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Final Four tidbits Arizona looking to start, finish season No. 1
Updated: Tuesday March 27, 2001 1:28 PM
By Ryan Hunt, CNNSI.com The Arizona Wildcats are undoubtedly well aware of the saying: It's not how you start, it's how you finish. But history says it's not easy to start and finish on top. Arizona, this year's preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25, is trying to become only the fifth team since 1979, when seeding began in the NCAA tournament, to start and finish on top, joining Kentucky (1996), Duke ('92), UNLV ('90) and North Carolina ('82). Last year's preseason No. 1, Connecticut, was ousted in the second round. It was the 14th time in 24 years the preseason No. 1 did not make the Final Four. The Wildcats know the other side of the ledger as well. Arizona started the season 19th in its national championship season of '97, one of only three teams to win it all despite being ranked outside the top 10 in the preseason poll. The others: Villanova (unranked, '85) and N.C. State (16th, '83).
Since the AP preseason poll began in 1961, 11 teams have gone on to win a national title after starting the season No. 1. However, six of those were UCLA during its stretch of dominance. End gameDuke, however, is fighting a different historical poll obstacle. For the third consecutive year, the Blue Devils finished the final regular-season AP poll at No. 1. It didn't help in 1999 or 2000, when the Blue Devils lost in the national championship game and regional semifinals, respectively. In fact, only three teams since 1979 have won the national championship after finishing on top in the final poll -- UCLA ('95), Duke ('92) and North Carolina ('82). And both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels started No. 1 as well.
The easy roadYou can't exactly blame the Michigan State Spartans for the path they had to travel en route to the Final Four. But the Spartans had the ultimate easy road to Minneapolis. Of the Spartans' four South Region games, the highest seed they faced was No. 9 Fresno State, their second-round opponent. They also faced No. 16 Alabama State, No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 11 Temple. Michigan State became only the fifth team to advance to the Final Four despite playing three double-digit seeds since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 -- Arizona ('97), North Carolina ('91), UNLV ('90) and Arkansas ('90). Of those, Arizona and UNLV won a national championship. Coincidentally, Arizona is Michigan State's opponent in Saturday's semifinals. The Wildcats beat No. 13 South Alabama, No. 12 College of Charleston, No. 1 Kansas and No. 10 Providence in their '97 run. Breaking new ground
After 17 previous trips to the NCAA tournament, the Maryland Terrapins are finally going to the Final Four. Since 1980, nine schools have made their first Final Four trip. Only one won a national championship -- Connecticut in 1999. Of the others, only Seton Hall (1989) advanced as far as the title game. Before UConn, the last team to win a championship in its first Final Four appearance was Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) in 1966. Maryland's previous best showing in the NCAA tournament was the regional finals in '73 and '75. Odds and ends
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