Nugget
06-10-2015, 05:12 PM
With the off-season slowdown upon us, thought it would be interesting to mention what the Wall St. Journal did in its NCAA Tournament preview - picking the "Bracket of Brackets," made up of the single best game at each bracket slot of each region during the 64 team-era (back to 1985). Here's my own, with some "honorable mentions" and then some comparisons at the end ranking the bracket slots that had the best and worst collective slates. Others will no doubt have different takes.
The Bracket of Brackets
First Round
East
1989 - (1) Georgetown 50 (16) Princeton 49
1991 - (9) Villanova 50 (8) Princeton 48
1988 - (13) Richmond 72 (4) Indiana 69
2000 - (5) Florida 69 (12) Butler 68
1991 - (15) Richmond 73 (2) Syracuse 69
2000 - (10) Seton Hall 72 (7) Oregon 71
1986 - (14) Cleveland St. 82 (3) Indiana 79
2006 - (11) George Mason 75 Michigan St. 65
South
1989 - (1) Oklahoma 72 (16) East Tenn. St. 71
1985 - (8) Villanova 51 (9) Dayton 49
1996 - (13) Princeton 43 (4) UCLA 41
2001 - (12) Gonzaga 86 (5) Virginia 85 (2001)
2013 - (15) Florida Gulf Coast 78 (2) Georgetown 68 [Dunk City much more memorable than Lehigh 75 -Duke 70 (2012)]
1999 - (10) Creighton 62 (7) Louisville 59
1987 - (14) Austin Peay 69 (3) Illinois 67 (1987) [tempted to take ETSU/Mr. Jennings 87 over Arizonas Tucson Skyline 80 (1992) b/c it was a bigger upset, albeit not as close a game]
1989 - (11) S. Alabama 86 (6) Alabama 84
Midwest
2002 - (1) Kansas 70 (16) Holy Cross 59
2009 - (9) Siena 74 (8) Ohio St. 72 (ot) [helped by Rafterys classic Onions - Double Order! call]
1998 - (13) Valpo 70 (4) Ole Miss 69 (1998) [nips Morehead St. 62 Louisville 61 (2011) b/c Drews game winner was at the buzzer vs. Morehead's with 4 seconds left]
2002 - (12) Creighton 83 (5) Florida 82
1995 - (2) Arkansas 79 (15) Texas Southern 78
2008 - (10) Davidson 82 (7) Gonzaga 76 [Steph Currys 8-10 on 3s by an eyelash over Wally Worlds 43 in Miami (Oh)s 59 57 win over Washington (1999)]
1988 - (14) Murray St. 78 (3) N.C. St. 75 [Mercer 78 Duke 71 (2014) and UALR 90 Notre Dame 83 (1986) were bigger upsets, but not as good games]
1998 - (11) Western Michigan 75 (6) Clemson 72
West
1996 (1) Purdue 73 (16) Western Carolina 71
2006 - (9) Bucknell 59 (8) Arkansas 58
2008 - (13) San Diego 70 (4) U.Conn 69
2008 - (12) Western Kentucky 101 (5) Drake 99
2012 - (15) Norfolk St. 86 (2) Mizzou 84
1988 - (10) Loyola Marymount 119 (7) Wyoming 115
1999 - (14) Weber St. 78 (3) N. Carolina 74 (1999) [Georgia St. scoring last 13 to beat Baylor on RJ Hunters 30 footer was great, but cant top the Show Arcenaux vs. Carolina]
2007 - (11) VCU 79 (6) Duke 77
Second Round
East
1994 - (9) Boston College 75 (1) N. Carolina 72
1989 - (5) N.C. St. 102 (4) Iowa 96 (2 ot)
1997 - (10) Texas 82 (15) Coppin St. 81 [The Admirals laying the smack on Syracuse at the Dome in Navys 97-85 win in 1986 was great, but the game wasnt]
1988 - (11) Rhode Island 97 (3) Syracuse 94
South
2011 - (8) Butler 71 (1) Pitt 70 (ot)
1990 - (4) Georgia Tech 94 (5) LSU 91
2010 - (10) St. Marys 75 (2) Villanova 68
1987 - (6) Providence 90 (14) Austin Peay 87
Midwest
2010 - (9) No. Iowa 69 (1) Kansas 67 [tempted to pick Kentucky 78 Wichita St. 76 (2014) as it was such a great game]
1994 - (12) Tulsa 82 (4) Okla St. 80 (1994)
1992 - (7) Georgia Tech 79 (2) USC 78 [(10) Davidson 74 (2) Georgetown 70 (2008) and (2) Arkansas 96 (7) Syracuse 94 (1995) also worthy]
1993 - (6) Cal. 82 (3) Duke 77 (1993) [over Xavier 74 Georgetown 71 (1990) b/c we were defending champs]
West
2003 - (1) Arizona 96 (9) Gonzaga 95 (2ot) [edges UCLA 75 Mizzou 74 (1995) b/c, despite Edneys buzzer beater, this was a better game]
1990 - (12) Ball St. 62 (4) Louisville 60
2005 - (7) West Virginia 111 (2) Wake Forest 105 (ot) (Pitsnoggled!)
