“March Mania”® March 13 - April 3, 2017

presented by the

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A multi-subject enrichment program for the 80th NCAA Tournament on the Road to the Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona

N.C.A.A.--Nurturing Creative Academic Achievement at the “Big Dance”

Dear LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL NIE Teacher:

Using the match-ups reported in the REVIEW-JOURNAL on Monday, March 13th, put stickers on the wall map to show the location of the home city of each of the 64 teams. You must have a atlas to locate the city of each team in the tournament and THE WORLD ALMANAC -2016, pages 391-406, or 2017, pages 420-435. Stick on 32 stars to indicate the first round winners, then 16 hearts, then eight(8) smile faces, then four(4) spotlights, then two(2) diamonds and finally one(1) crown for the “King of the Big Dance”. (See page 31) See: THE WORLD ALMANAC-2016, page 882, or 2017, page 887 for team names.

WHICH TEAMS DIDN’T MAKE THE CUT?

When the results of “Selection Sunday” are known on Sunday night, there will be wails of anguish, disgust and total disbelief emanating from c ollege campuses and hard-core fans because their team was not one of the 34 “at-large” selections.

On Monday, March 13th, read comments in the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL for a critical thinking exercise for the students to decide who was justi fied and who was juked. In 2016 it was: Monmouth, St. Mary’s, St. Bonaventure, South Carolina and Valparaiso. Monmouth out, Tulsa in, so heatedly debated. On whom did the grim reaper exact his toll in 2017?

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”

Winston Churchill’s comment on Russia describes the selection process well, “. . . a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” 1

1-A

Look for positive/negative comments about mid-majors during the tournament. Be aware of statements regarding Gonzaga, Vermont, Princeton, Bucknell, etc. Shakespeare stated in HENRY V, “From this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we ban d of brothers.”

TIME ZONES

Of the eight cities where 1 st and 2 nd round games are played, name the cities in the following: The Eastern Time Zone: Buffalo, NY; Greenville, SC; , IN; Orlando, FL The Central Time Zone: Milwaukee, WI; Tulsa, OK The Mountain Time Zone: Salt Lake City, UT The Pacific Time Zone: Sacramento, CA www.24timezones.com www.timetemperature.com Go through the list of 64 teams sometime during the week of March 13th, and place a “W” by the teams playing within their own time zone. Place a “1” by the teams traveling one time zone away, a “2” for two, and a “3” for three zones away. Arizona is “starred” to show the state never goes on Daylight Saving Time.

SEEDING

What is meant by seeding? Teams are ranked as to which one is judged to be best, second best, third best, etc. The best team is “planted” or seeded in the top bracket against the poorest team. The next best team is seeded in the lower bracket against the next poorest team, etc. If all goes as planned without any upsets, the first and second ranked teams will play each other in the regional games. Fans always question the experts in “seedology”.

With 16 teams representing each region, #1 and #16 would be seeded against each other, 2 and 15, 3 and 14, 4 and 13, etc. Of course, the seeding and the ranking are always objected to by “experts” or partisans of a partic ular team.

Seeding of teams began in 1979. When the seeding spots in the Sweet 16 were added up in 2009, the total of 49 was the lowest ever. The highest seed total for the Sweet 16 was 89 in 1986 when three double-digit seeds made it. The Sweet 16 seed total in 2016 was 66. What will be the total in 2017?

When #7 UConn defeated #8 Kentucky for 2014’s championship, the seed total of 15 was the highest total for a final game since seeding began, and UConn was the first #7 to make the Final Four since t he tournament expanded to 64 teams.

WHICH STUDENT IN EACH CLASSROOM CAN PICK THE BEST?

The tournament field will appear in the REVIEW-JOURNAL on Monday, March 13th, after “Selection Sunday”. Have students become bracketologists to pick the winner of each game down to the championship. Award a prize to the student picking the best out of the 63 games played. This will intensify interest.

Have students take Monday’s REVIEW-JOURNAL home showing the tournament pairings. Most students will have NO idea regarding the competency of the 64 teams involved. The Tuesday and Wednesday play-in games are not considered. Ask mom, dad, family, neighbors or the Ouija Board to in picking

2 the most winners of the 63 games. Students and parents may have to choose between logical probability and magical possibility. Turn in by Thursday morning.

Students may enter only once. (A junior high or senior high school student shall not be able to enter in two or three dif ferent classrooms.) GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITIES

For map work, you want to see: www.superteacherworksheets.com

Make several copies of the enclosed United States map to be used to indicate how many states are represented by the 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, and 2 teams.

Will you have one member of the class coloring one map to be posted in the classroom, or will you have each member of the class coloring his/her own map for each round of the tournament? Suggestion: Have the class members coloring their own maps, possibly as a homework assignment. This may be some good public relations, and students will learn something about the name and location of states. The colors suggested are optional.

Use red to color the states that are represented by the original 64 teams. How many teams are from state capitals? __ _

After the 1 st and 2 nd round of games, use green to color the states represent ing the 32 winners. How many teams now are from state capita ls? ___

Color in blue the states represented by the Sweet 16 teams. How many Sweet 16 teams are from state capitals? ___

Color in orange the states represented by the Elite Eight teams How many Elite Eight teams are from state capitals? ___

Did any state have seven(7) teams represented in the tournament? yes/no

Do any states have six(6) teams represented in the tournament? yes/ no Name the state(s)

Do any states have five(5) teams going to the “Big Dance”? yes/no Name the state(s). 3

3-A Name the states with four teams participating in March Madness.

Identify the states with three teams participating. Two teams. One team.

State Standards of Learning expect students to interpret the legend/key of a map. What better way to teach this than to have a class developing their own legend as the tournament progresses? See page 31.

Do the city matching geography quiz sometime this week! See page 34.

WORLD GEOGRAPHY: How many players in the tournament are from outside the United States? Find out from reading the REVIEW-JOURNAL, or research it at: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/teams

Examples are: Australia, British Columbia, Nigeria, Senegal, England, Netherlands, Ukraine, Belgium, France, Norway, Egypt, New Zealand, Iran, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey, Lithuania, Latvia, Bahamas, etc.

The above website is good, but for more precise information assign each student to Google the athletic department of two or three of the 64 tournament teams and scan the roster of each team to compile a list of foreign countries. Locate these countries on a world map.

HISTORY: How many mascot names have historical impl ications? Spartans, Trojans, Illini, Irish, Tar Heels, Sooners, Longhorns, Volunteers, Toreros, Terrapins, Quakers, Golden Bears, Dayton Flyers, Ducks, Seminoles, Mountaineers, Ragin’ Cajuns, Minutemen, Jayhawks, Hawkeyes, Shockers, Gaels, Boilermakers, Patriots, Retrievers and Salukis. Discuss the history of these teams and states. Salukis are Egyptian hunting dogs.

The Virginia Cavaliers play in John Paul Jones Arena.

HISTORY: In 2015, a researcher found a recording of James Naismith talking about setting up the rules of basketball in 1891 in Massachusetts. Naismith described roughhousing among 18 players in the first game that caused him to the original 13 rules.

“The Original 13 Rules of Basket Ball” are displaye d at the DeBruce Center at KU. The display is deliberately darkened to protect the historic document, which was bought at aucti on in 2010 for $4.3 million.

LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES

CLASSIFICATION & OUTLINING: Outlining is a required standard-based activity in every state. Classify the mascot names. See page 37.

SELECTING CREATIVE VERBS: Use team names to write creative headlines about game results. Wildcats claw. . .; Rams butt. . .; Longhorns gore. . .; Cowboys lasso. . . Musketeers sla sh. . .; Irish luck-out. . .; “Zags” zig. . .;

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR for COLLEGE PLAYERS: Scan the sports pages for quotes from players and coaches that are grammatically challenged.

4 See: www.nationalgrammarday.com National Grammar Day--March 4 th.

CREATIVE WRITING with PROPER NOUNS: Scan the team rosters for last names that can be used in a sentence in a different context as a common noun. This should turn out to be a very humorous ass ignment.

Examples: Bacon, Leaf, Ball, Holiday, Outlaw, Guy, Salt, Hall, Vital, Gray, Rivers, Berry, Battle, Wood, Golden, Jolly, Lard, Long, Young, Love, Toye, Strong, Waters, Shine, Dry, Shepard, Banks, West , Notice, Hogg, Bone

GREATEST UPSET: A victory is considered an upset when a team wins that is seeded five or more places lower than the team they defeated. Which game will your class judge to be the biggest upset and/or most thrilling upset of the tournament? Did the big upset occur in a thrilling game?

There was once a TV show called “This Was The Week That W as.” The week of January 23-29 was a week that WASN’T good began with a “Day of Disaster.” On January 24, #1 Villanova, #2 Kansas and #4 Kentucky were defeated. This was only the eighth time in NCAA history that #1 and #2 lost on the same day.

And the bad week for upsets continued. On Saturday, February 4, six of the Top 10 teams lost. #2 Baylor, #3 Kansas, #5 Arizona, #7 West Virginia, #8 Kentucky and #9 Virginia were defeated. What are the odds?

