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History of Division 1 Low Seed Upsets
Lowest seeds to reach each round since expansion to 64 teams in 1985: * Second Round: #15 seed (4 times; see First-round games) While lower seeds have made the Final Four in the 64-team era (as shown above), the University of Pennsylvania's 1979 appearance is notable as they made it as a #9 seed—out of 10 teams in their region. In fact, they defeated the #10 seed, St. John's University in the regional final, following three upsets by each team. First-round gamesNo #16 seed has ever defeated a #1 seed since the field was expanded to 64 teams, though some have come close. Eleven #16 seeds have come within 10 points of a #1 seed, with five of them coming within 5 points. Two have come within one point. Only one #16/#1 game has gone into overtime (Murray State vs. Michigan State in 1990). The five #16 seeds that have come within 5 points of a #1 seed are: * Fairleigh Dickinson lost to Michigan in 1985 (4 points, 59-55) Only four #15 seeds have ever defeated #2 seeds: * Richmond over Syracuse 73-69 in 1991 Since the inception of the 64-team tournament in 1985, each seed-pairing has played a total of 96 first-round games. 1. The #1 seed has beaten the #16 seed all 96 times (100%). Teams entering the tournament undefeated* In 1956, San Francisco entered the tournament at 24-0. The Dons, behind future Hall of Famers Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, won the national title, ending the season 29-0 and with a 55-game winning streak (which would reach a then-record 60). * The 1957 North Carolina Tar Heels entered the tournament at 27-0. They went on to win the national title, surviving triple-overtime marathons in both the national semifinals against Michigan State and the final against Wilt Chamberlain-led Kansas. * The UCLA Bruins have entered the tournament undefeated and gone on to win the title 4 times: 1964, 1967, 1972 and 1973. They were led during all these years by legendary coach John Wooden and featured future NBA stars like Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Gail Goodrich, and Bill Walton. The 1972 and 1973 seasons were part of their record 88-game winning streak. * UCLA was not the only team to enter a tournament unbeaten during that era. In 1968, Houston, who had beaten UCLA in the first nationally-televised regular-season game ever during that season, entered the tournament at 28-0. They made the Final Four, but lost twice—first to UCLA in a regular-season rematch in the semifinals, and then to Ohio State in the national third-place game—to finish 31-2. * The University of Pennsylvania Quakers entered the 1971 tournament with a record of 26-0. They eventually fell to Villanova, a team the Quakers had defeated earlier in the regular season, 90-47 in the East Regional Final. However, Villanova was disqualified after the tournament for having an ineligible player. Their first place finish in the east regional was relinquished to Penn. * The Indiana Hoosiers entered undefeated and lost to Kentucky in the regional final in the 1975 tournament. * The 1976 Indiana Hoosiers are the most recent team to go undefeated in both the regular season and the tournament, winning the 1976 title. The 1976 Final Four was also the last to feature two unbeaten teams: eventual champion Indiana and Rutgers. Rutgers went 31-0 before losing in both the semifinals (to Michigan) and the third-place game (to UCLA). * In the 1979 tournament, Indiana State entered the national championship game undefeated (33-0) but lost to Michigan State. The game was the first meeting of Larry Bird for Indiana State and Magic Johnson for Michigan State. * In 1991, UNLV entered the tournament at 34-0 but lost in the national semifinal to Duke. Teams entering the tournament with 1 loss* In 1955, San Francisco entered the tournament at 24-1 and on a 22-game winning streak. Bill Russell and K.C. Jones led the Dons to a 28-1 finish and the first of their consecutive national titles. * In 1958, San Francisco again entered the tournament at 24-1, but without the graduated Russell and Jones. This time, they lost to Seattle in the West Regional semifinal, finishing the season at 25-2 after defeating Idaho State in the regional third-place game. * Both Texas Western (now known as UTEP) and Kentucky entered the 1966 tournament with one loss—Texas Western at 23-1 and Kentucky at 24-1. The teams met in the national championship game, with Texas Western winning 72-65 and finishing 28-1. * North Carolina State entered the 1974 tournament 26-1, losing only to UCLA during the regular season. NC State defeated UCLA in the national semifinals, en route to a NCAA Championship over Marquette, finishing 30-1. * San Francisco returned to national prominence in 1977, entering the tournament at 29-1. However, they lost in the first round of the West Regional to UNLV, who went on to make the Final Four for the first time. * La Salle entered the 1990 tournament sporting a 29-1 record. La Salle defeated Southern Mississippi in the first round before blowing a 19-point lead and falling to Clemson by a score of 79-75 in the Terrific Thiry-Two. * Duke (in 1999) and Illinois (in 2005) entered their national championship games with 37-1 records, only to lose in the final game. * Massachusetts (35-1) in 1996 (later vacated) lost in the national semifinal. * Kansas entered the 1997 NCAA Tournament with a record of 32-1, but was beaten in the Sweet Sixteen by the eventual champion, Arizona. * In 2004, Saint Joseph's finished the regular season undefeated (27-0) but lost in their conference tournament. They entered the tournament with a 27-1 record, but lost in the East Regional Final to Oklahoma State. * Memphis entered the 2008 tournament at 33-1. |
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