180 Fun Facts About March Madness

What is the name of the day, typically in mid-March, when the tournament bracket is revealed?

Selection Sunday is when the committee reveals the full bracket and seedings; in 2015 the NCAA began handing the NIT's top seeds to the last teams cut from its own field.

Since 1973, the NCAA semifinals have been played on a Saturday and the championship game on which day?

Monday night has hosted the title game since 1973; until then the championship itself was played on a Saturday, with the semifinals on Thursday or Friday.

Besides March Madness, by what nickname is the NCAA basketball tournament best known?

The Big Dance gets bigger in 2027, when the field expands from 68 teams to 76.

What are teams on the edge of making the NCAA tournament field said to be on?

The bubble is such a fixture that the selection committee now weighs a metric called Wins Above Bubble, which measures a team against an average bubble team's results.

What do players and coaches traditionally do after winning the NCAA championship game?

Cut down the nets: coach Everett Case is credited with bringing the ritual to college basketball in 1947, when his players hoisted him up to snip one as a souvenir of a conference title.

Which round of the NCAA tournament is made up of the regional semifinals?

Sweet Sixteen: the name is not the NCAA's own, since Kentucky's high school athletic association registered the trademark in 1988 and licenses it to the NCAA.

Which of these first-round upsets happens most often in the NCAA men's tournament?

No. 12 over No. 5 came up in more than a third of their meetings from 1985 through 2026, while a No. 16 seed has beaten a No. 1 only twice.

How many regions make up the NCAA Tournament bracket?

The bracket has 4 regions of 16 seeded teams each, and each region sends one champion on, which is why the national semifinals are called the Final Four.

In NCAA tournament slang, what is a low seed that makes a surprising deep run called?

Cinderella fits teams like No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast, which won twice in 2013; when such a run finally ends, the clock is said to strike midnight.

Which legendary Bruins coach won 10 national championships in 12 seasons, including seven in a row?

John Wooden won 10 NCAA titles in his last 12 seasons at UCLA, seven of them in a row from 1967 to 1973; the streak finally ended with a loss in the 1974 national semifinal.

Which future NBA MVP was Memphis's freshman point guard in its overtime loss in the 2008 NCAA final?

Derrick Rose missed one of two free throws with 10 seconds left, leaving Memphis only three ahead; a year later the NCAA vacated the team's whole season after his SAT score was invalidated.

In what year was the first NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament held?

The first NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was held in 1939, with just eight teams. Oregon defeated Ohio State 46-33 to win the inaugural championship.

From 2011 through 2026, what were the NCAA men's tournament's opening games, played before the round of 64, called?

First Four games paired the last four at-large teams and the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers; in 2021 UCLA went from one of them all the way to the Final Four.

Which city hosted the NCAA men's tournament's play-in games nearly every year from 2001 through 2026?

Dayton's UD Arena staged the play-in games from 2001; only in 2021, when the pandemic moved them, were they played elsewhere, and from 2027 it shares an enlarged opening round with a second city.

In March Madness slang, what is a "bracket buster"?

A lower seed that upsets a favorite wrecks every bracket that had the favorite advancing; Northern Iowa's 2010 win over top overall seed Kansas is a classic case.

Duke students camp for weeks in a tent city outside which arena to claim seats for big games?

Cameron Indoor Stadium's tent city fills before the archrival Tar Heels visit, and a tent that misses two of the surprise attendance checks is sent to the back of the line.

Which CBS analyst is known for shouting 'Onions!' when a clutch shot falls late in a close game?

Bill Raftery is also remembered for a 1988 call, 'Send it in, Jerome!', shouted as Pitt's Jerome Lane shattered a backboard with a dunk and held up the game for more than half an hour.

What is the term for the round of 8 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament?

The Elite Eight is the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, when only eight teams remain. The winners of the Elite Eight advance to the Final Four.

In 2018, which No. 16 seed became the first to defeat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament?

UMBC's Retrievers were tied 21–21 at halftime, then routed the overall No. 1 seed 74–54 for the first No. 16 win since the field grew to 64 teams.

Which school won the national title the year after becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16?

Virginia won the 2019 final in overtime, 85–77 over Texas Tech, after Kyle Guy's three free throws with 0.6 seconds left had won the semifinal against Auburn by a single point.

By what two-word name is Duke's 1992 buzzer-beater against Kentucky commonly known?

"The Shot" beat Kentucky 104–103 in overtime in the 1992 East Regional final; the same Duke player had also sunk UConn at the buzzer in the 1990 regional final.

Who hit the buzzer-beating three-pointer that won the 2016 national championship game 77–74?

Kris Jenkins buried the three at the buzzer off Ryan Arcidiacono's pass to beat North Carolina 77–74 for Villanova; Arcidiacono was named Most Outstanding Player.

Which No. 6 seed stunned Houston's "Phi Slama Jama" on a last-second dunk in the 1983 NCAA title game?

NC State's Lorenzo Charles dunked Dereck Whittenburg's desperation heave for a 54–52 win, and the Wolfpack coach's frantic search for someone to hug became an iconic image.

