Gonzaga
became the first school to advance to regional semifinals in three consecutive
campaigns despite having a double-digit seed each year. Prior to the Zags'
streak, LSU had been the only "double trouble" school to advance to regional
semifinals in back-to-back seasons with double-digit seeded teams (1986 and
1987).
NCAA tournament seedings can be misleading. Just ask Temple coach John
Chaney, who has had four of his Owl teams eliminated by a double-digit seeded
opponent after bowing to #10 seed Seton Hall in overtime in the 2000 East
Regional.
Chaney, a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters, might need to resort to
focusing on the Trotters' humor to get his mind off the frustration of becoming
the only coach to win more than 20 playoff games without ever reaching the Final
Four. The wheel of fortune turned in Chaney's favor this year as his #11 seed
Owls defeated Top 25 teams Texas and Florida to earn a trip to Atlanta for the
South Regional semifinals.
The worst seed to capture the national title was Villanova (No. 8 in 1985).
With more bracket balance than ever before, there isn't much difference between
a No. 3 seed and a No. 14 seed.
Two years ago marked the first time in playoff history that more than three
double-digit seeded teams reached the regional semifinals. What was most
stunning were the margins of victory for #10 Gonzaga, #10 Miami (Ohio), #13
Oklahoma, #10 Purdue and #12 Southwest Missouri State in the second round
compared to the majority of other games when a double-digit seeded squad
prevailed in order to advance. Similar circumtances unfolded this year when
Temple, #10 Georgetown and #12 Gonzaga won their second-round contests by an
average of 19 points. The worst-seeded team to reach the Final Four and defeat a
top seed was No. 11 LSU. The Tigers edged No. 1 seed Kentucky (59-57) in the
1986 Southeast Regional final despite starting guard Derrick Taylor misfiring on
all nine of his shots from the floor. They had lost to the Wildcats a total of
three times during the regular season and SEC Tournament. Even before an upset
loss to #8 seed Wisconsin in the second round of the 2000 West Regional, Lute
Olson's coaching career in the last 10 years with Arizona has mixed the euphoria
of an NCAA title in 1997 with the disappointment of four playoff losses to
opponents seeded 12th or worse. The Wildcats' first-round defeat to #13 seed
Oklahoma in 1999 was nothing new. Olson incurred the indignity of three similar
"double trouble" tourney losses in four years to #14 East Tennessee State
(1992), #15 Santa Clara (1993) and #12 Ball State (1995).
Here is a look at coaches of "bottom of the bracket" seeded squads that
ignored the Division I committee's branding and exceeded expectations:
| Year--School (Regional/Coach) |
First Two NCAA Tournament Opponents |
| 1979--#9 Penn (East/Bob
Weinhauer) |
Iona (73-69) and North
Carolina(72-71) |
| 1979--#10 St. John's (East/Lou
Carnesecca) |
Temple (75-70) and
Duke(80-78) |
| 1980--#10 Lamar (West/Billy
Tubbs) |
Weber State (87-86) and OregonState
(81-77) |
| 1981--#9 St. Joseph's (Mideast/Jim
Lynam) |
Creighton (59-57) and
DePaul(49-48) |
| 1982--None |
|
| 1983--#10 Utah (West/Jerry
Pimm) |
Illinois (52-49) and UCLA
(67-61) |
| 1984--#10 Dayton (West/Don
Donoher) |
LSU (74-66) and Oklahoma
(89-85) |
| 1985--#11 Auburn (Southeast/Sonny
Smith) |
Purdue (59-58) and
Kansas(66-64) |
| 1985--#11 Boston College
(Midwest/Gary Williams) |
Texas Tech (55-53)and Duke
(74-73) |
| 1985--#12 Kentucky (West/Joe B.
