And so ends the decade that gave us a 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket, and seven schools winning national championships — none of them west of Kentucky. It was the decade when accumulation of one-and-done talent received much of the buzz, but veteran lineups won most of the titles. A decade when the Final Four had room for Butler and VCU and Loyola Chicago, but only one team in 10 years from the Pac-12.
It was the decade when the big names held firmly to power with legendary coaches — from Duke to Kentucky to North Carolina to Kansas to Michigan State to Villanova. But it was also the decade when nobody had a more historic and stunning moment than UMBC.
To mark the end of the 2010s, here are 68 numbers that helped define the decade — one for each line in the NCAA Tournament bracket.
33-30 – On March 3, 2015, Delaware State’s Kendall Gray had 33 points and 30 rebounds against Coppin State in 104-92 win. It was, and remains, the only 30-30 in Division I history.
53-19 – Delaware’s 34-point lead over led Drexel with 2:36 left in the first half in February of 2018. Drexel rallied to win 85-83, the biggest comeback victory ever in Division I.
69-57 – Northern Iowa’s lead over Texas A&M with 35 seconds left in their second round game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Northern Iowa committed four turnovers in the final 30 seconds, while Texas A&M scored 14 points to tie the game. Texas A&M eventually won 92-88 after two overtime periods.
1 – Duke non-conference losses at home the entire decade. It came to Stephen F. Austin, 36 days from the end of the 2010s.
2 – Arizona’s ranking in the Associated Press poll in November of 2017. After losing three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Wildcats were out of the next week’s poll, the steepest plunge ever, since the AP rankings went to 25 teams.
29 – Juniors or seniors who started in the national championship game the past four years, out of 40 possible spots.
4 – Freshmen who started in the national championship game. About one-and-done . . .
151-7 – Kansas' record at home in the decade. As part of its 14-year streak of Big 12 regular-season titles, the Jayhawks won nine league championships in the 2010s – or two more than the number of home games they lost.
19 – Schools ranked No. 1 at least one week during the decade.
RELATED: We found college basketball's shortest shot-blocker
6 – Schools ranked No. 1 at least one week already this season.
0-135 – The all-time first round NCAA Tournament record of No. 16 seeds against No. 1 seeds when UMBC took the court against Virginia in 2018. Two hours later, UMBC had won 74-54 and shattered precedent, not to mention the Cavaliers' season.
7 vs. 8 – The seeding matchup of the 2014 national championship game, won by Connecticut over Kentucky.
8 vs. 11 – The seeding matchup between Butler and VCU in 2011, the lowest in the history of the Final Four.
26 – Schools that played in the Final Four this decade.
2 – Schools from the Mountain or Pacific time zones that played in the Final Four — Oregon and Gonzaga.
6 – Miles between Butler’s campus and Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the 2010 Final Four. It was so close, several Bulldog players actually went to class the Monday they lost to Duke 61-59 in the national championship game.
CHANGES: How the new 3-point line has (and hasn't) affected college basketball this season
15 – Minutes that Kemba Walker rested, out of 205, when he led Connecticut to five victories in five days to take the 2011 Big East tournament. The Walker-driven Huskies went on to the 2011 national title, meaning he and they won 11 consecutive elimination games.
0.8 seconds – Time on the clock when Villanova’s Kris Jenkins released his 3-pointer against North Carolina in the 2016 national championship game with the scored tied 74-74. Swish. The only championship ever won at the buzzer with a 3-pointer.
0.6 seconds – Time on the clock when Virginia’s Kyle Guy was fouled shooting a 3-pointer against Auburn in the 2019 Final Four, and his team down 62-60. He made all three free throws to send the Cavaliers on to the championship game.
3 – Consecutive games Virginia trailed with 20 seconds left in the 2019 tournament — Purdue, Auburn and Texas Tech. The Cavaliers survived all three.
10 – Combined turnovers in the 2015 national championship game, when Duke beat Wisconsin 68-63.
509 – Career 3-pointers for Wofford’s Fletcher Magee from 2016-19, an NCAA record.