Prior to 2012, a #15 had beaten a #2 only four times in 27 years; then in 2012, it happened for the 5 th and 6 th time on the same day—Norfolk State over Missouri, and Lehigh over Duke. Then in 2013, Florida Gulf Coast registered #7 for a 15 th seed. No 15 th seed could rise to the occasion in 2014 or 2015, but Middle Tennessee State defeated Michigan State 90 -81 in 2016, for #8 in what many say was an upset equaling Lehigh over Duke.

Perceived mismatches turn into last -second upsets. Solid seeds choke and fall short of the lofty expectations. Unknown players become tournament legends. In 2017, who will have an exciting upset?

LOWER SEEDS WIN—See page 24.

BUZZER BEATERS: In 2016, the championship game had the most exciting conclusion of any game ever played. North Carolina’s hit a double-clutched off-balance 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining to tie the game at 74-74. Then Villanova’s Kris Jenkins hit a 3 - “” to win the game at 77-74. The first time in NCAA history that a championship game had been won on a “buzzer beater”.

5 Some will contend that the 1983 North Carolina State -Houston championship game was won on a buzzer -beater, but not so. NC State’s hero Lorenzo Charles said himself of his historic dunk, “After the dunk, I looked at the clock and saw two-seconds left.” Video replays will show two - seconds remaining in the game.

Civil War in the Sunflower State: No basketball fan in Kansas will forget the Kansas – Kansas State game of January 3, 2017. With the game knotted 88-88 with five seconds remaining, Svi Mykhailiuk banked a lay-up off the glass that fell through the net as the buzzer sounded. No protest over him taking three giant steps en route to the lay-up. He said, “Mother, may I?”

On January 28, unranked Georgia Tech defeated #14 Notre Dame on a buzzer-beating lay-up 82-80. On the same Saturday, Duke beat Wake Forest on a buzzer-beater; then on Sunday Villanova defeated Virginia on a buzzer-beating tip-in by Donte DeVicenzo. Do you believe things come in groups of three?

On February 22, Syracuse defeated Duke 78-75 on a buzzer-beater by John Gillon. In another exciting game on the 22 nd, not a buzzer-beater, but Oregon beat California 68-65 on a 3-pointer with 0.2 of a second remaining.

BUZZER DEFEATERS: There were a few “buzzer defeaters” in the tournament as last second shots clanked off the rim.

PERSONAL VICTORY or TEAM ACHIEVEMENT: Look for examples in the tournament. (Perhaps a lot of reading and research will be required.)

Read for references to any player that “to ok it to another level”, “played over their head” or “played outside themselves” to lead their team to victory. Who are the players that suddenly get taller, quicker a nd more accurate in the last few minutes of a game?

A FEAT THAT MAY NEVER BE WITNESSED AGAIN: On February 25, 2015, Florida State’s freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 30 points in 4:38, but still lost to Miami. The Hurricanes thought they were seei ng a hurricane.

Rathan-Mayes scored 26 points without missing a shot, and sank six 3-pointers in the scoring tsunami. Jim Larranaga, Miami ’s coach, said, “I’ve never seen anything like that in my 934-game college coaching career.”

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small compared to what lies within us.”---Emerson 6 A coach stated, “Sometimes a lot gets put into height, weight and speed, and a lot of times it’s hard to measure what’s beh ind that left nipple and what’s between the ears.”

INDIVIDUAL and TEAM DESPAIR or X’s and O’s or X’s and woes:

Individual and/or team gloom:

Creighton was 15-1, on January 16, and tied for #7 AP ranking in the nation when Maurice Watson, Jr. was lost for the season with a torn ACL How much was he missed? A lot. He was the nation’s assist leader , and the Bluejays had fallen out of the Top 25 on February 27 th.

Michigan State’s Eron Harris saw his college career end with a knee injury on February 18 t h . Did the Spartan’s tournament bubble pop with this injury or will they make their 20 th consecutive tournament appearance?

No sweetheart gift. On February 14, #15 Florida lost star John Egbunu for the season with a torn ACL, but team depth had them #12 on February 27 th.

Gonzaga made the tournament this year for the 19th consecutive years, but coach has never reached a Final Four. On January 30, Gonzaga obtained the #1 ranking in the country, but dropped to #4 on February 27, with their first defeat “buy” BYU. W ill they make the Final Four this year?

Teams’ gloom: Read, research and listen to what is said about teams like Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, VCU, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Providence, Illinois State and Arkansas being “bubble teams” and maybe not making the tournament. Bubble prognostications change almost daily causing an emotional roller coaster ride for the teams.

It is better to have bubbled and lost than to never have bubbled at all. Apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson.

William & Mary, Northwestern, St. Francis (NY), Army and The Citadel are schools in the original 160 Division I schools, and they have never r eached the NCAA Tournament. It’s predicted Northwestern will make it. Did they?

Frustration at the Foul Line

A foul performance and team despair : Which game results will be deter mined in the tournament of 2017 by “foul” shooting at the free-throw line? Have a couple of students watching closely and maybe chart the teams.

7 Gonzaga’s (29-1) quest for an undefeated season vanished on Feb. 25, against BYU. Two very unlikely turnovers in the last minute, and shooting only 55% (16-29) from the line shattered their dream.

TEAM ACHIEVEMENT – TEAM CHEMISTRY:

TEAM CHEMISTRY: The whole Kansas team has chemistry with their depth and speed. Some people think Kansas, with Frank Mason III, is like Medusa. You cut off one head and they bring three more after you. The Jayhawks had tremendous February comeback wins against West Virginia and Oklahoma. Down 12 points with 10 minutes to go, the Jayhawks went on a 31-11 scoring run against the Sooners.

The thrilling comeback victory over Oklahoma was on Senior Night and the first night of them being ranked #1 in the 2016 -17 season.

Team achievement or lack of it; clip tournament pictures of jovial ity or despondency, and have students explain the height of glee or depth of despair. With verbal or written statements, have students present their opinions on any game they consider to be the most exciting or to be one of the most memorable; or deplorable. The highest level of critical thinking.

WHO IS #1 THIS WEEK?: Depending on the week. As of February 27, six different teams have held the top spot. Duke, Kentucky, Villanova , Baylor, Gonzaga, and Kansas. Only in 1982-83 did more teams (seven) share the top spot. The AP poll began in 1948 -49.

Scoring

FRESHMEN PHENOMS: Who are the freshmen to watch? There may be too many to watch. Lonzo Ball—UCLA, Miles Bridges—Michigan State, Markelle Fultz--, Josh Jackson—Kansas, Harry Giles—Duke, —St. Mary’s, Edrice Adebayo and —Kentucky.

Commission a couple of students to follow the progress of freshmen in the tournament, but especially freshmen of the four top -seeded teams in each bracket. Who continues to be an uncontainable force? Who will wilt under the pressure of the spotlight?

On December 17, 2016, Malik Monk of Kentucky was an uncontainable force. He scored 47 points in a win over North Carolina 103 -100, for a

8 Kentucky freshman record. In that high scoring game, Kentucky shot 54% from the field, and North Carolina shot 53%.

Listen and read of comments about who will be one-and-done. How many freshmen will bolt for the NBA this year?

FRESHMEN WHO HAVE BEEN NAMED MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER IN THE FINAL FOUR. Arnie Ferrin Utah 1944 Pervis Ellison Louisville 1986 Carmelo Anthony Syracuse 2003 Kentucky 2012

Only two freshmen have scored 900 points in a season. Any this season? Chris Jackson 965 pts, LSU, 1988-‘89 903 pts, Texas, 2006-’07

SCINTILLATING SENIORS: —Villanova; Frank Mason III—Kansas; Bryce Alford—UCLA. What will be their career totals at tournament’s end?

“Pistol” holds the record of 3,667 points in his college career. Prolific scorer Doug McDermott finished his career with 3,150 points in 2014, and went into 5 th place on the list of college scorers. There are eight Division I players with 3,000 points or more for a career. finished a stellar career at Oklahoma in 2016 with 2,291 points.

Maravich’s record will probably never be broken. Anyone with the ability to pursue his point total will opt for the NBA before their senior year. Have the class debate one-and-done players.

SUPER SUB: Which player coming off the bench will your class judge to have the greatest impact in the tournament? On January 24, Marquette upset #1 Villanova as Katin Reinhardt came off t he bench to score 19 points.

Canyon Berry, Florida, may be one of the best sixth man in the tournament, and students will remember him as he shoots free -throws “granny style”. Who will be the best sixth man in this year’s “Big Dance?”

Florida State is averaging 83.6 points per game, and the five players coming off the bench are responsible for almost half those points. The Seminoles have five players in tand em wearing the teams down. However, Florida State could not wear down North Carolina on January 14, as Maye and Pinson coming off the bench provided th e Tar Heels with 25 rebounds.

HISTORY MADE: and are the only coaches to lead three different schools to the Final Four. Pitino did it with Providence (1987), Kentucky (1993, 1996, 1997), and Louisville (2005, 2013) Calipari did it with Massachusetts (1996), Memphis (2008), and Kentucky (2011, 2012, 2014 & 2015). The NCAA vacated Calipari’s wins in 1996 and 2008.