Who was the 98-year-old team chaplain who became an icon during Loyola-Chicago's 2018 run?

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt gave the Ramblers more than prayers: she also passed on her own scouting reports as 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago reached the 2018 Final Four.

Which No. 15 seed was the first ever to reach the Elite Eight, in 2022?

Saint Peter's, the Peacocks from Jersey City, beat Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue before losing to North Carolina.

Which No. 16 seed became the second ever to knock out a No. 1 seed, in 2023?

Fairleigh Dickinson beat the East's top seed 63–58 after losing its own league final: it was in the field only because the winner, Merrimack, was ineligible.

Which team ended a 38–0 opponent's perfect season, then lost the 2015 final to Duke, the Blue Devils' fifth title?

Wisconsin lost 68–63 to a Duke team that had also beaten it 80–70 earlier that season; Tyus Jones was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

Which No. 8 seed shot 78.6% to upset Georgetown in 'The Perfect Game' title game?

Villanova made 22 of 28 shots, including 9 of 10 after halftime, to beat defending champion Georgetown 66–64 in 1985; through 2025 no lower seed had won the title.

Which coach's 1976 team went 32–0, the last men's champion through 2025 to finish unbeaten?

Bob Knight's Hoosiers ran the table a year after his unbeaten 1975 team lost a regional final by two points with star Scott May limited by a broken arm.

Through 2025, which program had made the most Final Four appearances in NCAA tournament history?

North Carolina had reached 21 Final Fours through 2025; the 21st came in 2022, when the Tar Heels beat archrival Duke 81–77 in the national semifinal.

Which No. 11 seed reached the 2006 Final Four, the program's best-ever finish?

George Mason beat Michigan State, the Tar Heels, Wichita State and, in overtime, top-seeded Connecticut on the way, then fell to the eventual champion.

Which coach gave the 'Don't give up, don't ever give up' speech at the 1993 ESPYs?

Jim Valvano died of cancer less than two months after the speech; the ESPYs present the Jimmy V Award for perseverance in his honor.

Which Murray State guard posted a triple-double in a first-round upset of Marquette in 2019?

Ja Morant was found by accident: a Murray State assistant, at a camp to watch another player, went looking for a snack and spotted him playing three-on-three in a side gym.

Who is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Tournament history?

Christian Laettner scored 407 points across four NCAA tournaments from 1989 to 1992, including a 1992 regional final in which he made all 10 of his shots and all 10 free throws.

Which mid-major, led by Stephen Curry, reached the 2008 regional final as a No. 10 seed?

Davidson beat Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin before losing 59–57 to eventual champion Kansas.

Which school made back-to-back championship game appearances in 2010 and 2011 as a mid-major?

Butler under Brad Stevens lost the 2010 final to Duke by two when Gordon Hayward's half-court heave rimmed out, then lost the 2011 final to Connecticut.

In 2004, UConn became Division I's first school to do what?

UConn was the first to win men's and women's titles together: Emeka Okafor's men beat Georgia Tech, Diana Taurasi's women took a third straight crown, and the Huskies repeated the double in 2014.

Which Tar Heels coach retired in 1997 holding the Division I record for career wins?

Dean Smith won 879 games in 36 seasons; the ball-holding 'Four Corners' offense he popularized was one reason college conferences began experimenting with a shot clock in the 1980s.

What did top seeds lose when the NCAA tournament reached 64 teams?

First-round byes vanished in 1985 because a 64-team bracket halves evenly in every round; a year earlier, in a 53-team field, the best seeds had sat out the opening round.

Which coach holds the record for the most NCAA Tournament wins?

Mike Krzyzewski won 101 NCAA tournament games, all at Duke; the last sent him to a record 13th Final Four in 2022, where his career ended with a loss to Duke's fiercest rival.

Which program won back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007?

The Florida Gators, coached by Billy Donovan, won back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007 with essentially the same core roster. Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer chose to return rather than enter the NBA draft after 2006.

Which freshman hit the go-ahead jumper in the final seconds of the 1982 NCAA title game against Georgetown?

Michael Jordan's jumper from the left wing put North Carolina up 63–62; Georgetown's Fred Brown then passed straight to James Worthy, sealing the one-point win.

Which future NBA giant was the 1957 NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player although his Kansas team lost the final?

Wilt Chamberlain's Kansas lost 54–53 in triple overtime to an unbeaten opponent that had needed three overtimes to win its semifinal as well.

Which No. 11 seed reached the 2011 Final Four, beating Georgetown, Purdue and Kansas?

VCU, one of the last at-large picks, had to win an extra opening game first, so Shaka Smart's team needed five victories, not four, to reach the Final Four.

Which future Cleveland Cavaliers guard scored an NCAA tournament-record 61 points in a 1970 game?

Austin Carr scored his 61 against Ohio years before college basketball had a three-point line; his 25 field goals that day were still a tournament record through 2025.

Which program blew a 12-point lead to Florida in the 2025 national final?

