Greg Hansen's guide to the 2018 NCAA Tournament

Boise is a basketball city

Six years ago, former Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne and coach Sean Miller decided that the UA would no longer bid to be a host site of the NCAA Tournament.

It was a blow to Tucson’s diminishing sports scene, which has lost spring training baseball, the LGPA Tour, the World Match Play Golf Championships, USA Baseball and Pacific Coast League baseball.

McKale Center had been in the rotation as an NCAA site in 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2005 and 2011. When the UA hosted its last NCAA tournament, only Utah’s Huntsman Center had played host to more games in the West.

Guess which city replaced Tucson? Boise.

Boise State has never been a national power in men’s basketball, but this year’s first- and second-round games at the Taco Bell Arena will be the latest in a string of tournament hostings there. Boise had previously hosted in 1983, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2009. The NCAA and Boise have also agreed to be a host in 2021.

Byrne said Arizona opted out because it could possibly limit Arizona’s options of staying in the West bracket, and thus make fans travel longer distances to support the Wildcats.

Good decision?

The Buffalo Bulls are no Buffalo Bill

In its undistinguished history in the Mid-American, Mid-Continent and East Coast Conference, the Buffalo Bulls have played in just two NCAA Tournament games and have almost no connection to the West.

They crossed paths with Arizona in the 2016 tournament in Providence, Rhode Island. Prior to Arizona’s loss to Wichita State, the Bulls lost to Miami (Fla.), 79-72.

Five things you probably don’t now about Buffalo:

1. It has played one game in Arizona. In 2014, it lost at Grand Canyon 80-64.
2. It has never played a game in Idaho.
3. It has played just one Pac-12 team, Washington State. In 2012, the Bulls played WSU in a doubleheader at Seattle’s Key Arena. WSU beat Buffalo 65-54. (Buffalo played Colorado while the Buffaloes were in the Big Eight.)
4. Buffalo has no real rival. Since 1993, it has played nearby Niagara — from the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference — 33 times. The Bulls’ most oft-played opponent is Kent State, a Mid-American Conference foe. They have met 36 times. Thursday’s game against Arizona is likely the most significant in school history.
5. Buffalo has never been ranked in a single AP Top 25 poll.

The 40-minute men

Sean Miller rarely deploys anyone for the full 40 minutes. No Wildcat played 40 minutes in a regulation game this season. No Wildcat, not even ironmen like T.J. McConnell and Nick Johnson, played 40 minutes in a non-overtime game in their UA careers.

But the NCAA Tournament sometimes causes a coach to rethink his substitution system. A year ago, freshman Lauri Markkanen played all 40 minutes of a Sweet 16 loss to Xavier. He still didn’t get a shot in the final, regrettable, nine minutes.

In its Pac-10/12 years, Arizona has rarely kept a player on the floor for 40 minutes, even in an NCAA Tournament game.

Here are the Wildcats who did so in the NCAAs:

1. Jason Gardner, 5: 2001 vs. Illinois; 2002 vs. Wyoming and UC Santa Barbara; 2003: vs. Kansas. Gardner also played 47 minutes in a double-overtime victory over Gonzaga in 2003.
2. Steve Kerr, 2: 1985 vs. Alabama and 1988 vs. Oklahoma.
3. Craig McMillan, 2: 1986 vs. Auburn and 1987 vs. UTEP (double overtime).
4. Channing Frye, 2: Frye went 43 minutes in the Gonzaga overtime game and 44 minutes in the 2005 Elite Eight overtime game against Illinois.
5. Miles Simon, 2: Simon played 43 minutes in a 1997 overtime Elite Eight win over Providence and 40 minutes in the 1997 national championship victory over Kentucky.
6. Jerryd Bayless played the full 40 in a 2008 first-round loss to West Virginia, as did Jason Terry in a 1999 first-round loss to Oklahoma.

Statistical oddity: In the ’08 first-round loss to West Virginia, UA senior Jawann McClellan played all 40 minutes. He did not score, shooting 0 for 4 from the field.

Not quite the Cradle of Coaches

Michigan coach John Beilein told ESPN this week that the Big Ten is “a coach’s league.”

Do you ever hear that about the Pac-12? Not likely.

Over the last 30 years, Lute Olson has the league’s defining record in the NCAA Tournament — 39-21. It’s a long drop to second place, where former UCLA coach Ben Howland was 17-8 in NCAA games.

