Mutombo, Gtown Get Revenge on Duke 35 Years Later - Go to Final 4

 

Dikembe Mutombo helped the Hoyas to an early lead, then after a bunch of lead changes Alonzo Mourning - the second half if the greatest shot blocking duo - took over for a 79-74 win over Duke's 2015 national champs. Click here for Hawks pictured tweet.

The win avenges these Hoyas for the upset win by Duke to keep them out of the actual 1989 Final 4. The win is fitting after the finger wagging Mutombo who went onto be such an inspirational human off the court, passed away September 30, leading to tears and choked off interviews with many who knew him.

The Hoyas will advance to play a Big East rival semifinal against the 2023 champs from UConn. The 2022 champs from Kansas are in the other semifinal, but they will be underdogs against the Fab 5 from Michigan's 1993 team. As shown in the box score at the bottom of the blog, Mourning had 24 points and 10 rebounds after Mourning had 8 early points. The Hoyas defense forced 18 turnovers to only 11 forced by Duke. The Hoyas also pounded it inside with only two 3-pointers to six for Duke.

Rankings of Final 4

• UConn moved up from 11th to 10th in our all-time rankings with their Elite 8 win, so Georgetown will still be the underdog as their win moved them up from 33rd to 26th all-time.
• Meanwhile Kansas moved up only slightly from 49th to 45th all-time, making them the underdog against Michigan that moved up from 35th to 23rd to pass Georgetown by a couple of spots.

Of the 234 all-time great teams in the Value Add Basketball Game, these Final Four teams and the champs of our two previous all-time great tournaments are the only six undefeated teams after 301 total games between the teams.

This third batch of teams included teams from 2022 - 2024 - after the first 160 teams were created. After initially allowing no more than one team per school in each century in the first batch of 96 teams (Bill Walton's UCLA beat Michael Jordan's UNC for the title), we had some leeway in our next 64 teams (Paul Pierce Kansas won title).

Separate from these 301 games we also played the 2020 tournament cancelled by COVID, and Creighton beat Duke for that title. That year I was at the last NCAA game and watching Creighton in Madison Square Garden until the game was cancelled at halftime after the NBA canceled their season. 

Pos	Georgetown 1989	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Ht	Season Stats
1-PG	Charles Smith	13	1	4	2	2	7	3	0	1	6'1	18.7 Pts, 3.6 Reb, 5.1 Ast
2-SG	Dwayne Bryant	6	0	3	0	0	4	2	0	1	6'2	7.2 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 3.4 Ast
3-SF	Jaren Jackson	8	0	3	2	2	1	0	0	2	6'4	12.3 Pts, 5.2 Reb, 1.8 Ast
4-PF	Mark Tillmon	5	1	1	0	0	6	0	0	3	6'2	8.3 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 1.1 Ast
5-C	Alonzo Mourning	24	0	9	6	9	10	0	6	3	6'10	13.1 Pts, 7.3 Reb, 0.7 Ast
1-PG	Bobby Winston	6	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	3	6'5	5.0 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 3.0 Ast
2-SG	Ronnie Thompson	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	6'4	1.7 Pts, 0.4 Reb, 0.6 Ast
3-SF	John Turner	7	0	3	1	2	5	1	2	1	6'8	6.6 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 0.9 Ast
5-C	Dikembe Mutombo	8	0	4	0	0	3	0	0	1	7'2	3.9 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.2 Ast
	Turnovers 11	79	2	27	11	15	36	6	8	16
Pos	Duke 2015	Pts	3pt	2pt	FT	Att	Reb	Stl	Blk	Fl	Ht	Season Stats
1-PG	Tyus Jones	15	2	4	1	1	3	3	1	2	6'1	11.8 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 5.6 Ast
2-SG	Quinn Cook	12	1	3	3	4	3	0	0	3	6'2	15.3 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 2.6 Ast
3-SF	Justise Winslow	10	1	2	3	3	9	1	2	3	6'6	12.6 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 2.1 Ast
4-PF	Jahlil Okafor	13	0	6	1	2	8	1	2	2	6'11	17.3 Pts, 8.5 Reb, 1.3 Ast
5-C	Amile Jefferson	8	0	3	2	2	6	1	2	5	6'9	6.1 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 0.8 Ast
1-PG	Matt Jones	9	1	2	2	2	2	0	0	3	6'5	6.0 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 1.0 Ast
2-SG	Marshall Plumlee	2	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	7'0	2.2 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 0.3 Ast
3-SF	Semi Ojeleye	5	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	6'8	3.0 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.2 Ast
	Turnovers 18	74	6	22	12	14	35	6	7	20

Winslow Leads Duke Past Houston to Face Edey v. Mutombo-Mourning

 This was the Sweet 16 game we most looked forward to, because Houston 2021 was so impressive in their 102-50 win over 2023 Princeton in their opener, that the shot up from our preseason 70th to 35th in our rankings - making them a 4th seed and getting them a bye in this tournament. This team started the current five season streak Houston has going of years in which they've been in the top 6 in the AP poll and held opponents to less than 60 points per game - and this was the Final 4 team during this streak.

