John Gasaway
@JohnGasaway
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Writer: https://t.co/kYUmWv5Mr4 (it's free!)丨Author: @twelvebooks丨Election of 1840 revisionist丨Taught basketball analytics: @CU_SPS_Sports
Joined July 2009
Virginia's last four NCAA tournaments:. Lost in round of 64.National title.Lost in round of 64.Lost in round of 64.
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Mountain West teams not named San Diego State are 1-13 in the NCAA tournament since 2019.
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Only thing slower than Virginia’s pace is how long it took too much of the world to understand how great this coach and this team are at basketball — and have been since 2013-14. Hoos, I salute you.
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Tennessee started 31-35 under Rick Barnes and has gone 60-15 since.
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Current streaks for reaching Sweet 16…. 1. Gonzaga: 5 yrs.2. UK: 3.3. UM: 3.4. Purdue: 3.5. Duke: 2.6. Florida State: 2.7. Texas Tech: 2.8. UVA: 1.9. UNC: 1.10. MSU: 1.11. Tennessee: 1.12. Houston: 1.13. LSU: 1.14. VaTech: 1.15. Auburn: 1.16. Oregon: 1.
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Kentucky lost its opening NCAA tournament game one time between 1988 and 2022. Now it's happened twice in the last three tournaments.
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Up to the minute NCAA tournament wins since 2000:. 1. Kansas 51.2. UNC 50.3. Duke 49.4. Michigan State 46.5. Kentucky 45. Congratulations, KU, rare opportunity to pad the lead.
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Remove the technical for hanging on the rim and institute one for floor slapping.
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I get the NCAA tournament history, and why people hesitate with Virginia. Still, 31-2, regular-season title by four games, ACC tournament title…If this were UNC or Duke there'd already be coffee table books.
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There is nothing in all of sports like the NCAA tournament.
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Gonzaga, the team that still has to prove itself in the postseason, is in the Elite Eight for the third time in five years.
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Under the current system there is zero chance James Madison would have received an at-large bid.
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Duke scored 1.54 points per trip tonight vs Georgia Tech, the eighth-best game by any offense in major-conference play since 2006. Salute.
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The Big Ten has passed the 2017 Big 12 and is now chasing the 2004 ACC alone for title of best KenPom league “ever.”
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Seriously, with 2.4 seconds left in regulation, Virginia was down two, the ball was in the hands of a freshman 65 feet from the basket, Guy was screaming for the ball and didn’t get it, and somehow Virginia won.
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NCAA tournament wins this century going into tonight:. 1. KU, 50. UNC, 50.3. Duke, 49.4. MSU, 46.5. UK, 45. (snip). 32. UVA, 12. 40. Texas Tech, 10. 49. Auburn, 8.
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Gonzaga's outscoring NCAA tournament opponents (+0.34 points per possession) by more than it outscored the WCC (+0.32). No more cracks about the Zags’ conference, please.
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To be clear, the alphabet has you at 179.
@PackMensBball @Mark_Gottfried @PackPride : Looking for motivation? ESPN’s @JohnGasaway has us at 179th … #SeasonAintOver #GoPack #LetsBall
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There is nothing and never will be anything in the world quite like the NCAA tournament. I love it.
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No team has won more NCAA tournament games since 2000 than UNC. Salute.
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Iowa State has repeatedly influenced many brackets by winning three Big 12 tournaments in the last five seasons, and in those three seasons the Cyclones have won one NCAA tournament game.
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KU’s run to the Final Four lifted the Jayhawks to No. 1 in NCAA tournament wins since 2000. Salute. 1. KU (49).2. UNC (48).3. Duke (46).4. MSU & UK (42). (Florida, UConn, Wisconsin, ‘Cuse, Arizona, Zags, late lamented vacated Louisville). 13. Nova & UCLA (27).
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Jay Huff is the first major-conference player to record 10 or more blocks in a game in three years.
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PASCH: [discusses old Dana Altman-to-Nebraska rumors]. WALTON: How many people do you know that are moving out of Oregon to Nebraska?. PASCH: He’s from there. WALTON: He’s *from* there for a reason.
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Simien, Langford, Rush, Chalmers, Wright, Arthur, Collins, Aldrich, Morrii, Henry, Withey, Selby, Robinson, Johnson, McLemore, Young, Ellis, Wiggins, Embiid, Selden, Mason, Selden, Oubre, Graham, Lucas, Jackson, Mykhailiuk, Newman, Vick, Azubuike…. Self…. That was remarkable.
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When a Yaklich defense shoots like a Beilein offense, forget it.
