2015 NCAA Tourney 2nd Round Odds and Ends

From the Sports Desk of Ribbie’s Weblog, your source for twisted coverage of March Madness.  Here are some stats and facts you might not have seen yet:

• The lowest winning score in a game:  56 – (3): Arkansas, Dayton, Butler
• The lowest combined score in a game: 104 – Butler 56 – Texas 48.
• Lowest losing score in a game:  48 – Texas
• Highest number of bids by state: 5 – Texas and Indiana
• Most # of loses by a state in second round play:  5 Texas – Texas, Texas Southern, Baylor, Stephen F. Austin, SMU
• Highest scoring game:  BYU 90 v Ole Miss 94 (First Round)
• Most teams by conference still alive:  6:  ACC, Big East, Big Ten
• Most teams by state still alive: 4 – Ohio: Cincy,  Dayton, OSU, Xavier; IN: Indy, Valpo, Butler, Notre Dame NC:  UNC, Davidson, Duke, NC St.
• Rhyming Couplet Matchup:

The high and mighty Dayton Flyers

Will play the saintly Providence Friars

Stay tuned for continued “coverage” of or more aptly, musing, rantings and ravings on the 2015 NCAA Hoops Tournament.  Let the madness continue!

2015 NCAA First Four – Bird of Prey vs. Founding Father

Robert Morris

JS Bach

The Robert Morris Colonials play the North Florida Ospreys in one of the first games of the NCAA tournament in what is known as the First Four Round. It’s a play-in essentially to the Second Round, with the winner of the game playing the top seeded team from the South, Duke. So who wins? A Colonial versus an Osprey.  A formidable bird of prey should have no problem with an colonial unless said colonial is armed with a hunting rifle.  But the colonial in question was not just any colonial, he, Robert Morris to be precise was a founding father and U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.  A man who bears a striking resemblance to J.S. Bach, Morris was said to have largely financed the American Revolution but ironically landed in debtors prison some years later. Given the outcome, I would have thought he’d have gotten a more favorable return on his investment.

Morris lived in Philadelphia just a stone’s throw from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, a wildlife preserve for birds of prey in Kempton, PA.   As a prolific dealer in land, and a Naval proponent, I have to believe that Mr. Morris had enormous respect for wildlife and birds.  As such, I do not believe he would have any animosity toward the Osprey.  Nor do I believe the Osprey have any particular qualms with Robert Morris or other humans as these particular hawk species only attack and eat fish.

What this all means in terms of the game is that both Robert Morris and North Florida will play defensively and try to control the pace, but not bloody the opponent.  It will be a low scoring game – say 56-55, North Florida winning in a squeaker, or squawker as it were or will be.

2015 March Madness – 68 of the not so great

Are you mad for March?  Are you ready for March Madness?  I am and so are 68 NCAA basketball teams.  Let’s have a look at who is in and see what we can see.  One quick note:  there are quite a few no and new shows.

• First timers:  North Florida, UC Irvine, Buffalo.  No offense North Florida, but I didn’t even know you had a school, much less a team, but, nonetheless, welcome….and good luck!  Hey, Buffalo.  We don’t hear much about your college hoops team.  I don’t suppose you folks are the Buffalo Buffalos?  No?  Oh, the Buffalo Bulls, not to be confused with the bad news Buffalo Bills.  Interestingly, the team is coached by Bobby Hurley, of Duke fame, and has a roster of only one kid from the State of New York (Buffalo) who went to prep school in Virginia.
• Thirty-three states and DC sent teams to the tournament.
• Texas and Indiana have the most teams in the big dance with (5) – TX: TX Southern, UT, Baylor, SMU and SF Austin; IN: Purdue, Butler, Notre Dame, Valparaiso, Indiana.
• The Big State of California where basketball does not reign supreme this year has only 3 teams representing: UCLA, UC Irvine and San Diego State.
• Florida produced one team:  North Florida, the home of the Ospreys – not sure if the mascot is a bird or a helicopter.
• Tennessee produced one team:  the Belmont Bruins from Nashville.
• There could be an all Texas and or former SWC conference final: SMU vs. Texas or Ark vs. SMU – but it won’t happen.
• Wofford has a fitting mascot:  the Terriers!

Let the madness begin!

And then there were 8

From the cluttered Sports Desk of Ribbie’s Weblog:

Highlights from the second group of Sweet 16 games and a few other oddities:

• In a losing effort, Tennessee had fewer turnovers, more rebounds, more steals and more blocked shots (8) than Michigan
• Michigan outperformed Tennessee in all the shooting categories.
• Louisville went only 13-23, 56.5% at the free throw line; KY, 22-27, 81.5%.
• UConn shot a better 3 point percentage, 47.4%, than Iowa State’s field goal percentage, 46.4%
• UConn made 91% of their free throws – 20-22; Iowa State 40% – 6-15.
• UConn is 3-0 at Madison Square Garden this season.
• The Big Ten reigns supreme with 3 teams left:  WI (2), MI (2) and MI State (4); SEC has 2:  FL (1), KY (8)
• Last #8 National Champion: 1985 – Villanova.
• Big Ten record – 9-3; SEC – 9-1.
• The Lowest seeded teams in the Elite 8 are: Dayton (11), KY (8) and CT (7)
• # of Elite 8 match ups between teams that have played before this season: 0
• # of teams that have not faced an Elite 8 team this year: 1 – Dayton
• Place Dayton finished in the Atlantic 10 conference: 6th.
• Number of 11 seeds to reach the final four:  3: VCU (2011); Geo. Mason (2006); LSU (1986)
• Kentucky’s record against Elite 8 teams:  0-3, losing twice to FL and once to MI St.
• Florida’s record: 35-2.  # of losses to Elite 8 teams: 2 – UConn, WI
• Most games against Elite 8 teams: MI – 6; record 3-3: Wins – WI, MI St. (2); Loses – AZ, WI, MI St.
• Number of coaches in the Elite 8 with one or more championships: 3 – Billy Donovan (2); John Calipari (1); Tom Izzo (1)

