NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament Upsets

An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, a single-elimination tournament, this generally constitutes a team defeating an opponent with a substantially higher seed. The NCAA defines a tournament upset as a victory by a team seeded five or more lines below the opponent that it defeats.

This is the list of victories by teams seeded 11 or lower in the First and Second Rounds of the tournament, as well as those by teams seeded 8 or 9 against 1 and 7 or 10 against 2 seeds in the Second Round, since it expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Because these low-seeded teams are automatically paired against higher-seeded teams at the start of the tournament, they are almost always underdogs, and their victories are almost always considered upsets. The list also includes victories by teams seeded 8 or lower in the Sweet Sixteen (the four regional semifinals), teams seeded 7 or lower in the Elite Eight (the four regional finals), and teams seeded 6 or lower in the Final Four. All teams are listed by athletic brand names they used at the time of their wins, which do not always match those in use today.

Most successful low seeds

The table below lists the best outcomes for low-seeded teams since the tournament's expansion in 1985, sorted by the round in which that team was eliminated.

Lowest-seeded pairings by round

*The lowest-seeded combination in the national championship game is the 2014 pairing of No. 7 seed UConn and No. 8 seed Kentucky. UConn won and became the second-lowest-seeded team to win the tournament.
*The pairing of No. 8 seed Butler and No. 11 seed VCU in the 2011 National semifinals game was the lowest seeded combination to play in a National semifinals game.
*The pairing of No. 8 seed North Carolina and No. 15 seed Saint Peter's in the 2022 East Regional final was the lowest-seeded combination to play in a regional final.
*The pairing of No. 10 seed Providence and No. 14 seed Chattanooga in the 1997 Southeast Regional semifinal was the lowest-seeded combination to play in a regional semifinal.
*There have been twenty-five Round of 32 matchups between two seeds who had won as the underdogs in the Round of 64: twelve 12-13 matchups, six 11-14 matchups, five 10-15 matchups, and two 9-16 matchups. The seeds add to 25 in each case, which is the lowest possible total for the Second Round.

Additional low-seed stats

* Villanova in 1985, a No. 8 seed, was the lowest seeded team to win the tournament.
* Penn's 1979 Final Four appearance as a No. 9 seed—out of 10 teams in their region—made them the lowest seed to make the Final Four in the pre-64-team era.
*Butler is the only team to make consecutive Final Fours (let alone Championship Games) while not being a No. 1 or No. 2 seed either time (No. 5 in 2010, No. 8 in 2011).
*In 1989, the four 11-seeds swept the First Round against their 6-seed opponents. As of 2023 this is the only time that 11-seeds have achieved this feat, and no lower seed ever has. Three out of four 12-seeds have advanced five times, in 2002, 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2019. The 10-seeds also swept the 7-seeds once, in 1999.
*Richmond is the only team to win first-round games ranked as a No. 15, No. 14, No. 13, and No. 12 seed.
*The most Round of 64 upsets over top-3 seeds occurring in a single tournament has been two, which has occurred ten times:
**1986, 1995, 2015: Two No. 14 seeds over No. 3 seeds
**1991, 1997, 2013, 2016, 2021: One No. 15 seed over a No. 2 seed and one No. 14 seed over a No. 3 seed
***In 1991, 2013, 2016, and 2021, at least one team of every seed between No. 1 and No. 15 advanced to the Round of 32.
**2012: Two No. 15 seeds over No. 2 seeds
**2023: One No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed and one No. 15 seed over a No. 2 seed
*2014 produced the highest total seed differential in an NCAA Tournament, with 128 across all the rounds of play. That is, the sum of seed differences among the 19 games won by lower-seeded teams was 128. This surpassed the previous mark of 111 in 2014, in which 22 games were won by lower seeded teams.
*2013 was the only tournament to have three teams seeded No. 12 or lower in the Sweet Sixteen: No. 12 Oregon, No. 13 La Salle, and No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast.
* The 2018 South Region was the first region since seeding began in 1979 in which no top-4 seed advanced to the Sweet Sixteen (No. 5 Kentucky, No. 7 Nevada, No. 9 Kansas State, No. 11 Loyola–Chicago).
* Georgetown is the only team to lose in five consecutive tournament appearances against a team seeded at least five spots lower:
** 2008 (Round of 32): No. 10 Davidson 74, No. 2 Georgetown 70.
** 2010 (Round of 64): No. 14 Ohio 97, No. 3 Georgetown 83.
** 2011 (Round of 64): No. 11 VCU 74, No. 6 Georgetown 56.
** 2012 (Round of 32): No. 11 NC State 66, No. 3 Georgetown 63.
** 2013 (Round of 64): No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast 78, No. 2 Georgetown 68.
* In 2021, Houston, a 2 seed, was the first team ever to reach the Final Four by defeating only double-digit seeds—in order, Cleveland State (15), Rutgers (10), Syracuse (11), and Oregon State (12).
* 2021 featured 14 upsets, the most upsets in a single tournament. NCAA defines an upset as 5 seed lines or more between teams.