1990 - (11) Loyola Marymount 145 (3) Michigan 115.
[B][U]Sweet 16
East
1990 - (1) U.Conn 71 (5) Clemson 70 [iconic ending trumps N. Carolina 68 Villanova 67 (2005), which may have been a better all around game]
1998 - (2) U.Conn 75 (11) Washington 74
South
2002 - (5) Indiana 74 (1) Duke 73 [edges Ga. Tech 81 Mich. St. 80 (ot) (1990) and Ariz. 85 KU 82 (1997) b/cit had all of: comebacks, a dramatic ending and us as defensing champs/title favorite]
1989 - (3) Michigan 92 (2) N. Carolina 87
Midwest
1988 - (4) Kansas St. 73 (1) Purdue 70
2011 - (11) VCU 72 (10) Florida St. 71 (ot)
West
2010 - (5) Butler 63 (1) Syracuse 59 (2010)
[some recency/Cinderella bias here, as (4) UNLV 68 Arizona 67 (1989), a grudge match between teams who truly hated each other won on a late Anderson Hunt 3, and UNLV 69 (11) Ball St. 67 (1990) were also fantastic.]
2010 - (2) Kansas St. 101 (6) Xavier 96 (2ot) (2010)
[B]Elite 8
East
1992 (1) Duke 104 (2) Kentucky 103 (ot) [No-brainer, though it knocks out (11) George Mason 86 U.Conn 84 (2006) and Duke 79 U.Conn 78 (ot) (1990)]
South
1998 - (2) Kentucky 86 (1) Duke 84 [edges (5) Mich St. 94 (2) UK 88 (2ot) (2005) b//c these teams were better]
Midwest
2005 - (1) Illinois 90 (3) Arizona 89 (ot) [close over Kansas 59 (10) Davidson 57 (2008) and Kentucky 68 (3) Notre Dame 66 (2015) due to late comeback and crowds mass hysteria]
West
2014 - (2) Wisconsin 64 (1) Arizona 63 (ot)
Final Four:
1991 - Duke 79 UNLV 77; and
1998 - Kentucky 86 Stanford 85 (ot)
[Also worthy of second spot: Indiana 97 93 UNLV (1987); Michigan 83 Illinois 81 (1989); Duke 81 Indiana 78 (1992); Duke 95 Maryland 84 (2001); U.Conn 79 Duke 78 (2004); Louisville 62 Wichita St. 58 (2013); and Kentucky 74 Wisconsin 73 (2014)]
[B]Title:
1985 - Villanova 66 Georgetown 64
[Fairly clear choice over Indiana 74 Syracuse 73 (1987); U.Conn 77- Duke 74 (1999); Kansas 75 Memphis 68 (ot) (2008); and Duke 61 Butler 59 (2010)]
Of the various pre-Final Four matchups, Id rank the ten strongest collective groups of games as:
#1 East Region Final: Duke-Kentucky 1992, plus:
(11) George Mason 86 (1) U.Conn 84 (2006);
(3) Duke 79 (1) U.Conn 78 (1990);
(3) Villanova 78 (1) Pitt 76 (2009);
(2) Oklahoma St. 64 (1) St. Joes 62 (2004);
(2) Syracuse 79 (1) N. Carolina 75 (1987); and
(2) Duke 85 (1) Georgetown 77 (1989).