Rick Pitino is the only coach in NCAA history to win national championships at two different schools, and of all places Kentucky and Louisville. This is like a general winning the Civil War for both the North and the South.

9 In 2013, Lon Kruger became the first coach in NCAA history to lead five different teams into the NCAA Tournament. They are: Oklahoma, Kansas State, Florida, Illinois and UNLV. “Tubby” Smith became the second. Smith has led Kentucky, Tulsa, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas Tech. This year, Smith moved to Memphis, and his chances of leading a sixth team to the tournament are slim or next to none.

In 2016, the victory after a 12-point comeback by Texas A&M with 44 seconds to play against Northern Iowa to force a double overtime is history that will probably never be repeated, but will be mentioned a nd written about frequently. Will students hear references to that game this year?

LOW SCORING HISTORY: Not really history, but an unusual fact. In 2016, Wisconsin defeated Pittsburgh 47-43. Wisconsin was the first team in 13 years to win an NCAA Tournament gam e without scoring 50 points. Wonder who will have the lowest winning point total in 2017?

READING: Which team has had the most NCAA Tournament appearances? Which team has had the most NCAA Tournament victories? Most Final Four appearances? Kentucky was in their 17 th Final Four in 2015, and they have won eight national titles. Most “Sweet 16” berths in the NCAA Tournament since 1975 ? In 2016, Duke was in their 29 th Sweet 16. Is this the most?

. Kentucky has both the most all-time wins and the highest all-time winning percentage in the history of .

WHO’S STREAKING? Which of the 64 teams has the longest winning streak coming into the tournament? The Vermont Catamounts have the nation’s longest winning streak of 18 games as of March 1 st.

In 2013-2014, W ichita State became the 11 th team to hit the 30 win mark, but the first in a regular season. All others needed post season. Kentucky matched the Shockers in 2014-15 with 31 victories in the regular season. No 30-regular season wins in 2017, as Gonzaga’s loss to BYU stopped the m at 29. What will Gonzaga’s total be when their tournaments are over?

Memphis won 30 or more games four years in a row(’06 -’09). The Kentucky Wildcats have twice had three consecutive 30 -win seasons (‘47-’49) and (‘96-’98). UCLA had consecutive 30-win seasons 2006-2008. Memphis won 30 or more games three years in a row-2011-13, but not close since.

Teams with consecutive 20-win seasons are: Kansas—28 and Duke—22. Syracuse has had 46 consecutive seas ons with a winning record running from 1970-71 to 2015-16, and may make it 47 in 2017. Kentucky obtained their 62 nd 20-win season in 2017, but not consecutive. Salute consistency.

Kansas will be going to the “Big Dance” for 29 consecutive years, and have won their 13 th consecutive Big 12 championship. Salute this run. They say at Kansas, “Rosters change, expectations don’t.” By Kansas winning their 13th title they matched UCLA’s run of 13 from 1967-79.

FYI---UCLA’s 88-game winning streak is the longest in men’s NCAA history.

10 . The streak began after a loss to Notre Dame and ended on Jan. 19, 1974, with a loss to Notre Dame by a point. Notre Dame trailed by 11 points with three and a half minutes left, but rallied to win 7 1-70.

The historic streak of 104 consecutive victories (as of February 28) by the women of the University of Connecticut must be recognized and appreciated by all sport fans.

WHO’S STREAKING AT HOME? At tournament time, who will have the longest home-court winning streak? Oregon kept a 42 game home-court winning streak going after the game of February 18; and will take that home -court streak into next season. As of March 3, Cincinnati has 26 straight wins.

Kansas had a 51-game home-court streak at snapped by Iowa State on February 4, 2017. Villanova had a 48-game winning streak at home snapped by Butler on February 22, 2017.

With the parity in college basketball today, the record of 129 home-court wins held by the Kentucky Wildcats may never be broken. The Kentucky streak of 129 games was stopped in a 59-58 loss to Georgia Tech in 1955.

BEST WINNING % IS NO GUARANTEE. Since 1991, the team entering the tournament with the best winning percentage has reached the Final Four only four times, and won it all just twice. The two were Duke (28-2 =.933) in 1992, and UCLA (25-2= .926) in 1995. In 2016, Kansas at 30-4 (.882) led all teams, but Villanova took the crown and ended as champs.

LEADING SCORER IS NO GUARANTEE. A Personal Project. Have someone find the 10 top scorers in the nation on the NCAA’s website. www.ncaa.com/ and website information on page 27. Will any of these players be on a team that makes it to the Final Four? It has only happened twice in the last 34 years. Top scorer of Indiana State made it to the finals in 1979, and Georgia Tech’s Dennis Scott made it to the Final Four in 1990.

Through games of February 28, 2017, , Central Michigan, is the scoring leader in the nation at 29.4 points per game. Mike Daum, South Dakota State, is 2 nd, at 24.9 ppg. Dallas Moore, North Florida, is 3 rd at 24.2. The closest scoring title race ever was in 2003, when , New Mexico, averaged 27.964, and Henry Domercant, Eastern Illinois 27.931, a difference of .033 ppg. What will be the ppg difference between #1 & #2 in 2017?

IT HAS ONLY HAPPENED ONCE. was the nation’s leading scorer in 1952 when his won the national championship. Lovellette died in 2016 at age 86. He was the first player to win an NCAA title, an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship.

A COACH’S DREAM COME TRUE: Only six coaches have won a championship in their first trip to the Final Four. -Villanova (1985), -Michigan (1989), Jim Harrick-UCLA (1995), -Kentucky (1998), -Connecticut (1999), -Kansas (2008). Anyone in 2017?

11

Language Arts and Geography

CREATIVE FUN WITH SENSE AND NONSENSE: Schedules in the regular season might present these games. Nebraska vs. Iowa State; Notre Dame vs. Xavier; Arizona at Kansas; Kentucky at Missouri, etc. Allow the students to use the pairings in the tournament to have some fun and be creative by writing things that make sense or nonsense about a few of the games to demonstrate they know something about the teams, cities, states or regions. This meets State Standards for geography. For example:

When Notre Dame played Xavier---“Would the Pope like to see this game?”

Nebraska vs. Iowa State--“That could sure be a corny game.”

Iowa State vs. Kentucky---“The corn from Iowa was mashed by Kentucky.”

North Carolina vs. Duke--Connected by 8 miles of Tobacco Road. Divided by 94 years of bad blood. Which team do you think will get smoked?

CREATIVE FUN WITH NAMES: Look for team names with which you can write creative headlines. Discuss headlines in the REVIEW-JOURNAL.

“Game winning 3-pointer by Orange makes Blue Devils see red” “Allen threw a wrench in Tar Heels’ plan.” “North Carolina’s Meeks is not meek.”

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT:

“Perry’s appetite for winning is insatiable. ” “Tigers are abysmal.” “Coach said he laments making roster change.”

BUSINESS LETTER WRITING: After the circle graph activity described in the math section (page 30) has been completed, turn to the English book and study how to write a business letter. Send this letter and graph(s) to the coaches at the various schools explaining the purpose of the project when the tournament has concluded. This will be appreciated, and you will receive a thank you note from some of the coaches. See graph on page 36.

INITIALS but no periods: Students have been taught that anytime you use initials you must use periods, for example, when writing the initials of their name. Then why isn’t NCAA written N.C.A.A.? Your English book probably tells you that when initials become standard and recognizable, then pe riods are not required. Will UCLA have a chance to battle USC in the NCAA Tournament? Look for examples in the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. FBI, CEO, PTA, GOP, NBA, NRA, NFL, etc. Teams are given an RPI ranking, and if not chosen for the top 64, many will feel like it is R.I.P.

CHARACTER EDUCATION

A minister told the athletes about their ACTIVITY and their IDENTITY. Their activity is who they are on the court, their persona on the field. Their

12 identity is who they really are in life as a person off the court.

Athletes get into trouble because they can’t separate the two. If they let the “big head” from their on-court activity carry over into their personal life, it often leads to irrational actions. Discuss any situations where you think this has occurred. If the players can’t separate their activity and their identity, they need to study Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.

John Wooden stated, “You cannot let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.” You will read this again —later.

“Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.” Buddha

Tony Bennett, seventh-year coach at Virginia, has built a winnin g team by starting with humility. He said, “You need the kind of guys you can go through hard times with, guys who have great character. When you start believing all the hype, you are in trouble.” The Cavaliers are not cavalier.

One new coach said, “I admire Duke for the academics, the values, the humility, the standard of excellence it preaches.” And Duke still does. See notes on Grayson Allen on page 14.

Read “The Road to Character” by David Brooks. Brooks says there are two kinds of virtue. Resume’ virtues—the kinds of talents and job skills that lead to material success.

Eulogy virtues—the kinds of things you’d like to be remembered for after you die: kindness, honesty, faithfulness. Live your life so the preacher won’t have to tell lies at your funeral.

You might want to read a book by Jim Pawlak, “Leading with GRIT:” Generosity, Respect, Integrity, Truth.

Coaches might want to read a new book by Villanova’s , “ATTITUDE: Develop a Winning Mindset on and off the Court.”

