Top 10 Craziest March Madness Facts

We have had some truly memorable moments in March. Whether it's the buzzer-beaters or the thrill of raising the trophy at the end, the tournament has delivered countless unforgettable experiences.

However, there have also been some unexplainable and surprising events throughout its history. Here are some crazy facts about the tournament that you probably didn't know.

The Top Ten

  1. In 2018, UMBC became the first and only 16-seed to defeat a 1-seed, upsetting Virginia 74-54

    A 1 over a 16 seed? It seems like a no-brainer. From the time the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 until 2018, 16 seeds were 0-135 all time against 1 seeds. Most were blown out, but a few came extremely close to victory.

    In 1989, for example, Princeton lost 50-49 to the Georgetown Hoyas when a last-second shot fell short. The curse of the No. 16 seed was finally broken in 2018, when the UMBC Retrievers shocked the Virginia Cavaliers 74-54.

    Unfortunately, UMBC's Cinderella run ended in the very next round, when they lost to the Kansas State Wildcats.

  2. Harvard experienced the longest drought between NCAA tournament appearances, spanning 66 years from 1946 to 2012

    Harvard is a prestigious university, but maybe not in basketball. Before the 2011-12 season, the Crimson hadn't made the tournament since right after World War II, in 1946.

  3. The odds of randomly selecting a perfect NCAA tournament bracket are approximately 1 in 9.2 quintillion

    If you're a perfectionist, then good luck with filling out a bracket. You would have to predict 63 games correctly. Think of it like flipping a coin and getting 63 heads in a row. Not likely, right?

    You're statistically more likely to win the lottery and get struck by lightning on the same day. To put that in perspective, a quintillion is a billion billions.

  4. Henry V. Porter coined the term "March Madness" in 1939 to describe the Illinois state high school basketball tournament

  5. In 2008, all four No. 1 seeds - Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, and UCLA - reached the Final Four, marking the only time this has occurred

    In this Final Four, Kansas won the tournament over Memphis in overtime. The other Final Four teams were UNC and UCLA.

    This was the last national championship game Kansas has won.

  6. UCLA holds the record for the most NCAA men's basketball tournament championships, with 11 titles

    While they're a bit irrelevant nowadays, the Bruins have won 11 total championships. Ten of these came in their golden age when John Wooden was their head coach.

    They have not won it all since 1995.

  7. The lowest-seeded teams to reach the Final Four are 11 seeds, a feat achieved by multiple teams, including LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), and Loyola Chicago (2018)

    The Final 4 is one of the most prestigious stages in college basketball. Making it all the way to the semifinal round is a big deal. While most expect higher seeds to make it, there have been a few surprising Cinderella teams that made it out of their region.

    LSU in 1986, George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, and Loyola Chicago in 2018 are examples. However, none have made the final round.

    Record tied for the 5th time in 2024 with NC State!

  8. No 5-seed has ever won the NCAA men's basketball tournament

    The 5 seed is a bit of an untold curse. Butler in 2010, Indiana in 2002, and Florida in 2000 are the only ones to have risen from that humble ranking to the title game. None were victorious.

    Also worth noting is that 12 over 5 seeds is not uncommon.

  9. Kansas holds the record for the most consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, with 30 straight from 1990 to 2019

  10. The University of Connecticut (UConn) is the only school to have both its men's and women's basketball teams win NCAA championships in the same year, accomplishing this in 2004 and 2014

    We all know that the Lady Huskies own Women's College Basketball. They have run the table in college basketball twice, in 2004 and 2014.

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Kentucky and North Carolina have the most NCAA tournament wins, with 128 and 124 respectively

  12. ?

    The most losses by a national championship team is 11, set by Kansas in 1988

    13. The Contenders

  13. The lowest-seeded team to ever win the NCAA men's basketball tournament is an 8 seed, achieved by Villanova in 1985

    The Big East was stacked back then, having 3 teams in the Final 4. Nova was far from a mid-major and nobody expected the Wildcats to upset the heavily favored Georgetown Hoyas to win the championship.

  14. Kentucky has the most NCAA tournament appearances, with 58

  15. Since 1979, North Carolina has been a top seed in the NCAA tournament 17 times, the most of any school

  16. The highest combined point total in a tournament game is 264 points, set by Loyola Marymount and Michigan in 1990, with Michigan winning 149-115

    Michigan and LMU both faced off and put up NBA-like numbers, with the Wolverines winning 149-115. Defense? What is that?

  17. Notre Dame's Austin Carr set a tournament game record by scoring 61 points against Ohio in 1970

    In 1970, Austin Carr scored a stunning 61 points in a first-round win over Ohio. The Irish put up 112 in that game. He followed that up with 52 points in a loss against Kentucky.

    Since then, the closest anyone has come to breaking his mark was when Navy's David Robinson notched 50 points in his final collegiate game in 1987.

  18. Seven teams have won the NCAA men's basketball championship with an undefeated record: San Francisco (1956), North Carolina (1957), UCLA (1964, 1967, 1972, 1973), and Indiana (1976)

  19. Since 1985, ten different 15-seeds have defeated 2-seeds in the tournament

  20. The Florida Gators are the last team to win back-to-back national titles, achieving this in 2006 and 2007

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