Wow.
#2 Midwest 2nd Round, 1 vs. 8/9: Northern Iowa-Kansas 2010, plus:
(8) Kentucky 76 (1) Wichita St. 76 (2014);
(9) UAB 76 (1) Kentucky 75 (2004);
(8) Rhode Island 80 (1) Kansas 75 (1998);
(9) UTEP 66 (1) Kansas 60 (1992); and
(8) N. Carolina 79 (1) Oklahoma 77 (1990).
#3 Midwest Region Final: IllinoisArizona 2005, plus:
(1) Kansas 59 (10) Davidson 57 (2008);
(1) Kentucky 68 (3) Notre Dame 66 (2015)
(1) Kansas 59 (10) Davidson 57 (2008);
(1) Kentucky 68 (3) Notre Dame 66 (2015);
(1) Illinois 89 (2) Syracuse 86 (1989);
(3) Stanford 79 (8) Rhode Island 77 (1998);
(8) Kentucky 75 (2) Michigan 72 (2014); and
(11) VCU 71 (1) Kansas 61 (2011).
#4 South Sweet 16, 1 vs. 4/5: Indiana-Duke 2002, plus:
(4) Georgia Tech 81 (1) Mich St. 80 (ot) (1990);
(4) Arizona 85 (1) Kansas 82 (1997); and
(4) Michigan 87 (1) Kansas 85 (2013).
#5 West Sweet 16, 2/7/10 vs. 3/6/11: Kansas St.-Xavier 2010, plus:
(2) UCLA 73 (3) Gonzaga 71 (2006);
(10) Gonzaga 73 (6) Florida 72 (1999);
(11) Loyola Marymount 62 (7) Alabama 60 (1990);
(3) Seton Hall 81 (2) Arizona 77 (1991); and
(2) Kansas 83 (3) Arizona 80 (1996).
#6 West 2nd Round, 1 vs. 8/9: Arizona-Gonzaga 2003, plus:
(1) UCLA 75 (8) Mizzou 74 (1995);
(8) Wisconsin 66 (1) Arizona 59 (2000);
(8) UCLA 105 (1) Cinncinnati. 101 (2002); and
(9) Wichita St. 76 (1) Gonzaga 70 (2013).
#7 South 1st Round, 4 vs. 13: Princeton-UCLA 1996, one of 8 upsets (most of any double-digit seed spot), including:
(13) Vermont 60 (4) Syracuse 57 (2005);
(13) UNC-Wilmington 93 (4) USC 89 (ot) (2002) [UNCW blows 19 point lead but wins];
(13) Indiana St. 70 (4) Oklahoma 68 (2001);
(13) Middle Tenn. St. 97 (4) Fla St. 83 (1989);
(13) Manhattan 77 (4) Okla 67 (1995);
(13) Navy 78 (4) LSU 55 1985; and
(13) S.W. Missouri St. 65 (4) Clemson 60 (1987).
#8 Midwest 1st Round, 4 vs. 13: Valpo-Ole Miss 1998, plus:
(13) Morehead St. 62 (4) Louisville 61 (2011);
(13) Ohio U. 65 (4) Michigan 60 (2012)
(13) Oklahoma 61 (4) Arizona 60 (1999);
(4) Arkansas 68 (13) Princeton 64 (1990); and
(4) BC 88 (13) Pacific 76 (ot) (2006) [a backdoor cover for the ages].
#9 - East 1st Round, 3 vs. 14: Cleveland St.-Indiana 1986, plus:
(14) Bucknell 64 (3) Kansas 63 (2005);
(14) Siena 80 Stanford 78 (1989) (Showbiz Brown!)
(14) Richmond 62 S. Carolina 61 (1998); and
(3) Marquette 59 (14) Davidson 58 (2013).
