*** Official March Madness NCAA Tournament Thread 2023 ***

[cyclones500]

That was an unfortunate 5-point swing for San Diego State.

 

[cmjh10]

UConn is so fun to watch when they are on.

 

[CRcyclone6]

I'm likely seeing with Cardinal and Gold glasses but Sanogo is like watching Cam Lard if he had his **** together.

And a little bigger

 

[Dowwmeow]

I will always prefer a stripped down instrumental version of the anthem.

My favorite version all time is the Jimi Hendrix Woodstock version, but I’m a big Jimi fan

 

[bradcyclone]

So do what UCONN does, play great early in the season, then have a bad stretch in the conference season, go on a tear in the NCAA Tournament? This is the same team that beat Bama by 15.

 

[CloniesForLife]

SDSU looks super uncomfortable trying to finish around the rim

 

[Trice]

SIAP but has any team ever won the national championship without having to beat a single #2 or #1 seed along the way? I keep reading about how dominant UConn has been but I can't imagine many have had routes this easy.

 

[cyclones500]

Largest Margin of Victory for all 6 games in tournament history for the champion.

UConn was at 103 coming into the game.

Year	Team	Margin of Victory
1996​	Kentucky	129​
2016​	Villanova	124​
2009​	North Carolina	121​
1990​	Nevada-Las Vegas	112​
2018​	Villanova	106​

Notable aside, if UConn surpasses '90 UNLV, that's a mind-boggle, considering UNLV won 3 of its 6 games by 30 points each.

 

[HoopsTournament]

SIAP but has any team ever won the national championship without having to beat a single #2 or #1 seed along the way? I keep reading about how dominant UConn has been but I can't imagine many have had routes this easy.

1990 UNLV and 2019 Virginia

Seed	Team	Seed	Opponent	Score	Opp Score	Round
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	3	Duke	103	73	National Championship
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	4	Georgia Tech	90	81	National Semifinals
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	11	Loyola Marymount	131	101	Elite Eight
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	12	Ball State	69	67	Sweet Sixteen
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	8	Ohio State	76	65	Round of 32
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	16	Arkansas-Little Rock	102	72	Round of 64

Seed	Team	Seed	Opponent	Score	Opp Score	Round
1	Virginia	3	Texas Tech	85	77	National Championship
1	Virginia	5	Auburn	63	62	National Semifinals
1	Virginia	3	Purdue	80	75	Elite Eight
1	Virginia	12	Oregon	53	49	Sweet Sixteen
1	Virginia	9	Oklahoma	63	51	Round of 32
1	Virginia	16	Gardner-Webb	71	56	Round of 64

 

[cyclones500]

1990 UNLV and 2019 Virginia

Seed	Team	Seed	Opponent	Score	Opp Score	Round
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	3	Duke	103	73	National Championship
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	4	Georgia Tech	90	81	National Semifinals
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	11	Loyola Marymount	131	101	Elite Eight
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	12	Ball State	69	67	Sweet Sixteen
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	8	Ohio State	76	65	Round of 32
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	16	Arkansas-Little Rock	102	72	Round of 64

Seed	Team	Seed	Opponent	Score	Opp Score	Round
1	Virginia	3	Texas Tech	85	77	National Championship
1	Virginia	5	Auburn	63	62	National Semifinals
1	Virginia	3	Purdue	80	75	Elite Eight
1	Virginia	12	Oregon	53	49	Sweet Sixteen
1	Virginia	9	Oklahoma	63	51	Round of 32
1	Virginia	16	Gardner-Webb	71	56	Round of 64

I knew you'd know. Good question by @Trice.

I assumed at least a few 1 seeds had done it, generally having fewer barriers vs a 1 or 2 along the way. UConn would break new ground being the first sub-1 to do it.

 

[t-noah]

Most common score all-time: 75-72 and 69-67 (both have happened 15 times)
Round of 64: 61-57, 70-69 and 64-61 (7 times each)
Round of 32: 69-67 (6 times)
Sweet 16: 73-71, 74-69, 79-71, 69-67 (5 times each)
Elite 8: 80-68 (4 times)
National Semifinals: 10 different scores twice (95-79, 67-60, 73-58, 95-84, 64-58, 77-69, 70-65, 81-78, 76-74, 60-52)
National Championship: 5 different scores twice (72-69, 77-74, 67-59, 84-75, 72-65)

How many times, in the Final 2, has the winning team won by more than 15 or 20 points? Seems like this could be one of those.