0-for-12 – Magee from the 3-point line in his final game, a 62-56 NCAA Tournament loss to Kentucky. The word is irony.
RANKINGS: The latest AP Poll Top 25 | Net Rankings
394 – 3-point attempts for Mississippi’s Marshall Henderson in 2013, another record. He put up only 155 2-pointers.
217-to-42 – Assists-to-turnover ratio for Iowa State’s Monte Morris in 2017. The 5.17-to-1 ratio is the finest ever in a season.
87-68 – New Mexico’s lead over Nevada with 4:27 left on Jan. 7, 2017. The Wolf Pack scored 26 points in the remainder of regulation to tie the game – including five 3-pointers in the final minute – and eventually won 105-104 in overtime.
39-0 – Oklahoma’s run against Weber State in 2014, turning a 10-4 score into a 49-4 rout. It ended 85-51.
12 – Career triple-doubles for BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth from 2014-16. No one else has had more than six.
2 – Non-starters this decade who ended up named Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four; Louisville’s Luke Hancock and Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo, who came off the bench to score 31 points in the 2018 title game.
1-for-10 – Anthony Davis’ shooting for Kentucky in the 2012 national championship victory over Kansas, good for only six points. He was named MOP anyway, thanks to his 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals.
March 19, 2015 – March Madness, in all its mayhem. Five NCAA first round games were decided by one point, three more by two or three points. It included two No. 14 seeds upsetting No. 3 seeds from the Big 12; Georgia State over Baylor — coach Ron Hunter unforgettably tumbling off his chair when his son hit the game-winner — and UAB over Iowa State.
50-31 – Louisville’s second half dominance against Duke in the 2013 regional championship game, for an 85-63 victory. That was the Cardinals’ response after Kevin Ware’s horrific leg injury in the first half.
22 – Frank Kaminsky’s 22nd birthday was April 4, 2015. He celebrated with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Wisconsin to a 71-64 win over unbeaten Kentucky, denying the Wildcats a perfect season.
UNBEATEN: Here are the undefeated teams remaining in the 2019-20 college basketball season
1 – Head coaches this decade for Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State, Villanova and Gonzaga, respectively. Stability raged at the traditional powers.
4 – Head coaches this decade at UCLA, the one old guard where it didn’t.
68 – The expanded field in 2011, which created the First Four. Among the invitees to the inaugural First Four – amid much national criticism – was VCU. The Rams rolled to the Final Four. End of criticism.
March 13, 2012 – One of the most remarkable NCAA Tournament sessions ever, at the First Four. In the opener, Western Kentucky came from 16 points down in the final five minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State 59-58. Watching from the front row on the baseline were President Barack Obama, and his special guest, British Prime Minister David Cameron. The two leaders then left and missed history in the nightcap. BYU trailed Iona by 25 points in the first half but rallied to win 78-72 in the biggest comeback ever in an NCAA Tournament game.
1-for-31 – Northern Illinois’ shooting in the first half against Eastern Michigan in 2013, including 29 misses in a row. The Huskies had four points at halftime and ended up losing 42-25.
34.8 – Carsen Edwards’ scoring average in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the highest in 29 years. That was boosted by 42 points in an Elite Eight losing effort against Virginia, which allowed entire teams only 56 points a game all season.
24-10 – Say hello to Dunk City. That was Florida Gulf Coast’s regular season record in 2013. That earned the Eagles a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They promptly upset Georgetown and San Diego State to become the lowest seed ever to play in the Sweet 16.
16 and 17 – Villanova’s winning margin in the 2018 Final Four games. No champion had won both games by at least 16 since UCLA in 1968.
MORE: College basketball game times, TV schedule | Scoreboard
18.8 – Butler’s shooting percentage – 12-for-64 – in the 53-41 national title loss to Connecticut in 2011. The Bulldogs missed 28 of 31 inside the 3-point line. It was an unfortunate end to a two-year Cinderella run.
10 – Big East teams in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, the last hurrah for the old Big East, before it broke apart.
6 – ACC teams in the Sweet 16 in 2016.
