SWC75
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So we are in the Final Four with 13 losses. That doesn’t sound like a National Champion. How have teams with double figure losses going into the Final Four done there?
1949: Oregon State was 24-10. They’d beaten John Wooden’s first UCLA team in a “best of three” playoff for the Pacific Coast Conference championship. (Now there’s a concept!) They got crushed 30-55 by Oklahoma A&M, (State) and then lost the consolation game to Illinois 53-57. Record: 0-2
1950: Baylor was 14-11 but had won a flat SWC. They performed well but lost 66-68 to #1 Bradley and then lost the consy to NC State 41-53. Record: 0-4
1952: Santa Clara, an independent, somehow got into a 16 team tournament with a 15-10 record but beat UCLA and Wyoming before getting stomped on by eventual champion Kansas 55-74 in the FF and losing the consy to Illinois 64-67. Record: 0-6
1954: Southern California was 19-12 and Bradley was 18-12 and they were paired with each other. USC had won another best of three play-off for the Pacific Coast title but Bradley was an unranked independent who had somehow been invited to a 24 team tournament despite a 15-12 record. The Braves nipped the Trojans, 74-72 but couldn’t handle LaSalle’s Tom Gola in the final, 76-92. USC lost to Penn State 61-70 in the consy. Record: 1-8
1959: Louisville made the Final Four for the first time with a 19-10 record. They were another independent who got into the tournament with a 16-10 record, (these teams must have been the bets independents in their regions, which were sharply geographical at the time), They lost to Jerry West’s West Virginia team, 79-94 and then dropped the consy to future conference rival Cincinnati, (who had Oscar Robertson) ) 85-98. Record: 1-10
1983: Yes, we went 24 years until another team with double figure losses made it to the last dance of the Big Dance. Famously, this was Jimmy Valvano’s NC State team, featured in an ESPN “30 for 30”. They were 16-10 and 7-6 in the conference. The they blew out Wake Forest 130-89 Wake Forest in their last regular season game, only to have to play then again immediately in the opening game of the ACC tournament. They bared survived, 71-70. And went to win the tournament over Ralph Sampson’s Virginia team. Then they were down by 6 in the last minute of overtime vs. Pepperdine and Pepperdine had the ball. They somehow survived that and won in overtime and went on to beat Sampson and the Cavs again in the regional final. They then beat Georgia 67-60 in the other semifinal opposite the famed battle between Houston’s “Phi Slamma Jama” and the Louisville’s “Doctors of Dunk”. The Pack then upset Houston, (who hadn’t lost since Syracuse had beaten them in the Dome on December 11th), 54-52 on Lorenzo Charles dunk. They had a great backcourt, a middling front court and they stayed in games to give themselves a chance to win at the end. Record: 3-10
1984: Ironically, the next double figure loss team in the FF was Virginia, shorn of Sampson, in the very next year. They were 21-11, having between Syracuse and Indiana, (after they upset the last Michael Jordan UNC team) but lost in overtime to Houston, 47-49, who then lost to Georgetown for the title. There was no consolation game anymore. Record: 3-11
1985: I remember watching Villanova’s last regular season game at Pittsburgh. They were playing so badly that Rollie Massimino benched his starters Pitt shredded the reserves, 85-62. I figured that the Wildcats were going nowhere. They, too had an immediate rematch in the BET and beat Pitt 69-61. They then lost by 15 to St. John’s and were sent to play Dayton- yes, Dayton in Dayton, the first name I wrote into my bracket that year. They beat Dayton 51-49, then Michigan 59-55, then Maryland 46-43, North Carolina 56-44, then Memphis State, (as they6 were then known), 52-45 in the national semi-finals. Note that the key was on defense. Then they shot79% in the final to beat Georgetown 66-64 for the championship. Record: 5-11
1988: The third “Cinderella” team of the 80’s was a school that is normally a Prince. Kansas was racked by injuries and went a month between victories over Division 1 teams. They finished the regular season 20-10 and lost in the second round of the conference tournament to arch-rival Kansas State enter the NCAA tournament with a 21-11 record. They fought their way to the regional final where they met K-State for the fourth time that season. They’d lost, 61-72, won 64-63, and lost 54-69. But they turned it around in the Elite 8, 71-58, then beat Duke 66-59 and Oklahoma 83-79 in the final to become “Danny and the Miracles”. Record: 7-11.
2000: We had no double digit loss teams in the FF for a dozen years and then there were two: North Carolina and Wisconsin at 22-13 each. Both lost to Florida, (59-71 and champion Michigan State 41-53, respectively. No warm and fuzzy stories out of that. Record: 7-13.
2001: Maryland came in at 25-10 and played Duke for the fourth time, having lost 96-98 in OT, won 91-80 and lost 82-84 in the ACCT. Duke won for the third time 95-84. But it gave the Terps some momentum for the next year when they won it all. Record: 7-14.
2002: Indiana made a comeback in the post Knight era that turned out to be a false positive. They were 24-11 when they beat Oklahoma 73-64 in the semis and then lost to Maryland 52-64 in the final. Record: 8-15.
2011 Virginia Commonwealth entered a play-in game with USC with a 23-11 record. They won that and four more games before falling to Butler, 62-70 in the semi-finals. Record 8-16.
2014: No, it wasn’t UCONN, Kentucky entered the tournament 24-10 in a “rebuilding year”, (aren’t they all for them?) but their kids grew up fast and they were 28-10 when they beat Wisconsin 74-73 in the semis and then lost to the Huskies 54-60 in that wretched final. Record: 9-17.
2015: Michigan State emerged from the Syracuse regional with a 27-11 record but were no match for eventual champion Duke in the semis, 61-81. Record: 9-18.
