Every year, when filling out a bracket, it always looks so enticing — picking a 1 seed to win the national championship. But is it a smart decision? How do 1 seeds do in the ݮվ߿ tournament?
That's where this handy guide to everything you want to know about a March Madness 1 seed comes in.
Let's start at the basics.
What are seeds?
The ݮվ߿ men’s basketball tournament is made up of 68 teams. On Selection Sunday, before any tournament game is played, those teams are ranked 1 through 68 by the Selection Committee, with the best team in college basketball — based on regular season and conference tournament performance — sitting at No. 1. Four of those teams are eliminated in the opening round of the tournament (known as the First Four), leaving us with a field of 64 for the first round.
Those 64 teams are split into four regions of 16 teams each, with each team being ranked 1 through 16. That ranking is the team’s seed.
MORE: What is March Madness: The ݮվ߿ tournament explained
In order to reward better teams, first-round matchups are determined by pitting the top team in the region against the bottom team (No. 1 vs. No. 16). Then the next highest vs. the next lowest (No. 2 vs. No. 15), and so on. In theory, this means that the 1 seeds have the easiest opening matchup in the bracket.
How have 1 seeds performed in the ݮվ߿ tournament?
Since the ݮվ߿ tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 1 seeds have played 569 games. They have won 454 of those, for a ridiculous win percentage of 79.8.
Their first-round performance is even more impressive, as 1 seeds are 135-1 against 16 seeds in the ݮվ߿ tournament. That lone loss of course came in 2018 when 16-seed UMBC beat 1-seed Virginia by 20 points in the biggest upset in March Madness history.
MORE: How many No. 1 seeds to pick to make the Final Four?
How have 1 seeds performed in the championship game?
Since 1985, there have been 34 national championship games, meaning 68 spots in a championship game have been available. Of those, 1 seeds have taken 32 of them (47 percent). In that span, there have only been eight championship games that did not feature a 1 seed at all:
1989 — 3-seed Michigan beats 3-seed Seton Hall
1991 — 2-seed Duke beats 3-seed Kansas
1998 — 2-seed Kentucky beats 3-seed Utah
2003 — 3-seed Syracuse beats 2-seed Kansas
2004 — 2-seed UConn beats 3-seed Georgia Tech
2006 — 3-seed Florida beats 2-seed UCLA
2011 — 3-seed UConn beats 8-seed Butler
2014 — 7-seed UConn beats 8-seed Kentucky
On the other side of the coin, seven national championships have pitted 1 seeds against 1 seeds:
1993 — UNC beats Michigan
1999 — UConn beats Duke
2005 — UNC beats Illinois
2007 — Florida beats Ohio State
2008 — Kansas beats Memphis
2015 — Duke beats Wisconsin
2017 — UNC beats Gonzaga
How many 1 seeds have won the ݮվ߿ tournament?
Of the 34 national champions since the tournament’s expansion in 1985, 20 of them have been 1 seeds:
| Champion | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 1-seed Indiana | 2-seed Syracuse | 74-73 |
| 1992 | 1-seed Duke | 6-seed Michigan | 71-51 |
| 1993 | 1-seed UNC | 1-seed Michigan | 77-71 |
| 1994 | 1-seed Arkansas | 2-seed Duke | 76-72 |
| 1995 | 1-seed UCLA | 2-seed Arkansas | 89-78 |
| 1996 | 1-seed Kentucky | 4-seed Syracuse | 76-67 |
| 1999 | 1-seed UConn | 1-seed Duke | 77-74 |
| 2000 | 1-seed Michigan State | 5-seed Florida | 89-76 |
| 2001 | 1-seed Duke | 2-seed Arizona | 82-72 |
| 2002 | 1-seed Maryland | 5-seed Indiana | 64-52 |
| 2005 | 1-seed UNC | 1-seed Illinois | 75-70 |
| 2007 | 1-seed Florida | 1-seed Ohio State | 84-75 |
| 2008 | 1-seed Kansas | 1-seed Memphis | 75-68 |
| 2009 | 1-seed UNC | 2-seed Michigan State | 89-72 |
| 2010 | 1-seed Duke | 5-seed Butler | 61-59 |
| 2012 | 1-seed Kentucky | 2-seed Kansas | 67-59 |
| 2013 | 1-seed Louisville | 4-seed Michigan | 82-76 |
| 2015 | 1-seed Duke | 1-seed Wisconsin | 68-63 |
| 2017 | 1-seed UNC | 1-seed Gonzaga | 71-65 |
| 2018 | 1-seed Villanova | 3-seed Michigan | 79-62 |