Houston led by 12 in the second half but lost 65–63, never getting a shot off on its final possession when Emanuel Sharp had to let go of the ball to avoid a travel.

Which guard was Most Outstanding Player as No. 7 seed UConn won the 2014 title?

Shabazz Napier's Huskies, the lowest-seeded champions since 1985, beat Kentucky 60–54 without ever trailing, a year after UConn had been barred from the tournament over poor academic scores.

Who coached Kansas to the 2008 title, won in overtime after Mario Chalmers' late three-pointer tied Memphis?

Bill Self's Kansas trailed 60–51 with two minutes left, tied the game on Chalmers' three with 2.1 seconds to go and won 75–68 in overtime.

UConn won the 2023 men's title 76–59 over which program, playing in its first national championship game?

San Diego State shot about 32 percent and went 11 minutes of the first half without a basket, missing 14 shots in a row, as UConn won its fifth title.

Which No. 15 seed beat Missouri to reach the 2023 Sweet Sixteen?

Princeton had already knocked out a No. 2 seed 59–55 before beating Missouri 78–63; its coach, Mitch Henderson, had played on the Tigers team that upset defending champion UCLA in 1996.

Which No. 9 seed won its first NCAA tournament game in 2023 and went on to reach the Final Four?

Florida Atlantic had never won a tournament game before 2023; its Owls then won four in a row and lost their national semifinal 72–71 on Lamont Butler's buzzer-beater.

Who was 2023 Final Four Most Outstanding Player after a 17-point, 10-rebound title game?

Adama Sanogo, UConn's center from Mali, played the Final Four while fasting for Ramadan, taking no food or water during daylight hours.

Which coach, in his fifth season at the school, led the Huskies to the 2023 national championship?

Dan Hurley, hired in 2018, saw his fifth UConn team win all six tournament games by 13 points or more, then repeated as champion in 2024.

Which No. 5 seed from the ACC reached its first Final Four in 2023?

Miami (FL) knocked out the top two seeds in its region to get there, joining the first Final Four ever played without a team seeded third or better.

Which coach led LSU to its first women's national title in 2023, her fourth as a head coach?

Kim Mulkey had won three titles at Baylor before leaving for LSU in 2021; in her second season there the Tigers beat Iowa 102–85, a record score for a women's final.

Which player scored a record 191 points in the 2023 NCAA women's tournament?

Caitlin Clark's run included 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds against Louisville, the first 40-point triple-double in any NCAA tournament, men's or women's.

Until 1975, which NCAA tournament rule shut out highly ranked teams?

One bid per conference kept Maryland, among the country's best teams, at home in 1974 after an overtime loss in its league final; a year later the field grew to 32 and second teams got in.

In which state was the entire 2021 NCAA men's tournament played as a pandemic precaution?

Indiana hosted every game of the 2021 men's tournament, most of them in Indianapolis, while the women's tournament was played entirely in Texas; the 2020 events had been cancelled.

Which coach led UNLV's Runnin' Rebels to the 1990 national title?

Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV beat Duke 103–73 in 1990, through 2025 the widest margin in a title game; a year later his unbeaten Rebels lost a Final Four rematch with Duke by two points.

Which Ohio State coach's idea led to the creation of the NCAA tournament?

Harold Olsen pushed the idea through the national coaches' association, which ran the first tournament in 1939; his own Buckeyes reached that first final and lost.

Which network televised the NCAA men's title game through 1981, before CBS took over?

NBC carried the tournament from 1969 to 1981, an era when not every game was even televised; CBS's first final, in 1982, was decided by a single point.

Under what name does Texas Western, the 1966 NCAA champion, compete today?

UTEP was founded in 1913 as Texas's State School of Mines and Metallurgy, the presumed origin of the nickname its teams still carry: the Miners.

Which New Jersey arena hosted the 1996 Final Four, the last not played in a domed stadium?

Continental Airlines Arena, at the Meadowlands, was the last because the NCAA went on to require domed stadiums, whose crowds of about 70,000 bring far more ticket revenue than a 20,000-seat arena.

Which new conference's automatic bid led the NCAA tournament to expand to 65 teams in 2001?

The Mountain West, formed in 1999, initially had no automatic bid; when it received one in 2001 the NCAA added a 65th slot rather than cutting an at-large.

Which media company joined CBS in the 2010 deal that expanded the NCAA tournament to 68 teams?

Turner's channels TBS, TNT and truTV began sharing the games in 2011; three weeks before the deal the NCAA had floated a 96-team field, then settled on 68.

Through 2025, what set the 2008 and 2025 Final Fours apart from every other?

Four No. 1 seeds reached the same Final Four only in those two years; in 2008 Kansas had to beat two of the other top seeds to win the title.

Which No. 2 seed, led by Darrell Griffith, won the 1980 NCAA title in a Final Four without a No. 1 seed?

Louisville beat eighth-seeded UCLA 59–54 in the final, a win for coach Denny Crum over the school where he had played and worked as an assistant.

