March of History
If you're still filling your brackets or just want to annoy friends while watching the NCAAs, here are some lessons from tournaments past.
Only one player (Kansas' Clyde Lovellette, right, in 1952) has led the nation in scoring while playing for the NCAA champion.
A No. 1 seed has never been bounced in the first round, but since 2000, six of the 44 top seeds have exited in the second.
At least three double-digit seeds have reached the Sweet 16 in seven of the last 14 years, including two of the last three. No eighth seed has advanced to the Sweet 16 in the last six years.
The two top-ranked teams in the pretournament AP poll have met in the title game only once in the six-round era. (No. 1 Illinois, with Deron Williams, left, lost to No. 2 UNC in 2005.)
Teams that have finished first in both the coaches' and writers' (AP) pretournament polls have won just four times in the past 32 years (Duke in 1992 and 2001; UNC in '82; UCLA in '95). Since the NCAA began naming top overall seeds, in 2004, only one has won it all (Florida in 2007).
The last eight champions have had blue as one of its colors. Teams named for groups of people (Hoosiers, Tar Heels, Spartans) have won 29 times; woodland mammals are next, with 15. The most successful nickname that is not Bruins (11, all by UCLA)? Wildcats, with nine.
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BETTMANN/CORBIS (LOVELLETTE)
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MARK COWAN/ICON SMI (WILLIAMS)