Duke 2015 was just the opposite - starting as the 44th ranked team in the preseason but then barely beating Tyler Kolek's Marquette and the 2014 Nebraska team to drop down to a lower seed for the tournament. However, once in the tournament and with the low seeding, they destroyed Miami 2023 look more like the team that just took over late as Justise Winslow bloomed late to run all the way to the 2015 title after Wisconsin upset what many thought was the greatest Kentucky team until that point.

Therefore this was on of those games where the worst seed was the favorite, because we rank this Duke team a +3, meaning three points better than the average all-time great team in the game - but rank Houston as a +0 - meaning exactly average in the game. That's about how it ended up with a 74-70 Duke win to advance.

However, out of the gates Houston did what they do every year - dominating the offensive boards. This is the first time we ever recall a team grabbing the first 9 rebounds of the game as they shot to a 28-21 lead after grabbing 7 offensive rebounds and 2 defensive rebounds to none for Duke. However, Winslow was not yet in the game, so he came in and steadied it with 15 points and 12 rebounds and as a result Duke only lost the rebound battle 39-44.

 

Duke 2015	Game Highlights	NBA?	Ht	Summary
Tyus Jones	16 pts	nba	6'1	11.8 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 5.6 Ast
Quinn Cook	6-7 free throws (90% season)	nba	6'2	15.3 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 2.6 Ast
Justise Winslow	15 pts, 12 reb	nba	6'6	12.6 Pts, 6.5 Reb, 2.1 Ast
Jahlil Okafor	18 pts, 10 reb	nba	6'11	17.3 Pts, 8.5 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Amile Jefferson		nba	6'9	6.1 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Rasheed Sulaimon			6'5	7.5 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 1.8 Ast
Matt Jones			6'5	6.0 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Grayson Allen	DNP (dominant next season)	nba	6'4	4.4 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.4 Ast
Marshall Plumlee		nba	7'0	2.2 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Semi Ojeleye		nba	6'8	3.0 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Houston 2021	Game Highlights		Ht	Summary
Marcus Sasser		nba	6'1	13.7 Pts, 2.6 Reb, 2.2 Ast
Dejon Jarreau	16 pts, 2 blocked shots	nba	6'5	10.6 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 4.3 Ast
Quentin Grimes	15 pts, 10 reb	nba	6'5	17.8 Pts, 5.7 Reb, 2.0 Ast
Justin Gorham	15 pts, 14 reb		6'7	8.4 Pts, 8.6 Reb, 1.2 Ast
Brison Gresham			6'8	3.0 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Jamal Shead		nba	6'1	3.3 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 1.5 Ast
Tramon Mark			6'5	7.8 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 1.7 Ast
Fabian White			6'8	6.2 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Reggie Chaney			6'8	4.7 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.5 Ast
J'Wan Roberts			6'7	1.9 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Team Stats	Duke listed 1st, then Houston 2nd
Points	74-70 Duke win
Rebounds	39-44 Houston edge (started 0-9)
Free Throws	14-21 to 8-12
Steals	6-5 Duke edge
Turnovers	10-9 Duke 1 more but very low both
Blocked Shots	4-7 Houston edge
Fouls Committed	16-21 Five more fouls called on Hou

This round has more higher seeds than any other round we've played in our three tournaments, as only two to four of the Elite 8 will be a top 8 seed. The 2023 UConn was the 1-seed and barely survived by closing out their Sweet 16 game on an unprecedented 17-0 run. Western Kentucky's 1966 team is also in the Elite 8 as the 3-seed. The other two still alive are the 6-seed Fab 5 from Michigan in 1993 who will need to beat Tennessee 2023 to advance and meet Western Kentucky, and in the ultimate battle of big men, Purdue's Zach Edey will face the 1989 Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning and the one and only, late great, Dikembe Mutombo to see who faces Duke 2015 in the Elite 8.

 

UConn Ranked 12th All-time Team; Tourney With Deion's Colorado, Larry Bird

The following are the Sweet 16 match-ups of our most recent Value Add Basketball Game tournament. We post the scores of all the games we've played on this google sheet.  All 178 all-time greats started with a preseason ranking based on how good I believe their cards are, then every time a team plays a game we adjust based on the margin of victory and strength of their opponent. With three of the top four teams in the latest AP Poll (Kansas, Purdue and Marquette) tipping off in Hawaii Monday for the Maui Classic, our all-time basketball fever is high.

Bird in Closest Game. We just had our closest game of the tournament. Larry Bird scored 36 points for Indiana State 1979, but after an apparent game-winning blocked shot by his teammate Alex Gilbert, Texas 2023 Tyrese Hunter grabbed the offensive rebound and put it in at the buzzer for a 97-96 overtime win to send Texas to the Sweet 16 below against Tennessee.

Biggest Surprise - is Deion Sanders  in a 3rd sport as basketball coach? The biggest surprise in the game is Colorado 2021. The "Preseason" line below indicates we only ranked Colorado 155th of the all-time great games when we started, but they have pulled out three straight close upsets to move all the way up to 47th and earn a Sweet 16 spot against Miami. McKinley Wright was great that season, leading Colorado to an incredible 3-game sweep of a USC team ranked 6th at www.kenpom.com, but this start is a lot like Sanders opening his Colorado football career with upset over the defending national runner up despite the team only winning one game the year before. We believe the Buffaloes will come back to earth ... eventually. Yes, the new Colorado hoops team is also now in the Top 25.