The league hasn’t developed a big-name coach since Olson. Who’s next? Oregon’s Dana Altman has shown promise, but he’s 59 years old. Could it be his best years are behind him? The Ducks were unable to reload and reach the NCAA Tournament this year, which is the signature of an elite coach.

Howland had it going at UCLA — three consecutive Final Fours — but ultimately faded and was fired.

Here are the 10 leading Pac-12 coaches in the Tournament over those 30 years:

1. Lute Olson, Arizona: 39-21.
2. Ben Howland, UCLA 17-8.
3. Mike Montgomery, Stanford, 16-12. Couldn’t win the big one.
4. Jim Harrick, UCLA, 13-7. Was fired just as he was hitting his stride, over, of all things, a fudged expense account.
5. Sean Miller, Arizona, 13-6.
6. Steve Lavin, UCLA, 11-6. Has become a good TV analyst.
7. Dana Altman, Oregon, 11-5. The Nike influence has helped him more than most coaches could ever imagine.
8. Lorenzo Romar, Washington, 8-7. Does he have a final act in Pepperdine left in him?
9. Ernie Kent, Oregon, 6-5.
10. Steve Alford, UCLA, 4-2. The Bruins could take charge of the Pac-12 for the next few years.

Statistical oddity: Oregon State has not won an NCAA Tournament game in the 1988-2017 period, going 0-3.

A seed by any name …

Given its extensive NCAA Tournament experience in the Pac-10/12 years, Arizona has been eliminated in almost every conceivable situation.

The only seeds that have not sent Arizona home are Nos. 5, 6, 10 and 16.

By comparison, Arizona has beaten every seed possible, Nos. 1 through 16.

Here’s the good and the bad —and there’s plenty of both — of Arizona’s seeds from 1985-2017:

Good: Arizona has never lost to a No. 5 seed. It could play No. 5 Kentucky on Saturday.

Bad: Arizona has lost to more No. 1 seeds (seven) than any other. It could play No. 1 seed Virginia in the Sweet 16 next week.

Good: Arizona has a better record in the second round, 17-3, than in opening games, 20-10. The road to the Sweet 16 has been good to Arizona.

Bad: Arizona lost to 14th-seeded East Tennessee State in a 1992 first-round game in Atlanta.

Good: There is no No. 13 jinx. Arizona beat 13th-seeded South Alabama to open its national championship run in 1997.

Bad: Conference standings have not been a good indicator of how the Wildcats would fare. As a No. 1 seed, Arizona lost to an 8-8 Wisconsin, the sixth-place Big Ten team in the second round in 2000. In 2011, Arizona lost to a 9-9 Big East UConn, a ninth-place team and eventual national champion. Last year, Arizona was eliminated by 9-9 Xavier, the seventh-place Big East team.

Good: Arizona often stumbled in the first round in its early years as a budding national power. It lost opening games in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993 and 1995. Critics howled. Since then, the Wildcats have gone 16-4 in the first round.

Bad: Arizona has been eliminated by coaches of every conceivable rank: Tark and Tubbs. Mack, Matta and Majerus. Roy and Bo. Even a guy named Wimp.

Good: Arizona has eliminated Valpo, Pitino and Izzo, Coach K and the great Dean Smith. Even an alumnus you may remember, Josh Pastner. Nobody gets too chummy in March.

The Pac-12’s four most stunning first-round upsets

Good news for Arizona Wildcats fans: This list does not include the UA’s losses to 15th-seeded Santa Clara in 1993 and 14th-seeded East Tennessee State a year earlier

1. Princeton 43, UCLA 41, 1996. The Bruins had gone 16-2 to win the Pac-10 but lost to the 13th-seeded Ivy Leaguers when they played at such a slow pace they only attempted 39 shots. Remember, this was a year after UCLA won the national championship.

2. Lamar 81, Oregon State 77, 1980. The Beavers ruled the Pac-10 in the early ’80s, but lost to the unknown Lamar Cardinals, a 10 seed, in Ogden, Utah. Three Beavers starters fouled out and Lamar attempted 36 foul shots to just eight for OSU, which won the Pac-10 with a 16-2 record.

3. Siena 80, Stanford 78, 1989. Stanford was rising to power under coach Mike Montgomery, whose club had upset Arizona earlier in the season. Stanford was 15-3 in the Pac-10 but fell to 14th-seeded Siena when it committed 19 turnovers in Greensboro, N.C.

4. Ball State 54, Oregon State, 53, 1990. In Gary Payton’s final game at OSU, the 15-3 Pac-10 co-champions went limp at the wrong time in a game that introduced Rick Majerus to the rest of the country. Majerus coached Ball State’s defense so effectively that Payton was limited to 11 points and fouled out.

