Playing with chains
Good afternoon. Just got back from my job interview over at Au Bon Pain, and I think I got Question No. 1 correct.
Anyway, I've been fooling around with one of my favorite games. The old "Penn beat UIC who beat Butler who beat Tennessee who beat national champion Florida" game.
This four-game chain is the shortest chain from Penn to the champs this year, but not the shortest ever.
The 2004-05 season was the last time Penn beat a team that beat a team that beat the champions. (Penn-Yale-Santa Clara-North Carolina)
To find the last time the Quakers beat a team that beat the national champions, you'll have to go all the way back to a pair of one-point games 1978-79. On March 11, 1979, the Final Four-bound Quakers knocked off No. 1 seed North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, 72-71. Those same Tar Heels came away with a 70-69 win over Earvin Johnson and eventual national champion Michigan State back on Dec. 16.
As for the last time Penn beat a national champion "directly," well, that's never happened. In fact, the Quakers have only beaten three teams that would go on to make the Final Four.
The Quakers beat eventual national runner-up Dartmouth in 1941-42 and Final Four-bound Iowa in 1954-55. The most recent one, I'll leave up to you.
It's not terribly difficult but requires a bit of a loose interpretation of "Final Four team."
Answer coming tomorrow.
Since we at the Buzz know that this is where you turn for your weather coverage, keep checking back with us for the Spring Fling forecast. We'll change up the sources as we get closer.
But today, SF-minus-9-days, we start with Accuweather.com.
Friday: Mostly sunny, high 51
Saturday: Sunny, high 60
Could be worse.
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