NCAA: 65 Teams That You've Seen Before
After 10 years of following the NCAAs, things are starting to look familiar. I'm seeing teams that I've seen before, and I'm not talking about the names on the front of the uniform. In fact, I think I can compare every team in the field to a team from the past.
16-seeds
Hampton is Alabama A&M 05
Lost the play-in game. They weren't let back into the tournament. Those are the rules.
Southern is Alabama St. 04
Thumped by Duke in the 1st round.
Oral Roberts is Fairleigh Dickinson 05
You feel kinda weird saying their name. And they got blown out in round one.
Monmouth is Delaware St. 05
Hung with the 1-seed (Duke) for a while.
Albany is Vermont 03
We all wanted them to hang with the 1-seed. But they didn't.
15-seeds
Winthrop is Hampton 01
Knocked off a 2-seed in the first round.
Davidson is SE Louisiana 05
Expectations met with a loss.
Belmont is Wagner 03
Never heard of them before. Haven't heard from them since.
Penn is Valparaiso 04
Recognizable name led some to pick them. Didn't translate to a W.
14-seeds
Northwestern St. is Niagara 05
Couple murmurs of an upset possibility, but it didn't happen.
Xavier is BYU(12-seed) 03
We haven't seen a team from a near-major conference seeded this low in a long time. That BYU lost in the 1st round.
Murray St. is Murray St. 02
No one picks the Racers, but they're occaisionally a tough out.
South Alabama is Bucknell 05
Snuck up on a highly regarded 3-seed.
13-seeds
Iona is Vermont 05
Lots of seniors led to a Day of Destiny.
Bradley is Indiana St. 01
MVC team proved to be a legitimate danger.
Air Force is UTEP 04
Suspect at-large went nowhere.
Pacific is W. Kentucky 03
They had been in the tourney three years in a row and put up a good fight. (But W. Kentucky hadn't won a game two straight years.)
12-seeds
Texas A&M is BYU 04
Big football school's basketball team fell just short against Syracuse.
Kent State is Butler 03
Fear mid-majors from mid-west.
Utah State is Wisc.-Milwaukee 05
Frequent tourney participant, occaisional Cinderella.
Montana is Weber St 03
How do these random Big Sky teams get such high seeds every once in a while?
11-seeds
S. Illinois is S. Illinois 02
Fear the Saluki.
San Diego St. is Georgia St. 01
A mid-major 11-seed with a coach who had success at a major program. Lefty Driesel won a game this year.
George Mason is Wyoming 02
Wyoming is an 11-seed?! And they're playing good tournament team?! They'll never win! (They did.)
Wisc.-Milwaukee is (12-seed)Wisc. Milwaukee 05
I know I've used them already, but this one is literally true. UW-Mil won last year with great rebounding. They return 7 seniors this year.
10-seeds
NC State is (9-seed)Nevada 05
A year after making a run, this Wolf Pack didn't.
Alabama is Iowa 05
Solid but not great major team was better the following year.
Seton Hall is NC St 05
NC St. had less than 20 wins, but made the Sweet 16.
Northern Iowa is Creighton 05
MVC tourney regulars were very good, but faced an even better team from the Big East.
9-seeds
UNC-Wilmington is (13-seed) UNC-Wilmington 02
Seahawks won one.
Bucknell is (6-seed) Gonzaga 02
Zags finally got a high seed then got upset the first time they could be. I think Bucknell is overrated at a 9-seed.
UAB is UAB 04
Knocked off Kentucky then lost.
Wisconsin is Pitt 05
9-seed from strong conference didn't finish season well and lost in the first round.
8-seeds
George Washington is College of Charleston 99
2-loss Charleston underappreciated with an 8-seed but couldn't beat the 9.
Arkansas is LSU 03
Hadn't heard much from these occaisional SEC powers. Didn't dance long.
Kentucky is (9-seed)Arizona 04
Elite teams on an off-year don't fare well in the 8-9 games.