5 ways to win in a first-round blowout

1.  Get off to a ridiculously good start. In a 90-51 victory over Valpo in 1996, the Wildcats took a 51-15 halftime lead.
2. Put Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the lineup. In RHJ’s two UA seasons, 2014 and 2015, he was a combined 12 for 14 shooting in first-round games, with 14 rebounds. Weber State and Texas Southern had no chance. Hollis-Jefferson scored 36 points; not bad for a man who averaged 9 points in his college career.
3. Don’t let them shoot from 3-point distance. In back-to-back openers, 1988 and 1989, Arizona routed Cornell and Robert Morris by a combined 184-110. Those schools made just five 3-pointers in those games and couldn’t shoot well in close, either, combining to make just 33.9 percent of their shots.
4. Guard play. Point guard Nic Wise had the game of his life, with 29 points, in a 2009 upset over fifth-seeded Utah. In 1994, Arizona whipped Loyola-Maryland in the opener as Khalid Reeves scored 32 to set the stage for a run to the Final Four.
5. Give ’em the 1-2 punch: In Arizona’s first-ever game in Boise, 1989, starting forwards Sean Elliott and Anthony Cook both scored 27 points. When they took a break, Sean Rooks came off the bench and scored 16.

The Pac-12’s best year in the NCAA Tournament

In 2001, as Arizona marched to the national championship game, Stanford and USC both reached the Elite Eight. UCLA got to the Sweet 16. Here’s how it happened:

Arizona, a No. 2 seed, lost five early games as Lute Olson attended to his dying wife, Bobbi. He missed seven games; Bobbi died on New Year’s Day. The Wildcats then rallied around their coach, going 14-1 to play Duke in the national finals.

Stanford, a No. 1 seed, was ranked No. 1 for seven weeks and took a 31-2 record into the Elite Eight, where it was upset by Maryland, 87-73.

USC had the March of its life, beating No. 2 seed Kentucky in the Sweet 16 and No. 3 Boston College in a second-round game. The Trojans finally ran out of fuel in the Elite Eight, losing to Duke, a year in which the Blue Devils eliminated UCLA, USC and Arizona.

UCLA finished third in the league and rolled to the Sweet 16 before losing to Duke.

Runner-up: In 1997, Arizona, as a four-seed, won the national championship. Cal and Stanford reached the Sweet 16. UCLA rolled into the Elite Eight before losing to Big Ten champ Minnesota.

The Romar Regional

Arizona assistant coach Lorenzo Romar has been to Boise as a No. 1 seed. In 2005, after coaching the Washington Huskies to a 27-6 regular season, 14-4 in the Pac-10, Romar’s club was shipped to Boise. (It lost in the Sweet 16 to Louisville).

The Nate Robinson-led Huskies whipped Pacific and Montana.

Romar didn’t have much drama in Boise, but the Idaho city has produced three of the top moments in “One Shining Moment” history:

1. In 2001, 15th-seeded Hampton stunned No. 2 Iowa State 58-57 in Boise. You do remember Hampton coach Steve Merfeld doing a hop, skip and jump across the court in a happy celebration, don’t you?
2. In 1995, No. 1 seed UCLA appeared to have lost to eighth-seeded Missouri in a second-round game in Boise. But in the final six seconds, Bruins guard Tyus Edney dribbled the length of the court and scored at the buzzer for a 75-74 win. Two weeks later, UCLA won the national championship.
3. In 1989, as Arizona got all the attention — deservedly so, the Wildcats were the No. 1 seed — UNLV quietly beat Idaho and DePaul to advance to the Sweet 16. The fourth-seeded Rebels, coached by Jerry Tarkanian, were thought to be a year away from greatness. Indeed, they won the 1990 national championship. But a week after leaving Boise, Tark’s club broke Arizona’s heart in the Denver Sweet 16, as Anderson Hunt’s 3-point basket with 2.3 seconds remaining ended Sean Elliott’s college career 68-67

One man's Final Four

In Boise, Arizona and Kentucky struggle in first-round games but survive to meet in a Round of 32 game that feels like an Elite Eight showdown. Arizona pulls away late to win 84-77. The Wildcats lose a week later to Virginia on a rainy night in Georgia.

Final Four: Michigan, Villanova, Cincinnati — which takes down Virginia — and Michigan State.

Winner: Villanova. Jay Wright takes his place as a Hall of Fame coach who is also the best-dressed man in college basketball.