By Marc Lawrence, PlaybookSports.com — With the March Madness tournament set to start on Wednesday, here are a few facts you need to know –
• Your odds of filling out a perfect bracket are next to impossible. In fact, they are lower than your odds of winning the lottery, getting struck by lightning, and having a boa constrictor emerge through the pipes in your toilet – all on the same. The NCAA says your chances of nailing every pick are 1 in 9.2 quintillion!
• The lowest seed ever to win the tournament was the #8-ranked Villanova. The Wildcats took home the coveted net in 1985. The very next year, 11th seeded LSU became the lowest seed to crack the Final Four, only to be repeated by George Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2011.
• Only three men can claim champion status as both player and coach: Joe B. Hall registered both achievements with Kentucky, the tempestuous Bob Knight with Ohio State and Indiana respectively, and the venerable Dean Smith, first on the court with Kansas and subsequently on the sideline with North Carolina.
• Incredibly, no #5 seeded team has ever won a championship. Only Butler (2010), Indiana (2002), and Florida (2000) have risen from that humble ranking to the title game. None were victorious
