Defeating a #1 Seed in the NCAA Tournament
Posted by Andrew McKillop on February 10, 2011
Updated: 4/24/2011
Listed below is a breakdown of all losses sustained by #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Legend: Rnd ((Round): R32 (Round of 32), S16 (Sweet Sixteen), E8 (Elite Eight), F4 (Final Four), NC (National Championship Game)), Sd (Seed of Winning Team)
| Year | Rnd | Sd | Winner | #1 Team | Score |
| 1979 | E8 | 2 | DePaul | UCLA | 95-91 |
| 1979 | E8 | 2 | Michigan St | Notre Dame | 80-68 |
| 1979 | NC | 2 | Michigan St | Indiana St | 75-64 |
| 1979 | R32 | 9 | Pennsylvania | North Carolina | 72-71 |
| 1980 | S16 | 4 | Duke | Kentucky | 55-54 |
| 1980 | S16 | 5 | Iowa | Syracuse | 88-77 |
| 1980 | E8 | 2 | Louisville | Louisiana St | 86-66 |
| 1980 | R32 | 8 | UCLA | DePaul | 77-71 |
| 1981 | F4 | 3 | Indiana | Louisiana St | 67-49 |
| 1981 | R32 | 8 | Kansas St | Oregon St | 50-48 |
| 1981 | F4 | 2 | North Carolina | Virginia | 78-65 |
| 1981 | R32 | 9 | St. Joseph’s | DePaul | 49-48 |
| 1982 | #1 North Carolina Won the 1982 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1982 | R32 | 8 | Boston College | DePaul | 82-75 |
| 1982 | NC | 1 | North Carolina | Georgetown | 63-62 |
| 1982 | S16 | 4 | UAB | Virginia | 68-66 |
| 1983 | S16 | 4 | Georgia | St. John’s | 70-67 |
| 1983 | F4 | 1 | Houston | Louisville | 94-81 |
| 1983 | NC | 6 | North Carolina St | Houston | 54-52 |
| 1983 | E8 | 6 | North Carolina St | Virginia | 63-62 |
| 1984 | #1 Georgetown Won the 1984 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1984 | F4 | 1 | Georgetown | Kentucky | 53-40 |
| 1984 | S16 | 4 | Indiana | North Carolina | 72-68 |
| 1984 | S16 | 4 | Wake Forest | DePaul | 73-71 |
| 1985 | F4 | 1 | Georgetown | St. John’s | 77-59 |
| 1985 | E8 | 2 | Memphis | Oklahoma | 63-61 |
| 1985 | NC | 8 | Villanova | Georgetown | 66-64 |
| 1985 | R32 | 8 | Villanova | Michigan | 59-55 |
| 1986 | R32 | 8 | Auburn | St. John’s | 81-65 |
| 1986 | F4 | 1 | Duke | Kansas | 71-67 |
| 1986 | E8 | 11 | Louisiana St | Kentucky | 59-57 |
| 1986 | NC | 2 | Louisville | Duke | 72-69 |
| 1987 | #1 Indiana Won the 1987 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1987 | F4 | 1 | Indiana | UNLV | 97-93 |
| 1987 | E8 | 6 | Providence | Georgetown | 88-73 |
| 1987 | E8 | 2 | Syracuse | North Carolina | 79-75 |
| 1988 | E8 | 2 | Duke | Temple | 63-53 |
| 1988 | NC | 6 | Kansas | Oklahoma | 83-79 |
| 1988 | S16 | 4 | Kansas St | Purdue | 73-70 |
| 1988 | F4 | 1 | Oklahoma | Arizona | 86-78 |
| 1989 | E8 | 2 | Duke | Georgetown | 85-77 |
| 1989 | F4 | 3 | Michigan | Illinois | 83-81 |
| 1989 | S16 | 4 | UNLV | Arizona | 68-67 |
| 1989 | S16 | 5 | Virginia | Oklahoma | 86-80 |
| Year | Rnd | Sd | Winner | #1 Team | Score |
| 1990 | #1 UNLV Won the 1990 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1990 | E8 | 3 | Duke | Connecticut | 79-78 |
| 1990 | S16 | 4 | Georgia Tech | Michigan St | 81-80 |
| 1990 | R32 | 8 | North Carolina | Oklahoma | 79-77 |
| 1991 | F4 | 2 | Duke | UNLV | 79-77 |
| 1991 | F4 | 3 | Kansas | North Carolina | 79-73 |
| 1991 | E8 | 3 | Kansas | Arkansas | 93-81 |
| 1991 | S16 | 4 | St. John’s | Ohio St | 91-74 |
| 1992 | #1 Duke Won the 1992 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1992 | E8 | 2 | Indiana | UCLA | 106-79 |
| 1992 | E8 | 6 | Michigan | Ohio St | 75-71 |
| 1992 | R32 | 9 | UTEP | Kansas | 66-60 |
| 1993 | #1 North Carolina Won the 1993 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1993 | E8 | 2 | Kansas | Indiana | 83-77 |
| 1993 | F4 | 1 | Michigan | Kentucky | 81-78 |
| 1993 | NC | 1 | North Carolina | Michigan | 77-71 |
| 1994 | #1 Arkansas Won the 1994 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1994 | E8 | 2 | Arizona | Missouri | 92-72 |
| 1994 | R32 | 9 | Boston College | North Carolina | 75-72 |
| 1994 | E8 | 2 | Duke | Purdue | 69-60 |
| 1995 | #1 UCLA Won the 1995 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1995 | E8 | 2 | North Carolina | Kentucky | 74-61 |
| 1995 | S16 | 4 | Oklahoma St | Wake Forest | 71-66 |
| 1995 | S16 | 4 | Virginia | Kansas | 67-58 |
| 1996 | #1 Kentucky Won the 1996 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1996 | R32 | 8 | Georgia | Purdue | 76-69 |