“It’s not the will to win that matters….It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”---Paul “Bear” Bryant “Spectacular achievements come from unspectacular preparation.” Roger Staubach

Superstars aren’t made in the spotlight: They’re made when no one is watching.

Study the inspiring life story of of Purdue. He surely did so much when on one was watching. As an 8 th grader he weighed 360 pounds, and now a star sophomore basketball player at 245.

COACHES and (lack of) CHARACTER:

On December 13, 2016, North Carolina received their third notice of being investigated for student athletes taking sham courses or courses that did

13 not exist in African-American studies to keep at-risk athletes academically eligible. These courses were taken for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. This investigation has been going on for five years.

What will be said during the tournament about the sex scandal used at Louisville to recruit players? In October 2016, the NCAA leveled allegations against Louisville about the scandal and Pitino’s failure to properly monitor his program. On January 17, 2017, Louisville met the deadline of submitting arguments to the NCAA to counter the allegations saying Pitino did not violate his responsibility of monitoring his program. The NCAA has 60 days to review the arguments, and counter the university’s arguments, before giving the case to the NCAA ’s Committee on Infractions.

Related to these cases, the NCAA stated, “The desire to achieve success on the basketball court over academic integrity; demonstrated misplaced institutional priorities.” In January the NCAA stated, “We are currently handling 20 open investigations, and 18 of them are in Division I.

Discuss the lack of accountability, integrity and responsibility demonstrated by fans during raucous demonstrations after the Villanova Wildcats won the championship in 2016. Six people were arrested and at least 25 injure d in a melee of celebration. Property damag e occurs every year in wild celebrations in the city of the winning team . For whom does the bell toll in 2017? See what the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL reports on April 4 th.

Big 12 executives are considering rules that would prevent court storming after a game, and cleaning up offensive fan chants to at least PG level. Richard Myers, president of Kansas State, asked Wildcat fans to stop their vulgar chants against Kansas. When Kansas visited K -State on February 6, fans chanted songs in which words like “(expletive) KU” were used.

When Kentucky played at Missouri on February 21, Missouri fans chanted, “Calipari sucks, Calipari sucks.”

EXAMPLES of POOR CHOICE:

On February 23, Josh Jackson of Kansas was charged with misdemeanor criminal damage after allegedly vandalizing a woman’s car outside a Lawrence bar. Jackson said, “I was trying to help a friend and th e situation just escalated.”

Sindarius Thornwell of South Carolina was arrested for possession of marijuana and driving on a suspended license in Ma y 2016. He is the Gamecock’s leading scorer, but was suspended from the team on December 4, for six games. The Gamecocks are a bubble team.

Grayson Allen of Duke was suspended from the team for one game in December after he was caught tripping an oppone nt for the third time. He also faced this issue in the 2015-16 season. Many people took issue with JUST the one game suspension.

Jay Bilas said of Allen’s suspension, “This is about what’s best for the player, and I do think he needs to get some profess ional help on this.” One writer said, “Allen is a nice and even tempered young man off the

14 court, but real life is filled with the kind of challenges he faces on the court, and how he responds will ultimately come to define h im. Krzyzewski had to suspend Allen the player, but he needed to suspend A llen the person even more.” Allen’s activity vs. his identify.

In the tournament, will there be comments on Allen’s character that may make him an unpopular character?

Tevin Mack, Texas’ leading scorer, was suspended on January 12, for violating team rules. It was Mack’s second suspension of the season, and he was granted a release from his scholarship on February 27.

On January 26, Carlton Bragg was suspended from the Kansa s team for violating team rules, and on the 30 th was given a notice to appear in court after police charged him with possessing drug paraphernalia. Certainl y behavior you can’t brag about, however, he was back in the lineup on February 6 th.

Creighton’s Maurice Watson, Jr. was charged with first -degree sexual assault on February 13 th from an incident on February 4 th. His bond was set at $750,000 and a hearing established for March 2 7, 2017.

Dealing with some of these self -centered, immature players must make

some coaches feel like this.

For many players, basketball provides an opportunity to escape a deplorable environment, upbringing and lifestyle; th en they do something stupid to mitigate the prospect of a brighter future. How do you explain it? Is it this feeling of entitlement? Is it no sense of accountability, integrity and responsibility?

One coach stated, “We all make mistakes. We’re defi ned by how we take responsibility for, learn from and atone for them.”

It’s too bad that lessons once learned on our parents’ laps or in church are now weekend seminars. Pyramid of Success

Have a lengthy discussion of John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. See page 17.

15 Can you frame this and hang it permanently in your classroom? Who will win the John R. Wooden Award? Check out the candidates under “News” at: www.woodenaward.com, and discuss the selection criteria. One criteria is: Candidates must exhibit strength of character, both on and off the court.

Mr. Wooden said, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” Mr. Wooden’s famous player said, “It was never about basketball with Wooden. It was about character.” The Wooden Award winner will be announced April 7 th.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Keep your thoughts positive, they become your words. Keep your words positive, they become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive, they become your habits. Keep your habits positive, they become your values. Keep your values pos itive, they become your destiny.”

Reputation is precious---Character is priceless.

Read the REVIEW-JOURNAL every day to site examples of positive and negative character education. The real measure of yo ur wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.

Appreciate the work ethic of SMU’s Semi Ojeleye. He said, “I don’t want to look back on a day and say I didn’t use that day to the fullest to get better. We can only play so long, and that’s what I tell myself.”

Research and report on the life of Oregon’s Chris Boucher. A life that took him from hardscrabble living to hardwood success.

We build relationships with persistence, self -discipline, gratitude, optimism, kindness, honesty, courage, authenticity, empathy, vulnerability, curios ity, confidentiality, generosity, gratitude and humility. One writer said of Jackie Robinson, “Robinson had a quality only the truly great possess: Humility.”

Someone wrote, ‘If you’re too big for a small job, you’re too small for a big job.”

“Kindness is the language the blind can see and t he deaf can hear.”---Mark Twain

List some traits you would associate with character and values in an individual. Have a serious class discussion on these concepts. Ask mother, father, principal, minister, teacher or coach for their opinions.

Develop character by reshaping attitudes, changing behavior and ending bullying. Have students look at these websites: www.stompoutbullying.org www.character.org http://teachearly.org

Inspiration: “If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you will never change the outcome.” 16

17 Sportsmanship

Many websites for Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. www.coachwooden.com In addition to the Wooden Award, there are other Player of the Year awards in college basketball: In 2016, Buddy Hield won the Wooden Award.

The Award to of Michigan State . U.S. Basketball Writers Assn. named Buddy Hield as the National Player of the Year with the Award James A. Naismith Award to Buddy Hield. Player of the Year Award to Buddy Hield. Award to of Kentucky. The winner of the Jerry West Shoot ing Guard of the Year Award was Buddy Hield of Oklahoma. Who will it be in 2017?

“” National Player of the Year to Denzel Valentine.

Will anyone be #1 in all seven? Six of seven? Five of seven ? If one player wins five of the seven awards, you might consider him to be Player of the Year. However, some interesting discussion might evolve as students defend their selection and logic. Denzel Valentine was Player of the Year in 2016. Who will it be in 2017? Frank Mason? Malik Monk? Josh Hart?

The 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award have been announced. The award recognizes achievement in the classroom, character, community service and competition. Denzel Valentine, Michigan State, won in 2016 . See the finalists at: www.seniorclassaward.com

Who will be the Associated Press’ Coach of the Year? - SMU? Mike W hite-Florida? Mark Few-Gonzaga? Scott Drew-Baylor?

In 2016, the AP Coach of the year was Bill Self of Kansas. The Naismith Coach of the Year was Villanova’s Jay Wright, winner for the second time. Wright joins John Calipari and as the only coaches to w in the award multiple times.

The 2016 Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award went to Chris Mack—Xavier.

HUMAN INTEREST STORIES

Look for stories about relationships that might involve coach -coach, coach-player, teacher-pupil, mentor-apprentice, father-son, brother-brother, friend-friend.

Friend and Friend: North Carolina’s Nate Britt and Villanova’s Kris Jenkins have been friends since 6 th grade with close family connections from high school.

Coach and Coach plus Brother and Brother : There is a slim chance that Coach Sean Miller at Arizona will face his brother Coach Archie Miller of Dayton. Some chance Scott Drew at Baylor could face Bryce Drew at Vanderbilt.

Coach and Coach plus Father and Son: Another slim chance that Rick Pitino of Louisville could face his son Richard of Minnesota. No chance that Tubby Smith of Memphis will ever face son G.G. Smith of Loyola (MD) . 18 Father and Son: If these teams make the tournament, what will be stated about these players following in the footsteps of their fathers? Bryce Alford—UCLA playing for coach/father . at Central Florida playing for coach/father . Brad Calipari playing for coach/father John Calipari. Avery Johnson, Jr. playing for coach/father Avery Johnson at Alabama.

Rare match up: Discuss some rare coaching match-ups where you would anticipate an exciting game. Mike Krzyzewski, John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, Tony Bennett, Bill Self, , Jay Wright, Lon Kruger, etc. Predictions are this may be the most unpredictable tournament ever, so wild prognostication will be fun. On February 25, #1 Gonzaga fell to Brigham Young, the sixth (6) time a #1 has fallen this year.

