NCAA Mania

The first full weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament is in full swing and both North Carolina and Duke are still alive as they both head into their second round games today.  The ACC has three chances to win and advance as Louisville starts the TV coverage with a 12:10 tip with their game against Michigan.  Carolina heads to the court at 6:10 and Duke will be the last to play today playing Carolina(South Carolina )in Grenville SC.  The North Carolina State women play their second round game at 2:30 at the University of Texas and they play Texas on their home court.

You know the NCAA tournament is about the only time of year college basketball is center stage throughout America.  Some 70 years ago the tournament to be in was the NIT now it is the JV playoffs.  The WNIT has some importance to Gryphon fans this year as J'Kyra Brown now a junior at Virginia beat St Joes Friday night in Philadelphia.  Brown scored 14 points on 6-8 scooting.  They play today at James Madison at 2pm.  I'm  sure that game will be on some tv somewhere.

You know with the Triangle being called Tobacco Roads because of the great college  basketball played in the area and surely Duke, Carolina and NC State having won the tournament 12 times between them it just might be fun to look at some historical number involving basketball teams in the NCAA.

Most appearances in NCAA:  #1 Kentucky 57 times #2 UCLA and North Carolina 48 #4 Kansas 46 #5 Louisville 42 #6 Duke 41.

Most NCAA Basketball Titles:  #1 UCLA 11 #2 Kentucky 8 #3 North Carolina, Duke and Indiana 5

All Time Tournament wins:  #1 Kentucky 123  #2 North Carolina 117  #3 Duke 107  #4  UCLA 104 Kansas 100

All Time Losses:  #1 Kentucky 50  #2 North Carolina 45  #3 Kansas 44 #4  Louisville 42  #5 Notre Dame 39 #6 Duke 35.  Note  There use to be regional and Finals 3rd place games giving some teams two losses in one tournament.

Regional Notes:  Greenville South Carolina is the host for the regional where both Duke and North Carolina are playing.  They are there after the NCAA pulled the regional from Greensboro over the HB2 law.  This is the first year in 15 years the State of South Carolina has been eligible to host and NCAA event because they were banned from hosting because of the Confederate flag on the State House which was taken down last year.

How did Greenville get the bid over Columbia.  NCAA spects state that any host city must provide  hotels that can offer 3 meeting rooms per hotel at least 1200 square feet.  Eight regional teams there must be 24 such meeting rooms in your city.  Columbia meets the criteria but since the NCAA pulled the event from Greensboro back in the fall the biggest two hotels in Columbia were booked so Columbia could not provide 24 meeting rooms

That's how Greenville and Furman University are the host of our regional.j