Category: Tourney Info

Super Scorers

The 2019 season has seen two players reach an elite NCAA milestone by scoring 3,000 points in a career.  Chris Clemons of Campbell University and Mike Daum of South Dakota State join just eight others to have accomplished the lofty feat.  BracketMaster projects South Dakota State (23-7/13-2) to receive the automatic bid for the Summit League into the NCAA Tournament, seeded as #13.  Campbell (17-11/10-4) is currently projected to miss the field as they sit in 2nd place in the Big South Conference, one game behind Radford, who we have earning the berth with a #13 seed.

It looks unlikely that either the Big South (Conference SRS at 21st of 32) or the Summit League (SRS 25th of 32) will receive a tournament bid outside of their automatic berths, so for the Camels and Jackrabbits it’s going to come down to their respective conference championship tournaments.

South Dakota State has made the NCAA Tournament the last three years, but has never won a tourney game.  Campbell has only made the NCAAs once, in 1992.  We’d love to see these two electrifying scorers, Daum and Clemons, in the field of 68 on college basketball’s biggest stage.

Update:

Both of these Super Scorers missed the tournament for their senior season, despite winning their conference’s regular season title.  South Dakota State lost in the Summit Conference Tournament quarterfinals to Western Illinois.  Campbell lost the Big South Conference Tournament final to Gardner-Webb.  The Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs will make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  Campbell and South Dakota State will have their seasons continue in the NIT.

Where the Inconceivable is Customary

Perhaps the greatest aspect of March Madness is the improbable upset.    Here are a few examples for you to investigate from within BracketMaster.

  • The 1953 Lebanon Valley College Flying Dutchman reached the Sweet Sixteen.  They are the smallest school by enrollment (425 students) to ever advance that far.  LVC currently competes in Division III and were the 1994 Division III Men’s Basketball Champions.
  • Williams College is another very small school (current enrollment: 2,100) that appeared in the NCAA Tournament just one time.  The 1955 Ephs lost in the first round, but have since established themselves as a fine athletics program, winning the 2003 Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.
  • A #11 Seed is the lowest seed to ever reach the Final Four, and it has happened four times:
    • Still fresh in our memory, last year’s Loyola University of Chicago Ramblers advanced out of a busted-bracket South Region to earn their trip to San Antonio.
    • The 2011 Virginia Commonwealth Rams upset #1 seed Kansas to reach the Final Four in Houston.
    • The 2006 George Mason Patriots downed #1 Connecticut to emerge from the East Region.
    • The 1986 LSU Tigers are the only #11 seed to have beaten their region’s #1, #2, and #3 seeds in the same tournament.