The tournament is known for Cinderella stories, and it has seen more and more awe-inspiring runs from double digit seeds in the past decade than ever before.
Seven double digit seeds have reached the semifinal since the tournament expanded to 64-teams in 1985, including the NC State who were an 11-seed in the 2024 tournament.
A No. 1 seed had never lost to a No. 16 seed, until UMBC pulled off a remarkable upset over Virginia. Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) then knocked off No. 1 Purdue in 2023, solidifying that nothing is impossible.
Cinderella Teams to reach each round
Round | Seed | Team (Year) |
Make Round of 32 | No. 16 | UMBC (2018) |
Make Round of 16 | No. 15 | Florida Gulf Coast (2013) |
Make Quarterfinal | No. 15 | Saint Peter's (2022) |
Make Semifinal | No. 11 | LSU (1986) |
Make Championship Game | No. 8 | Villanova (1985) |
To Win Title | No. 8 | Villanova (1985) |
Six teams seeded 15 or higher have one their first and second round matchups. Only one of those six teams have then gone on to win a third game and reach the quarterfinal. Saint Peter's in 2022 became arguable the greatest Cinderella story ever.
Saint Peter's knocked out No. 2 Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State, and No. 3 Purdue, becoming the first and only 15-seed to advance to the quarterfinal.
Seven double digit seeds have reached the semifinal, and six of them were 11-seeds. Syracuse reached the semifinal at a 10-seed in 2016.
One of the most memorable runs to the semis came from Loyola Chicago in 2018. Led by head coach Porter Moser and team chaplain Sister Jean, Loyola Chicago defeated No. 6 Miami, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 7 Nevada, and No. 9 Kansas State before falling to Michigan.
Four eight-seeds have reached the Men's Championship Game, but Villanova remains the only team to win the title as an eight-seed or lower. No. 8 Villanova defeated a powerhouse No. 1 Georgetown to win the 1985 National title.
The 2014 final was the highest total seed value for a championship game as No. 7 UConn took down No. 8 Kentucky.
