The following stats, facts, trends and tips are tools you can use to win your 2008 NCAA Tournament office pools.


Other 2008 NCAA Tournament Brackets:
Credo | Winning Tips | East | Midwest | South | West | Final Four





2008 NCAA Tournament - The Slop

If a team has trouble scoring, do you really want to be rooting for it if it's down eight with six minutes to go? Here are the 2008 NCAA Tournament teams that scored less than 68 points per game this year.

1. Coppin State, 59.8
2. Mississippi Valley State, 62.7
3. American, 65.1
4. Winthrop, 65.6
5. San Diego, 65.6
6. Washington State, 67.1
7. Wisconsin, 67.5

And here are the 2007 NCAA Tournament teams that scored less than 68 a game last year and how they fared. Wisconsin* had its stats masked by an easy non-conference schedule.:

1. Miami-Ohio, 59.6 - Lost in first round
2. Southern Illinois, 63.2 - Lost in Sweet 16
3. Holy Cross, 64.2 - Lost in first round
4. Illinois, 64.5 - Lost in first round
5. Wright State, 64.6 - Lost in first round
6. Michigan State, 65.1 - Lost in second round
7. Eastern Kentucky, 65.2 - Lost in first round
8. Washington State, 66.5 - Lost in second round
9. Creighton, 67.2 - Lost in first round
10. Wisconsin* - Lost in second round

2008 NCAA Tournament - Road Woes

Why would anyone ever have a team advancing deep into the tournament when it had trouble winning on the road in the regular season? These squads fall very quickly. Here are the 2008 NCAA Tournament teams that couldn't win on the road this year.

Arkansas, 3-7

Kentucky, 4-8 (no road wins vs. winning teams except Georgia, 17-16)

Vanderbilt, 4-6 (no road wins vs. winning teams except Georgia, 17-16)

Michigan State, 4-6

Miami, 4-6

Kansas State, 5-9


The following are the 2007 NCAA Tournament teams that couldn't win on the road last year and how they fared:

Michigan State, 3-10 - Lost in second round

Georgia Tech, 3-9 - Lost in first round

Virginia, 4-8 - Lost in second round

Purdue, 5-10 - Lost in second round

Miami-Ohio, 6-12 - Lost in first round

Indiana, 5-9 - Lost in second round





2008 NCAA Tournament - Aurora Snow Factor

Former NCAA Tournament stars like Shane Battier, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade delivered when it mattered and always rose up to the occasion. Meanwhile, other players choke like Aurora Snow does for a living. Here are the Chokers from the 2007 NCAA Tournament whom you might want to stay away from this year.

Dante Cunningham, SG, Villanova: Guard Dante Cunningham, one of the top players on the Wildcats' roster, had only four points in a first-round defeat to Michigan State.

Gary Ervin, PG, Arkansas: Starting junior point guard Gary Ervin shot just 3-of-13 from the field, as he was a major reason why Arkansas lost its opening contest to USC.

Dominic James, PG, Marquette: For the second straight year, Marquette was victimized by Dominic James' Aurora Snow tactics, as James, who averaged 14.9 ppg on the season, shot just 5-of-14 from the field, earning his 16 points in junk time when the game was out of hand.

Tory Jackson, PG, Notre Dame: Starting point guard Tory Jackson hit only 3-of-12 field goal attempts in a first-round upset loss to Winthrop.

Trent Johnson, Coach, Stanford: Louisville absolutely demolished Stanford in the first round because the Cardinal was unprepared for the full-court press. As a college coach on the Division-I level, how do you not prepare your team for the press? I was in shock.




2008 NCAA Tournament - Freshmen Point Guards

Do you really want some acne-ridden kid who had problems finding a prom date just a few months ago ruining your bracket? I think not. Freshmen point guards seldom advance deep into the tournament. Here are the 2008 NCAA Tournament Freshmen Point Guards in this year's Big Dance:

Jordan Crawford, Indiana

O.J. Mayo, USC

Derrick Rose, Memphis



And here are the 2007 NCAA Tournament Freshman Point Guards and how they fared last year:

Ty Lawson, North Carolina - Lost in Elite Eight

Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech - Lost in first round

Edgar Sosa, Louisville - Lost in second round

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland - Lost in second round

Tory Jackson, Notre Dame - Lost in first round

Scottie Reynolds, Villanova - Lost in first round

Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State - Lost in 2007 NCAA Championship

D.J. Augustin, Texas - Lost in second round

Stephen Curry, Davidson - Lost in first round

Ramar Smith, Tennessee - Lost in Sweet 16








2008 NCAA Tournament - The "Experts"

The so-called "experts" on ESPN and CBS know nothing. As you'll see below, they're wrong more often than not. Also, the players listen to these shows. If someone like Dick Vitale bad-mouths a program, that team will usually respond with a victory. There always seems to be one disrespected school that goes to the Sweet 16. Here are some of the more Controversial Comments made on Selection Sunday:


CBS Bold Predictions:

Seth says Notre Dame will go to Sweet 16.

Seth says No. 4 seed Vanderbilt will lose to Siena in the first round.

