10 things you should know about the 2016 Final Four

It’s hard to believe that the end is near. It feels like just yesterday we were staying up all night together to watch East Tennessee State take down Green Bay, and now we’re gearing up for the final three games of the 2015-16 season. I’m not crying, Lonesome Dove is just on in the background and Gus is refusing to give up his other leg.

But now’s not the time to let up or lose focus. On the contrary, we must adequately educate ourselves in order to be properly equipped for this season’s final stop.

Here’s are 10 things you should know before the action tips off in Houston:

1. Oklahoma has a player of the year, but no burger boys

Here’s the breakdown of McDonald’s All-Americans by team:

The odds would seem to be in favor of the Tar Heels here, as four of the past seven national champs have had at least six burger boys. Only the ‘06 and ‘07 Florida squads featured fewer than two (Corey Brewer was the lone All-American from that vaunted ‘04 class).

2. Syracuse is the first No. 10 seed in Final Four history

No. 10 seeds had been 0-9 in regional finals before Syracuse shocked top-seeded Virginia last Sunday. The Orange’s stunning run to Houston marks just the fourth time that a double-digit seed has made it to the national semifinals.

The previous three double-digit seeds to crash the Final Four were all No. 11 seeds that were beaten by eight points or more on the penultimate day of the tournament. Here’s a review of the history Syracuse will be trying to defy:

No. 11 seed LSU (1986): Lost 88-77 to eventual national champion Louisville

No. 11 seed George Mason (2006): Lost 73-58 to eventual national champion Florida

No. 11 seed VCU (2011): Lost 70-62 to eventual national runner-up Butler

3. The lack of multiple top seeds trend continues

Even with last year’s favorite-heavy Final Four, just eight top-seeds had made the national semifinals since 2010.

4. No one has shot well at NRG Stadium

Four Final Four teams in history have attempted more than 40 percent of their field goals from beyond the arc: VCU in 2011, and every team in this year’s final quartet besides North Carolina. That could make for an interesting final three games, considering that they are being played at a stadium where jump shots don’t work.

In 12 NCAA Tournament games played at NRG Stadium, teams are shooting a combined 29.6% from 3-point range. In 2011, the last time Houston hosted the Final Four, Connecticut, Kentucky, VCU and Butler made only 28.1% of their 3-pointers. In the championship game that year, UConn defeated Butler by 12 despite going just 1 for 11 from beyond the arc and shooting just 34.5% from the field. That’s because the Bulldogs sent a championship game record for futility by misfiring on 52 of their 64 field goal attempts, good for 18.8%.

5. The ACC will set a tournament record for wins on Saturday

With North Carolina and Syracuse set to play on Saturday night, the ACC is assured of being able to lay claim to at least 19 NCAA Tournament wins. The 18 wins the league accumulated through the tournament’s opening two weeks is currently tied with the 1985 Big East for the most ever in March Madness.

6. Both semifinals are rematches from the regular season

This is just the third time in Final Four history that both national semifinals are rematches of games that were played in the regular season. The only other times this has occurred came in 2012 (Louisville-Kentucky and Kansas-Ohio State) and 1964 (UCLA-Kansas State and Duke-Michigan).

Oklahoma defeated Villanova 78-55 on a neutral court in Hawaii on Dec. 7, marking the Wildcats’ largest loss of the season. That 23-point margin of victory is also the largest in any game that has wound up being a Final Four rematch. North Carolina, meanwhile, won two regular season meetings against Syracuse by a combined 16 points.

7. Boeheim vs. Williams will make tournament history

Roy Williams and Jim Boeheim’s 179 combined NCAA Tournament games will be the most in a coaching matchup in the history of the Big Dance. That mark narrowly edges out the 174 appearances that were present when Coach K and Tom Izzo paced the sidelines in the last season’s Final Four.

8. Syracuse’s 13 losses are tied for the most ever by a Final Four team

The only squads to match Syracuse’s dubious mark were, ironically enough, North Carolina in 2000, and Wisconsin in the same year. Both of those teams lost their Final Four game by 12 points.

9. An unranked Champion?

If Syracuse -- which received just 0 votes from the Associated Press in its final top 25 poll -- was to win the national championship, the Orange would become the first unranked (by the AP) champion since Larry Brown’s 1988 Kansas squad. The 1985 Villanova team is the only other one to achieve the feat.

Syracuse could also be the first champion since the ‘88 Jayhawks to wear the crown despite owning double-digit losses.

10. Oklahoma looking to become first fresh champion in a decade

Three of the four teams remaining have tasted a national championship before. The one exception is Oklahoma, which can become the first program to join the exclusive champions club since Florida won the first of its back-to-back titles in 2006.

March Madness: How big of a Cinderella story is Syracuse?

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