1.   But that team lost to eventual champ Duke in the national semifinals.

2.   But Stanford, which lost to eventual champ UConn in a semifinal last year, could not contain Naismith Award-winning Saudia Roundtree.

3.   He was in the final pairing with eventual champ Ben Crenshaw.

4.   It would be pathetically fitting to see the eventual champ come from the eighth seed in the East.

5.   Last time they saw the US upset Colombia, make it to the second round, and lose by a goal to eventual champ Brazil.

6.   None of it mattered when the club failed to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, losing to eventual champ Detroit in six games during the Western Conference finals.

7.   That team was an inning away from playing for the national title before it was caught and passed by eventual champ LSU.

8.   The Fiesta Bowl matchup also should jump from a year ago because the winner could be the eventual national champ if Miami loses.

9.   When they returned three months later for a divisional playoff, they put up much more of a fight before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champs.

10.   Last season, UConn lost by wide margins to Syracuse and eventual national champ Michigan State.