68, 68, 66 – Ages of Jim Calhoun, Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams when they won titles this decade — the three oldest national championship coaches in history.
98 – The age of Loyola Chicago’s Sister Jean when the Ramblers went to the 2017 Final Four. Calhoun, Krzyzewski and Williams were kids compared to her, but when they wheeled her into a packed press conference in San Antonio, you knew she had become the hottest celebrity in town.
11 – Total winning margin in the 2017 Final Four, making it the closest in 35 years. It was Gonzaga over South Carolina by four, North Carolina over Oregon by one, North Carolina over Gonzaga by six.
14 – Ohio State hit 14 3-pointers in a row to beat Wisconsin 93-65 in 2011.
0-for-24 – South Alabama’s 3-point shooting against Florida State in 2011. So maybe the 80-39 final score wasn’t that surprising.
34-for-34 – Oklahoma’s free throw shooting in an 86-69 victory over Iowa State in 2013.
21-5 – Notre Dame’s halftime lead over California in 2010, then the fewest points in the first half for a Division I team in the shot clock era. It ended 57-44.
NOTHING BUT NET: Get to know the NET rankings — and what they mean for the NCAA tournament
464 – Villanova’s record number of 3-pointers in 2018. The Wildcats had the exact same number of 2-pointers as their opponents for the season, but outscored them by 576 from the 3-point line.
344 – Blocked shots by Kentucky in 2012, over 40 games. One of every seven shots taken by the Wildcats opponents that season was swatted.
18-13 – Towson’s record in 2013. The season before, the Tigers went 1-31, making it the biggest one-year improvement in Division I history.
35-0 – Wichita State’s record in 2014, before the Shockers lost to Kentucky in the second round.
38-0 – Kentucky’s record the next season, before the Wildcats were knocked off by Wisconsin at the Final Four. There were only two perfect regular season records in the decade, and Kentucky was on the court when both ended.
131-127 – Wofford’s four-overtime victory over Samford in 2017. The score was 78-78 at the end of regulation. There were 174 shots taken.
3,225 – Career points for Campbell’s Chris Clemons, the third-most in history.
WATCH: The greatest comebacks in March Madness history
4 – Players under 6-foot who were season scoring champions in the decade — 5-11 Reggie Hamilton of Oakland in 2012, 5-11 James Daniel of Howard in 2016, 5-9 Marcus Keene of Central Michigan in 2017 and 5-9 Clemons in 2019.
4 – Free throws missed by Oklahoma State’s Phil Forte III, out of 84 attempts in 2017. The 95.5 percentage was best in the decade.
661 – International players in Division I in 2018-19. In 1993, the year after the Dream Team captivated the world at the Olympics, there were 135.
144-71 – Butler’s victory over The Citadel in 2015, the 73 points the largest winning margin of the decade over a Division I opponent. The Bulldogs scored 92 points in the paint.
86.6 – Villanova’s nation-leading scoring average in 2018, making the Wildcats one of only two scoring champions in 56 years to win the national title. North Carolina in 2005 was the other.
64.9 – Villanova's shooting percentage at the 2016 Final Four.
85-77, overtime – Virginia’s championship game victory over Texas Tech last spring. The last Final Four game of the decade was also the only overtime Final Four game of the decade. There were 13 OT finishes in the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight.
217 – Schools that appeared in the NCAA Tournament this decade. The only four absentees from the current ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC, AAC or Big East conferences were Boston College, DePaul, Rutgers and Washington State.
109 – NCAA Tournament victories this decade by the ACC, eight more than the second-place Big Ten. The Big Sky and Metro Atlantic were the only leagues to go winless.
307-54 – Gonzaga’s record for the decade. The Zags had more victories than anyone else, and the 85-percent winning percentage is the best over a decade since the end of the John Wooden UCLA dynasty in the 1970s. About the only thing was missing for Gonzaga was One Shining Moment. Just like the Big Ten, which is still waiting to end its 20-year title dry spell. And just like the most populous state in the country — California — could not get one team to the Final Four in the 2010s.
But you know how the old cliché goes. Maybe next decade.