A rare match up: David Winkler of Louisville, KY, is a diehard Cardinal fan, but he looks like John Calipari of arch rival Kentucky. He is often asked to pose for pictures, but he never deceives anyone; he always tells the truth. He gets some weird looks when he is in his Louisville Cardinal T -shirt. Winkler was written up in a national newspaper in December 2016.

Coaching longevity: The active Division I coaches with the most 2 0-win seasons are: Mike Krzyzewski 33; Roy Williams 27 and 26 . has 37, but will the Orange get him #38 this year?

In the 2015-16 season, Bob Huggins was the 10 th Division I coach to reach 800 wins, but only the third to reach that milestone at his alma mater of West Virginia. He reached the milestone with the Mountaineers, but had many victories with other schools. Jim Boeheim did it at Syracuse, and at Kentucky.

On January 16, 2017, Roy Williams at North C arolina became the 11 th coach to reach 800 victories, and he was the second fastest to do it behind Adolph Rupp. Williams accomplished this in the Big 12 and the ACC, two really tough conferences.

Coach K vs. UK: Coach Krzyzewski has fourteen years with at least 30 wins at Duke; the most for any coach in NCAA history. This is a number matched by only one school—Kentucky. Will the tie be broken in 2017? Doubtful.

A rare feat: On December 21, 2009, Kentucky became the first program in the nation to reach 2,000 victories. On March 2, 2010, North Carolina reached 2,000 wins, and Kansas reached the 2,000 milestone on March 11, 2010.

How many do these teams have now? Kentucky began the 2016-2017 season with 2,205 wins. Kansas with 2,186 victories. North Carolina with 2,173 victories, and Duke with 2,087. Update these totals after the final game of the season on April 3, 2017. See totals for other teams in THE WORLD ALMANAC-2017 , page 890.

A rare feat: John Wooden (10), Mike Krzyzewski (5), Adolph Rupp (4), Jim Calhoun (3) and Bob Knight (3) are coaches with at least three NCAA titles.

19 MATH ACTIVITIES

Will Goliaths collide in the “Big Dance”? : Isaac Haas-Purdue; Paschal Chukwu- Syracuse; -Kansas; Dusan Ristic-Arizona; Isaac Humphries- Kentucky; Michal Cekovsky-Maryland; Jayce Johnson-Utah; Jo Acuil-Baylor; Przemek Karnowski-Gonzaga; Chris Koumadje & Michael Ojo-Florida State are 7-footers. Tacko Fall-Central Florida is 7’ 6”

DETERMINING THE MEAN

There will be 15 games played in each region to determine the Final Four. Have the students add to determine the total number of points in each game, and then the total number of points scored in each round. For each region, the students would be adding to determine the points scored first in eight(8) games, then four(4) games, then two(2) games, then one(1) game. Obtain a grand total for each region. Divide by 15 to determine the average points per game rounded-off to tenths place. Do you want to determine the average points per round for each of the four regions?

You might choose to have a few students subtract to determine the margin of victory for each game. Calculate the average margin of victory for each round and each region to see which round and region had the most close and exciting games. Round-off to tenths or hundredths place.

ADDITION & SUBTRACTION

All the scores of the 1 st and 2 nd round games will be reported somewhere in the sports section of your newspaper on Monday, March 20 th.

Obtain every boxscore of every game for reference and research purposes!!!!

Devise a plan for duplicating and using the enclosed addition & subtraction activity sheet to enhance these basic skills. Let’s say team “X” beats team “Y” by a score of 63 to 59, then in the “+” and “-” boxes for game #1, students will do the calculation of 63 + 59 = 122, 63 - 59 = 4. Move over to box #2 for the next pair of scores and calculate the sum and difference.

If you are going to time this activity, allow about 10 minutes to make the score calculations for 1 st Round games. Five minutes for 2 nd Round games, etc.

Adjust the suggested time for the age and ability of your class. If it is not a timed activity, would you consider having stude nts repeat the routine until they are capable of doing it with 100% accuracy?

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SHOT CLOCK HISTORY

Until 1985, no shot clock. A 45-second shot clock began in the NCAA in the 1985- 86 season. The time was changed to 35 seconds for the 1993-94 season, and now 30 seconds used for 2015-16 season. How many comments will you hear about the impact of the 30-second shot clock?

FINAL FOUR FRIVOLITY

1. What has been the average margin of victory for the four teams in the four games leading up to the Final Four? In 2016 it was:

North Carolina (16 + 19 + 15 + 14) divided by 4 = 16.00 points Oklahoma (14 + 4 + 14 + 12) divided by 4 = 11.00 points Syracuse (19 + 25 + 3 + 6) divided by 4 = 13.25 points Villanova (30+ 19 + 23 + 5) divided by 4 = 19.25 points

2. When Villanova defeated Oklahoma in the Final Four in 2016, it’s doubtful any new margin of victory record will be established for a long time. Villanova shot 71.4% from the floor against Oklahoma, a percentage only to be topped by the 1985 Villanova team shooting 78. 6% in defeating #1 Georgetown in what many consider the greatest basketball game ever played.

Biggest Final Four (semifinal) losses in NCAA history.

2016—Villanova defeated Oklahoma 95-51. 44 points 1979—Michigan State defeated Penn 101 -67. 34 points 1963—Cincinnati defeated Oregon State 80-46. 34 points

3. The eight Sweet 16 games in 2007 were decided by a total of 37 points. That’s the lowest total margin of victory since this bracketing forma t was adopted in 1985. In 2016 it was: 16 + 23 +14 +14 + 15 + 5 + 13 + 3 = 103 What will be the total margin of victory for the eight games in the Sweet 16 round in 2017?

4. What is the combined winning percentage of the Final Four teams for 2017? . _ _ _ In 2016, the four teams were 117 & 31 for a percentage of .791.

Since 1985, the best combined winning percentage was .941 when the Final Four teams were 143 & 9 in 2008. The worst combined winning percentage was in 2000 when the four teams were 102 & 40 for a percentage of .718.

5. What is the combined seed total of t he Final Four teams in 2017? In 2016 the Final Four seed total was #1 + #2 + #2 + #10 = 15. In 2011, the seed total of 26 was the worst seed totals ever for the Final Four. The year of 2008 was the first time ever that all #1 seeds made it to the Final Four, so that reflects perfect judgment in the seeding. #1 + #1 + #1 + #1 = 4

Since 1979, when seeding began, 1980, 2006 and 2011 were the only years no #1 seeds made the Final Four, and 2011 was the first time ever that no #1 or #2 made the Final Four.

6. Use your imagination and attendance figures for some engaging math lessons. 22 Do addition, subtraction, rounding-off or place-value practice.

The largest attendance at an NCAA championship game was 79,238 in Arlington, TX in 2014, beating the Georgia Dome record of 74,326 in 2013.

A new attendance record was established in 2014. The NCAA and Dallas Cowboy officials were taking aim at the 149,676 Final Four record established in Atlanta in 2013. In Arlington, TX, 79,444 saw the semifinal games on Saturday night in 2014; and 79,238 saw the championship game on Monday. Therefore, the 158,682 was a new attendance record.

In Houston, TX, 75,505 saw the semifinal games on Saturday night in 2016; and 74,340 saw the championship game on Monday. The totals of 149,845 established no new attendance record 2016.

Largest NCAA Tournament crowds. Attendance Records

04-05-14 AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX, national semi-finals 79,444 04-07-14 AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX, championship game 79,238 04-02-16 NRG Stadium Houston, TX national semi-finals 75,505 04-04-11 Reliant Stadium Houston, TX, national semi-finals 75,421 04-06-13 Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA, national semi-finals 75,350 04-04-16 NRG Stadium Houston, TX, championship game 74,340 04-08-13 Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA, championship game 74,326 03-31-12 Superdome New Orleans, LA, national semi-finals 73,361 04-06-09 Ford Field Detroit, MI, championship game 72,922 04-04-09 Ford Field Detroit, MI, national semi-finals 72,456

The above 10 attendance figures are in descending order. If the skill applies, have nine (9) subtraction problems of how much larg er is #1 than #2? #2 than #3? Etc.

NUMBER ONE SEEDS ARE MORE THAN AVERAGE

Do not be confused by the rounds: Remember—Play-in games are played in Dayton, OH, starting on Tuesday night. So when the 64 teams square -off against each other on Thursday-Sunday, these are 1 st & 2 nd Round games.

In 2016, the four #1 seeds in each region in Round 1 had a margin of victory that averaged 29.25 points. (26 + 39 + 16 + 36 = 107) divided by 4 = 29.25.

#1 seeds in Round 2 came out victorious by an average margin of 11.00.

How will the margin of victory average for the #1 seeds in Rounds 1 and 2 compare in 2017? Will there be any “top-seed-turvy” as a #1 goes down in the round of 32 or 16? For example, in 2016 in Round 1, #2 Michigan State fell to #15 Middle Tennessee; and #3 West Virginia was defeated by #14 Stephen F. Austin.

