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OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
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C2__ Offline
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OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
Florida may have it, possibly the highest seed total in four games to advance to the Final Four:

14. Northwestern State

11. Minnesota

15. Florida Gulf Coast

4. Michigan (if they beat Kansas)

Total=44

1999 Duke was one of the best teams ever imo but here was their path to the Final Four, as easy as it gets:


16. Florida A&M (sub .500)

9. Tulsa (under Bill Self)

13. (Southwest) Missouri State, under Steve Alford

6. Temple

Total=44

Not exactly imposing, though with that team it wouldn't have mattered short of UConn, Cincinnati or Michigan State being a 2 seed in the region.

Can anyone come up with a better example?
(This post was last modified: 03-28-2013 03:28 AM by C2__.)
03-28-2013 02:44 AM
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HSV_BLAZER Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
Using your metric, look at Kansas from 2008 when they won it all.

16. Portland St
8. UNLV
12. Villanova
10. Davidson

For a total of 46. Once they got to the Final Four, they had to beat two 1-seeds for the championship, but they made it there without having to play anyone seeded higher than an 8. I bet that was the easiest path.


Also look at Ohio St this year.

15. Iona
10. Iowa St
6. Arizona
13. La Salle (if they beat Wichita St)

For a total of 44 also. Even if Wichita St wins, it's still an easy path with a total of 40.
03-28-2013 06:07 AM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
I'd actually say Ohio State's this year would hypothetically be harder than Kansas' from 2008 just because Davidson was better than their seed because of Steph Curry, so it was like playing a top 4 seed.
03-28-2013 11:21 AM
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Cyniclone Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
Kansas in 2011 had:

16. Boston U
9. Illinois
12. Richmond
11. VCU

That's a 48, which would win going away ... were it not for that last game. And had they won that game, they'd play 8. Butler, followed by 3. UConn. Had they won the title that year, their average seed played for the entire tournament would have been just under 10.
03-28-2013 12:27 PM
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Wedge Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
For a #1 seed, it's all dependent on their second-weekend opponents, because their first-weekend opponents are always 16+8 or 16+9.

A #4 seed could potentially have a 13+12 first weekend, but that just puts them in the same place (if you only count seeding) as the #1 seed who played a 16 and a 9 the first weekend.

So really, for any team, whether they have one of the easiest-ever routes to the Final Four depends on who they face during the second week of the tournament.

Maybe the most "bi polar" trip through the tournament was 1997 Arizona: They beat a 13, 12, and 10 seed (South Alabama, College of Charleston, Providence), but also are the only team ever to beat three #1 seeds in the same tournament (Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky)

Interesting question, then: Since the tournament was first expanded to 64 teams, how many teams have made it to a Final Four without ever playing a top-4 seed? We have the 1999 Duke and 2008 Kansas examples above. Are there others?
(This post was last modified: 03-28-2013 12:42 PM by Wedge.)
03-28-2013 12:33 PM
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stever20 Online
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
The easiest possible is 56 I think 3 vs 14, 11, 15, 16

hardest is 15 (8+1+4+2)- doable only from the #9 seed(or #16- 1+8+4+2)
03-28-2013 12:46 PM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
(03-28-2013 12:33 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Maybe the most "bi polar" trip through the tournament was 1997 Arizona: They beat a 13, 12, and 10 seed (South Alabama, College of Charleston, Providence), but also are the only team ever to beat three #1 seeds in the same tournament (Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky)

They were beyond lucky that year too, as they should have lost to USA and Charleston before going on to beat three 1 seeds and surviving Providence in the E8.

(03-28-2013 12:46 PM)stever20 Wrote:  The easiest possible is 56 I think 3 vs 14, 11, 15, 16

hardest is 15 (8+1+4+2)- doable only from the #9 seed(or #16- 1+8+4+2)

That makes Butler's run to the 2011 title game look that much more impressive, as they took out a 9-seed (ODU), 1-seed (Pitt), 4-seed (Wisconsin) and 2-seed (Florida) before ironically facing their easiest game of the tournament in theory in the Final Four against an 11-seed (VCU).

That's a total of 16 before VCU.
(This post was last modified: 03-28-2013 01:54 PM by C2__.)
03-28-2013 01:54 PM
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Wedge Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
(03-28-2013 01:54 PM)Caltex2 Wrote:  
(03-28-2013 12:33 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Maybe the most "bi polar" trip through the tournament was 1997 Arizona: They beat a 13, 12, and 10 seed (South Alabama, College of Charleston, Providence), but also are the only team ever to beat three #1 seeds in the same tournament (Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky)

They were beyond lucky that year too, as they should have lost to USA and Charleston before going on to beat three 1 seeds and surviving Providence in the E8.

Typical Lute Olson team, playing up or down to the level of the competition.
03-28-2013 01:57 PM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
So here's the answer to my question:

http://www.bloguin.com/runthefloor/2013-...story.html

5 teams have had easier roads to the final weekend than Florida should they win tomorrow, though it should be noted that the double digit seeds both UNLV and Kansas dealt with in the Elite 8 (Loyola Marymount and Davidson respectively) were playing like top-4 seeds. So this is all in theory.
03-30-2013 10:49 PM
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Jericho Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
Slightly off topic, but I recall when Maryland won it all a little more than a decade ago that it play a 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1 seed to get to the finals. That's the expected pass for a one seed (which Maryland was). And yet it was the first time that had ever happened. Not only that, but it was who's who of name programs - Siena (16), Wisconsin (8), Kentucky (4), Connecticut (2), and Kansas (1). They played Indiana in the finals, which broke the streak. But that has to rank as one of the toughest paths to the finals (both in terms of seeds and name programs)
03-30-2013 11:40 PM
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Native Georgian Online
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
The Danny Manning-led Kansas team that won the title in 1988 was seeded 6th in the Midwest Region. They beat 11th-seed Xavier, 14th-seed Murray State, 7th-seed Vanderbilt, and 4th-seed Kansas State to reach the F4, which was held in Kemper Arena in KC, Missouri (~40 miles from KU campus). That team (HC was Larry Brown) lost 11 games over the course of the season, the most L's ever by a National Champion.
(This post was last modified: 03-30-2013 11:44 PM by Native Georgian.)
03-30-2013 11:42 PM
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C2__ Offline
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RE: OT: Easiest road to the Final Four ever?
I think the easiest, in theory, by far for a team seeded outside of the top 4 lines was 2002 Indiana (5-seed). Their final seed opponent total was 36. Of course, just 1 of those 36 was one of the best Duke teams of the last 20 years (and that's saying something) when they rallied back from 18 down to win in one of the best Sweet 16 games ever.

Otherwise though, they benefited greatly from upsets, as 13-seed UNC-Wilmington eliminated Final Four sleeper and regional finalist from 2001 USC in the first round. Then after IU's Duke upset, they faced 10-seed Kent State, which beat, 2-seed Alabama and 3-seed Pitt in succession (granted, that Antonio Gates-led team was clicking on all cylinders).
(This post was last modified: 03-31-2013 01:10 AM by C2__.)
03-31-2013 01:10 AM
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