Here’s a look at the NCAA Division I final four by the numbers:
1 Bret Simon is the first coach to make back-to-back appearances at the Men’s College Cup with different teams. He led Creighton to the final in 2000 and has directed Stanford to the final four this year. 1 St. John’s and Indiana met for first time ever on opening day of the 2001 campaign. The Red Storm won, 2-1, in Bloomington. Stanford and North Carolina have never met. 2 Stanford and North Carolina are both making their second appearance in the final four. Previous appearances: North Carolina in 1987 and Stanford in 1988. 3 Stanford, the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, is the top seed left after the elimination of No. 2 Virginia (second round) and No. 1 SMU (quarterfinals). Indiana was the No. 4 seed, North Carolina No. 7 and St. John’s No. 8. 5 Indiana is making its fifth straight appearance in the final four, matching Virginia (1991-95) for the third longest streak in Division I history. Saint Louis has previous runs of seven (1957-63) and six (1969-74). 15 Indiana leads all teams in the final four with 15 straight tournament appearances. St. John’s is second with 10 in a row, followed by Stanford with five and North Carolina with three. 62 With a win over St. John’s, Indiana will tie Saint Louis for the NCAA tournament record with 62 records.