Marginally Speaking: Villanova’s average margin of victory in the six games garnering them the championship in 2016 was 20.7 points per game. An average margin that will probably stand for a long time.

What will the average margin of victory be for the champion in 2017? 23

Below are NCAA records for the largest average margin of victory.

Year Team Points Margin Average Margin 1996 Kentucky 129 21.5 2016 Villanova 124 20.7 2009 No. Carolina 121 20.2 1990 UNLV 112 18.7 2001 Duke 100 16.7

A 16th seed has never beaten a #1 seed in tournament history (0-128), but there have been some close calls.

1985: Michigan 59, Fairleigh Dickinson 55 1989: Georgetown 50, Princeton 49 1989: Oklahoma 72, E. Tennessee State 71 1990: Michigan State 75, Murray State 71 (OT) 1996: Purdue 73, Western Carolina 71

What will be the closest a #16 will come to victory in 2017?

In 2016, the average margin of victory for the four games of #1 vs. #16 was 29.25 points. What will be the average in 2017?

Must a #16 seed feel like a modern day Sisyphus? A General Custer?

HISTORY MADE: Prior to 2012, four #15s had defeated a #2 seed in Round 1, but in 2012, #15 Norfolk State beat #2 Missouri, and #15 Lehigh shocked #2 Duke on the same day. This feat had never happened on the same day. In 2016, #15 Middle Tennessee beat #2 Michigan State. See page 5.

SOME LOWER SEEDS WILL RISE or THE BIG DOGS AND UNDERDOGS

LOWER SEEDS WIN: Count on it. Since 1985, a 12-seed has beaten a 5-seed every year except 1988, 2000, 2007 and 2015. It happened three times in 2014 with Stephen F. Austin, Harvard and North Dakota State beating the # fives. #12 Little Rock beat #5 Purdue in 2016. Will the #5s survive in 2017?

In the 2001, NCAA Tournament, 13 lower-seeded teams scored 1 st round victories--the most since the tournament expanded in 1985 .

A #8 is the lowest seed to ever make the finals and it h as happened three times. UCLA lost in 1980, Villanova won it all in 1985, and Butler lost in 2011. The 1985 Villanova – Georgetown game is said by many to be the greatest college game ever played, but the 2016 final the most thrilling.

CAN #1 BEAT THE ODDS? Since Indiana went undefeated in 1975-1976, only six teams ranked #1 in the Associated Press (AP) poll at season’s end won the tournament. Kentucky (1978, 2012), North Carolina (1982), UCLA (1995), Duke (1992, 2001), Kentucky beat the odds in 2012. Kansas did not beat the odds in 2016. Who will be reported as #1 on March 7, 2017?

24 For the last 40 years, the pursuit of a perfect season in college men’s basketball has proved fruitless. UNLV, 1991; Wichita State, 2014 and Kentucky, 2015; were the last teams to enter the tournament without a loss, and Kentucky couldn’t capture the crown in 2015, as Duke won it all.

HISTORY OF UNDEFEATED TEAMS:

San Francisco 1956 29-0 North Carolina 1957 32-0 UCLA 1964 30-0 UCLA 1967 30-0 UCLA 1972 30-0 UCLA 1973 30-0 Indiana 1976 32-0 Source: NCAA

Pre-season jinx or déjà vu?

For 2016-17, maybe Duke is jinxed from the beginning. The preseason AP poll ranked the Blue Devils #1. In the years the AP has had a preseason ranking, its #1 team ended up the champion only seven times. No team has accomplished this feat since North Carolina survived in 2009, and the Tar Heels could not do it again in 2016. Answer this during or at tournament’s end.

CAN #1 SEEDS CONTINUE THE STRING? The 1980, 2006 and 2011 tournaments are the only years in which a #1 seed in the brackets did not make it to the Final Four. In 2011 no #1s or #2s made it to the Final Four, and that had never happened before. In 2008, all four #1 seeds made it to the Fin al Four, and that had never happened before either. One #1, North Carolina, made it in 2016. How many #1 seeds will make it to the Final Four in 2017?

The Duke-W isconsin game in 2015, was only the 7th time that two #1 seeds have faced each other for the title. Others were :

North Carolina vs. Georgetown------1982 North Carolina vs. Michigan------1993 UConn vs. Duke------1999 North Carolina vs. Illinois------2005 Florida vs. Ohio State------2007 Kansas vs. Memphis------2008

NCAA Tournament reflects a “Cinderella Nation”

This sport in this nation reveals a lot about our national DNA. Each team dreams that it is equal, and each team controls its own destiny. The rules are simple---win and move on, lose and go home. The quintessential Am erican dream is of the underdog becoming a Cinderella a nd capturing glory.

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WHO WILL BE THE CINDERELLA TEAM(S) IN 2017? A Cinderella is a 12th seed or below that gets to the Sweet 16 before the clock strikes midnight. No #12 seed or below made the Sweet 16 in 2016, but Gonzaga (#11) and Syracuse (#10) were called Cinderellas by some writers when they made the Sweet 16. Reason: Gonzaga had to win the tournament to make the Dance, and Syracuse had to sweat out an at -large bid and made it to the Final Four.

A double-digit seed rarely reaches the Final Four. 11th-seeded LSU did it in 1986, 11th seeded George Mason did it in 2006, and 11 th seeded VCU accomplished it in 2011. In 2016, Syracuse, a #10, became the fourth double-digit seed to make the Final Four.

In 2008, Western Kentucky and Villanova became the first two #12 seeds to make the Sweet 16 in the same tournament.

MOST IMPROVED

Which of the 64 teams has the most improved record over 2015-2016?

Suggestion---Divide the class into 8 groups and let each group research 8 teams for their 2015-16 record. Have them calculate the winning percentage of the ’15-’16 and ’16-’17 seasons of those teams coming into this year’s tourney.

Tumultuous Ticket Take: Last year, the final game between Villanova and North Carolina in NRG Stadium was played before 74,340 fans. Who knows what the configuration will be for University of Phoenix Stadium, so use the 65,000 figure it holds for football. However, there will be lots of space for SRO. Calculate the number of tickets allotted to each group. Have students illustrate these percentages with a circle/pie graph.

Participating schools 25.0% Public via a lottery 30.0% Public hospitality program 5.0% CBS corporate partners 5.0% Local organizing committees 10.0% NCAA officials 10.0% Division I coaches 15.0% Source: NCAA--based on ticket distribution percentages from 2016.

Will an attendance record be broken in 2017? In 1993 the Final Four began to morph into college basketball on steroids. In 1993 the NCAA decreed that a Final Four venue had to h old at least 30,000 spectators. In 1997 the minimum was increased to 40,000. Now the NCAA only looks at venues with a capacity of as least 60,000. How the sport has changed!!! 26 So far, for the 2016-17 season, Kentucky is averaging 23,462 fans for its home games. Syracuse is second with 22,251, and Louisville follows with 20,736. Note of interest: North Carolina is the school with the 4 th highest average attendance dropping down to the 17,822. This is real fan loyalty at the top three schools. (Figures thru games of February 28, 2017.)

CHECKING THEIR MILEAGE

Randomly pick some teams and calculate how many miles they will travel in the course of the tournament. Objective: Read scale. Learn to read a ruler to 1/16th inch. Multiply and divide fractions and/or decimals. State Standards

IT IS INTENDED THE STUDENTS LEARN TO USE THE SCALE OF MILES ON THE MAP TO CALCULATE THE MILEAGE. NOT INTENDED TO BE A REFERENCE QUESTION WHERE THEY GO TO AN ATLAS OR AN INTERNET SOURCE FOR THE ANSWER.

Sixth to 12th graders that can measure to the 1/16th of an inch and divide fractions and/or decimals, should only be given about 10 miles leeway. 4th and 5th graders or other students who have to use the edge of a paper marked with the scale of miles may be given 40 -50 miles.

SNOOPING FOR STATISTICS

Go to: www.ncaa.com. Across the lines at the top of the page, under Sports click on Men’s basketball. Then click on Stats. Three-fourths of the way down the page, click on View Report on NCAA.org Click on Individual and Team National Statistics Rankings.

How are the tournament teams or your favorite team doing against the NCAA average for field-goal shooting? The averages for the past 20 years has increased from 43.5% to now at 50%. Through games of March 1, 2017, UCLA led with the F-G percentage of 52.9%. Gonzaga was 2 nd at 51.6%, and Creighton 3 rd at 51.3%.

WHO’S STREAKIN’ making FIELD GOALS?

Devontae Cacok, led the nation in field-goal percentage at 78.7% through games of March 1st, Justin Patton, Creighton, is 2 nd at 69.2%. Aundre Jackson, Loyola Chicago, is 3 rd at 67.7%.

UCLA is leading the nation in scoring at 91.8 ppg, The Citadel is 2 nd at 90.9, and Central Michigan is 3 rd at 88.0 thru March 1, 2017. What will the

27 championship team average for the tournament? Villanova averaged 83.5 ppg in 2016.

Marcus Keene of Central Michigan has had six 40 -point games through February 22, the most since in 2005-06. Will Central Michigan make the tournament?