UConn 12th All-Time With Biggest Blowout. The best defensive showing we've ever had in the game was a 77-39 pounding that the reigning champs from UConn gave to the Cinderella from the year before, St. Peter's.  UConn was 12th all-time already based on their cards but unlike www.kenpom.com we cap margin of victory at 20 points for calculating ratings, and since St. Peter's is ranked last of the 178 all-time great teams in the game with a -19.0 (we would expect them to lose by 19 against the average great team in the game) the result did not move UConn up.

Xavier Freemantle Card Ranks Them Slightly Ahead of Marquette-Creighton. Big East fans and my fellow Marquette alums may ask why Marquette had to beat Creighton on a last second shot by Kam Jones, while Xavier was getting a bye due to being ranked slightly ahead of both of them in the game. Xavier finished behind both in the final www.kenpom.com rankings, and did not go as far as Creighton in the tournament and was destroyed by Marquette in the Big East tournament. 

Their higher ranking is partly due to a strong opening round showing. However, they were already within striking distances because when we calculated how good the team is it includes and excellent card for Zach Freemantle, who unfortunately was injured after Xavier won at UConn for their 13th win in 14 games. the fact that they still went on to finish 2nd in the regular season and Big East Tournament, and make the Sweet 16 even without one of their best players being missing gives you an idea on how strong they are in the game with his card.

With that, here are the new Sweet 16 with UConn the top seed and 12th ranked team overall in our game, while the Rutgers 1976 Final Four team was moved up to the number 2 seed by moving from 87th preseason to 42nd with a 97-77 blowout over Clemson 1987 and their future Chicago Bulls World Champion Horace Grant.

 

Rnk	Seed	Value Add Team in Tourney	Presea	Won	Lost	Score	Allow	SoS	Rating
12	1	Connecticut - 2023 - Adama Sanogo	12	1	0	77.0	39.0	-19.0	8.1
71	17	Duke - 2022 - Wendell Moore	110	2	0	82.0	74.0	-7.5	0.0
61	8	Gonzaga - 2023 - Drew Timme	92	1	0	86.0	74.0	-7.0	0.8
65	9	Kansas - 2022 - Ochai Agbaji	66	1	0	87.0	81.0	-7.9	0.5
45	4	Tennessee - 2023 - Santiago Vescovi	63	1	0	75.0	67.0	-4.0	2.0
70	13	Texas - 2023 - Marcus Carr	75	2	0	90.5	87.0	-6.0	0.0
47	5	Colorado - 2021 - McKinley Wright	155	3	0	82.3	78.0	-0.3	1.8
105	21	Miami - 2023 - Norchad Omier	157	2	0	88.5	87.5	-4.0	-3.8
42	2	Rutgers - 1976 - Phil Sellers	87	1	0	97.0	77.0	-9.0	2.3
80	18	Stanford - 2008 - Brook Lopez	134	2	0	82.5	76.5	-5.0	-1.0
58	7	SMU - 2017 - Semi Ojeleye	91	1	0	77.0	64.0	-7.0	1.0
73	10	Xavier - 2023 - Jack Nunge	133	1	0	83.0	68.0	-4.0	0.0
44	3	Houston - 2021 - Quentin Grimes	62	1	0	102.0	50.0	-16.0	2.0
60	19	North Carolina - 2022 - Armando Bacot	156	2	0	80.5	68.0	-2.5	0.8
52	6	Duke - 2015 - Justise Winslow	41	1	0	75.0	72.0	-11.0	1.3
54	14	Marquette - 2023 - Tyler Kolek	109	2	0	92.0	87.0	-1.4	1.2

The 16 teams remaining in the new tournament were all teams added in the last batch we did. This included some that just had a great year the last few years after we played our first two tournaments. We also looked for schools who did not yet have a team in the game to add (Rutgers 1976 or St. Peter's last year). 

Finally, in early batches of teams we did also try to grab some team with the greatest or best known players of all-time. So while I wouldn't believe the following players were really on one of the greatest teams of all time - they were so great it was fun to included them - Dominique Wilkins of Georgia 1982, Bill Bradley of Princeton 1965, Rick Barry of Miami 1965, Pistol Pete Maravich of LSU 1970, Ja Morant of Murray State 2019 and Calvin Murphy of Niagara 1970.