Which Gonzaga freshman banked in a 40-foot buzzer-beater in overtime to win a 2021 national semifinal?

Jalen Suggs's shot beat UCLA 93–90 and kept Gonzaga unbeaten at 31–0, but two nights later the Bulldogs never led in the final and lost 86–70.

Which 1986 team is the only one to beat its region's top three seeds in one tournament?

LSU reached the Final Four that year as a No. 11 seed.

Which 2006 film dramatizes Texas Western's 1966 title run with an all-Black starting five?

Glory Road stars Josh Lucas as coach Don Haskins, who started five Black players in the 1966 final; in 2007 the whole team was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Which sportscaster is credited with popularising 'March Madness' for the tournament?

Brent Musburger had worked for years in Chicago, where the IHSA used the phrase for its high school tournament, and is credited with carrying it to CBS's NCAA broadcasts in the early 1980s.

Which 1997 champion was the first team to beat three No. 1 seeds in a single NCAA tournament?

Arizona, seeded fourth in its region, knocked out three top seeds in 1997, the last of them the defending champion in an overtime title game.

About how many unique outcomes are possible in a 64-team bracket?

9.22 quintillion is 2 to the 63rd power: each of a 64-team bracket's 63 games has two possible winners, so a coin-flip picker's odds are about 1 in 9.2 quintillion.

Which billionaire backed a $1 billion prize for a perfect 2014 bracket?

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway insured the Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge; nobody won, as the last perfect entries were busted on the tournament's second full day.

Which US president filled out his bracket on ESPN every year he was in office?

Barack Obama filled out his bracket with ESPN's Andy Katz each March of his presidency, starting in 2009, and used the 2014 edition to urge young people to sign up for health insurance.

Which domed stadium first hosted the Final Four, in 1971?

The Houston Astrodome drew a then-record 31,765 for the 1971 final, where UCLA beat Villanova, yet no dome hosted the Final Four again until the Superdome in 1982.

Which unbeaten No. 1 seed took a 34–0 record into the 2014 NCAA tournament, then lost to an eighth seed?

Wichita State won its opener, then fell 78–76 to an eighth seed that rode the upset all the way to the title game; the Shockers finished 35–1.

Where was the Final Four played ten times between 1940 and 1988?

Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium hosted nine Final Fours between 1940 and 1964; Kemper Arena added a tenth in 1988, when Kansas won the title a short drive from home.

Which singer's version of 'One Shining Moment' closed most tournament broadcasts from 2003 through 2025?

Luther Vandross's recording was restored in 2011 after a single year with Jennifer Hudson's version, which drew complaints from viewers.

Which school won back-to-back national titles in 1945 and 1946 under coach Hank Iba?

Oklahoma State, then called Oklahoma A&M, won both titles behind center Bob Kurland, one of the two giants whose swatting of shots off the rim led college basketball to ban goaltending.

Which women's body ran a national tournament from 1972 to 1982 before the NCAA took over?

The AIAW ran women's national championships from 1972; after the NCAA staged a rival tournament in 1982, the AIAW folded the following year.

Which team did UConn beat 75-60 in 2024 to become the first repeat champion since 2007?

Purdue reached its first title game since 1969 a year after losing to a No. 16 seed as a No. 1, then fell 75–60 as UConn repeated.

Which conference set a record by sending 14 of its 16 teams to the 2025 NCAA men's tournament?

The SEC's 14 bids broke the record, and every regional final that year featured at least one SEC team.

By what nickname was 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast known during its 2013 tournament run?

Dunk City got its name as Florida Gulf Coast's alley-oops stunned second-seeded Georgetown; two days later it became the first 15 seed to win a second tournament game.

Which school beat Iowa in the 2024 women's final to finish 38–0?

South Carolina became the tenth unbeaten women's champion a year after Iowa had ended its previously perfect season in the national semifinals.

Who scored a title-game record 47 points to lead Texas Tech to the 1993 women's championship?

Sheryl Swoopes had left the University of Texas soon after arriving, without playing a game, and spent two years at a junior college; her 47 points beat Ohio State 84–82.

Which center led Georgetown to three national title games in four seasons, winning in 1984?

Patrick Ewing's Hoyas lost the 1982 final by one point and the 1985 final by two, defeats by a combined three points on either side of their 84–75 win.

Which player was named 1983 Most Outstanding Player despite his team losing the final?

Akeem Olajuwon took the 1983 award though Houston lost the final; through 2025 no player from a losing team had won it since. He added the H to his first name in 1991.

Which Louisville reserve had his 2013 Most Outstanding Player award stripped, then restored in 2019?

Luke Hancock, the first reserve to win the award, lost it when Louisville's 2013 title was vacated in 2018; he sued the NCAA, and a 2019 settlement restored it.

Where were the NIT semifinals and finals played every year from 1938 to 2019?

Madison Square Garden hosted every NIT final from 1938 through 2019; the NCAA, long the NIT's rival for teams, bought the tournament in 2005.

Which analyst is credited with inventing the term 'bracketology'?

