Teams to make the NCAA tournament with double-digit losses

LSU

A few years before Shaquille O’Neal arrived on campus, head coach Dale Brown was busy working his magic and getting LSU into the national spotlight. In 1987, after a middling regular season, the No. 10 Tigers wreaked havoc on the Midwest Region, beating Georgia Tech, Temple and DePaul before running up against Keith Smart, Steve Alford and No. 1 seed Indiana. The upstart Tigers fell, 77-76. Smart drained a game-winning bucket in the championship game against Syracuse.

Result: Lost in regional final

Kansas State

Long before Lon Kruger began his coaching career, he was a point guard for Kansas State (1971-1974). After a few brief pit stops, he soon returned to lead the Wildcats to four straight NCAA tournaments as head coach (1986-1990). In the 1989-90 season, Kruger took a 14-loss team to the Big Dance as a No. 11 seed, but the trip would be short-lived as the Wildcats bowed out in the first round to No. 6 Xavier, 87-79. It was just one of many stops for Kruger in his coaching career, one that has seen him take five different programs to the tournament.

Result: Lost in Round of 64

Villanova

The same year that Kruger’s K-State team went dancing with 14 losses, Villanova joined the field with 14 losses. Unfortunately, the postseason portion of the schedule would only last for one game. Rollie Massimino’s squad folded against a tough LSU team led by a young big man by the name of Shaquille O’Neal. The 1990 season would prove to be a bit of a practice run for the following year when ‘Nova again got into the tournament and advanced out of the first round despite double-digit losses in the regular season.

Result: Lost in first Round of 64

Villanova

In 1991, Massimino led his group of Wildcats on a return trip to the tournament thanks to a late-season kick in the Big East Tournament. Despite entering with a 7-9 conference record (17-15 overall), Villanova rattled off wins against Boston College and Syracuse to receive an at-large bid to the Big Dance. The Wildcats dispatched Pete Carril’s Princeton Tigers before bowing out to North Carolina in the second round. On the other hand, Syracuse — which might have lost a chance at a No. 1 overall seed with its loss to Villanova in the Big East Tournament — ended up as a No. 2 seed and fell to No. 15 Richmond in the opening round.

Result: Lost in second Round of 32

Georgia

In 2001, the Georgia Bulldogs came into the postseason with just 16 wins — tied for the fewest wins and lowest winning percentage (.533) of any at-large team to ever make the NCAA tournament. They dropped their only game in the SEC Tournament but still got an invite to the NCAAs because of one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The reward: an 8-9 matchup with the Missouri Tigers. The game proved to be fairly competitive, but the Tigers ultimately won, 70-68, behind five players in double figures.

Result: Lost in first Round of 64

Arizona

A 19-14 record was not anything to write home about, but three wins over teams in the AP Top 25 (Texas A&M, Washington State (2X)) during the regular season helped steer Arizona to an at-large bid in the 2008 NCAA tournament. The team was replete with talent from the guard and wing positions, but the trio of Nic Wise, Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger could not stop West Virginia in their opening round matchup. A 75-65 loss was punctuated by a blistering night from the 3-point line for WVU. The Mountaineers knocked down 11 of their 19 shots behind the arc (57.9 percent).

Result: Lost in first Round of 64

Michigan State

In 2011, this rambunctious group — buoyed by  Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Draymond Green — found a way to get an invite to the annual March melee despite those 14 Ls, earning a first-round date with UCLA. The Bruins raced out to a 42-24 halftime lead before a furious MSU comeback fell short. Green’s triple-double (23 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists; the seventh in NCAA tournament history at the time) was not enough.

Result: Lost in Round of 64

Penn State

The Nittany Lions needed a late four-game winning streak to get to the postseason, a run that included victories over Wisconsin and Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament. The win over Wisconsin (36-33) was the lowest-scoring game in Big Ten Conference Tournament history. But head coach Ed DeChellis’ squad lived by one motto: By any means necessary. Guard Talor Battle led a ragtag group into the NCAA tournament for the school’s first berth since 2001. Fun fact: Temple knocked out in-state foe PSU in the regional semifinal in 2001. Unfortunately for PSU fans, history repeats itself. A last-second jumper courtesy of Temple’s Juan Fernandez proved to be the decisive score in a 66-64 win in the rematch. And Penn State hasn’t been back to the tournament since.

Result: Lost in Round of 64

USC

USC barely squeaked into the Dance in 2011, getting a chance to match up with VCU in one of the First Round’s four play-in games. It didn't go well. USC shot 39.5 percent and committed 15 turnovers, earning the Trojans the short side in a 59-45 game. Forward Nikola Vucevic had a double-double (11 points, 14 rebounds), but it was not nearly enough as the Trojans managed only one make from the 3-point line.

Result: Lost in Round of 68

Tennessee

An up and down year for head coach Bruce Pearl and the Volunteers was not enough to keep a group led by Scotty Hopson and Tobias Harris from the NCAA tournament. A meeting in the 8-9 game with Michigan seemed like a solid matchup on paper, but reality proved to be anything but that in a 30-point romp for the Wolverines, 75-45. Tobias Harris was the only Tennessee player in double-digits, not to mention the only one on his team to make more than two shots in the game. Michigan shot 51 percent and made nine 3-pointers in the win.

Result: Lost in first Round of 64

Marquette

The 2011 tournament was full of upsets, with four double-digit seeds reaching the Sweet Sixteen and no top seeds making the Final Four. Marquette gave the East region a little oomph, dispatching No. 6 Xavier and No. 3 Syracuse to get to the regional semifinals. The trio of Darius Johnson-Odom, Jimmy Butler and Jae Crowder more than proved their tournament mettle before eventually bowing out to No. 2 North Carolina, 81-63.

Result: Lost in Sweet Sixteen