 

Rnk	Other All-Time Value Add Basketball Teams	Preseason	Won	Lost	Score	Allow	SoS	Rating
1	UCLA - 1972 - Bill Walton	1	6	0	72.0	62.0	-0.5	14.7
2	Kansas - 1997 - Paul Pierce	17	5	0	76.8	62.4	-1.0	13.0
3	Duke - 2001 - Shane Battier	4	3	1	78.3	72.5	4.8	12.3
4	Ohio St. - 1960 - Jerry Lucas	6	2	1	84.0	76.3	4.7	11.8
5	Indiana - 1976 - Scott May	7	3	1	71.3	59.8	-0.8	11.1
6	Houston - 1968 - Elvin Hayes	14	3	1	73.0	63.8	1.3	10.1
7	North Carolina - 1982 - Michael Jordan	11	5	1	68.8	65.0	4.0	10.0
8	Kansas - 2008 - Mario Chalmers	45	5	1	74.7	56.0	-0.7	9.8
9	Kentucky - 1996 - Antoine Walker	5	2	1	72.0	69.3	3.3	9.7
10	North Carolina - 2005 - Sean May	15	3	2	72.2	64.4	2.0	9.1
11	Arkansas - 1994 - Corliss Williamson	20	1	2	75.3	70.3	8.0	8.2
13	Villanova - 2018 - Mikal Bridges	21	7	2	79.4	70.3	0.1	7.9
14	Connecticut - 2004 - Ben Gordon	46	5	2	74.7	66.0	0.7	7.5
15	Baylor - 2021 - Jared Butler	47	2	2	86.0	78.5	4.8	7.4
16	Virginia - 2019 - Kyle Guy	26	4	1	72.6	65.4	2.4	7.4
17	Louisville - 2013 - Russ Smith	27	2	1	74.0	66.3	1.7	7.3
18	Gonzaga - 2017 - Nigel Williams-Goss	22	3	3	69.8	63.0	3.0	6.8
19	Kentucky - 2012 - Anthony Davis	2	4	2	72.2	65.7	-4.7	6.6
20	Duke - 1992 - Christian Laettner	8	1	2	73.7	70.3	1.0	6.5
21	North Carolina St. - 1974 - David Thompson	16	2	1	72.0	72.7	4.3	6.5
22	DePaul - 1980 - Mark Aguirre	108	3	1	76.8	68.8	3.5	6.4
23	Duke - 2010 - Jon Scheyer	28	5	2	74.0	66.7	0.1	6.4
24	Houston - 1983 - Hakeem Olajuwon	23	2	1	70.7	65.0	-0.3	5.8
25	Michigan St. - 1979 - Magic Johnson	24	2	1	70.3	62.7	-2.3	5.8
26	Cincinnati - 1960 - Oscar Robertson	9	1	2	72.3	78.0	8.3	5.7
27	Loyola Marymount - 1990 - Bo Kimble	84	1	2	112.3	108.3	2.3	1.8
28	Michigan - 1965 - Cazzie Russell	37	2	1	85.7	79.0	-1.0	5.5
29	Purdue - 2018 - Carsen Edwards	55	4	1	71.2	68.8	2.8	5.1
30	UCLA - 1967 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	3	2	1	83.0	87.0	-2.0	4.2
31	Auburn - 2019 - Chuma Okeke	85	8	1	71.0	65.3	-2.6	4.2
32	Illinois - 2005 - Deron Williams	29	3	2	72.0	69.6	1.2	4.0
33	Georgetown - 1984 - Patrick Ewing	30	2	1	67.3	65.3	0.0	3.7
34	Michigan St. - 2000 - Mateen Cleaves	31	4	1	79.6	77.2	-1.6	3.5
35	Wake Forest - 1996 - Tim Duncan	86	2	1	66.0	64.7	6.0	3.3
36	Oregon - 2017 - Dillon Brooks	61	4	3	71.9	69.9	1.6	2.9
37	Wisconsin - 2015 - Frank Kaminsky	38	2	2	65.0	63.3	1.0	2.9
38	UNLV - 1991 - Larry Johnson	10	1	2	72.7	76.3	0.7	2.8
39	Syracuse - 2003 - Carmelo Anthony	73	2	1	76.0	74.0	3.0	2.7
40	Memphis - 2008 - Derrick Rose	39	4	2	68.7	65.8	-0.3	2.4
41	Indiana - 1981 - Isaiah Thomas	40	2	1	72.7	72.3	0.0	2.3
43	Oklahoma - 1985 - Wayman Tisdale	88	3	1	75.3	73.8	1.8	2.1
46	UTEP (Texas Western) - 1966 - Bobby Joe Hill	89	2	1	63.7	66.0	6.7	1.8
48	Jacksonville - 1970 - Artis Gilmore	48	1	1	78.0	75.0	-2.0	1.6
49	Cincinnati - 2002 - Jason Maxiell	32	2	2	72.8	71.5	-1.5	1.6
50	Florida - 2006 - Joakim Noah	13	5	3	74.4	72.0	-4.6	1.5
51	USC - 2021 - Evan Mobley	64	2	1	73.7	70.7	-4.3	1.3
53	Michigan St. - 2009 - Draymond Green	90	6	3	71.3	71.9	1.6	1.3
55	Kansas - 1957 - Wilt Chamberlain	25	1	1	67.5	74.0	2.0	1.2
56	Arizona - 2015 - Stanley Johnson	49	3	1	75.3	70.5	-6.0	1.1
57	Syracuse - 1987 - Rony Seikaly	74	2	1	72.3	68.7	-2.0	1.0
59	Illinois - 1989 - Nick Anderson	33	2	1	87.0	84.0	-5.3	0.8
62	North Carolina - 1998 - Vince Carter	18	2	1	80.7	83.7	-3.0	0.7
63	Michigan - 1989 - Glen Rice	19	0	2	70.5	78.5	3.0	0.6
64	Seton Hall - 1989 - John Morton	65	1	1	78.0	78.0	1.5	0.6