Joe Lunardi began projecting the field in 1995 so that his Blue Ribbon yearbook's 80-page tournament supplement could go on sale the night the bracket came out.

Which rating replaced RPI as the men's selection committee's main metric in 2019?

The NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) took over from the RPI for the 2018–19 season; unlike the RPI, it factors in offensive and defensive efficiency, not only wins, losses and schedule strength.

What is the nickname of Larry Bird's Indiana State team, unbeaten until the 1979 final?

The Sycamores were 33–0 and ranked No. 1 before losing 75–64 to Magic Johnson's Spartans; the telecast's 24.1 rating was still the record for a men's final through 2025.

Which infamous mistake did Michigan's Chris Webber make late in the 1993 NCAA championship game?

Calling a timeout he didn't have cost Michigan a technical foul with 11 seconds left and a two-point deficit; North Carolina made the free throws and won 77–71.

Which all-white, top-ranked team did Texas Western beat 72-65 in the 1966 final?

Kentucky, ranked No. 1 with an all-white roster under Adolph Rupp, lost 72–65 to Texas Western's five Black starters; the SEC, Kentucky's own league, fielded its first Black basketball player the next year.

Which New York school, now in Division III, won both the NIT and the NCAA tournament in 1950?

CCNY beat Bradley in both finals; within a year several of its players were caught up in a point-shaving scandal, and the school scaled its program back.

'One Shining Moment' was first meant to follow which CBS broadcast, before it ran long?

The Super Bowl was the plan: CBS meant to air the song after Super Bowl XXI in January 1987, but the game ran past its slot, so the song waited for that spring's national title game.

Which star was David Barrett watching on TV when inspired to write 'One Shining Moment'?

Larry Bird was on the television in an East Lansing, Michigan, bar where Barrett had just played a set in 1986; he wrote the lyrics on a napkin the next day.

Alongside athletic directors, who picks the NCAA tournament field?

Conference commissioners share the committee with athletic directors, and every member must leave the room when their own school or conference comes up for discussion.

Who hit last-second shots to win both the semifinal and the final of the 2018 women's tournament?

Arike Ogunbowale beat previously unbeaten UConn in overtime in the semifinal, then hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds to win the final 61–58.

Which coach won UConn's first three men's national titles?

Jim Calhoun won titles in 1999, 2004 and 2011; UConn had never reached a Final Four before he arrived in 1986, and it won the championship on its first trip.

Which coach won a record 12th women's national title in 2025?

Geno Auriemma's 12th title with UConn ended a nine-year wait since his 11th, the longest gap between championships of his career.

Pat Summitt won 1,098 games and eight national titles in 38 seasons at which school?

Tennessee handed Summitt the head coaching job when she was 22, barely older than her players; she retired in 2012 with the most wins in college basketball at the time.

Which school ended UCLA's record 88-game winning streak with a 71–70 win in 1974?

Notre Dame had also been the last team to beat UCLA before the streak began, three years earlier, so the same school bookended all 88 wins.

At which school did Bob Knight coach before taking the Hoosiers job in 1971?

Army hired Knight to lead its team in 1965, and one of his players there was Mike Krzyzewski, who later served as his assistant.

Which future Celtics great led San Francisco to back-to-back national titles in 1955 and 1956?

Bill Russell was the 1955 tournament's Most Outstanding Player, won a second title with the Dons in 1956, then put off his NBA debut until December to help the US win Olympic gold in Melbourne.

Whom did Roy Williams replace as North Carolina head coach in 2003?

Matt Doherty got the job in 2000 only after Roy Williams chose to stay at Kansas; three years later Doherty resigned and Williams came home to his alma mater.

Which team did Jim Boeheim's Syracuse beat in the 2003 final?

Freshman Carmelo Anthony was named Most Outstanding Player.

Who was the first coach to take three different schools to the Final Four?

Rick Pitino reached the Final Four with Providence (1987), Kentucky (1993, 1996, 1997) and Louisville (2005, 2012), the first coach to do so with three schools.

John Calipari reached his first Final Four in 1996, led by Marcus Camby, at which school?

UMass lost in the 1996 national semifinals, and the NCAA later vacated the run because Camby had accepted money from agents.

Tom Izzo's Michigan State won its national title under him in which year?

Michigan State beat Florida 89–76 in the 2000 final behind Mateen Cleaves; the Spartans were runners-up to North Carolina in 2009.

Under which Hall of Fame coach did Jay Wright serve as an assistant at Villanova?

Rollie Massimino hired Wright as an assistant in 1987 and took him along to UNLV in 1992; Wright came back to Villanova as head coach in 2001 and won two national titles.

Which shoe company's recruiting scandal cost the Jayhawks their 2018 Final Four?

Adidas was the sponsor named in a 2017 federal corruption case; the Jayhawks' 2018 Final Four and the 15 wins Silvio De Sousa played in were later vacated.

Which two Fab Five members were Detroit natives?

Chris Webber and Jalen Rose grew up in Detroit; Michigan later took down the Fab Five's two Final Four banners after a booster scandal that centered on Webber.

