The NCAA tournament is much more than breaking down brackets, cutting down nets and holding up index fingers.
There’s a small matter of addressing the always colorful array of nicknames for the 65 teams who began the road to the Final Four in Detroit.
So from Aggies to Zips, hoots to Utes and Buccaneers to Musketeers, here’s a quiz to test your nickname knowledge as you sit back and cross out losers on your tournament pool sheet.
Ready?
1. The best nickname matchup (This is a gimme).
2. There’s one dog of a game …
3. Which is the youngest team? (Think “My Cousin Vinny”).
4. There’s a snake in the field …
5. Which are the ‘eers teams? (We already gave you two).
6. The most colorful teams are? (We’ve got six).
7. What are the most popular nicknames?
8. What teams have a direction? (Not really a nickname question, but so what).
9. Which are the topographical teams?
10. Name the demonic teams …
11. And the do-gooders?
12. A couple of aggies are in the field …
13. We count lots of ‘cats. See how many you can get.
14. And then there’s a bunch of birds …
15. Think feet.
16. Who’s in the bear market?
17. Which is the slowest team?
18. Name some fighters/patriots/warriors from the past …
19. Which are the teams with NFL nicknames?
20. Name all the dogs …
EXTRA CREDIT: A bullfighting showdown we won’t see …
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ANSWERS:
1. Zips (Akron) vs. Zags (Gonzaga).
2. Huskies (Washington) vs. Bulldogs (Mississippi State).
3. Utes (Utah).
4. Moccasins (Chattanooga).
5. Buccaneers (East Tennessee State), Mountaineers (West Virginia), Musketeers (Xavier), Volunteers (Tennessee).
6. Big Red (Cornell), Blue Devils (Duke), Golden Bears (California), Golden Eagles (Marquette), Golden Gophers (Minnesota), Orange (Syracuse).
7. Eagles (American, Boston College, Marquette, Morehead State), Tigers (Clemson, LSU, Memphis, Missouri).
8. East Tennessee State, North Carolina, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Southern California, West Virginia, Western Kentucky.
9. Highlanders (Radford), Hilltoppers (Western Kentucky), Mountaineers (West Virginia).
10. Blue Devils (Duke), Demon Deacons (Wake Forest), Sun Devils (Arizona State).
11. Saints (Siena), Volunteers (Tennessee).
12. Texas A&M, Utah State.
13. Wildcats (Arizona, Villanova), Bearcats (Binghamton), Cougars (BYU), Tigers (Clemson, LSU, Memphis, Missouri), Panthers (Northern Iowa, Pittsburgh).
14. Eagles (American, Boston College, Morehead State), Cardinals (Louisville), Golden Eagles (Marquette), Owls (Temple).
15. Tar Heels (North Carolina), Moccasins (Chattanooga). Note: Zips (Akron) used to be known as the Zippers, which were rubber overshoes.
16. Bearcats (Binghamton), Golden Bears (California), Bears (Morgan State).
17. Terrapins (Maryland).
18. Vikings (Cleveland State, Portland State), Colonials (Robert Morris), Trojans (Southern California), Spartans (Michigan State), Buccaneers (East Tennessee State), Volunteers (Tennessee), Musketeers (Xavier).
19. Eagles (American, Boston College, Morehead State), Vikings (Cleveland State, Portland State), Buccaneers (East Tennessee State), Cardinals (Louisville), Bears (Morgan State), Panthers (Northern Iowa, Pittsburgh), Saints (Siena), Rams (Virginia Commonwealth).
20. Bulldogs (Butler, Mississippi State), Huskies (Connecticut, Washington)
EXTRA CREDIT: Matadors (Cal State Northridge) vs. Longhorns (Texas) — in a national title game shifted to Madrid.
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