Has a No. 16 seed ever beaten a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament?
Has a No. 16 seed ever beaten a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament?
The answer is no. There have been fifteen such first-round games decided by single digits, but never an upset of a top seed in its first game of the tourney.
There have been eight No. 2 seeds upset by No. 15 seeds, however, most recently Middle Tennessee knocking off Michigan State last year and Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown in 2013. In 2012, Lehigh beat Duke and Norfolk State beat Missouri, the only time there have been multiple first-round upsets of that high a profile.
Will 2017 finally be the year that a No. 16 seed beats a No. 1? In this year's tournament, four No. 16 seeds will once again take their shot at No. 1 seeds. Mount St. Mary's will face No. 1 overall seed and defending national champion Villanova, while No. 16 UC Davis will take on Kansas. In the West Region, No. 16 South Dakota State will play No. 1 Gonzaga, and in the South Region No. 16 Texas Southern will play North Carolina.