Which future No. 1 NBA draft pick lost the Dream Team's one college spot to Christian Laettner?

Shaquille O'Neal lost out to Laettner, who had just won back-to-back national titles while O'Neal's team went out in the second round; weeks later Orlando drafted O'Neal.

Which NBA team drafted Gordon Hayward ninth overall after his 2010 title-game run?

The Utah Jazz took Hayward ninth in 2010, weeks after his half-court heave at the buzzer bounced off the backboard and rim, just missing an upset of Duke for the title.

Bryce Drew's famous 1998 buzzer-beater came for which school, coached by his father?

Valparaiso's Bryce Drew sank the three-pointer to beat Ole Miss 70–69; he later succeeded his father Homer as the school's head coach.

Which UCLA guard raced the length of the court in 4.8 seconds to beat Missouri in 1995?

Tyus Edney's layup at the buzzer won the second-round game 75–74, and UCLA went on to win the national title.

Under what name did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar star for UCLA?

Lew Alcindor won his first title in 1967, and college basketball then banned the dunk until 1976, a rule widely seen as aimed at him; he took the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971.

Which UCLA star scored 44 points in the 1973 NCAA championship game?

Bill Walton made 21 of 22 shots in the 87–66 win over Memphis State, and four more baskets were waved off under the no-dunk rule of the time.

Which CBS announcer called his last Final Four in 2023?

Jim Nantz stepped away to spend more time with his young children, handing the tournament to Ian Eagle; his 32nd and last Final Four was played in the city where he began broadcasting as a student.

Which CBS studio host anchored the network's tournament coverage from 1998 until 2023?

Greg Gumbel left CBS for a rival network in 1994 and hosted its NFL pregame show for four years, then returned in 1998 and took over the tournament studio.

Which school beat two-time defending champion Cincinnati in overtime to win the 1963 title?

Loyola Chicago trailed by 15 points in the second half, forced overtime, and won 60–58 on a Vic Rouse basket with one second left.

Which school ended UConn's 111-game winning streak with an overtime buzzer-beater in the 2017 Final Four?

Mississippi State's 5-foot-5 Morgan William hit the winner for a 66–64 upset, a year after UConn had beaten the same team by 60 points.

Which No. 10 seed's 1999 run began a streak of tournament trips still alive in 2025?

Gonzaga beat three higher seeds in 1999 before losing a regional final to eventual champion UConn, then made every tournament held through 2025.

Which LSU star had 20 rebounds in a 2024 regional-final loss to Iowa?

Angel Reese added 17 points before fouling out late, but Iowa's star guard hit nine three-pointers and scored 41 in the 94–87 win.

Who was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2025 women's Final Four?

Azzi Fudd scored 24 points in UConn's 82–59 final and took the award ahead of Paige Bueckers, after knee injuries had cost her most of the previous two seasons.

Dawn Staley is the only person to win which honour as both a player and a coach?

The Naismith Award first went to Dawn Staley as a college guard who lost the 1991 title game in overtime; as a coach she has won it again, along with three national championships through 2025.

Which center led Baylor to a 40–0 season and the 2012 women's title?

Brittney Griner dunked in a second-round win during that run, becoming only the second woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, after Candace Parker.

Which school did Tara VanDerveer coach for 38 seasons, through 2024?

Stanford won national titles under VanDerveer in 1990, 1992 and 2021; she stepped away for the 1995–96 season to coach the US team to Olympic gold in Atlanta.

Which UConn star was named Most Outstanding Player four years running?

Breanna Stewart missed the first game of the 2013 tournament with a sore calf, then scored 105 points in the next five to win the award as a freshman; UConn won the title in each of her four seasons.

Which Jayhawks star, still the school's career scoring leader in 2025, won the 1988 title?

Danny Manning scored 2,951 career points, carried 'Danny and the Miracles' to the 1988 title, and won again as a Kansas assistant in 2008.

Which Wildcats freshman set the NCAA freshman blocks record en route to the 2012 title?

Anthony Davis made only one basket and scored six points in the 2012 final, yet his 16 rebounds and six blocks helped make him the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

Which Canadian won back-to-back national player of the year awards in 2023 and 2024?

Zach Edey, a 7-foot-4 Toronto native who grew up playing hockey and baseball, was the first to repeat as national player of the year since Ralph Sampson in the early 1980s.

Which guard was 2025 Final Four Most Outstanding Player for champion Florida?

Walter Clayton Jr. scored 34 points in the semifinal win over Auburn; a Florida native, he had spent two seasons at Iona under Rick Pitino before transferring home.

Which Duke freshman was 2025 national player of the year and then the top NBA pick?

Cooper Flagg, from Newport, Maine, reclassified to reach college a year early and was still 17 when the season began; he went first overall to Dallas.

Which coach led the Gators to the 2025 national title?

Todd Golden, then 39, won the title in his third season with the Gators, who finished 36–4 after rallying from 12 points down in the championship game.