#10 West 1st Round, 5 vs. 12: Western Kentucky-Drake 2008, plus:
(12) Ball St. 54 (5) Oregon St. 53 (1990);
(12) No. Dakota St. 80 (5) Oklahoma 75 (ot) (2014);
(12) Wisconsin Green Bay 61 (5) Cal. 57 (1994);
(5) Michigan St. 60 (12) Wisconsin Green Bay 58 (1991);
(5) Arizona 77 (12) Memphis 75 (2011);
(5) Iowa 102 (12) Florida St. 98 (1988); and
(5) Maryland 69 (12) Pepperdine 64 (1986), Len Bias last victory.
And the 5 worst (besides the obvious 1-16 and 2-15 blowout-prone spots) were:
#1 Midwest Sweet 16, 1/8/9 vs. 4/13/5/12: Beyond K.St. - Purdue 1988, only 1 other upset (not very memorable) and just two other games that went to the wire:
(1) Kansas 96 (4) Michigan St. 86 (ot) (1986);
(4) Virginia 67 Kansas 58 (1995); and
(1) Villanova 60 (4) BC 59 (2006).
#2 - East Sweet 16, 2/7/10 vs. 3/6/11/14: Besides U.Conn-Washington 1998, best theyve had were:
(7) Navy 71 (14) Cleveland St. 70 (1986); and
(2) Duke 73 (11) Rhode Island 72 (1988). Blah.
#3 - South 2nd Round, 3s/14s vs. 6s/11s: Just Providence Austin Peay 1987, and:
(11) LSU 83 (3) Memphis 81 (1986);
(6) Georgetown 53 (14) Weber St. 51 (1995); and
(3) Texas 78 (6) N. Carolina 75 (2004).
[Only 1 big upset and by a major conference team. Close games with Georgetown beating a 14 seed and Texas beating the Felton/McCants/May sophomore team dont carry much weight.]
#4 West 1st Round, 8 vs. 9: Other than Bucknell Arkansas 2006, best of the rest were:
(9) Gonzaga 74 (8) Cincinnati 69 (2003); and
(8) Mizzou 65 (9) Indiana 60 (1995), memorable more for Knights press conference meltdown than the game.
#5 South 1st Round, 7 vs. 10: Besides Creighton Louisville 1999, best this has had were:
(7) Florida St. 75 (10) USC 72 (1991); and
(7) UCLA 78 (10) Michigan St. 76 (2011).
[Two football schools seeing who was worse, and UCLA nearly blowing a 23 point second half lead by missing 17 free-throws to let MSU back in. Yeech.]
The Bracket of Brackets
First Round
East
1989 - (1) Georgetown 50 (16) Princeton 49
1991 - (9) Villanova 50 (8) Princeton 48
1988 - (13) Richmond 72 (4) Indiana 69
2000 - (5) Florida 69 (12) Butler 68
1991 - (15) Richmond 73 (2) Syracuse 69
2000 - (10) Seton Hall 72 (7) Oregon 71
1986 - (14) Cleveland St. 82 (3) Indiana 79
2006 - (11) George Mason 75 Michigan St. 65
South
1989 - (1) Oklahoma 72 (16) East Tenn. St. 71
1985 - (8) Villanova 51 (9) Dayton 49
1996 - (13) Princeton 43 (4) UCLA 41
2001 - (12) Gonzaga 86 (5) Virginia 85 (2001)
2013 - (15) Florida Gulf Coast 78 (2) Georgetown 68 [Dunk City much more memorable than Lehigh 75 -Duke 70 (2012)]
1999 - (10) Creighton 62 (7) Louisville 59
1987 - (14) Austin Peay 69 (3) Illinois 67 (1987) [tempted to take ETSU/Mr. Jennings 87 over Arizonas Tucson Skyline 80 (1992) b/c it was a bigger upset, albeit not as close a game]
1989 - (11) S. Alabama 86 (6) Alabama 84
Midwest
2002 - (1) Kansas 70 (16) Holy Cross 59
2009 - (9) Siena 74 (8) Ohio St. 72 (ot) [helped by Rafterys classic Onions - Double Order! call]