66	Michigan - 2013 - Trey Burke	56	1	2	70.3	69.7	0.3	0.3
67	Loyola-Chicago - 1963 - Jerry Harkness	34	0	1	62.0	68.0	-2.0	0.0
68	Arizona - 1997 - Mike Bibby	50	2	1	68.7	71.0	-1.0	0.0
69	Texas Tech - 2019 - Jarrett Culver	67	3	2	65.6	67.2	0.8	0.0
72	Iowa - 2021 - Luka Garza	132	1	1	79.5	70.5	-3.5	0.0
74	San Francisco - 1956 - Bill Russell	51	0	1	67.0	74.0	4.0	-0.3
75	Ohio St. - 2007 - Greg Oden	57	2	3	70.2	71.4	0.6	-0.5
76	Kentucky - 1948 - Alex Groza	35	1	1	71.0	81.5	3.0	-0.6
77	Pittsburgh - 2009 - DeJuan Blair	58	1	3	60.0	62.3	2.3	-0.7
78	Marquette - 1977 - Butch Lee	76	1	1	66.0	61.5	-5.0	-0.8
79	Marquette - 2003 - Dwyane Wade	77	2	2	73.3	74.0	0.0	-0.9
81	Georgia Tech - 2004 - Jarrett Jack	68	2	3	62.6	67.4	3.8	-1.1
82	Minnesota - 1977 - Kevin McHale	52	1	1	69.5	68.5	-3.0	-1.2
83	Georgetown - 2007 - Roy Hibbert	78	1	2	76.7	75.3	-1.7	-1.3
84	Maryland - 1984 - Len Bias	131	1	1	69.5	68.5	1.5	-1.4
85	Duke - 1986 - Johnny Dawkins	53	0	1	106.0	108.0	-6.0	-1.5
86	Creighton - 2023 - Ryan Kalkbrenner	111	1	1	86.0	86.0	0.5	-1.6
87	Missouri - 1982 - Steve Stipanovich	93	2	1	73.7	73.3	-1.7	-1.7
88	Indiana St. - 1979 - Larry Bird	42	1	2	79.7	81.0	-4.0	-1.8
89	California - 1959 - Jack Grout	69	0	1	69.0	71.0	-2.0	-2.0
90	Holy Cross - 1950 - Bob Cousy	79	1	1	88.0	89.5	-2.0	-2.0
91	LSU - 1992 - Shaquille O'Neal	80	1	1	82.5	81.0	-5.0	-2.0
92	Connecticut - 1999 - Richard Hamilton	36	0	2	60.5	73.0	5.0	-2.2
93	St. John's - 1985 - Chris Mullin	95	0	1	75.0	76.0	0.0	-2.8
94	Kansas St. - 2023 - Markquis Nowell	135	1	1	81.0	74.0	-6.5	-2.8
95	San Diego St. - 2011 - Kawhi Leonard	112	2	2	69.3	71.8	-0.3	-2.9
96	Alabama - 2023 - Brandon Miller	54	0	1	78.0	79.0	-13.0	-3.0
97	Seattle - 1958 - Elgin Baylor	96	0	1	62.0	64.0	0.0	-3.0
98	Kansas St. - 2008 - Michael Beasley	136	1	1	75.0	75.5	0.5	-3.0
99	Marquette - 1971 - Jim Chones	137	1	2	70.0	72.7	3.0	-3.0
100	Purdue - 1969 - Rick Mount	97	0	1	86.0	87.0	-2.0	-3.3
101	Oklahoma St. - 2004 - John Lucas	70	1	3	68.8	71.0	-1.5	-3.3
102	South Carolina - 2017 - Sindarius Thornwell	113	1	2	65.3	65.7	-2.0	-3.3
103	Virginia - 1981 - Ralph Sampson	59	0	1	61.0	72.0	-3.0	-3.8
104	Dayton - 2020 - Obi Toppin	114	1	1	81.5	80.5	-4.0	-3.8
106	Indiana - 2002 - Jared Jeffries	81	1	3	67.3	72.8	1.3	-4.0
107	South Carolina - 1973 - Mike Dunleavy	125	0	1	66.0	72.0	6.0	-4.0
108	Iowa St. - 2014 - DeAndre Kane	98	1	1	73.0	75.5	-5.0	-4.2
109	Tennessee - 1977 - Bernard King	115	1	1	76.0	83.0	1.0	-4.2
110	St. Bonaventure - 1970 - Bob Lanier	60	0	1	64.0	74.0	-6.0	-4.3
111	Alabama - 1977 - Reggie King	116	0	1	70.0	71.0	-3.0	-4.3
112	Maryland - 2002 - Juan Dixon	43	1	3	67.0	76.3	0.8	-4.3
113	UNLV - 1987 - Armen Gilliam	44	0	1	64.0	82.0	-6.0	-4.8
114	Florida St. - 1993 - Charlie Ward	99	0	1	76.0	78.0	-7.0	-4.8
115	West Virginia - 1959 - Jerry West	100	0	1	68.0	69.0	-8.0	-4.8
116	La Salle - 1954 - Tom Gola	107	0	1	67.0	76.0	-3.0	-4.8
117	DePaul - 1945 - George Mikan	143	0	1	51.0	55.0	7.0	-4.8
118	Oklahoma - 2016 - Buddy Hield	82	1	3	60.3	67.3	1.3	-4.9
119	St. Joe's - 2004 - Jameer Nelson	71	1	2	68.3	75.7	-1.7	-5.0
120	UCLA - 2006 - Jordan Farmar	117	2	3	66.0	72.4	0.4	-5.0
121	St. Mary's - 2023 - Logan Johnson	126	1	1	83.0	84.0	-5.5	-5.0
122	North Carolina - 1957 - Lennie Rosenbluth	83	0	1	76.0	89.0	-1.0	-5.3
123	Washington - 2006 - Brandon Roy	118	0	1	98.0	99.0	-7.0	-5.3
124	Notre Dame - 1981 - Orlando Woolridge	138	0	1	68.0	74.0	4.0	-5.3
125	West Virginia - 2010 - Kevin Jones	101	1	3	70.3	76.0	0.0	-5.3
