Heading into the 2022 NCAA basketball tournament, the 1985 Villanova squad remains the highest seed to win March Madness.
What is the lowest seed ever to win the NCAA?
Has a No.8 seed ever won the NCAA Championship? – Should the No.8 seeded University of North Carolina win the championship, it would join an exclusive group of teams. Only one team has ever won the national title as the No.8 seed. That club was No.8 Villanova in 1985, when the inaugural tournament with 64 participants was held.
- Caleb Love’s shot puts a spectacular ending on the Duke-North Carolina Final Four matchup.
- It subsequently defeated No.5 Maryland and No.2 North Carolina in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, respectively.
- The Wildcats defeated No.2 Memphis State in the Final Four to set up a game with No.1 Georgetown, the defending national champion and East champion.
Powered by an NCAA-record 78.6% FG percentage, the Wildcats defeated the Hoyas by a score of 66-64 to capture the program’s first national championship.
Oral Roberts upsets Ohio State to become the ninth 15-seed to defeat a 2-seed in March Madness. The 15-seed Oral Roberts Golden Eagles defeated the 2-seed Ohio State Buckeyes 75-72, making March Madness history in the process. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) The 15-seed Oral Roberts Golden Eagles defeated the 2-seed Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 75-72, making history in the process.30 points from Kevin Obanor and 29 points from guaranteed that the Golden Eagles would become the sixth team in the history of the NCAA tournament to enter as a 15th seed and defeat a two seed.
- In 2016, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders defeated Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans 90-81 to become the most recent club to accomplish this accomplishment.
- In 2013, Florida Gulf Coast reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Florida, who, ironically, would face Oral Roberts in the following round.
March Madness usually provides a Cinderella narrative, and the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles may be this year’s glass slipper bearers.
Has ever a No.16 seed won?
Guard Joe Bryant Jr. (4) and big Dana Tata (21) celebrate during a game for Norfolk State. (Mike Caudill / Agence France-Presse) Published on 13 March 2022 17 March 2022, 7:00 PM PDT Wednesday, March 16 commemorates the fourth anniversary of the lone victory in a non-play-in NCAA tournament game by a men’s 16 seed.
College of Maryland Not only did Baltimore County defeat top-seeded Virginia, but it did so in a manner in which the majority of the previous 132 top seeds had ousted 16 seeds. At halftime, the score was level 21-21, but UMBC, led by Jairus Lyles’ 23 second-half points, dominated the remaining 20 minutes of a 74-54 thrashing, Virginia’s most lopsided loss of the season.
Lyles’ three-pointer in the final second of the America East championship game allowed the Retrievers to overcome Vermont and go to the tournament. Kansas State would defeat UMBC 50-43 in the second round of the tournament. The Retrievers are the only 16 seed to win a tournament game outside of the play-in round.
- There have been a couple of near-upsets of high seeds in the initial round, most notably in 1989 when both Princeton and East Tennessee State fell to Georgetown and Oklahoma by a single point in the opening round.
- Murray State pushed Michigan State to overtime a year later, but ultimately lost 75-71 in extra time.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the 15 seed has had significantly better luck in the initial round, winning nine times, most recently in 2017 when Oral Roberts upset Ohio State 75-72 in overtime. UMBC was not the first 16 seed to win a game in the NCAA tournament. 
How frequently do No.16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament defeat No.1 seeds? It is the greatest of all upsets, and it has only occurred once. University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s 2018 first-round victory over No.1 Virginia as a No.16 seed was one of the most unexpected upsets in NCAA Tournament history.
