History of 1 seed vs. 16 seed in March Madness

No. 1 seeds have traditionally dominated No. 16 seeds for the reason that NCAA match expanded its subject in 1985.

UMBC became the first No. 16 seed ever to upset a No. 1 seed in 2018, when the Retrievers defeated Virginia and have become an in a single day sensation. In 2023, FDU became just the second No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1, shocking Purdue.

Here is the whole lot it is advisable learn about 16 seeds vs. 1 seeds in March Insanity.

Historical past of 16 vs. 1 seeds in March Insanity

• High seeds personal a 158-2 all-time document in opposition to 16 seeds. FDU vs. Purdue in 2023 was solely the second time the upset has occurred. Which means 16 seeds have a 1.25 successful share in opposition to 1 seeds within the NCAA match.
• No sport had been determined by one possession since 1996 (Purdue beat Western Carolina, 73-71).
• The very best scoring matchup befell in 1987, UNC’s 113-82 win over Penn.
• The bottom rating in a 1 vs. 16 sport is 99 factors, which has occurred twice — Georgetown’s 50-49 win over Princeton in 1989, and UCLA’s 70-29 win over Mississippi Valley State in 2008.
• The largest blowout within the matchup’s historical past was in 1998, when Kansas bullied Prairie View A&M for a 110-52 win.

The occasions a 16 nearly beat a 1

A 16 seed has come inside one level of a high seed twice. They had been each within the 1989 NCAA match. Georgetown beat Princeton by a rating of 50-49.

The second time was when Oklahoma outlasted ETSU, 72-71. ETSU led by 17 at one level, however OU stormed again.

That will need to have been a wake-up name for the Sooners, as a result of they beat No. 9 seed Louisiana Tech by 43 factors within the subsequent spherical.

The subsequent yr, Murray State took Michigan State to extra time, however finally misplaced 75-71. The final time a 16 seed misplaced to a 1 seed by single digits was in 2014, when Arizona defeated Weber State 68-59.

The occasions it truly occurred

In 2023, the matchup between No. 1 seed Purdue and No. 16 FDU regarded like all however a certainty. Greater than 97% of brackets picked the Boilermakers to advance. In any case, it was a matchup of the tallest crew within the match — with Purdue led by the 7-foot-4 middle Zach Edey — and the shortest crew within the subject in FDU.

The Knights held their very own, nursing a slim lead for a lot of the sport. The plan was to not cease the towering Edey as a lot because it was to nullify the remainder of the Purdue offense. FDU did simply that, forcing a number of errant photographs and limiting the Boilermakers to simply 36% capturing from the sector within the 63-58 win.

Going into 2018, it at all times felt like the primary 16-over-1 upset could be shut. Effectively, that wasn’t the case. UMBC beat Virginia 74-54 and was in management for a lot of the sport.

UMBC would go on to lose to Kansas State by a rating of 50-43 within the subsequent spherical. Regardless, that Retrievers crew will likely be remembered perpetually.

How more likely is a 15-2 upset than a 16-1 upset?

5 and a half occasions extra probably. No. 15 seeds have upset 2 seeds 11 occasions, together with a run of three seasons in a row from 2021 via 2023. Listed below are the entire occasions it is occurred:

There have been 23 14-seed over 3-seed upsets, too. Clearly, the 16-1 is essentially the most scarce, and by a big quantity.