126	Notre Dame - 1970 - Austin Carr	127	1	1	67.0	76.5	1.0	-5.8
127	Texas - 2003 - T.J. Ford	102	1	2	68.7	76.3	-1.0	-6.0
128	Miami - 2013 - Shane Larkin	128	0	1	67.0	75.0	0.0	-6.0
129	Iowa - 2001 - Reggie Evans	163	1	2	71.0	75.3	1.7	-6.0
130	Wichita St. - 2013 - Fred VanVleet	144	1	2	64.3	71.3	1.7	-6.3
131	Davidson - 2008 - Stephen Curry	158	1	5	66.7	70.8	0.7	-6.4
132	Brigham Young - 1981 - Danny Ainge	129	0	1	67.0	77.0	0.0	-6.5
133	Virginia Tech - 1986 - Dell Curry	164	0	1	81.0	87.0	7.4	-6.7
134	Georgia Tech - 1990 - Dennis Scott	103	0	1	64.0	82.0	1.0	-6.8
135	LSU - 2006 - Glen Davis	119	1	2	66.3	75.0	-0.7	-6.8
136	Seton Hall - 2020 - Myles Powell	145	0	1	78.0	80.0	-3.4	-6.9
137	Marquette - 2011 - Jimmy Butler	146	0	1	82.0	87.0	-1.0	-7.0
138	TCU - 2023 - JaKobe Coles	147	0	1	77.0	79.0	-5.0	-7.3
139	Utah - 1998 - Andre Miller	124	0	1	69.0	79.0	-4.0	-7.5
140	Marquette - 1994 - Jim McIlvaine	120	1	1	70.0	80.5	-4.2	-7.7
141	Dayton - 1967 - Don May	121	0	1	69.0	88.0	1.0	-7.8
142	Boston College - 2006 - Jared Dudley	159	0	1	72.0	76.0	-2.0	-7.8
143	Arizona St. - 1980 - Byron Scott	139	0	1	64.0	79.0	2.0	-8.0
144	Kansas - 1988 - Danny Manning	140	0	1	58.0	67.0	-4.0	-8.0
145	UCLA - 2021 - Jaime Jaquez	141	0	1	81.0	90.0	-4.0	-8.0
146	Arkansas - 1978 - Sidney Moncrief	104	0	1	58.0	79.0	-2.0	-8.3
147	Auburn - 1984 - Charles Barkley	165	1	1	71.5	77.0	-3.5	-8.4
148	Clemson - 1987 - Horace Grant	122	0	1	77.0	97.0	-1.0	-8.5
149	Navy - 1986 - David Robinson	148	0	1	61.0	77.0	4.0	-8.5
150	Oklahoma St. - 1946 - Bob Kurland	149	0	1	80.0	82.0	-10.0	-8.5
151	Penn St. - 2018 - Tony Carr	150	0	1	82.0	90.0	-4.0	-8.5
152	Wyoming - 1943 - Ken Sailors	151	0	1	60.0	73.0	1.0	-8.5
153	Central Florida - 2019 - Joey Graham	166	0	1	70.0	74.0	-3.0	-8.8
154	Arkansas - 2021 - JD Notae	130	0	1	68.0	83.0	-5.0	-9.0
155	Louisville - 1980 - Darrell Griffith	105	0	1	52.0	82.0	3.0	-9.3
156	Villanova - 1985 - Ed Pinckney	167	0	1	65.0	72.0	-2.0	-9.3
157	Nebraska - 2014 - Terran Petteway	172	0	1	72.0	75.0	3.0	-9.3
158	San Diego St. - 2023 - Jaedon LeDee	169	0	1	78.0	84.0	-1.0	-9.5
159	Georgia - 1982 - Dominique Wilkins	170	1	1	70.0	78.0	-1.0	-9.6
160	George Mason - 2006 - Jai Lewis	168	0	3	59.3	67.0	0.3	-9.7
161	Kentucky - 1970 - Dan Issel	123	0	1	116.0	138.0	-4.0	-9.8
162	Marquette - 1955 - Terry Rand	160	0	1	74.0	86.0	-2.0	-9.8
163	Wake Forest - 2005 - Chris Paul	72	0	3	64.3	85.3	4.3	-10.0
164	Florida Atlantic - 2023 - Johnell Davis	161	0	1	64.0	77.0	-2.0	-10.0
165	Creighton - 2020 - Ty-Shon Alexander	142	0	1	72.0	106.0	8.0	-10.3
166	Creighton - 2014 - Doug McDermott	106	0	3	66.3	80.0	-1.3	-10.5
167	Northwestern - 2017 - Vic Law	152	0	1	70.0	85.0	-5.0	-10.5
168	Princeton - 1965 - Bill Bradley	153	0	1	62.0	79.0	-3.0	-10.5
169	Miami - 1965 - Rick Barry	162	0	1	104.0	108.0	-16.0	-11.3
170	Stephen F Austin - 2016 - Thomas Walkup	173	0	1	94.0	95.0	-2.0	-11.8
171	LSU - 1970 - Pete Maravich	176	0	1	66.0	67.0	1.0	-12.3
172	VCU - 2011 - Bradford Burgess	174	0	3	60.3	71.3	1.0	-13.0
173	Murray St. - 2019 - Ja Morant	175	0	1	78.0	85.0	-3.0	-13.3
174	Butler - 2010 - Gordon Hayward	154	0	3	54.7	76.3	4.3	-13.7
175	Loyola-Chicago - 2018 - Cameron Krutwig	171	0	3	59.3	75.0	1.7	-14.0
176	Niagara - 1970 - Calvin Murphy	177	0	1	68.0	84.0	6.0	-14.8
177	Princeton - 2023 - Tosan Evbuomwan	178	0	1	50.0	102.0	0.0	-20.5
178	St. Peter's - 2022 - Doug Edert	179	0	1	39.0	77.0	2.0	-22.3

