Championship Game facts

As I wait in the Phoenix airport, here are some facts about tonight's game that you might not see anywhere else:

- This is the 12th championship game between teams that have previously won a title. Of the previous 11 games, the more recent winner has prevailed 7 times. UNC falls into this category--they last won the title in 2005, while MSU last won in 2000. The previous matchups:
1949: Kentucky over Oklahoma State
1953: Indiana over Kansas
1962: Cincinnati over Ohio State
1968: UCLA over UNC
1975: UCLA over Kentucky
1981: Indiana over UNC
1992: Duke over Michigan
1993: UNC over Michigan
1995: UCLA over Arkansas
2001: Duke over Arizona
2007: Florida over Ohio State

- Michigan State is 2-0 all-time in the title game. They appeared as a 2-seed in 1979 and a 1-seed in 2000.

- UNC is 4-4 all-time in the title game. They are undefeated as a 1-seed in the championship game. They appeared as a 2-seed in 1981 (loss to Indiana), a 1-seed in 1982, 1993 and 2005. Their previous four appearances came before seeding began in 1979.

- Tom Izzo appears in his 3rd championship game, all with MSU. Roy Williams appears in his 4th championship game. He lost twice with Kansas in 1991 and 2003 and won with UNC in 2005.

- 1-seeds are 5-2 against 2-seeds in the championship game. This is the first such matchup since 1-seed Duke beat 2-seed Arizona in 2001. The only 2-seeds to beat 1-seeds are Louisville over Duke in 1986 and of course, Michigan State over Indiana State in 1979.

- If Michigan State wins, they will be only the second team to beat three 1-seeds in a tournament. The other was 4-seed Arizona in 1997. They defeate 1-seeds Kansas (Sweet 16), Minnesota (Final Four) and Kentucky (Champ game) on route to their first and only title.

- In the 30 tournaments since seeding began in 1979:
1-seeds have won 16 times (most recent: Kansas, 2008)
2-seed have won 6 times (most recent: UConn, 2004)
3-seeds have won 4 times (most recent: Florida, 2006)
4-seeds have won 1 time (Arizona, 1997)
6-seeds have won 2 times (most recent: Kansas, 1988)
8-seeds have won 1 time (Villanova, 1985)
5-seeds have played in the championship game twice. No other seeds (7, 9-16) have ever appeared in the championship game.

- 1-seeds are 16-12 in the title game. 2-seeds are 6-8.

- This will be the 12th meeting between UNC and MSU. UNC leads the all-time series 8-3, including a thirty-point blowout in Detroit earlier this year. Four of those meetings were tournament games:
1957 (Final Four)
1998 (Sweet 16)
2005 (Final Four)
2007 (Second Round)
UNC won all four. As with tonight's game, UNC was the higher seed in every matchup (except 1957, when teams were not seeded).

- Roy Williams smells