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If there’s one thing I want refs to protect me from it is the always excessive and unsportsmanlike showboating of Jack Salt.
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MARK JACKSON: There are people going to school to one day have a job like ours. And they’re learning stuff that you go totally against. And you are elite at what you do. How can you explain it?. BILL WALTON: I have no idea.
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This is the wackiest Sweet 16 in 18 years. 2018 average seed: 5.31.2000 average seed: 5.31. Normal (1985-2018): 4.45.Wackiest, 1986: 5.56.Chalkiest, 2009: 3.06.
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Bill Walton: “Have you ever stood on the banks of a river while millions of your fellow countrymen were starving to death, while the occupying army in your home country was taking all the food out that kept you and your countrymen alive?”. Dave Pasch: “Yes.".
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Old enough to remember when national writers criticized Michigan hiring an ex-NBA player with no head coaching experience. So far, UM’s hire seems to be doing well.
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I’m nominating Iowa State for highest staff-to-player bench ratio in D-I. If you’re an adult who needs a job, send your resume to Steve Prohm.
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When the best Michigan defense of the Beilein era by far also shoots like a Beilein team…well, good luck.
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Per ESPN Stats and Info, since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97, none of the six major conferences has failed to send a team to the round of 32.
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Gonzaga has now reached eight consecutive Sweet 16s. That's historic. Most consecutive Sweet 16s since field expanded in 1985:
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Watched a little basketball in my time. Never seen a scoring breakdown on a graphic headlined "SINCE CONFETTI FELL".
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2022: After committing a baffling late foul, Xavier loses in OT to Butler on Wednesday night at the Big East tournament. 2021: After committing a baffling late foul, Xavier loses in OT to Butler on Wednesday night at the Big East tournament.
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Michigan *far* exceeded November expectations, Howard's a star, and the incoming recruiting class is loaded. Zero dog in this fight, but FWIW: basketball school.
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Eliminate the technical for hanging on the rim and create one for floor-slapping.
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Per @ESPNStatsInfo, Loyola joins Saint Joseph’s in 1981 as the only teams to make the Elite Eight by a combined margin of victory of four points over three games. Non-Jesuits, don’t even try this.
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As always, Virginia is one Elite Eight win away from a far more correct appreciation of Tony Bennett.
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UNC vs Zion-equipped Duke is outrageously good basketball. One of the best games I’ve seen this season.
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Three-point shooting after the first 20 NCAA tournament games. Winning teams: 38%.Losing teams: 27%. Make-or-miss league. .
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Since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, Alabama has reached more Sweet 16s than Baylor, Virginia, Tennessee, Butler, Illinois, or LSU. Basketball school.
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@jeffborzello @Schultz_Report Also, KU's the first program to reach 50 NCAA tournament wins this century. Salute. UNC can hit 50 by reaching the Sweet 16. Duke: Final Four.
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My job is to write about college basketball, therefore I am raising a (figurative, perhaps soon to be literal) glass of bubbly. LaVar is all yours, TMZ.
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Crazy-good freshman, 11-point road win vs AP No. 3 team, now at full-strength. It’s time to talk about Arizona.
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Over the last two seasons, Kansas is 15-1 in Big 12 games decided by single digits.
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Two weeks ago tonight NC State was down three in the ACC semis to an opponent with an 85% shooter going to the line for 1-and-1 with 0:04 left. The Wolfpack are going to their first Elite Eight since 1986.
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Jason Benetti: “Ted Valentine very active here in the second half.”. Bill Walton: “You hate to hear that.".
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No contest in terms of offensive boards, getting to the line, or DOB, of course. Still, Juwan Morgan is under-hyped.
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Why being a really high seed annually in a post-Wooden epoch leads to one conclusion. Leave Bill Self alone. (In).
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In Iowa's 95-71 win at home over Illinois, the Hawkeyes recorded the second-best shooting from the field of any team in a major-conference game since 2006: 83.0 eFG%.
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Congratulations:. Purdue.Virginia.UConn.Alabama.Houston.Tennessee.Texas.KU.Arizona.Arkansas.Baylor.Duke. One of you will win the national title. From 2019:.
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Grant Wahl used to cover college basketball. He was the first national writer to link to my work. I was thrilled beyond belief. When I asked to talk to him about becoming an author and getting an agent, he said yes in a heartbeat. Just a class act. Can't believe this.
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Seven straight Sweet 16s for Gonzaga. North Carolina and Duke (twice) are the only other teams that have done that since the field expanded. Tell me again how the Zags aren’t “tested” enough.