And then there were 12

The Dayton Flyers are the big story from the sports desk of Ribbie’s Weblog.  In their Sweet 16 game against a tall Stanford club, the 11 seed Dayton Flyers soared to new heights knocking down 8 threes and breezing to a ten point win to reach the Elite 8.  The last time Dayton advanced to the Elite 8 was 30 years ago.  Florida has had the easiest ride so far of any #1 seed.  Coming out of the least competitive South bracket, they have defeated Albany (16), Pittsburgh (9), UCLA (4) and will face Dayton (11) in the Elite 8.

On the first night of Sweet 16 play, here’s what went down:

• The three California teams lost – Stanford, San Diego and UCLA.
• Florida won extending the SEC undefeated streak in the tournament to 7 games.
• After Baylor and Stanford lost, there are only 2 private universities left:  Dayton and Louisville.
• Arizona, Florida and CT do not border any of the states with teams left in the tournament.
• UCLA missed 15 three points shots shooting only 16.7% beyond the arc.  Florida made 8, shooting 38% from three point land.
• Dayton had 19 assists; Stanford just 10.
• Baylor made 31% of its shots – 18/57 and was only 2/15 beyond the arc.
• Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky, the pride of Lisle, IL had 6 blocked shots against Baylor. The 7 footer went 8/11 and scored 19 points.
• Arizona shot 23/48 for 48%; 5/12 behind the arc.

Who will join Dayton, Florida, Arizona and Wisconsin to complete the Elite 8?  We shall see.  Let the games continue!

2014 Sweet 16 Tournament Geography and Stuff

From the sports desk of Ribbie’s Weblog, here are some more interesting facts about the Sweet 16 teams as they head into action tonight.

• Number of teams from states that do not border any other states with teams left in the tournament: 2 – Texas, Connecticut
• # of private universities: 4 – Stanford, Louisville, Dayton and Baylor
• Games between border states: 1 – Arizona v. San Diego State
• Games between private universities: 1 – Stanford v. Dayton
• Game of lowest seeds: Stanford (10) v. Dayton (11)
• 1 v. 4 games: 3 – VA (1) v. Michigan St. (4); FL (1) v. UCLA (4); AZ (1) v. San Diego St. (4)
• Number of states with teams in the the Sweet 16 that Kentucky borders: 3 – Tennessee, Ohio (Dayton), VA

I know, BORING, so let the games begin.

Maddening 2014 March Madness Fact and Oddities

March Madness is upon us once again and 32 teams still stand tall, some taller than others. So which teams are left after the first two rounds?  How many conferences? How many states? These and other questions will be answered. To paraphrase some babbling Pink Floyd – I know I am mad, I’ve always been mad, even when I’m not mad, I’m mad…can’t really do anything about it anyway…except compile statistics and odd facts about a basketball tournament.  Read on you crazy hoop heads.

High and Lows:

• State Highs:  3 – TX: Baylor, Stephen F. Austin, Texas; CA: Stanford, San Diego State, UCLA

• States Remaining: 23

• Conference Highs:  4 – ACC: NC, Pitt, VA, Syracuse; Big 12: Iowa St., KS, Baylor, Texas; Pac 12: AZ, UCLA, Stanford, OR

• Conference Lows: 0 – Conference USA, Mid American, et al.

• All Conference Final 4: 1: Big 12: Iowa St., Kansas, Baylor, Texas

• Final Four Madness: Stephen F. Austin (12), Harvard (12), North Dakota St. (12), Mercer (14)

Mascot Breakdown:

• People – 7: Tennessee Volunteers, SF Austin Lumberjacks, Dayton Flyers, San Diego State Aztecs, NC Tar Heels, Michigan St. Spartans, Virginia Cavaliers

• Cats – 5:  Pittsburgh Panthers, Memphis Tigers, Arizona Wildcats, Kentucky Wildcats, Villanova Wildcats

• Birds – 5:  Stanford Cardinal, Louisville Cardinals, Kansas Jayhawks, Creighton Jays, Oregon Ducks

• Bears – 3: UCLA Bruins, Mercer Bears, Baylor Bears

• Weird Animals – 2: Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan Wolverines

• Colors – 2:  Syracuse Orange, Harvard Crimson

• Bovinae – 2:  Texas Longhorns, North Dakota State Bisons

• Fruits – 1: Syracuse Orange

• Grains – 1: Wichita State Shockers (stalk of wheat)

• Natural Disasters – 1:  Iowa St. Cylcones

• Doll – 1: Saint Louis Billikens

• Swamp Dwellers – 1: Florida Gators

Interesting Matchups:

• All Cat Final Four:  KY Wildcats, Villanova Wildcats, Arizona Wildcats, Pitt Panthers

• All People Final Four:  Virgina Cavaliers, Tennessee Volunteer, San Diego St. Aztecs, SF Austin Lumberjacks

• Top Public U Final Four: UCLA, Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin

• Top Academics Final Four: Harvard, Stanford, Wisconsin, Michigan

• Great Mascot Battle:  Wolverine, Badger, Gator, Tiger

Let the madness continue!