Kansas State’s Elite Eight loss keeps bizarre men’s NCAA tournament streak alive for a 76th year

Pretty much the entire betting public was backing the No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats (-1.5) against the No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday in the Elite Eight.

At BetMGM, Kansas State garnered 82 percent of all wagers on the spread. At DraftKings Sportsbook, that number was 82 percent as well, with an additional 84 percent of all bets on the moneyline backing the Wildcats (-125) — including 83 percent of the money wagered.

So, of course, FAU won 79-76 to become the third No. 9 seed to ever reach the Final Four.

But this wasn’t just a simple case of fading the public. Especially not with how charmed a run the Kansas State has been on all March. This was about something much, much weirder.

Schools that use purple as its primary color just don’t win the men’s NCAA tournament. They rarely ever make the Final Four.

Public is all over No. 3 Kansas State -1.5 today (vs. 9-seed FAU).

Over 85% of bets, 80% of money on KSU -1.5 at multiple sportsbooks.

But the line is still -1.5 …#MarchMadness

— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) March 25, 2023

Kansas State’s loss guarantees that the winning team of this year’s tournament will not be wearing a purple jersey for a 76th consecutive season. The last purple clad team to lift the championship trophy was Holy Cross in 1947.

Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, there have only been two teams who have advanced to the Final Four despite their purple jerseys: LSU in 1986 and LSU in 2006.

Is that the only reason why Kansas State has lost in eight consecutive trips to the Elite Eight? No, definitely not. Is it part of it? Well… the data is overwhelming.

Just think about all the teams that sport purple on the court: Northwestern, Northern Iowa, Furman, TCU, Washington, Clemson, East Carolina, Evansville, Niagara, Stephen F. Austin and Grand Canyon. None really scream “success in March”.

Yet it’s super strange nonetheless. Given all the randomness of March Madness, it almost feels impossible for something to be this certain.

If you’ve ever wondered what the opposite of a blue blood is in college basketball, the answer is any team that wears purple.

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