So does a double digit loss team have a shot in the Final Four. Sure they do. It’s won’t be easy. But nothing good ever is.
1949: Oregon State was 24-10. They’d beaten John Wooden’s first UCLA team in a “best of three” playoff for the Pacific Coast Conference championship. (Now there’s a concept!) They got crushed 30-55 by Oklahoma A&M, (State) and then lost the consolation game to Illinois 53-57. Record: 0-2
1950: Baylor was 14-11 but had won a flat SWC. They performed well but lost 66-68 to #1 Bradley and then lost the consy to NC State 41-53. Record: 0-4
1952: Santa Clara, an independent, somehow got into a 16 team tournament with a 15-10 record but beat UCLA and Wyoming before getting stomped on by eventual champion Kansas 55-74 in the FF and losing the consy to Illinois 64-67. Record: 0-6
1954: Southern California was 19-12 and Bradley was 18-12 and they were paired with each other. USC had won another best of three play-off for the Pacific Coast title but Bradley was an unranked independent who had somehow been invited to a 24 team tournament despite a 15-12 record. The Braves nipped the Trojans, 74-72 but couldn’t handle LaSalle’s Tom Gola in the final, 76-92. USC lost to Penn State 61-70 in the consy. Record: 1-8
1959: Louisville made the Final Four for the first time with a 19-10 record. They were another independent who got into the tournament with a 16-10 record, (these teams must have been the bets independents in their regions, which were sharply geographical at the time), They lost to Jerry West’s West Virginia team, 79-94 and then dropped the consy to future conference rival Cincinnati, (who had Oscar Robertson) ) 85-98. Record: 1-10
1983: Yes, we went 24 years until another team with double figure losses made it to the last dance of the Big Dance. Famously, this was Jimmy Valvano’s NC State team, featured in an ESPN “30 for 30”. They were 16-10 and 7-6 in the conference. The they blew out Wake Forest 130-89 Wake Forest in their last regular season game, only to have to play then again immediately in the opening game of the ACC tournament. They bared survived, 71-70. And went to win the tournament over Ralph Sampson’s Virginia team. Then they were down by 6 in the last minute of overtime vs. Pepperdine and Pepperdine had the ball. They somehow survived that and won in overtime and went on to beat Sampson and the Cavs again in the regional final. They then beat Georgia 67-60 in the other semifinal opposite the famed battle between Houston’s “Phi Slamma Jama” and the Louisville’s “Doctors of Dunk”. The Pack then upset Houston, (who hadn’t lost since Syracuse had beaten them in the Dome on December 11th), 54-52 on Lorenzo Charles dunk. They had a great backcourt, a middling front court and they stayed in games to give themselves a chance to win at the end. Record: 3-10
1984: Ironically, the next double figure loss team in the FF was Virginia, shorn of Sampson, in the very next year. They were 21-11, having between Syracuse and Indiana, (after they upset the last Michael Jordan UNC team) but lost in overtime to Houston, 47-49, who then lost to Georgetown for the title. There was no consolation game anymore. Record: 3-11
1985: I remember watching Villanova’s last regular season game at Pittsburgh. They were playing so badly that Rollie Massimino benched his starters Pitt shredded the reserves, 85-62. I figured that the Wildcats were going nowhere. They, too had an immediate rematch in the BET and beat Pitt 69-61. They then lost by 15 to St. John’s and were sent to play Dayton- yes, Dayton in Dayton, the first name I wrote into my bracket that year. They beat Dayton 51-49, then Michigan 59-55, then Maryland 46-43, North Carolina 56-44, then Memphis State, (as they6 were then known), 52-45 in the national semi-finals. Note that the key was on defense. Then they shot79% in the final to beat Georgetown 66-64 for the championship. Record: 5-11
1988: The third “Cinderella” team of the 80’s was a school that is normally a Prince. Kansas was racked by injuries and went a month between victories over Division 1 teams. They finished the regular season 20-10 and lost in the second round of the conference tournament to arch-rival Kansas State enter the NCAA tournament with a 21-11 record. They fought their way to the regional final where they met K-State for the fourth time that season. They’d lost, 61-72, won 64-63, and lost 54-69. But they turned it around in the Elite 8, 71-58, then beat Duke 66-59 and Oklahoma 83-79 in the final to become “Danny and the Miracles”. Record: 7-11.
2000: We had no double digit loss teams in the FF for a dozen years and then there were two: North Carolina and Wisconsin at 22-13 each. Both lost to Florida, (59-71 and champion Michigan State 41-53, respectively. No warm and fuzzy stories out of that. Record: 7-13.
2001: Maryland came in at 25-10 and played Duke for the fourth time, having lost 96-98 in OT, won 91-80 and lost 82-84 in the ACCT. Duke won for the third time 95-84. But it gave the Terps some momentum for the next year when they won it all. Record: 7-14.
2002: Indiana made a comeback in the post Knight era that turned out to be a false positive. They were 24-11 when they beat Oklahoma 73-64 in the semis and then lost to Maryland 52-64 in the final. Record: 8-15.
2011 Virginia Commonwealth entered a play-in game with USC with a 23-11 record. They won that and four more games before falling to Butler, 62-70 in the semi-finals. Record 8-16.
2014: No, it wasn’t UCONN, Kentucky entered the tournament 24-10 in a “rebuilding year”, (aren’t they all for them?) but their kids grew up fast and they were 28-10 when they beat Wisconsin 74-73 in the semis and then lost to the Huskies 54-60 in that wretched final. Record: 9-17.
2015: Michigan State emerged from the Syracuse regional with a 27-11 record but were no match for eventual champion Duke in the semis, 61-81. Record: 9-18.
So does a double digit loss team have a shot in the Final Four. Sure they do. It’s won’t be easy. But nothing good ever is.