1998 - (13) Valpo 70 (4) Ole Miss 69 (1998) [nips Morehead St. 62 Louisville 61 (2011) b/c Drews game winner was at the buzzer vs. Morehead's with 4 seconds left]
2002 - (12) Creighton 83 (5) Florida 82
1995 - (2) Arkansas 79 (15) Texas Southern 78
2008 - (10) Davidson 82 (7) Gonzaga 76 [Steph Currys 8-10 on 3s by an eyelash over Wally Worlds 43 in Miami (Oh)s 59 57 win over Washington (1999)]
1988 - (14) Murray St. 78 (3) N.C. St. 75 [Mercer 78 Duke 71 (2014) and UALR 90 Notre Dame 83 (1986) were bigger upsets, but not as good games]
1998 - (11) Western Michigan 75 (6) Clemson 72
West
1996 (1) Purdue 73 (16) Western Carolina 71
2006 - (9) Bucknell 59 (8) Arkansas 58
2008 - (13) San Diego 70 (4) U.Conn 69
2008 - (12) Western Kentucky 101 (5) Drake 99
2012 - (15) Norfolk St. 86 (2) Mizzou 84
1988 - (10) Loyola Marymount 119 (7) Wyoming 115
1999 - (14) Weber St. 78 (3) N. Carolina 74 (1999) [Georgia St. scoring last 13 to beat Baylor on RJ Hunters 30 footer was great, but cant top the Show Arcenaux vs. Carolina]
2007 - (11) VCU 79 (6) Duke 77
Second Round
East
1994 - (9) Boston College 75 (1) N. Carolina 72
1989 - (5) N.C. St. 102 (4) Iowa 96 (2 ot)
1997 - (10) Texas 82 (15) Coppin St. 81 [The Admirals laying the smack on Syracuse at the Dome in Navys 97-85 win in 1986 was great, but the game wasnt]
1988 - (11) Rhode Island 97 (3) Syracuse 94
South
2011 - (8) Butler 71 (1) Pitt 70 (ot)
1990 - (4) Georgia Tech 94 (5) LSU 91
2010 - (10) St. Marys 75 (2) Villanova 68
1987 - (6) Providence 90 (14) Austin Peay 87
Midwest
2010 - (9) No. Iowa 69 (1) Kansas 67 [tempted to pick Kentucky 78 Wichita St. 76 (2014) as it was such a great game]
1994 - (12) Tulsa 82 (4) Okla St. 80 (1994)
1992 - (7) Georgia Tech 79 (2) USC 78 [(10) Davidson 74 (2) Georgetown 70 (2008) and (2) Arkansas 96 (7) Syracuse 94 (1995) also worthy]
1993 - (6) Cal. 82 (3) Duke 77 (1993) [over Xavier 74 Georgetown 71 (1990) b/c we were defending champs]
West
2003 - (1) Arizona 96 (9) Gonzaga 95 (2ot) [edges UCLA 75 Mizzou 74 (1995) b/c, despite Edneys buzzer beater, this was a better game]
1990 - (12) Ball St. 62 (4) Louisville 60
2005 - (7) West Virginia 111 (2) Wake Forest 105 (ot) (Pitsnoggled!)
1990 - (11) Loyola Marymount 145 (3) Michigan 115.
[B][U]Sweet 16
East
1990 - (1) U.Conn 71 (5) Clemson 70 [iconic ending trumps N. Carolina 68 Villanova 67 (2005), which may have been a better all around game]
1998 - (2) U.Conn 75 (11) Washington 74
South
2002 - (5) Indiana 74 (1) Duke 73 [edges Ga. Tech 81 Mich. St. 80 (ot) (1990) and Ariz. 85 KU 82 (1997) b/cit had all of: comebacks, a dramatic ending and us as defensing champs/title favorite]
1989 - (3) Michigan 92 (2) N. Carolina 87
Midwest
1988 - (4) Kansas St. 73 (1) Purdue 70
2011 - (11) VCU 72 (10) Florida St. 71 (ot)
West
2010 - (5) Butler 63 (1) Syracuse 59 (2010)
[some recency/Cinderella bias here, as (4) UNLV 68 Arizona 67 (1989), a grudge match between teams who truly hated each other won on a late Anderson Hunt 3, and UNLV 69 (11) Ball St. 67 (1990) were also fantastic.]