Seth says No. 10 Davidson has a great chance to make the Sweet 16.

Kellogg says Memphis is going to the Final Four.

Kellogg likes No. 6 Marquette to go deep.

Seth says No. 12 Temple will beat No. 5 Michigan State.

Seth says Drake will go to the Sweet 16.

Kellogg likes No. 7 West Virginia to go deep.




ESPN Bold Predictions:

Dicky V, Digger and Bilas have no respect for Baylor.

Dicky V picks No. 11 Kentucky over No. 6 Marquette.

Dicky V picks No. 14 Georgia over No. 3 Xavier.

Dicky V says No. 6 USC will beat No. 3 Wisconsin in the second round.




Below are some of the more Controversial Comments made on Selection Sunday in 2007:

Gottlieb no respect for Vanderbilt. - WRONG: Vanderbilt advanced to Sweet 16

Digger and Seth call Old Dominion over Butler. - WRONG: Butler beats ODU by 11 and eventually advances to Sweet 16

Bilas calls GT over UNLV. - WRONG: UNLV beats Georgia Tech and eventually advances to Sweet 16

Seth calls Oral Roberts over Washington State. - WRONG: WSU beats Oral Roberts by 16

Dicky V says Duke to 16. - WRONG: Duke loses in first round

Bilas, Dicky V no respect for Xavier. - WRONG: Almost beat Ohio St. in second round (OSU last-second three to force OT)

Digger, Dicky V, Gottlieb no respect for Arkansas. - RIGHT: Arkansas lost in first round

Hubert no respect for Illinois. - RIGHT: Illinois lost in first round









2008 NCAA Tournament - Random Facts

Here are some of the things you should know about the tournament.

First-round NCAA Tournament Trends:

No. 8 seeds are 14-10 vs. No. 9 seeds since 2002.

No. 7 seeds are 17-7 vs. No. 10 seeds since 2002.

No. 6 seeds are 17-7 vs. No. 11 seeds since 2002.

No. 5 seeds are 15-9 vs. No. 12 seeds since 2002 (6-2 last two years).

No. 4 seeds are 20-4 vs. No. 13 seeds since 2002.

No. 3 seeds are 22-2 vs. No. 14 seeds since 2002.

No. 2 seeds have lost to No. 15 seeds just twice in NCAA Tournament history.

No No. 1 seed has ever lost to a No. 16 seed.

Second-round NCAA Tournament Trends:

Of the 24 No. 1 seeds since 2002, 21 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 2 seeds since 2002, 14 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 3 seeds since 2002, 14 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 4 seeds since 2002, 8 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 5 seeds since 2002, 12 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 6 seeds since 2002, 8 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 7 seeds since 2002, 6 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 8 seeds since 2002, 2 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 9 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 10 seeds since 2002, 4 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 11 seeds since 2002, 2 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 12 seeds since 2002, 3 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 13 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the Sweet 16.

Of the 24 No. 14 (and 15-16) seeds since 2002, 0 have advanced to the Sweet 16.

All four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen 7 times in last 11 years.

Amazingly, No. 6 seeds have beaten No. 3 seeds 57.1 percent of the time since 1996.

Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament Trends:

Of the 24 No. 1 seeds since 2002, 15 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 2 seeds since 2002, 12 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 3 seeds since 2002, 5 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 4 seeds since 2002, 3 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 5 seeds since 2002, 2 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 6 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 7 seeds since 2002, 2 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 8 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 9 seeds since 2002, 0 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 10 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 11 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 12 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the Elite Eight.

Of the 24 No. 13 seeds (and 14-16) since 2002, 0 have advanced to the Elite Eight.

All four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Elite Eight just three times since 1996.

Final Four NCAA Tournament Trends:

Of the 24 No. 1 seeds since 2002, 8 have advanced to the Final Four.

Of the 24 No. 2 seeds since 2002, 7 have advanced to the Final Four.

Of the 24 No. 3 seeds since 2002, 4 have advanced to the Final Four.

Of the 24 No. 4 seeds since 2002, 2 have advanced to the Final Four.

Of the 24 No. 5 seeds since 2002, 2 have advanced to the Final Four.

Only one seed lower than No. 6 (George Mason) has advanced to the Final Four since 2002.

All four No. 1 seeds have never reached the Final Four since 1996.

Only once has no No. 1 seed reached the Final Four (2006) since 1996.

NCAA Championship Trends:

Of the 24 No. 1 seeds since 2002, 5 have advanced to the NCAA Championship.

Of the 24 No. 2 seeds since 2002, 3 have advanced to the NCAA Championship.

Of the 24 No. 3 seeds since 2002, 3 have advanced to the NCAA Championship.

Of the 24 No. 4 seeds since 2002, 0 have advanced to the NCAA Championship.

Of the 24 No. 5 seeds since 2002, 1 has advanced to the NCAA Championship.

No seed No. 6 or lower has advanced to the NCAA Championship since 1996.

A No. 1 seed has appeared in the NCAA Championship 7 out of the last 11 years.



Other 2008 NCAA Tournament Brackets:
Credo | Winning Tips | East | Midwest | South | West | Final Four

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