| 1996 | F4 | 1 | Kentucky | Massachusetts | 81-74 |
| 1996 | S16 | 5 | Mississippi St | Connecticut | 60-55 |
| 1997 | F4 | 4 | Arizona | North Carolina | 66-58 |
| 1997 | S16 | 4 | Arizona | Kansas | 85-82 |
| 1997 | NC | 4 | Arizona | Kentucky | 84-79 |
| 1997 | F4 | 1 | Kentucky | Minnesota | 78-69 |
| 1998 | E8 | 2 | Kentucky | Duke | 86-84 |
| 1998 | R32 | 8 | Rhode Island | Kansas | 80-75 |
| 1998 | F4 | 3 | Utah | North Carolina | 65-59 |
| 1998 | E8 | 3 | Utah | Arizona | 76-51 |
| 1999 | #1 Connecticut Won the 1999 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 1999 | NC | 1 | Connecticut | Duke | 77-74 |
| 1999 | F4 | 1 | Duke | Michigan St | 68-62 |
| 1999 | S16 | 4 | Ohio St | Auburn | 72-64 |
| Year | Rnd | Sd | Winner | #1 Team | Score |
| 2000 | #1 Michigan St Won the 2000 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2000 | S16 | 5 | Florida | Duke | 87-78 |
| 2000 | R32 | 8 | North Carolina | Stanford | 60-53 |
| 2000 | R32 | 8 | Wisconsin | Arizona | 66-59 |
| 2001 | #1 Duke Won the 2001 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2001 | E8 | 2 | Arizona | Illinois | 87-81 |
| 2001 | F4 | 2 | Arizona | Michigan St | 80-61 |
| 2001 | E8 | 3 | Maryland | Stanford | 87-73 |
| 2002 | #1 Maryland Won the 2002 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2002 | S16 | 5 | Indiana | Duke | 74-73 |
| 2002 | F4 | 1 | Maryland | Kansas | 97-88 |
| 2002 | R32 | 8 | UCLA | Cincinnati | 105-101 |
| 2003 | E8 | 2 | Kansas | Arizona | 78-75 |
| 2003 | E8 | 3 | Marquette | Kentucky | 83-69 |
| 2003 | E8 | 3 | Syracuse | Oklahoma | 63-47 |
| 2003 | F4 | 3 | Syracuse | Texas | 95-84 |
| 2004 | R32 | 8 | Alabama | Stanford | 70-67 |
| 2004 | F4 | 2 | Connecticut | Duke | 79-78 |
| 2004 | E8 | 2 | Oklahoma St | St. Joseph’s | 64-62 |
| 2004 | R32 | 9 | UAB | Kentucky | 76-75 |
| 2005 | #1 North Carolina Won the 2005 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2005 | S16 | 4 | Louisville | Washington | 93-79 |
| 2005 | S16 | 5 | Michigan St | Duke | 78-68 |
| 2005 | NC | 1 | North Carolina | Illinois | 75-70 |
| 2006 | E8 | 3 | Florida | Villanova | 75-62 |
| 2006 | E8 | 11 | George Mason | Connecticut | 86-84 |
| 2006 | S16 | 4 | Louisiana St | Duke | 62-54 |
| 2006 | E8 | 2 | UCLA | Memphis | 50-45 |
| 2007 | #1 Florida Won the 2007 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2007 | NC | 1 | Florida | Ohio St | 84-75 |
| 2007 | E8 | 2 | Georgetown | North Carolina | 96-84 |
| 2007 | E8 | 2 | UCLA | Kansas | 68-55 |
| 2008 | #1 Kansas Won the 2008 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2008 | F4 | 1 | Kansas | North Carolina | 84-66 |
| 2008 | NC | 1 | Kansas | Memphis | 75-68 |
| 2008 | F4 | 1 | Memphis | UCLA | 78-63 |
| 2009 | #1 North Carolina won the 2009 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2009 | E8 | 2 | Michigan St | Louisville | 64-52 |
| 2009 | F4 | 2 | Michigan St | Connecticut | 82-73 |
| 2009 | E8 | 3 | Villanova | Pittsburgh | 78-76 |
| 2010 | #1 Duke won the 2010 NCAA Tournament | ||||
| 2010 | S16 | 5 | Butler | Syracuse | 63-59 |
| 2010 | R32 | 9 | Northern Iowa | Kansas | 69-67 |
| 2010 | E8 | 2 | West Virginia | Kentucky | 73-66 |
| Year | Rnd | Sd | Winner | #1 Team | Score |
| 2011 | S16 | 5 | Arizona | Duke | 93-77 |
| 2011 | R32 | 8 | Butler | Pittsburgh | 71-70 |
| 2011 | S16 | 4 | Kentucky | Ohio St | 62-60 |
| 2011 | E8 | 11 | VCU | Kansas | 71-61 |
Interesting Statistics:
Teams with #1 seeds have most commonly been defeated by #2 seeds (28 times). On 20 occasions #1 seeds have faced off against each other. Teams seeded #7, #10, #12-16 have never beaten a #1 seed.
The Elite Eight (Regional Final) round is where most #1 seeds lose (34 times).
Duke has defeated the most #1 seeds (eight victories). Kansas and North Carolina have defeated #1 seeds seven times.
The 1997 Arizona Wildcats are the only team to have beaten three #1 seeds in the same tournament.
Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina have been defeated the most as #1 seeds (nine losses).
The largest defeat of a #1 seed came in the 1992 West Regional Final. #2 seed Indiana defeated #1 seed UCLA 106-79 (27 point margin). When #1 seeds lose, they lose by an average of 7.35 points.
Reference: HoopsTournament.net NCAA Tournament Database