Point-spread upsets

Biggest point-spread upsets since 1985

*Fairleigh Dickinson +23.5 over Purdue 63–58 in 2023
* Norfolk State +21.5 over Missouri 86–84 in 2012
* UMBC +20.5 over Virginia 74–54 in 2018
* Santa Clara +20 over Arizona 64–61 in 1993
*Coppin State +18.5 over South Carolina 78–65 in 1997
* Saint Peter's +18 over Kentucky 85–79 in 2022
* Arkansas–Little Rock +17.5 over Notre Dame 90–83 in 1986
*Hampton +17.5 over Iowa State 58–57 in 2001

Biggest championship game point-spread upsets

*Connecticut +9.5 over Duke, 77–74, in 1999
* Villanova +9 over Georgetown, 66–64, in 1985
*Kansas +8 over Oklahoma, 83–79, in 1988
*North Carolina State +7.5 over Houston, 54–52 in 1983
*Texas Western +6.5 over Kentucky, 72–65 in 1966

Most upset wins

Most upset losses

Round of 64

This round was called the First Round until 2011, when the introduction of the First Four caused it to be renamed the Second Round. Starting with the 2016 tournament, it returned to being called the First Round. There were eight official First Round upsets in 2016, which was the most in tournament history.

Detail between each pair of seeds in this section has been updated as of completion of the 2025 Round of 64, representing 160 games played between each pair.

16 defeats 1

There have been two games in which a No. 16 seed has defeated a No. 1 seed () since 1985:

15 defeats 2

There have been 11 games in which a No. 15 seed has defeated a No. 2 seed () since 1985:

14 defeats 3

There have been 23 games in which a No. 14 seed has defeated a No. 3 seed () since 1985:

13 defeats 4

There have been 33 games in which a No. 13 seed has defeated a No. 4 seed () since 1985:

12 defeats 5

There have been 57 games in which a No. 12 seed has defeated a No. 5 seed () since 1985:

11 defeats 6

There have been 62 games in which a No. 11 seed has defeated a No. 6 seed () since 1985:

Round of 32

The Round of 32 is also called the Second Round and, occasionally, the regional quarterfinals.

This shows all Round of 32 upset victories by teams seeded 11 or lower, continuing their upset victories from the Round of 64. This section introduces additional "meeting criteria of team seeded 5 or more lines below its defeated opponent", being all Round of 32 upset victories by teams seeded 8 or 9 against 1 seeds and by teams seeded 7 or 10 against 2 seeds.

16 seeds

A No. 16 seed has never won a game in the Round of 32. The only No. 16 seeds to ever reach the Second Round are the UMBC Retrievers in 2018, who lost to No. 9 seed Kansas State 50–43, and the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in 2023, who lost to No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic 78–70.

15 seeds

Four of the eleven No. 15 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

14 seeds

Two of the twenty-three No. 14 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

13 seeds

Six of the thirty-three No. 13 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

12 seeds

Twenty-two of the fifty-seven No. 12 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

11 seeds

Twenty-seven of the sixty-two No. 11 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

10 seeds

Twenty-five of the sixty-two No. 10 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

9 seeds

Eight of the eighty-three No. 9 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

8 seeds

Sixteen of the seventy-seven No. 8 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

7 seeds

Twenty-nine of the ninety-eight No. 7 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 64 also won in the Round of 32. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

Sweet Sixteen

The Sweet Sixteen are the eight pairs of teams that meet in the regional semifinals.

15 seeds

One of the four No. 15 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 32 also won in the Sweet Sixteen. The seed of the team they defeated is in parentheses.

14 seeds

A No. 14 seed has never won a game in the Sweet Sixteen. The closest margin of defeat happened in 1986, when Cleveland State lost to No. 7 seed Navy by one point.