2010 - (2) Kansas St. 101 (6) Xavier 96 (2ot) (2010)
[B]Elite 8
East
1992 (1) Duke 104 (2) Kentucky 103 (ot) [No-brainer, though it knocks out (11) George Mason 86 U.Conn 84 (2006) and Duke 79 U.Conn 78 (ot) (1990)]
South
1998 - (2) Kentucky 86 (1) Duke 84 [edges (5) Mich St. 94 (2) UK 88 (2ot) (2005) b//c these teams were better]
Midwest
2005 - (1) Illinois 90 (3) Arizona 89 (ot) [close over Kansas 59 (10) Davidson 57 (2008) and Kentucky 68 (3) Notre Dame 66 (2015) due to late comeback and crowds mass hysteria]
West
2014 - (2) Wisconsin 64 (1) Arizona 63 (ot)
Final Four:
1991 - Duke 79 UNLV 77; and
1998 - Kentucky 86 Stanford 85 (ot)
[Also worthy of second spot: Indiana 97 93 UNLV (1987); Michigan 83 Illinois 81 (1989); Duke 81 Indiana 78 (1992); Duke 95 Maryland 84 (2001); U.Conn 79 Duke 78 (2004); Louisville 62 Wichita St. 58 (2013); and Kentucky 74 Wisconsin 73 (2014)]
[B]Title:
1985 - Villanova 66 Georgetown 64
[Fairly clear choice over Indiana 74 Syracuse 73 (1987); U.Conn 77- Duke 74 (1999); Kansas 75 Memphis 68 (ot) (2008); and Duke 61 Butler 59 (2010)]
Of the various pre-Final Four matchups, Id rank the ten strongest collective groups of games as:
#1 East Region Final: Duke-Kentucky 1992, plus:
(11) George Mason 86 (1) U.Conn 84 (2006);
(3) Duke 79 (1) U.Conn 78 (1990);
(3) Villanova 78 (1) Pitt 76 (2009);
(2) Oklahoma St. 64 (1) St. Joes 62 (2004);
(2) Syracuse 79 (1) N. Carolina 75 (1987); and
(2) Duke 85 (1) Georgetown 77 (1989).
Wow.
#2 Midwest 2nd Round, 1 vs. 8/9: Northern Iowa-Kansas 2010, plus:
(8) Kentucky 76 (1) Wichita St. 76 (2014);
(9) UAB 76 (1) Kentucky 75 (2004);
(8) Rhode Island 80 (1) Kansas 75 (1998);
(9) UTEP 66 (1) Kansas 60 (1992); and
(8) N. Carolina 79 (1) Oklahoma 77 (1990).
#3 Midwest Region Final: IllinoisArizona 2005, plus:
(1) Kansas 59 (10) Davidson 57 (2008);
(1) Kentucky 68 (3) Notre Dame 66 (2015)
(1) Kansas 59 (10) Davidson 57 (2008);
(1) Kentucky 68 (3) Notre Dame 66 (2015);
(1) Illinois 89 (2) Syracuse 86 (1989);
(3) Stanford 79 (8) Rhode Island 77 (1998);
(8) Kentucky 75 (2) Michigan 72 (2014); and
(11) VCU 71 (1) Kansas 61 (2011).
#4 South Sweet 16, 1 vs. 4/5: Indiana-Duke 2002, plus:
(4) Georgia Tech 81 (1) Mich St. 80 (ot) (1990);
(4) Arizona 85 (1) Kansas 82 (1997); and
(4) Michigan 87 (1) Kansas 85 (2013).
#5 West Sweet 16, 2/7/10 vs. 3/6/11: Kansas St.-Xavier 2010, plus:
(2) UCLA 73 (3) Gonzaga 71 (2006);
(10) Gonzaga 73 (6) Florida 72 (1999);
(11) Loyola Marymount 62 (7) Alabama 60 (1990);
(3) Seton Hall 81 (2) Arizona 77 (1991); and
(2) Kansas 83 (3) Arizona 80 (1996).
#6 West 2nd Round, 1 vs. 8/9: Arizona-Gonzaga 2003, plus:
(1) UCLA 75 (8) Mizzou 74 (1995);
(8) Wisconsin 66 (1) Arizona 59 (2000);
(8) UCLA 105 (1) Cinncinnati. 101 (2002); and
(9) Wichita St. 76 (1) Gonzaga 70 (2013).