Which coach took Houston to the 2021 Final Four, its first since 1984?

Kelvin Sampson, raised in the Lumbee community of Pembroke, rebuilt the program years after NCAA violations forced him to resign at Indiana in 2008.

Which captain of Duke's 2010 title team became the Blue Devils' head coach in 2022?

Jon Scheyer first drew national attention as an Illinois high schooler by scoring 21 points in 75 seconds during a one-man comeback attempt.

Before Alabama, Nate Oats coached which school?

Oats coached Buffalo from 2015 to 2019, winning three MAC tournament titles; two years before taking over he was still a high school coach and teacher in Romulus, Michigan.

Which Duke freshman had a CBS camera devoted to him throughout the 2019 NCAA Tournament, his only one?

Zion Williamson scored 32 points to survive UCF by a single point in the second round, then put up 24 and 14 rebounds in the one-point loss that ended his college career.

Which Big 12 school reached its first Final Four in 2019 and then lost the national championship game in overtime?

Texas Tech had gone out of its conference tournament in its first game, then beat No. 1 seed Gonzaga to win the West Regional under third-year coach Chris Beard.

Which Virginia guard sank three free throws with 0.6 seconds left to win the 2019 national semifinal by one point?

Kyle Guy was fouled shooting a corner three-pointer, made all three for a 63–62 win, and was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player two nights later.

Which NFL team's home stadium, built on the site of the old Metrodome, hosted the 2019 men's Final Four?

The Minnesota Vikings' U.S. Bank Stadium drew 72,711 fans for the semifinals, having staged Super Bowl LII the previous year.

Which No. 5 seed beat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky in successive rounds to reach its first Final Four in 2019?

Auburn got there under Bruce Pearl after winning four straight games to take its conference tournament, then lost its national semifinal by a single point.

Which 7-foot-6 UCF center had 15 points in his final college game, a 77–76 loss to top seed Duke in 2019?

Tacko Fall had helped UCF to the first NCAA Tournament win in its history two days earlier, and went on to become one of the tallest players in the NBA.

Which coach, a former Charlotte Hornets guard, led Virginia to its first national championship in 2019?

Tony Bennett built the champions on the pack-line defense his father Dick devised, and as a player he set the NCAA career record for three-point accuracy at 49.7%.

Which team ended top overall seed Duke's 2019 run with a 68–67 win in the East Regional final?

Michigan State went ahead on Kenny Goins's three-pointer with 34 seconds left, giving Tom Izzo only his second win in 13 meetings with Duke's head coach.

Which Virginia sophomore scored a career-high 27 points in the 2019 national final, then went fourth in the NBA draft?

De'Andre Hunter also hit the three-pointer that tied the game with 12.9 seconds left in regulation; a broken wrist had kept him out of the previous year's tournament.

Which Purdue guard scored 42 points in a 2019 Elite Eight loss yet set a single-tournament record for three-pointers?

Carsen Edwards made 28 three-pointers in only four games, passing a mark Glen Rice had needed six games to set in 1989, and was named the South Regional's Most Outstanding Player in defeat.

Which conference supplied three of the four No. 1 seeds in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, tying a record set in 2009?

The ACC placed Duke, Virginia and North Carolina on the top line, matching the Big East's feat of a decade earlier; only one of the three reached the Final Four.

Which former Duke forward called the 2019 national final for CBS as an analyst beside Jim Nantz and Bill Raftery?

Grant Hill, who won national titles with Duke in 1991 and 1992, had joined the lead announcing team for the tournament in 2015.

Which Hall of Fame player coached his alma mater St. John's in the 2019 First Four, then resigned weeks later?

Chris Mullin won 21 games that season, matching the school's best total since 1999–2000, but stepped down that April after going 59–73 in four years.

Whose buzzer-beating jumper for Virginia forced overtime against Purdue in the 2019 Elite Eight?

Mamadi Diakite, a forward from Guinea, shot off a 40-foot pass from Kihei Clark and finished with 14 points and four blocks in the 80–75 win.

Which No. 13 seed from the Big West beat Kansas State in 2019 for its first NCAA Tournament win?

UC Irvine, whose teams are called the Anteaters, won 70–64 in a season that also brought a school-record 31 wins and a 17-game winning streak.

Which former Duke national player of the year coached the UCF team that lost by one point to Duke in 2019?

Johnny Dawkins was Duke's all-time leading scorer until JJ Redick passed him in 2006, and his son Aubrey had transferred from Michigan to play for him.

Which LSU head coach sat out the 2019 NCAA Tournament under suspension while interim Tony Benford led a Sweet 16 run?

Will Wade was suspended by LSU a day after a report that an FBI wiretap had caught him discussing an offer to a recruit; the school reinstated him that April.

Which Southern Conference school's Fletcher Magee broke the NCAA career three-pointer record in a 2019 first-round win?

Wofford's shooting guard passed Travis Bader's career mark of 504 in an 84–68 win over Seton Hall, the Terriers' first victory in the NCAA Tournament.

