rebuilt the team that year and in 2008 they made the NCAA tournament. In fact, Michigan's danced in 8 of his 11 years. In 2013, they won 31 games and reached the finals. This year 33 wins and reached the finals. He won an NIT championship in his final year with West Virginia, but an NCAA championship eludes him. His teams are mostly known for a Princeton style offense in which they open the floor, there's a lot of motion, cuts, and finding the open man. Update: After 2019 he was hired to coach the Cavs, but resigned before the season ended. He's working with the Pistons now (2024). |
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Coach Porter Moser, Loyola-Chicago He played ball with Creighton in the late 80s and the school hired him as an assistant when his career was over. He's been an asst coach at many schools and now been the head coach of Loyola Chicao since 2011. In his 4th year, they won the CBI tournament. So this is the first time getting Loyola into the NCAA tournament. Loyola did win the National Championship back in '63 and the last time they danced was 1985. Loyola reached the Final 4 after beating Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and K-State. Update: Moser signed a 6-year contract with Oklahoma in 2021 |
| Coach Bill Self, Kansas Bill began his coaching career as an assistant at Kansas back in '85. He head coached other schools until 03, when he took over or Roy Williams. The knock on Coach Self has been that he's only brought 1 title to Kansas in 15 years, yet Kansas has been in the NCAA tournament every year he's been there. Roy Williams didn't win a championship in his 15 years there, so I guess fans' expectations are high. Anxious. Still, the Jayhawks have won the Big 12 title 13 years in a row. He's got the Jayhawks to the championship game twice, won in 2008, reached the F4 this year, been to the Elite 8 five other times. Larry Brown has said Bill Self is one of the best coaches in the game. He gets his players to buy in by reinforcing their strengths. He builds teams that can rebound, play defense, play hard, play smart, and have fun; principles that the great Dean Smith stressed upon kids himself. Kansas is always competitive, nearly always on top of the Big 12, and they're always a threat to win it all. That some of why Bill Self was signed to a lifetime contract with Kansas and he's been elected into the Hall of Fame (just last year). |
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