Arizona is (9-seed)Arizona 04
Elite teams on an off-year don't fare well in the 8-9 games.
7-seeds
California is West Virginia 05
Watch out for those 7-seeds with star power. This Leon Powe guy is apparently pretty good.
Marquette is Charlotte 05
They both end in -tte. Charlotte didn't win a game.
Wichita St. is So. Illinois 05
MVC's highest seed won only one game.
Georgetown is (13-seed) Princeton 96
Back-door cuts! Yay!
6-seeds
West Virginia is Utah 05
Tall white center with an outside shot led the Utes to the Sweet 16.
Indiana is (5-seed) Iowa 99
Coached by lame-duck (and the program's all-time leader in career wins) Tom Davis, the Hawkeyes made the Sweet-16. Sometimes players rally around their leader, even if it's too late.
Michigan State is Missouri 03
The year after a shock run isn't always as good, especially when the regular season was a little disappointing.
Oklahoma is Texas Tech 05
A good coach could squeeze an extra win out of a fairly ordinary-looking 6-seed.
5-seeds
Syracuse is (7-seed) West Virginia 05
Many thought the Mountaineers couldn't keep the momentum going either after their Big East finals appearance.
Pittsburgh is Georgia Tech 05
The Yellow Jackets had a nice, experienced backcourt but couldn't do more than one win.
Washington is Florida 04
Florida was a 5-seed a year after getting a very high seed. Lost in the first round to a mid-major tourney regular.
Nevada is (2-seed) Gonzaga 04
Zags couldn't turn their highest seed ever into more than one win.
4-seeds
LSU is Syracuse 05
Talented team with an inside force who will be playing in the pros someday. Could go a long way, if they don't look past their first round game.
Kansas is Kansas 04
The last time they were a 4-seed the Jayhawks went to the Elite Eight.
Illinois is (7-seed) Indiana 03
The year after being National Runners-up, Indiana only won one game.
Boston College is Boston College 04
Lot's of returners from the team that got the same seed and only won one game.
3-seeds
Iowa is Oklahoma 05
Solid team without stars went two and done.
Gonzaga is Gonzaga 05
Same team plus Ronny Turiaf onle won one game. Is Adam Morrison that much better this year?
North Carolina is Syracuse 03
Best player was a brilliant Freshman forward. Team improved with a new player taking over at point guard halfway through the season. Coach had been there before. Couple perimeter threats. National Champions.
Florida is Florida 01
Billy Donovan is a great recruiter and a terrible tournament coach. From 2001 on, he has not made the sweet sixteen and he's been upset in the first round every even-numbered year.
2-seeds
Texas is UConn 05
Talented, but lacking in chemistry, the Huskies lost in the 2nd round.
UCLA is Oregon 02
Backcourt-heavy Pac-10 team went to the Elite Eight. Not sure UCLA is quite as good, though.
Tennessee is Florida 03
The last time a team with 7 losses from the SEC got a 2-seed, they lost in the 2nd round.
Ohio State is Kentucky 98
The last time a coach won a national championship in his first year with a program. Ohio State is less-talented. But Thad Matta is the greatest coach in college basketball history.
1-seeds
Memphis is St. Joeseph's 04
Everyone picked St. Joe's to lose in the 2nd round, but they turned out to be as strong as their record suggested, falling just short of the final four.
Duke is Maryland 02
Maryland's best player was a guard. Its second best player was a big man. If I had to be honest, though, it's tough to find a champion that won with basically one amazing guard, one dominant center, and a bunch of scrappers. We'll see.
Villanova is Texas 03
Texas was the 2nd best team in the Big 12 and had one great guard the year they made the final four. Villanova has many great guards.
UConn is UNC 05
The Tar Heels were the most talented team in the country with future pros all over the court. They lost a couple games here and there throughout the season but got it done in the tournament.