WHO’S STREAKIN’ from the FREE-THROW LINE? Through games of March 1, 2017, 12 Division I players are shooting 90% or better f rom the F-T line. Phil Forte, Oklahoma State, is 1 st, at 79-83 or 95.2%. Andrew Rowsey, Marquette, is 2nd at 80-85 or 94.1%. Donte McGill, Florida International, is 3 rd, at 105-113 or 92.9%. At this time in 2016, only three players were shooting +90%.

In 2009, Villanova was one free-throw away from establishing a new NCAA Tournament record. The team had made their first 21, but Reggie Redding missed the first of two shots. He made the second F -T and the team was 22-23. Fordham was 22-22 against South Carolina in 1971.

In a regular season game on March 2, 2013, the Oklahoma Sooners s ank 34 free-throws without a miss. This tied the record set by Samford in 1990. On January 30, 2017, Duke made 23 of 24 (96%) of their free-throws in squelching Notre Dame 84-74.

How many games will be determined by one team shooting poorly from the free-throw line?

South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell made 25 F -Ts in losing to Alabama on February 7. This broke “Pistol Pete” Ma ravich’s SEC record of 21.

Butler’s Darnell Archey holds an NCAA record of ma king 85 consecutive free throws running from February 15, 2001 to January 18, 2003.

Through games of March 1, 2017, Notre Dame was the nation’s leader in F-T percentage at 81.0%. Villanova was 2 nd at 79.9% and Central Michigan was in 3 rd place at 78.7%.

CONTRARY TO FORM: How many games will be decided by one or both teams playing contrary to form? Will one get HOT while the other goes COLD? In the North Carolina-Syracuse Final Four game in Houston last year, at one point the Tar Heels were 0-11 from behind the arc and finished just 4-17. Villanova defeated Oklahoma in the semi-finals as Oklahoma was only 6-27 (22%) in “3s”, and this was for a team that shot 43% on the season.

HOT and HOT: On December 18, 2016, Baylor defeated John Brown by shooting 59% from the field despite missing their first five shots. Then on December 21, again shot 59% from the field including 57% (8-14) on 3s.

HOT and HOTTER: On January 4, 2017, Duke defeated Georgia Tech by scoring 110 points. The Blue Devils shot 56% from the field and 52% on 3- pointers; and 84% on free-throws.

On February 15, Butler scored 110 points, too, by shooting 58% in field - goals, and 50% in 3s. Those percentages should guarantee a winner every time. 28 COLD and COLDER: On January 25, #6 Florida State lost to Georgia Tech 78-56. At half-time the Seminoles had only 15 points. How cold is that? In the first half, the “Noles shot 17% in FGs, 9% in 3s, and 33% from the line. In the second half they shot 80% from the F-T line.

CALCULATING PERCENTAGES or REDUCING FRACTIONS: Here are some figures of free-throw shooting in Round 1 of 2016. Determine these F-T %: 20/22, 11/20, 13/17, 19/29, 7/12, 9/13, 14/18, 5/10, 23/33, 5/11, 8/15.

Fourth, fifth and some sixth grade students will not know the concept of figuring percentage. No problem, but let’s make problems anyway. Write the free-throws made and attempted as common fractions reduced to lowest terms when possible. 12/16 = 3/4, 12/18 = 2/3, 27/30 = 9/10, 15/21 = 5/7, etc. When fractions can’t be reduced, have the students write the same fraction on the right side of the equation anyway so you know they know it can’t be reduced. 17/25 = 17/25

WHO’S STREAKIN’ from beyond the ARC? On January 19, 2008, Dre Smith of George Mason set a NCAA record by making 10 3-pointers without a miss. Smith broke a record of nine (9) in a row held by three players. Will anyone be close to this in the 2017 “Big Dance”? The 3-point line began in 1986.

What is the highest percentage a team will shoot this year? Ohio State set a NCAA record on March 5, 2011, hitting 14 of 15 3-pointers or 93%.

On December 13, 2016, Michigan set a school record by making 19 3 - pointers, but also established a school record with 45 attempts; a 42% shooting from beyond the arc.

On January 12, 2017, UCLA made 19 3-pointers in just 31 tries while scoring 104 points. You don’t beat a team shooting 61% from behind the arc, and shooting 94% (15-16) in free-throws that night.

By contrast to UCLA’s shooting, on January 18, Florida was 0 -17 on 3s, and that had not happened to them since 1992, or 850 games ago.

Stephen Curry finished the 2007-’08 season with 162 three-pointers at Davidson establishing a new NCAA record. Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield had 147 3s in 2016. The top 3-point shooters through March 1, 2017, are Marcus Keene, Central Michigan, with 112; Antonio Green, UT Rio Grande Valley, 110. Jeremy Senglin, Weber State and Ryan Andino Maryland Eastern Shore each with 109; No one close to Curry this year.

The most 3-pointers in Division I in their career are: Travis Bader-Oakland,

29 504, J.J. Redick-Duke, 457; David Holston-Chicago State, 450; -St. Peter’s, 435; Chris Lofton-Tennessee, 431.

Thru March 1, 2017, Marquette led the nation in 3-point accuracy shooting at 42.8%. UCLA was second at 41.7%; and Weber State third at 41.6%,

Through games of March 1, 2017, Marcus Howard, Marquette , was leading the nation in 3-point percentage at 55.6%, Nick Masterson, Kennesaw State, was 2 nd at 53.5%; and Francis Alonso, UNC-Greensboro , was 3 rd at 48.4%.

At the “Big Dance” in 2008, Western Kentucky and Drake combined to make 30 3-pointers, breaking a two-team record of 29 set by Louisville and West Virginia in 2005.

Which team will make the most 3-pointers in a tournament game this year? Which two teams will make the most 3-pointers in 2017?

MORE SNOOPING: Duke’s is the all-time NCAA Division I Tournament scoring leader with 407 pts. Is anyone close to him in 2017? He also holds the tournament record for games —23, and free-throws—142.

DEFENSIVE SNOOPING: Thru games of March 1, 2017, Virginia was the best defensive team in the nation allowing an average of 55.3 points per game. St. Mary’s was 2 nd with 56.1; and SMU 3 rd allowing 59.0 ppg.

The best defensive team is holding their opponent to what field-goal shooting percentage? Usually the losing team will have a F-G percentage of 40% or less. U Central Florida leads the nation by holding opponents to 36.1%. Gonzaga is second with 36.8%; Calif. State-Bakersfield is third at 37.6%.

Don’t allow confusion to reign over averages and percentages.

After the championship game on April 2, 2012, Anthony Davis, Kentucky, had 186 blocked shots, a freshman record. No one is close to Davis’ record of 186 blocks for the year. As of March 1, 2017, Liam Thomas, Nicholls State had 117 blocks for the year.

CIRCLE GRAPHS

Allow the students to select a game in each round for which they would like to construct a circle graph. Consult your math book for help with this assignment. A problem arises when many students will want to graph the game of the most popular teams. How to resolve this situation!!!

Number the brackets for each game of the tournament. Your numbers will run from 1 - 63. Assign each student a number or game fo r which to construct a circle graph. Depending on the size of your class, most students will do two graphs and a few students may have to do three.

30 After consulting your math book, you might let the students make a simple graph of scoring by quarters of the pros before trying to make a more difficult graph of scoring by college players with many segments in it.

For classroom consistency, construct your graphs with the first segment beginning with the radius line running to “9 O’clock”, and always list the players in alphabetical order. See the enclosed circle graph on page 36.

Building your Map Legend

Using the pairings as they are reported in the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL on Monday, March 13th, place 64 (color them orange) on the wall map to show the location of the home city of each team. Color before peeling them off!!! Label paper has a vertical crease on back. Color suggestions are optional.

Use THE WORLD ALMANAC-2016, pages 391-406, or 2017, pages 420-435, and a United States atlas to locate the city of each tournament team.

Paste 32 stars(green) over the basketballs to indicate the second round winners.

Over the stars, stick on 16 hearts(red) for the teams going to the Sweet 16.

Eight(8) smile faces(yellow) for those advancing to the Elite Eight.

Use the four(4) spotlights(pink) to denote the teams advancing to the Final Four.

Two(2) diamonds(blue) for the finalist?

One(1) crown(gold) for the “King of the Big Dance”. Get a crown fr om Hallmark!!!

PHOTOGRAPH the map at the conclusion of the project. Send the photograph to Ms. Martinez at the REVIEW-JOURNAL.

DETERMINE THE BASKETBALL CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES

Have three or four students use string to mark a horizontal line wher e eight(8) teams are north and south of the line. Use string to mark a vertical line where eight(8) teams are east and west of the line. The perpendicular and intersecting lines mark the median center for the contiguous United States for the Sweet 16 teams.

It may be difficult to decide if some cities belong north -south or east- west of the line, and you will have to determine their latitude and longitude .

. Consult THE WORLD ALMANAC-2016 (pages 696) or 2017 (page 696) or go to www.hometownlocator.com. LAS VEGAS is located at the coordinates of 36.11 degrees N. latitude and 115.08 degrees W. longitude.

