[GunShard]

http://www.hlntv.com/slideshow/2014/...nt?hpt=hp_bn17

1. Nine of the last 11 Final Fours have included multiple teams with animal mascots, as opposed to the Blue Devils, Spartans, Shockers or Cavaliers of the world.

2. If that's not animal-specific enough, seven of the last 11 Final Fours have included a team with a bird mascot. This year’s big birds? Louisville’s Cardinals, Creighton’s Bluejays and Kansas’ Jayhawks.
3. Six of the past seven national champions have been No. 1 seeds.
4. Counterpoint: Since 2009, six No. 1 seeds have been knocked out in the Sweet 16, while just five made it to the Final Four.
5. The past three Final Fours have included a total of just two No. 1 seeds.
6. However four No. 4 seeds have made it in that same period. This year's No. 4 seeds? UCLA, Michigan State, San Diego State and Louisville.
7. The ol' "Pick a 12 to beat a 5" thing is legit: At least one No. 12 seed has won its opening round game in 12 of the past 13 tournaments.
8. And they don't stop there: No. 12 seeds go on to win 48.8% of their second round games. This year's 12s? Stephen F. Austin, Harvard, North Dakota State and the winner of the North Carolina State vs. Xavier First Four game.
9. Back to Stephen F. Austin ... the Lumberjacks have won 29 straight games. They haven't lost since November 23.
10. Also streaking? The Florida Gators are on a 26-game winning streak. They haven't lost since December 2.
11. "That's cute." -- Wichita State, undefeated in 34 games.
12. The 34-0 Shockers are the first team to enter the tournament unbeaten since UNLV in 1990. The Runnin' Rebels lost in the Final Four.
13. The last undefeated national champion was Indiana in 1976.
14. Wichita State is the 6th No. 1 seed from a mid-major conference since 2002.
15. Only one of those teams reached the Final Four (Memphis, 2008).
16. Wichita State's leader is guard Ron Baker, who kind of looks like Ron Weasley, but has game like Cedric Diggory, the latter two of "Harry Potter" fame.
17. Though nobody knows what Wichita State's mascot looks like.
18. Hoops stat analyst Ken Pomeroy has the most respected system of identifying the tourney's top teams. His top three teams this year are Arizona, Florida and Louisville.
19. Twenty-one of the last 24 Final Four teams were among the nation's 30 best defenses, according to Pomeroy's rankings. That's bad news for Duke (102nd), Creighton (127) and Michigan (104), among others.
20. Eight of the last 11 national champs had either a top 10 offense or defense pre-tournament, according to Pomeroy's rankings. That's bad news for Villanova, Syracuse and Iowa State, among others.
21. The most underseeded team this year? Tennessee. Pomeroy has them as the 13th-best team in the land. However the Vols are a No. 11 seed, sentenced to the indignity of a First Four play-in game.
22. No. 7 seed New Mexico has one of the country's best big men, Cameron Bristow (20.3 points, 7.6 rebounds per game). The Lobos could draw No. 2 seed Kansas in the second round, which is likely without its star big man, the injured Joel Embiid.
23. Related: No team seeded No. 2 has won the tournament since 2004.
23. Creighton's Sports Illustrated cover boy Doug McDermott is the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history.
24. Nebraska is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998.
25. North Carolina Central is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since ... ever.
26. Not a single team from hoops-mad Indiana made the tournament this year. Somewhere, Norman Dale, the fictional coach in the movie "Hoosiers," is crying.
27. There has been a No. 13 seed over a No. 4 seed upset for four straight years.
28. There have been exactly 10 first-round upsets in four of the past five years.
29. Some teams ride hot streaks into the tourney. Iowa has lost six of its last seven games.
30. A team's record and ranking don't tell the whole story. It's always good to know about current injuries.
31. No. 1 seed Arizona lost star center Brandon Ashley for the season February 1.
32. The Wildcats were 21-0 before his injury; they are 9-4 since.
33. No. 9 seed Colorado's best player, Spencer Dinwiddie, was lost for the season January 12; the Buffaloes are 9-8 since.
34. Embiid, Kansas star center, has a back injury that will likely sideline him for at least the first two games.
35. Yes it's true: Warren Buffet and Quicken Loans will give away $1 billion if you pick a perfect bracket.
36. You will not pick a perfect bracket.
37. Depending on whom you ask, the odds of picking a perfect bracket are between one in 128 billion and one in 9.2 quintillion. Either way, not good.
38. No. 12 seed North Dakota State has emerged as a sexy upset pick to topple Oklahoma. This might be because the Bison players led the nation this year, making 50.9% of their shots.
39. You should not pick a No. 15 seed to defeat a No. 2 seed. It has only happened seven times.
40. Though three of those seven times have occurred in the last two years.
41. The state of Kansas has three Division I basketball teams, and they all made the tournament.
42. Lots of almost-home court advantage: Duke, Florida, Syracuse, Wisconsin and UCLA will all play their opening games relatively close to campus.
43. Duke has never won a national title as a No. 3 seed or lower. They're a No. 3 seed.
44. Since the tourney expanded to 64 (now 68) teams in 1985, only once have all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four. (2008)
45. At least three double-digit seeds have reached the Sweet 16 for four straight years.
46. California-Polytechnic will probably not join that group. The No. 16 seed Mustangs are just 13-19 this year.
47. New Mexico State center Sim Bhullar is 7-feet, 5-inches and weighs 355 pounds.
48. One of his teammates is his little brother, who is 7-feet, 3-inches and weighs 335 pounds.
49. Teams from the mid-major Atlantic 10 (A10) have won an impressive 47.4% of NCAA Tournament games since 2000.
50. This year, there are six A10 teams in the tourney: St. Joseph's, VCU, George Washington, Dayton, UMass and St. Louis.
53. The Florida Gators are the top overall seed in the tournament.
54. The last time the Gators earned that honor was 2007, and Florida won the whole thing.
55. Thirty-one of the last 35 national champs have either been seeded Nos. 1, 2 or 3.
56. At least six of the eight 1- and 2-seeds have made the Sweet 16 every year since 2005. That list of numbers is just a long way of saying: Don't go crazy with early round upsets.
57. Number-cruncher extraordinaire Nate Silver's Final Four picks: Arizona, Florida, Michigan State and Louisville.
58. Michigan State is a No. 4 seed after a season filled with injuries among its key players.
59. All the Spartans are back playing now.
60. Twenty-eight of the past 44 Final Four teams (11 seasons) had blue in their color scheme.
61. Every national champion from 2004-2012 had blue in their color scheme. Louisville snapped that streak last year.
61. High seeds with blue this year? Lots, including Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Kansas and Villanova.
62. High seeds without blue this year? Wichita State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Michigan State, Louisville and San Diego State.
63. No. 9 seed Oklahoma State was dinged for losses suffered while star Marcus Smart was out. He is now back.
64. Tulsa is coached by former Final Four hero, Danny Manning.
65. Iowa State is coached by former Iowa State hero (and Michael Jordan's Chicago replacement), Fred Hoiberg.
66. A No. 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 seed. Ever.
67. If you're shopping for more likely upsets, Nos. 11 and 12 seeds have won about 33% of their games since 1985.
68. Few guarantees, but here's one: The Wildcats will win the Kentucky vs. Kansas State game.