See? We've done this before. Anyway, here's my picks:
Duke, Gonzaga, UConn, Ohio State
UConn over Duke in the final
Now let the Madness begin. Again!
16-seeds
Hampton is Alabama A&M 05
Lost the play-in game. They weren't let back into the tournament. Those are the rules.
Southern is Alabama St. 04
Thumped by Duke in the 1st round.
Oral Roberts is Fairleigh Dickinson 05
You feel kinda weird saying their name. And they got blown out in round one.
Monmouth is Delaware St. 05
Hung with the 1-seed (Duke) for a while.
Albany is Vermont 03
We all wanted them to hang with the 1-seed. But they didn't.
15-seeds
Winthrop is Hampton 01
Knocked off a 2-seed in the first round.
Davidson is SE Louisiana 05
Expectations met with a loss.
Belmont is Wagner 03
Never heard of them before. Haven't heard from them since.
Penn is Valparaiso 04
Recognizable name led some to pick them. Didn't translate to a W.
14-seeds
Northwestern St. is Niagara 05
Couple murmurs of an upset possibility, but it didn't happen.
Xavier is BYU(12-seed) 03
We haven't seen a team from a near-major conference seeded this low in a long time. That BYU lost in the 1st round.
Murray St. is Murray St. 02
No one picks the Racers, but they're occaisionally a tough out.
South Alabama is Bucknell 05
Snuck up on a highly regarded 3-seed.
13-seeds
Iona is Vermont 05
Lots of seniors led to a Day of Destiny.
Bradley is Indiana St. 01
MVC team proved to be a legitimate danger.
Air Force is UTEP 04
Suspect at-large went nowhere.
Pacific is W. Kentucky 03
They had been in the tourney three years in a row and put up a good fight. (But W. Kentucky hadn't won a game two straight years.)
12-seeds
Texas A&M is BYU 04
Big football school's basketball team fell just short against Syracuse.
Kent State is Butler 03
Fear mid-majors from mid-west.
Utah State is Wisc.-Milwaukee 05
Frequent tourney participant, occaisional Cinderella.
Montana is Weber St 03
How do these random Big Sky teams get such high seeds every once in a while?
11-seeds
S. Illinois is S. Illinois 02
Fear the Saluki.
San Diego St. is Georgia St. 01
A mid-major 11-seed with a coach who had success at a major program. Lefty Driesel won a game this year.
George Mason is Wyoming 02
Wyoming is an 11-seed?! And they're playing good tournament team?! They'll never win! (They did.)
Wisc.-Milwaukee is (12-seed)Wisc. Milwaukee 05
I know I've used them already, but this one is literally true. UW-Mil won last year with great rebounding. They return 7 seniors this year.
10-seeds
NC State is (9-seed)Nevada 05
A year after making a run, this Wolf Pack didn't.
Alabama is Iowa 05
Solid but not great major team was better the following year.
Seton Hall is NC St 05
NC St. had less than 20 wins, but made the Sweet 16.
Northern Iowa is Creighton 05
MVC tourney regulars were very good, but faced an even better team from the Big East.
9-seeds
UNC-Wilmington is (13-seed) UNC-Wilmington 02
Seahawks won one.
Bucknell is (6-seed) Gonzaga 02
Zags finally got a high seed then got upset the first time they could be. I think Bucknell is overrated at a 9-seed.
UAB is UAB 04
Knocked off Kentucky then lost.
Wisconsin is Pitt 05
9-seed from strong conference didn't finish season well and lost in the first round.
8-seeds
George Washington is College of Charleston 99
2-loss Charleston underappreciated with an 8-seed but couldn't beat the 9.
Arkansas is LSU 03
Hadn't heard much from these occaisional SEC powers. Didn't dance long.
Kentucky is (9-seed)Arizona 04
Elite teams on an off-year don't fare well in the 8-9 games.
Arizona is (9-seed)Arizona 04
Elite teams on an off-year don't fare well in the 8-9 games.