 

[jctisu]

SIAP but has any team ever won the national championship without having to beat a single #2 or #1 seed along the way? I keep reading about how dominant UConn has been but I can't imagine many have had routes this easy.

I mean those teams lost to the teams UConn beat the hell out of. I would give a little more credence to that thought if the Huskies hadn’t just embarrassed everyone they have played. That Miami team was the talent of a 1 or 2 seed. They just didn’t care until the lights came on in March.

 

[HoopsTournament]

What makes this UConn team unique is that they will have won the tournament without being a #1 seed and they did not defeat a #1 seed. Only one other team has ever done that. 2011 UConn.

 

[HoopsTournament]

Working on my blog. If UConn wins, so many interesting facts. If SDSU wins, not so much.

 

[jctisu]

Oh that dunk would have been nuts.

 

[Trice]

I mean those teams lost to the teams UConn beat the hell out of. I would give a little more credence to that thought if the Huskies hadn’t just embarrassed everyone they have played. That Miami team was the talent of a 1 or 2 seed. They just didn’t care until the lights came on in March.

Relax, I'm not negating their title. Just pointing out that they will have beaten a single 3 seed and no other team above a 5 along the way. At a minimum it probably inflates the margin of victory at least modestly.

 

[t-noah]

1990 UNLV and 2019 Virginia

Seed	Team	Seed	Opponent	Score	Opp Score	Round
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	3	Duke	103	73	National Championship
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	4	Georgia Tech	90	81	National Semifinals
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	11	Loyola Marymount	131	101	Elite Eight
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	12	Ball State	69	67	Sweet Sixteen
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	8	Ohio State	76	65	Round of 32
1	Nevada-Las Vegas	16	Arkansas-Little Rock	102	72	Round of 64

Seed	Team	Seed	Opponent	Score	Opp Score	Round
1	Virginia	3	Texas Tech	85	77	National Championship
1	Virginia	5	Auburn	63	62	National Semifinals
1	Virginia	3	Purdue	80	75	Elite Eight
1	Virginia	12	Oregon	53	49	Sweet Sixteen
1	Virginia	9	Oklahoma	63	51	Round of 32
1	Virginia	16	Gardner-Webb	71	56	Round of 64

Virginia sqeaked by Auburn, but look at UNLV, a dominant team, right? They almost lost to Ball State that year.

 

[jctisu]

Relax, I'm not negating their title. Just pointing out that they will have beaten a single 3 seed and no other team above a 5 along the way. At a minimum it probably inflates the margin of victory at least modestly.

I’m more than relaxed my man. I simply responded to your post and in no way was it aggressive.

 

[HoopsTournament]

How many times, in the Final 2, has the winning team won by more than 15 or 20 points? Seems like this could be one of those.

18 games decided by 15 or more points. 6 games decided by 20 or more.

Year	Team	Score	Opponent	Score	Margin
1990	Nevada-Las Vegas	103	Duke	73	30
1968	UCLA	78	North Carolina	55	23
1973	UCLA	87	Memphis	66	21
1969	UCLA	92	Purdue	72	20
1960	Ohio State	75	California	55	20
1992	Duke	71	Michigan	51	20
1976	Indiana	86	Michigan	68	18
1940	Indiana	60	Kansas	42	18
2009	North Carolina	89	Michigan State	72	17
1952	Kansas	80	St. John's	63	17
2018	Villanova	79	Michigan	62	17
1954	La Salle	92	Bradley	76	16
2021	Baylor	86	Gonzaga	70	16
2006	Florida	73	UCLA	57	16
1948	Kentucky	58	Baylor	42	16
1964	UCLA	98	Duke	83	15
1967	UCLA	79	Dayton	64	15
1942	Stanford	53	Dartmouth	38	15

 

[Kinch]

UConn’s length has presented a lot of problems to SDSU.