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With one game remaining, Virginia Tech’s virtually assured of being the best shooting team we’ve seen in ACC play in over a decade. Salute.
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We all ritually agree that “there are no great teams this year.” Meanwhile an ACC team is 28-2 and 17-1 in-conference.
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Terrible year to be a bubble team. First time in at least a decade there have been two major-conference bid thieves. Cincinnati can take away another bid tomorrow.
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UCLA is having the most amazing mid-range game I’ve seen in a long time.
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Scoop. This is what the NCAA just sent out to D-I programs on its new rating system, the NET.
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Welcome to the second-wackiest Final Four ever. Average seed: 5.75. Normal Final Four seed 1985-2022: 2.8. Chalkiest: 2008 (1.0). Wackiest: 2011 (6.5).
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Tournament teams are shooting 31 percent on 3s. Future historians will puzzle over increasingly bad 3-point shooting in the tournament at a time when no such dip appeared across all games and FT shooting (both in all games and the tournament) has never been better.
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Bo Kimble picked up four fouls for Loyola Marymount in the first half of a 1990 round of 64 game against New Mexico State. Paul Westhead left him in the game. LMU fans booed in disbelief. An NMSU player told Kimble his coach was crazy. Never picked up fifth. Scored 45.
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Final ridiculous numbers: Michigan and Oklahoma State both scored 1.58 points per trip in the second half.
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Minnesota turnover percentage in Big Ten play: 5.4. Ben Johnson, I salute you.
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Welcome to the wackiest Sweet 16 ever. Average seed: 5.88. Normal Sweet 16 seed, 1985-2021: 4.45. Chalkiest: 2019 (3.09). Wackiest: Now! Broke a record set in 1986 with No. 14 seed Cleveland State leading the way.
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Illinois scored 1.56 points per possession in the second half of its 81-56 win at Northwestern. The best major-conference *game* of offense on record in the last ~15 years is 1.64.
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Note to angry Twitter from 24 hours ago. By seed, Big Ten teams should have won five games by now. They’ve won six.
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I love Grant Williams, but was there a rule change where defenders are not allowed to touch him?.
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Duke teaches us once and for all that veterans always beat freshmen by one point when the fifth No. 1 seed is put in your region.
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Villanova’s season is over, and the Wildcats are the greatest FT shooting team of all time:. 83.0 percent. FT shooting can improve in-season. Nova was “just” 77.4% before Jan 5, 85.8 after. Salute!.
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Outstanding sequence from Michigan and Purdue. You can watch a lot of basketball and not see a better seven minutes. Salute.
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The committee's going to have to work unusually hard to give Wichita State its No. 10 seed this year.
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Frank Kaminsky scored 31 points on 17 shots in a 57-possession game. Sounds like a presumptive POY.
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Michigan State (35) has now passed Duke and UNC (34) in tournament wins this century. Salute.
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Watched a lot of basketball. Two takeaways. 1. Fact that chalkiest and wackiest Sweet 16s in history happened in consecutive tournaments suggests we really should really stop thinking that tournament results reveal deep truths. 2. Still not tired of "Scoop! There it is.".
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On Krutwig’s amazing tap: “The *paw* that refreshes.”. Bill Raftery is a national treasure.
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Wisconsin’s first 100 tournament minutes are the best that any team — including UVA — has recorded on D. Allowing 0.82 points per trip.
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Michigan scored 1.54 points per trip against Indiana, tied for the eighth-best game by any offense in major-conference play since 2006.
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Iowa is the most entertaining team in the country, and it isn’t even close. Joe Wieskamp. Goodness….
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November 1986: Jim Calhoun says it “cheapens the game.” Rollie Massimino calls it “completely ridiculous.” P.J. Carlesimo: “I think the rule is a joke.” Pitt’s Paul Evans: “I don’t want [players] looking down. I think this rule is disruptive.". Three-point line.
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Virginia finishes at 1.45 points per possession, the program’s best performance on offense in ACC play in the KenPom era.
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The most baffling aspect of Twitter for archaeologists in 3017 will be that writers thought their travel delays were interesting to others.
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My new book on the history of Catholic college basketball is now available for pre-order. Mikan, Cousy, Arizin, Dukes, Gola, Russell, Baylor, Roger Brown, Harkness, Al McGuire, Gavitt, Thompson, Ewing, Rollie, Gathers, Few, Wright, more: March 16. Buy! .
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Michigan is holding tournament opponents to 0.88 points per possession.
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NC State’s 24 points are the fewest scored by a D-I team in any game this decade.
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