Which No. 12 seed, in its first season in the ASUN Conference, upset Mississippi State in the 2019 first round?

Liberty, based in Lynchburg, Virginia, had shared the regular-season title with Lipscomb and then beaten it in the conference final to earn the bid.

Which Big South champion made its NCAA Tournament debut in 2019 as a No. 16 seed against top-seeded Virginia?

Gardner-Webb, from Boiling Springs, North Carolina, had just won its first Big South tournament to earn the bid, and lost the first-round meeting 71–56.

Which freshman led Syracuse to its first NCAA title in 2003, then was picked third in the NBA draft?

Carmelo Anthony scored 33 points against Texas in the national semifinal, added 20 points and 10 rebounds in the final, and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Which school won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956 with future Celtics legend Bill Russell at center?

San Francisco put together a 60-game winning streak in those years, then the longest in college basketball, with K.C. Jones playing alongside Russell.

Which guard led UConn to the 2011 NCAA title weeks after winning five games in five days at the Big East Tournament?

Kemba Walker scored 130 points across those five days, and a team that had only tied for ninth in its conference ended the season with eleven straight wins.

Which school won its first NCAA title in 1994 with a pressing style nicknamed "40 Minutes of Hell"?

Arkansas beat Duke 76–72 after Scotty Thurman's high-arching three-pointer in the final minute, and coach Nolan Richardson was named national coach of the year.

Which school won its first NCAA title in 2002 behind guard Juan Dixon, its career scoring leader?

Maryland went 32–4 under Gary Williams, and Dixon, named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, passed Len Bias as the school's all-time leading scorer during the run.

Which coach started five Black players for Texas Western in the 1966 NCAA final, a first for a title game?

Don Haskins coached the El Paso school from 1961 to 1999, winning 719 games, and his 1966 team was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a whole in 2007.

Which coach, nicknamed the Baron of the Bluegrass, won four NCAA titles with Kentucky between 1948 and 1958?

Adolph Rupp retired with 876 wins, then the most of any men's Division I coach, and Kentucky's home arena, which opened in 1976, was named after him.

Which sophomore guard led Bob Knight's Hoosiers to the 1981 NCAA title, then went second in the NBA draft?

Isiah Thomas spent his whole NBA career with the Detroit Pistons, leading the "Bad Boys" to back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990.

Which future Celtics great won the 1960 NCAA title at Ohio State alongside Jerry Lucas and reserve Bob Knight?

John Havlicek only entered the lineup when a teammate was injured in the season's first game; he, Lucas and Knight all reached the Hall of Fame, Knight as a coach.

Which coach won the 1977 NCAA title with Marquette just before retiring, then became a popular TV commentator?

Al McGuire had announced that December that he would retire, and his team entered the tournament with seven losses, then the most for an eventual champion.

Which school, with a lineup nicknamed the Tall Firs, won the very first NCAA basketball tournament?

Oregon beat Ohio State 46–33 in the final, having earlier become the first West Coast team to make an extended road trip to the East Coast.

Which New England college won the 1947 NCAA title with future NBA legend Bob Cousy as a freshman guard?

Holy Cross and UConn are the only New England schools to have won the tournament; George Kaftan, not Cousy, was named the 1947 event's outstanding player.

Which school won the 1943 NCAA title behind Kenny Sailors, a pioneer of the modern jump shot?

Wyoming was the first team from the Rocky Mountains to win the title, and two days later it beat NIT champion St. John's in a wartime charity game.

Which school won the 1944 NCAA title after entering as a late replacement for a team hurt in a car crash?

Utah had just lost its first game at the NIT when the NCAA committee called, and it went on to beat Dartmouth 42–40 in overtime in the final.

Which Pennsylvania school won the 1954 NCAA title behind Tom Gola, the NCAA's career rebounding leader?

La Salle beat Bradley 92–76 in the final; Gola, who could defend all five positions, averaged more than 20 points and 20 rebounds a game that season.

Which school beat teams led by Oscar Robertson and Jerry West at the 1959 Final Four to win its only NCAA title?

California won the final 71–70 over West Virginia under Pete Newell, who coached the United States to Olympic gold the following year.

Which coach's Arizona team beat three No. 1 seeds to win the 1997 NCAA title as a No. 4 seed?

Lute Olson's Wildcats had gone only 11–7 in conference play, and they needed overtime in the final to win the program's first championship.

Which Georgetown coach became the first Black head coach to win the NCAA title, in 1984?

John Thompson had spent two NBA seasons as Bill Russell's backup with the Boston Celtics, winning a championship in both.

Which UCLA forward, later lead plaintiff in an antitrust suit against the NCAA, starred for the 1995 champions?

Ed O'Bannon had 30 points and 17 rebounds in the 1995 final, and his later court case brought an end to the NCAA's licensed video games.

Which school lost to Belmont in the 2019 First Four, the last game of Fran Dunphy's 13 seasons as its coach?

Temple had announced a year earlier that Dunphy would step down, with assistant and former Owls star Aaron McKie lined up to succeed him.