#7 South 1st Round, 4 vs. 13: Princeton-UCLA 1996, one of 8 upsets (most of any double-digit seed spot), including:
(13) Vermont 60 (4) Syracuse 57 (2005);
(13) UNC-Wilmington 93 (4) USC 89 (ot) (2002) [UNCW blows 19 point lead but wins];
(13) Indiana St. 70 (4) Oklahoma 68 (2001);
(13) Middle Tenn. St. 97 (4) Fla St. 83 (1989);
(13) Manhattan 77 (4) Okla 67 (1995);
(13) Navy 78 (4) LSU 55 1985; and
(13) S.W. Missouri St. 65 (4) Clemson 60 (1987).
#8 Midwest 1st Round, 4 vs. 13: Valpo-Ole Miss 1998, plus:
(13) Morehead St. 62 (4) Louisville 61 (2011);
(13) Ohio U. 65 (4) Michigan 60 (2012)
(13) Oklahoma 61 (4) Arizona 60 (1999);
(4) Arkansas 68 (13) Princeton 64 (1990); and
(4) BC 88 (13) Pacific 76 (ot) (2006) [a backdoor cover for the ages].
#9 - East 1st Round, 3 vs. 14: Cleveland St.-Indiana 1986, plus:
(14) Bucknell 64 (3) Kansas 63 (2005);
(14) Siena 80 Stanford 78 (1989) (Showbiz Brown!)
(14) Richmond 62 S. Carolina 61 (1998); and
(3) Marquette 59 (14) Davidson 58 (2013).
#10 West 1st Round, 5 vs. 12: Western Kentucky-Drake 2008, plus:
(12) Ball St. 54 (5) Oregon St. 53 (1990);
(12) No. Dakota St. 80 (5) Oklahoma 75 (ot) (2014);
(12) Wisconsin Green Bay 61 (5) Cal. 57 (1994);
(5) Michigan St. 60 (12) Wisconsin Green Bay 58 (1991);
(5) Arizona 77 (12) Memphis 75 (2011);
(5) Iowa 102 (12) Florida St. 98 (1988); and
(5) Maryland 69 (12) Pepperdine 64 (1986), Len Bias last victory.
And the 5 worst (besides the obvious 1-16 and 2-15 blowout-prone spots) were:
#1 Midwest Sweet 16, 1/8/9 vs. 4/13/5/12: Beyond K.St. - Purdue 1988, only 1 other upset (not very memorable) and just two other games that went to the wire:
(1) Kansas 96 (4) Michigan St. 86 (ot) (1986);
(4) Virginia 67 Kansas 58 (1995); and
(1) Villanova 60 (4) BC 59 (2006).
#2 - East Sweet 16, 2/7/10 vs. 3/6/11/14: Besides U.Conn-Washington 1998, best theyve had were:
(7) Navy 71 (14) Cleveland St. 70 (1986); and
(2) Duke 73 (11) Rhode Island 72 (1988). Blah.
#3 - South 2nd Round, 3s/14s vs. 6s/11s: Just Providence Austin Peay 1987, and:
(11) LSU 83 (3) Memphis 81 (1986);
(6) Georgetown 53 (14) Weber St. 51 (1995); and
(3) Texas 78 (6) N. Carolina 75 (2004).
[Only 1 big upset and by a major conference team. Close games with Georgetown beating a 14 seed and Texas beating the Felton/McCants/May sophomore team dont carry much weight.]
#4 West 1st Round, 8 vs. 9: Other than Bucknell Arkansas 2006, best of the rest were:
(9) Gonzaga 74 (8) Cincinnati 69 (2003); and
(8) Mizzou 65 (9) Indiana 60 (1995), memorable more for Knights press conference meltdown than the game.
#5 South 1st Round, 7 vs. 10: Besides Creighton Louisville 1999, best this has had were:
(7) Florida St. 75 (10) USC 72 (1991); and
(7) UCLA 78 (10) Michigan St. 76 (2011).
[Two football schools seeing who was worse, and UCLA nearly blowing a 23 point second half lead by missing 17 free-throws to let MSU back in. Yeech.]