10 Young NCAA Teams Could Stay Intact for 2025 March Madness

Pictures by John Pudner at Madison Square Garden March 9, 2023. LEFT - the last moment of the score being tied at 70-70 in overtime as Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek's shot prepares to go through the hoop for the game-winner. Right - Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Kam Jones box out in the war under the boards moments earlier in the overtime.

We know teams can no longer stay together for three or four seasons due to the transfer portal and new NCAA rules allowing players to earn money for the use of their names and likenesses or making endorsements, or accepting gifts from boosters. However, there are 10 teams projected to be in the NCAA tournament field of 68 who could keep the majority of their team together through 2025 - led by Marquette who plays only freshmen and sophmores so could have the same team in tact in 2025.

Tyler Kolek gave a great answer after the game when I asked him about being one of the youngest three teams of the 68 in the tournament, and you can read that story by clicking here. I based that on Ken Pomeroy's youth rankings and the teams projected to be in the tournament - however in researching I realized Pomeroy has changed his criteria and counts only years in Division I basketball as experience.

This means juniors and seniors with a couple of years of JUCO or Division II ball under their belts are treated as freshmen - which doesn't seem the best measure of experience. 

Instead we ran the numbers on what percent of a team's time on the floor are by players who could play another two years or more. If a player is a senior, junior or a one and done then they will not still be playing in two years.

The following are the results, with a link to the Basketball Reference page for players mentioned.

Marquette is not only the only team that could stay completely in tact for two more seasons, but the next youngest team in the tournament by this measure are Howard and Duke, who gets 68% of their time from freshman and sophomores who could be around for two more years. Obviously with the transfer portal and the big money going to players who end up with the Texas Longhorns or other huge programs will likely break up teams - but here are the stats of what is possible followed by the line-ups for each team. 

Back for 2 yrs	Back for 1	Youngest Team	Seed	Sr.	Jr.	1&done
100%	100%	Marquette	2.96	0%	0%	0%
68%	84%	Duke	6.48	8%	16%	8%
68%	76%	Howard	16	24%	8%	0%
60%	74%	Yale	13.17	26%	14%	0%
58%	68%	Southeast Missouri St.	16	32%	10%	0%
56%	56%	Charleston	11.95	44%	0%	0%
56%	74%	Illinois	8.24	26%	18%	0%
56%	80%	VCU	12.11	20%	24%	0%
55%	70%	Creighton	6.22	18%	15%	12%
53%	69%	Louisiana	13.71	31%	16%	0%

Here is each team for youngest to 10th youngest. Each player's jersey number, class or if they are a one and done projected to go in the NBA draft, and then the percent of the time they are playing that position (e.g. Kolek plays point guard for Marquette 87% of the time, while David Joplin plays 19% as the small forward and 22% as the power forward).