The median center of the Sweet 16 teams in 2016 was approximately Kokomo, IN, where the 40.47 degree line of latitude and the 86.13 degree line of longitude intersect. Students had to get down to the nitty-gritty with hometownlocator to determine the longitude of South Bend, IN, at 86.30 ,

31 and Bloomington, IN, at 86.52 degrees W . Just a tremendous map exercise!

GRAB THE ATTENTION OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL

MAIN HALL DISPLAY: Obtain a piece of Kraft brown butcher paper eight (8) ft. long. Begin marking the paper along the left side at 1 1/2 inch intervals. The 64th mark will have you at the bottom of the paper.(Hope you measured correctly.) Make the lines to form the brackets five (5) inches long.

Use your computer to write the individual name of the 64 teams with letters that are 5/8” to 3/4” high when the pairing appear on Monday, March 13 th in the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Cut out the individual names and paste them in the proper brackets.

You are now ready to mount the paper on the wall in some prominent spot in the school to be observed by all. Tape it heavily, and support it from the ceiling, too, to keep it from falling.

If you don’t want it 8 ft. long, cut it into fourths and make the brackets facing each other the way your newspaper has it printed.

“Ana Martinez, this office copier is for the N.C.A.A. Tournament and Runnin’ Rebels basketball pool material only.” 32 U. S. GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS, HISTORY and ART

When traveling to his game destination, a sports writer described the countryside as a drive, “past lolling cattle and bobbing oil pumps.” Do some research and find a picture or make a drawing(s) to represent each team’s city or state. Longhorns or Alamo for Texas; horses & bourbon for Kentucky; corn, soybeans or Abraham Lincoln for Illinois.

Don’t limit it to one piece of art work. Have several drawings to represen t each city or state just the way the new quarters represent a state.

UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY and TRIVIA

ATTENTION!!! Preview the U.S.A., NCAA and the REVIEW-JOURNAL activity on the following page before assigning it. Determine in advance if you are going to accept 50%, 60%, 70% or 80% accuracy on this research assignment. No one will expect 100% accurac y on this exercise as students are woefully inadequate using an encyclopedia. The age and ability of your class should be considered in making this determination.

OBJECTIVE: Using an encyclopedia and developing Internet research skills that will help students comply with state standards of learning. Have Fun!

33 U.S.A., NCAA and the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Match the cities with the hints given to identify them. Assign and complete during week of March 13, 2017

___President William McKinley assassinated here ___Transcontinental Railroad met in my state in 1869 ___Western starting point of Transcontinental Railroad ___Soldiers & Sailors Monument in this state capital ___1849 gold rush began at Sutter’s Mill to my N.E. ___Ringling Brothers Circus began in my state ___Brigham Young said, “This is the right place.” ___I’m located on Lake Erie ___I’m located on Lake Michigan ___The terminus of the Pony Express was here ___Mormon Tabernacle choir sings here ___Welland Canal necessary for Great Lakes shipping ___Oranges from my state mostly used for juice ___Oranges from my state mostly used for eating ___I am called “Circle City” ___Disney World is a “must go” place 1. Buffalo, NY ___Great land rush here in 1889, & some left Sooner ___Beer made me famous. Name my baseball team 2. Greenville, SC ___In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains ___Route 66, the “Mother Road”, ran through this city 3. Indianapolis, IN ___Historic Fort Sumter is in my state ___Of these three capitals, my population is largest 4. Milwaukee, WI ___My state is the leading cranberry producing state ___Will Rogers born in nearby Oologah 5. Orlando, FL ___My state is nation’s leading milk/dairy producer ___My state is 2nd leading milk/dairy producing state 6. Sacramento, CA ___Highest elevation of these eight cities ___“Johnny Appleseed” died in my state 7. Salt Lake City, UT ___Madison, my capital city, is located on an isthmus ___Mt. Whitney in my state. Highest spot in the 48 8. Tulsa, OK ___Textiles & tobacco were huge in state’s economy ___My team won Super Bowl XLI in 2007 ___Erie Canal terminated here ___”Trail of Tears” of the 1830s ended in my state ___Apostle Islands at northern end of my state ___Chicken wings as a snack originated here ___My Lake Okeechobee sends water to the Everglades ___Beautiful Door Peninsula is in my state ___”Grapes of Wrath” about people entering my state ___”Grapes of Wrath” told of people fleeing my state ___located at 29 degrees N. lat. & 81 degrees W. long. ___located at 35 degrees N. lat. & 82 degrees W. long. ___located at 36 degrees N. lat. & 96 degrees W. long. ___located at 39 degrees N. lat. & 121 degrees W. long. ___located at 40 degrees N. lat. & 86 degrees W. long. ___located at 41 degrees N. lat. & 112 degrees W. long. ___located at 43 degrees N. lat. & 79 degrees W. long. ___located at 43 degrees N. lat. & 88 degrees W. long. 34 U.S.A., NCAA and the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Match the cities with the hints given to identify them .

_1_President William McKinley assassinated here _7_Transcontinental Railroad met in my state in 1869 _6_Western starting point of Transcontinental Railroad _3_Soldiers & Sailors Monument in this state capital _6_1849 gold rush began at Sutter’s Mill to my N.E. _4_Ringling Brothers Circus began in my state _7_Brigham Young said, “This is the right place.” _1_I’m located on Lake Erie _4_I’m located on Lake Michigan _6_The terminus of the Pony Express was here _7_Mormon Tabernacle choir sings here _1_Welland Canal necessary for Great Lakes shipping _5_Oranges from my state mostly used for juice _6_Oranges from my state mostly used for eating _3_I am called “Circle City” _5_Disney World is a “must go” place 1. Buffalo, NY _8_Great land rush here in 1889, & some left Sooner _4_Beer made me famous. Name my baseball team 2. Greenville, SC _2_In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains _8_Route 66, the “Mother Road”, ran through this city 3. Indianapolis, IN _2_Historic Fort Sumter is in my state _3_Of these three capitals, my population is largest 4. Milwaukee, WI _4_My state is the leading cranberry producing state _8_Will Rogers born in nearby Oologah 5. Orlando, FL _6_My state is nation’s leading milk/dairy producer _4_My state is 2nd leading milk/dairy producing state 6. Sacramento, CA _7_Highest elevation of these eight cities _3_“Johnny Appleseed” died in my state 7. Salt Lake City, UT _4_Madison, my capital city, is located on an isthmus _6_Mt. Whitney in my state. Highest spot in the 48 8. Tulsa, OK _2_Textiles & tobacco were huge in state’s economy _3_My team won Super Bowl XLI in 2007 _1_Erie Canal terminated here _8_”Trail of Tears” of the 1830s ended in my state _4_Apostle Islands at northern end of my state _1_Chicken wings as a snack originated here _5_My Lake Okeechobee sends water to the Everglades _4_Beautiful Door Peninsula is in my state _6_”Grapes of Wrath” about people entering my state _8_”Grapes of Wrath” told of people fleeing my state _5_located at 29 degrees N. lat. & 81 degrees W. long. _2_located at 35 degrees N. lat. & 82 degrees W. long. _8_located at 36 degrees N. lat. & 96 degrees W. long. _6_located at 39 degrees N. lat. & 121 degrees W. long. _3_located at 40 degrees N. lat. & 86 degrees W. long. _7_located at 41 degrees N. lat. & 112 degrees W. long. _1_located at 43 degrees N. lat. & 79 degrees W. long. _4_located at 43 degrees N. lat. & 88 degrees W. long.

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36

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS-2016

Outlining and Classification

I. MAMMALS V. HISTORICAL A. Felines A. Crusaders 1. Wildcats B. Trojans 2. Panthers C. Spartans 3. Bearcats D. Tar Heels E. Sooners F. Cavaliers B. Canines 1. Bulldogs 2. Huskies VI. ETHNIC GROUPS A. Gaels C. Other animals B. Utes 1. Badgers C. Fighting Irish 2. Bulls 3. Buffaloes 4. Longhorns VII. OCCUPATIONS 5. Jackrabbits A. Governors 6. Bears B. Lumberjacks 7. Rams C. Shockers 8. Beavers D. Aggies 9. Wolverines E. Flyers F. Musketeers II. BIRDS/ORNITHOLOGY G. Pirates H. Friars A. Ducks I. Boilermakers B. Jayhawks C. Hawkeyes VIII. COLORFUL NAMES. D. Eagles E. Owls A. Orange F. Hawks B. Red Raiders G. Seahawks C. Blue Devils H. Phoenix D. Blue Raiders I. Roadrunners D. Rainbow Warriors . III. REPTILES A. Terrapins IX. POTPOURRI

IV. METEOROLOGY A. Mocs A. Cyclones B. Seawolves B. Hurricanes C. Mountaineers D. Hoosiers

37 Notes:

UConn was unranked at the beginning of the 2010 -2011 season, but won the National Championship. Only Syracuse had accomplished this feat before and that was in 2003. The Baylor Bears were unranked at the beginning of the season, but climbed to #1 in the week of January 9 , and lost their game on January 10 th. How far will the Bears go in the tournament?

Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig is from La Crosse, WI. He is a Native American.