13 seeds

A No. 13 seed has never won a game in the Sweet Sixteen. The closest margin of defeat happened in 1998, when Valparaiso lost to No. 8 seed Rhode Island by six points.

12 seeds

Two of the twenty-two No. 12 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 32 also won in the Sweet Sixteen. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

11 seeds

Ten of the twenty-seven No. 11 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 32 also won in the Sweet Sixteen. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

10 seeds

Nine of the twenty-five No. 10 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 32 also won in the Sweet Sixteen. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^† Not an upset, as the No. 10 seed defeated a lower seed.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

9 seeds

Five of the eight No. 9 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 32 also won in the Sweet Sixteen. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^† Not an upset, as the No. 9 seed defeated a lower seed.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

8 seeds

Nine of the sixteen No. 8 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 32 also won in the Sweet Sixteen. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^† Not an upset, as the No. 8 seed defeated a lower seed.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

7 seeds

Ten of the twenty-nine No. 7 seeds () who advanced from the Round of 32 also won in the Sweet Sixteen. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^† Not an upset, as the No. 7 seed defeated a lower seed.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

Elite Eight

The Elite Eight are the four pairs of teams that meet in the regional finals.

15 seeds

The only 15 seed who advanced from the Sweet Sixteen, Saint Peter's in 2022, was defeated in the Elite Eight by eight-seed North Carolina, 69-49.

12 seeds

Although two 12 seeds have advanced from the Sweet Sixteen, both were defeated in the Elite Eight: Missouri to second-seeded Oklahoma, 81-75 in 2002, and Oregon State to second-seeded Houston, 67-61 in 2021.

11 seeds

Six of the ten 11 seeds who advanced from the Sweet Sixteen also won in the Elite Eight. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses, showing that five of these were upset victories (separated by more than 4 seed lines). None of those teams would go on to win in the Final Four.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

10 seeds

One of the nine 10 seeds who advanced from the Sweet Sixteen also won in the Elite Eight. Seed of the team they defeated is in parentheses, showing that this was an upset victory (separated by more than 4 seed lines). The team did not win in the Final Four.

9 seeds

Two of the five 9 seeds who advanced from the Sweet Sixteen also won in the Elite Eight. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses, showing that these were upset victories (separated by more than 4 seed lines). Neither team won in the Final Four.

8 seeds

Six of the nine 8 seeds who advanced from the Sweet Sixteen also won in the Elite Eight. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses, showing that three of these were upset victories (separated by more than 4 seed lines).

^† Not an upset, as the No. 8 seed defeated a lower seed.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

7 seeds

Three 7 seeds have advanced to the Final Four. Seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

6 seeds

Three 6 seeds have advanced to the Final Four. Seed of the team they defeated are in parentheses, showing that two of these were upset victories (separated by more than 4 seed lines).

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

Final Four

The Final Four are the winners of the four regional finals.

9 seeds or lower

No team seeded 9 or lower has ever won a game in the Final Four. Notable close losses include a four-point loss by (9) Wichita State in 2013 to top-seed and eventual champions Louisville, while two other teams lost on buzzer-beating shots: (11) UCLA to (1) Gonzaga, 93–90 in overtime in 2021; and (9) Florida Atlantic to (5) San Diego State, 72–71 in 2023.

8 seeds

Four of the six 8 seeds who advanced from the Elite Eight also won in the Final Four. The seeds of the teams they defeated are in parentheses, showing that three were upset victories (separated by more than 4 seed lines).

^† Not an upset, as the No. 8 seed defeated a lower seed.

7 seeds

One of the three 7 seeds who advanced from the Elite Eight also won in the Final Four. Seed of the team they defeated is in parentheses, showing that this was an upset victory (separated by more than 4 seed lines).

6 seeds

Two 6 seeds have advanced to the national championship game. Seeds of the Final Four team they defeated are in parentheses.

^‡ Not officially an upset because the teams were separated by fewer than five seed lines.

National championship

8 seeds

Only one of the four 8 seeds who advanced from the Final Four won the national championship, the lowest seed ever to do so. Seed of the team they defeated is in parentheses, showing that this was an upset victory (separated by more than 4 seed lines).

7 seeds

The only 7 seed to advance from the Final Four went on to win the national championship. Seed of the team they defeated is in parentheses.

^† Not an upset, as the No. 7 seed defeated a lower seed.

6 seeds

One of the two 6 seeds who advanced from the Final Four won the national championship.

Footnotes

References

See also

* NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament upsets

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