1. Marquette	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	11 Tyler Kolek, So, 0.87	22 Sean Jones, Fr, 0.12
Shooting Guards	4 Stevie Mitchell, So, 0.56	5 Chase Ross, Fr, 0.23
Small Forwards	1 Kam Jones, So, 0.68	23 David Joplin, So, 0.19
Power Forwards	12 Olivier-Maxence Prosper, So, 0.71	23 David Joplin, So, 0.22
Centers	13 Oso Ighodaro, So, 0.73	21 Ben Gold, Fr, 0.22

2. Duke	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	3 Jeremy Roach, Jr, 0.81	5 Tyrese Proctor, Fr, 0.14
Shooting Guards	5 Tyrese Proctor, Fr, 0.66	13 Jacob Grandison, Sr, 0.17
Small Forwards	25 Mark Mitchell, Fr, 0.49	0 Dariq Whitehead, Fr, 0.34
Power Forwards	30 Kyle Filipowski, 1&d, 0.44	25 Mark Mitchell, Fr, 0.32
Centers	1 Dereck Lively, Fr, 0.56	15 Ryan Young, Sr, 0.21

3. Howard	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	3 Elijah Hawkins, So, 0.76	1 Khalil Robinson, Sr, 0.22
Shooting Guards	0 Marcus Dockery, So, 0.65	11 Ose Okojie, Fr, 0.16
Small Forwards	5 Jelani Williams, Sr, 0.54	34 Bryce Harris, So, 0.18
Power Forwards	22 Shy Odom, Fr, 0.35	34 Bryce Harris, So, 0.27
Centers	24 Jordan Wood, Jr, 0.44	12 Kobe Dickson, Sr, 0.41

Keep in mind Yale my not win the Ivy League to make the tournament. We went through the 68 teams projected to make the tournament as of March 9 in the morning.

4. Yale	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	2 Bez Mbeng, So, 0.52	24 Yassine Gharram, So, 0.46
Shooting Guards	3 August Mahoney, Jr, 0.7	2 Bez Mbeng, So, 0.19
Small Forwards	4 John Poulakidas, So, 0.69	13 Michael Feinberg, Sr, 0.15
Power Forwards	35 Isaiah Kelly, Sr, 0.45	33 Jack Molloy, So, 0.27
Centers	15 EJ Jarvis, Sr, 0.68	1 Danny Wolf, Fr, 0.2

5. SE MO St.	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	1 Phillip Russell, So, 0.89	3 Aquan Smart, So, 0.07
Shooting Guards	0 Israel Barnes, Sr, 0.39	3 Aquan Smart, So, 0.34
Small Forwards	5 Chris Harris, Sr, 0.56	0 Israel Barnes, Sr, 0.29
Power Forwards	33 Dylan Branson, So, 0.53	5 Chris Harris, Sr, 0.29
Centers	14 Nate Johnson, Sr, 0.47	21 Josh Earley, Jr, 0.46

6. Charleston	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	11 Ryan Larson, Sr, 0.7	21 Jaylon Scott, Sr, 0.26
Shooting Guards	2 Reyne Smith, So, 0.67	15 Pat Robinson, Sr, 0.24
Small Forwards	3 Dalton Bolon, Sr, 0.38	15 Pat Robinson, Sr, 0.28
Power Forwards	25 Ben Burnham, So, 0.41	21 Jaylon Scott, Sr, 0.34
Centers	10 Ante Brzovic, So, 0.59	35 Babacar Faye, So, 0.33

7. Illinois	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	0 Terrence Shannon, Sr, 0.52	3 Jayden Epps, Fr, 0.34
Shooting Guards	20 Ty Rodgers, Fr, 0.37	1 Sencire Harris, Fr, 0.28
Small Forwards	15 RJ Melendez, So, 0.37	24 Matthew Mayer, Sr, 0.24
Power Forwards	24 Matthew Mayer, Sr, 0.55	33 Coleman Hawkins, Jr, 0.29
Centers	33 Coleman Hawkins, Jr, 0.58	42 Dain Dainja, So, 0.39

8. VCU	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	1 Adrian Baldwin, Jr, 0.85	23 Jayden Nunn, So, 0.12
Shooting Guards	23 Jayden Nunn, So, 0.52	2 Zeb Jackson, Jr, 0.37
Small Forwards	24 Nick Kern, So, 0.53	35 David Shriver, Sr, 0.31
Power Forwards	0 Jamir Watkins, So, 0.44	30 Brandon Johns, Sr, 0.36
Centers	4 Jalen DeLoach, So, 0.6	30 Brandon Johns, Sr, 0.34

9. Creighton	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	2 Ryan Nembhard, So, 0.85	23 Trey Alexander, So, 0.08
Shooting Guards	23 Trey Alexander, So, 0.48	5 Francisco Farabello, Sr, 0.31
Small Forwards	55 Baylor Scheierman, Sr, 0.61	23 Trey Alexander, So, 0.26
Power Forwards	24 Arthur Kaluma, 2&d, 0.58	13 Mason Miller, Fr, 0.3
Centers	11 Ryan Kalkbrenner, Jr, 0.74	33 Fredrick King, Fr, 0.21

10. Louisiana	Starters	Back-ups
Point Guards	0 Themus Fulks, So, 0.71	2 Michael Thomas, So, 0.28
Shooting Guards	5 Jalen Dalcourt, Sr, 0.5	22 Kentrell Garnett, So, 0.39
Small Forwards	13 Greg Williams, Sr, 0.58	4 Kobe Julien, So, 0.28
Power Forwards	1 Joe Charles, So, 0.52	34 Terence Lewis, Sr, 0.46
Centers	21 Jordan Brown, Jr, 0.82	35 Isaiah Richards, So, 0.15