7-seeds
California is West Virginia 05
Watch out for those 7-seeds with star power. This Leon Powe guy is apparently pretty good.
Marquette is Charlotte 05
They both end in -tte. Charlotte didn't win a game.
Wichita St. is So. Illinois 05
MVC's highest seed won only one game.
Georgetown is (13-seed) Princeton 96
Back-door cuts! Yay!
6-seeds
West Virginia is Utah 05
Tall white center with an outside shot led the Utes to the Sweet 16.
Indiana is (5-seed) Iowa 99
Coached by lame-duck (and the program's all-time leader in career wins) Tom Davis, the Hawkeyes made the Sweet-16. Sometimes players rally around their leader, even if it's too late.
Michigan State is Missouri 03
The year after a shock run isn't always as good, especially when the regular season was a little disappointing.
Oklahoma is Texas Tech 05
A good coach could squeeze an extra win out of a fairly ordinary-looking 6-seed.
5-seeds
Syracuse is (7-seed) West Virginia 05
Many thought the Mountaineers couldn't keep the momentum going either after their Big East finals appearance.
Pittsburgh is Georgia Tech 05
The Yellow Jackets had a nice, experienced backcourt but couldn't do more than one win.
Washington is Florida 04
Florida was a 5-seed a year after getting a very high seed. Lost in the first round to a mid-major tourney regular.
Nevada is (2-seed) Gonzaga 04
Zags couldn't turn their highest seed ever into more than one win.
4-seeds
LSU is Syracuse 05
Talented team with an inside force who will be playing in the pros someday. Could go a long way, if they don't look past their first round game.
Kansas is Kansas 04
The last time they were a 4-seed the Jayhawks went to the Elite Eight.
Illinois is (7-seed) Indiana 03
The year after being National Runners-up, Indiana only won one game.
Boston College is Boston College 04
Lot's of returners from the team that got the same seed and only won one game.
3-seeds
Iowa is Oklahoma 05
Solid team without stars went two and done.
Gonzaga is Gonzaga 05
Same team plus Ronny Turiaf onle won one game. Is Adam Morrison that much better this year?
North Carolina is Syracuse 03
Best player was a brilliant Freshman forward. Team improved with a new player taking over at point guard halfway through the season. Coach had been there before. Couple perimeter threats. National Champions.
Florida is Florida 01
Billy Donovan is a great recruiter and a terrible tournament coach. From 2001 on, he has not made the sweet sixteen and he's been upset in the first round every even-numbered year.
2-seeds
Texas is UConn 05
Talented, but lacking in chemistry, the Huskies lost in the 2nd round.
UCLA is Oregon 02
Backcourt-heavy Pac-10 team went to the Elite Eight. Not sure UCLA is quite as good, though.
Tennessee is Florida 03
The last time a team with 7 losses from the SEC got a 2-seed, they lost in the 2nd round.
Ohio State is Kentucky 98
The last time a coach won a national championship in his first year with a program. Ohio State is less-talented. But Thad Matta is the greatest coach in college basketball history.
1-seeds
Memphis is St. Joeseph's 04
Everyone picked St. Joe's to lose in the 2nd round, but they turned out to be as strong as their record suggested, falling just short of the final four.
Duke is Maryland 02
Maryland's best player was a guard. Its second best player was a big man. If I had to be honest, though, it's tough to find a champion that won with basically one amazing guard, one dominant center, and a bunch of scrappers. We'll see.
Villanova is Texas 03
Texas was the 2nd best team in the Big 12 and had one great guard the year they made the final four. Villanova has many great guards.
UConn is UNC 05
The Tar Heels were the most talented team in the country with future pros all over the court. They lost a couple games here and there throughout the season but got it done in the tournament.
See? We've done this before. Anyway, here's my picks:
Duke, Gonzaga, UConn, Ohio State
UConn over Duke in the final
Now let the Madness begin. Again!
posted by Prof. A at 9:17 AM
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