Hall) |
Washington (66-58) and
UNLV(64-61) |
| 1986--#11 LSU (Southeast/Dale
Brown) |
Purdue (94-87) and Memphis
State(83-81) |
| 1986--#12 DePaul (East/Joey
Meyer) |
Virginia (72-68) and Oklahoma
(74-69) |
| 1986--#14 Cleveland State (East/Kevin
Mackey) |
Indiana (83-79) andSt. Joseph's
(75-69) |
| 1987--#10 LSU (Midwest/Dale
Brown) |
Georgia Tech (85-79) and
Temple(72-62) |
| 1987--#12 Wyoming (West/Jim
Brandenburg) |
Virginia (64-60) and
UCLA(78-68) |
| 1988--#11 Rhode Island (East/Tom
Penders) |
Missouri (87-80) and
Syracuse(97-94) |
| 1988--#13 Richmond (East/Dick
Tarrant) |
Indiana (72-69) and GeorgiaTech
(59-55) |
| 1989--#11 Minnesota (East/Clem
Haskins) |
Kansas State (86-75) and
Siena(80-67) |
| 1990--#10 Texas (Midwest/Tom
Penders) |
Georgia (100-88) and
Purdue(73-72) |
| 1990--#11 Loyola Marymount (West/Paul
Westhead) |
New Mexico State (111-92)and Michigan
(149-115) |
| 1990--#12 Ball State (West/Dick
Hunsaker) |
Oregon State (54-53) andLouisville
(62-60) |
| 1991--#10 Temple (East/John
Chaney) |
Purdue (80-63) and Richmond
(77-64) |
| 1991--#11 Connecticut (Midwest/Jim
Calhoun) |
LSU (79-62) and
Xavier(66-50) |
| 1991--#12 Eastern Michigan (East/Ben
Braun) |
Mississippi State (76-56)and Penn
State (71-68) |
| 1992--#9 Texas-El Paso (Midwest/Don
Haskins) |
Evansville (55-50) andKansas
(66-60) |
| 1992--#12 New Mexico State (West/Neil
McCarthy) |
DePaul (81-73) andSouthwestern
Louisiana (81-73) |
| 1993--#12 George Washington
(West/Mike Jarvis) |
New Mexico (82-68)and Southern
(90-80) |
| 1994--#9 Boston College (East/Jim
O'Brien) |
Washington State (67-64)and North
Carolina (75-72) |
| 1994--#10 Maryland (Midwest/Gary
Williams) |
Saint Louis (74-66) andMassachusetts
(95-87) |
| 1994--#12 Tulsa (Midwest/Tubby
Smith) |
UCLA (112-102) and OklahomaState
(82-80) |
| 1995--None |
|
| 1996--#12 Arkansas (East/Nolan
Richardson) |
Penn State (86-80) andMarquette
(65-56) |
| 1997--#10 Providence (Southeast/Pete
Gillen) |
Marquette (81-59) andDuke
(98-87) |
| 1997--#10 Texas (East/Tom
Penders) |
Wisconsin (71-58) and Coppin
State(82-81) |
| 1997--#14 Chattanooga (Southeast/Mack
McCarthy) |
Georgia (73-70) andIllinois
(75-63) |
| 1998--#10 West Virginia (West/Gale
Catlett) |
Temple (82-52) and
Cincinnati(75-74) |
| 1998--#11 Washington (East/Bob
Bender) |
Xavier (69-68) and
Richmond(81-66) |
| 1998--#13 Valparaiso (Midwest/Homer
Drew) |
Ole Miss (70-69) and FloridaState
(83-77) |
| 1999--#10 Gonzaga (West/Dan
Monson) |
Minnesota (75-63) and
Stanford(82-74) |
| 1999--#10 Miami, Ohio
(Midwest/Charlie Coles) |
Washington (59-58) andUtah
(66-58) |
| 1999--#10 Purdue (East/Gene
Keady) |
Texas (58-54) and Miami, Fla.
(73-63) |
| 1999--#12 SW Missouri State
(East/Steve Alford) |
Wisconsin (43-32)and Tennessee
(81-51) |
| 1999--#13 Oklahoma (Midwest/Kelvin
Sampson) |
Arizona (61-60) and UNCCharlotte
(85-72) |
| 2000--#10 Gonzaga (West/Mark
Few) |
Louisville (77-66) and St.
John's(82-76) |
| 2000--#10 Seton Hall (East/Tommy
Amaker) |
Oregon (72-71) and
Temple(67-65) |
| 2001--#10 Georgetown (West/Craig
Esherick) |
Arkansas (63-61) and
Hampton(76-57) |
| 2001--#12 Gonzaga (South/Mark
Few) |
Virginia (86-85) and Indiana
State(85-68) |
| 2001--#11 Temple (South/John
Chaney) |
Texas (79-65) and Florida
(75-54) |
