NCAA Tournament: Round of 64 Historical Breakdown
Posted by Andrew McKillop on March 16, 2011
Updated: 4/6/2011
The NCAA expanded the NCAA Tournament to 64 teams in 1985. This expansion created the Round of 64, which in return has created two of the most exciting days on the sports calendar.
As expected the higher seeds often dominate the first round. Although historically #9 seeds have winning record vs. #8 seeds in the Round of 64. Check out the table below.
| Matchup | W | L | W Pct. |
| 1 vs. 16 | 108 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2 vs. 15 | 104 | 4 | 0.963 |
| 3 vs. 14 | 92 | 16 | 0.852 |
| 4 vs. 13 | 85 | 23 | 0.787 |
| 5 vs. 12 | 72 | 36 | 0.667 |
| 6 vs. 11 | 72 | 36 | 0.667 |
| 7 vs. 10 | 65 | 43 | 0.602 |
| 8 vs. 9 | 51 | 57 | 0.472 |
| 16 vs. 1 | 0 | 108 | 0.000 |
| 15 vs. 2 | 4 | 104 | 0.037 |
| 14 vs. 3 | 16 | 92 | 0.148 |
| 13 vs. 4 | 23 | 85 | 0.213 |
| 12 vs. 5 | 36 | 72 | 0.333 |
| 11 vs. 6 | 36 | 72 | 0.333 |
| 10 vs. 7 | 43 | 65 | 0.398 |
| 9 vs. 8 | 57 | 51 | 0.528 |
As to be expected the power conferences dominate the Round of 64. Although Conference USA, a mid-major conference has fared well, with their teams winning over 60% of their games in the round.
| Conference | W | L | W Pct. |
| Atlantic Coast | 108 | 31 | 0.777 |
| Big East | 116 | 40 | 0.744 |
| Big Twelve | 57 | 23 | 0.713 |
| Big Ten | 108 | 44 | 0.711 |
| Southeastern | 86 | 48 | 0.642 |
| Pacific Ten | 67 | 42 | 0.615 |
| Conference USA | 28 | 18 | 0.609 |
| Big Eight | 32 | 21 | 0.604 |
| Independent | 8 | 6 | 0.571 |
| Southwest Conf (Defunct) | 14 | 11 | 0.560 |
| Atlantic Ten | 41 | 33 | 0.554 |
| Metro (Defunct) | 14 | 12 | 0.538 |
| Great Midwest (Defunct) | 7 | 6 | 0.538 |
| Horizon League | 18 | 18 | 0.500 |
| Western Athletic | 29 | 30 | 0.492 |
| West Coast | 17 | 21 | 0.447 |
| Big West | 13 | 21 | 0.382 |
| Colonial | 12 | 20 | 0.375 |
| Mid American | 11 | 20 | 0.355 |
| Mountain West | 10 | 19 | 0.345 |
| Missouri Valley | 16 | 32 | 0.333 |
| American South (Defunct) | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
| Sun Belt | 12 | 25 | 0.324 |
| Summit League | 5 | 22 | 0.185 |
| Metro Atlantic | 5 | 23 | 0.179 |
| Ohio Valley | 5 | 23 | 0.179 |
| Ivy League | 4 | 23 | 0.148 |
| America East | 3 | 24 | 0.111 |
| Atlantic Sun | 3 | 24 | 0.111 |
| Big Sky | 3 | 24 | 0.111 |
| Southern | 3 | 24 | 0.111 |
| Patriot | 2 | 17 | 0.105 |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic | 2 | 21 | 0.087 |
| Southland | 2 | 25 | 0.074 |
| Big South | 1 | 17 | 0.056 |
| Southwestern Athletic | 1 | 20 | 0.048 |
| East Coast (Div 2) | 0 | 7 | 0.000 |
| Northeast | 0 | 27 | 0.000 |
Below is a listing of some of the most historically lopsided conference vs. conference matchups in the Round of 64.
| Conference | Conference | W | L | Margin |
| Atlantic Coast | Southland | 5 | 0 | 22.00 |
| Atlantic Coast | Southern | 5 | 0 | 14.00 |
| Atlantic Coast | Big South | 5 | 0 | 34.40 |
| Big East | Northeast | 8 | 0 | 15.00 |
| Big East | Atlantic Sun | 7 | 0 | 13.71 |
| Big East | Summit League | 6 | 0 | 11.33 |
| Big East | Ivy League | 5 | 0 | 16.00 |
| Big Ten | Southern | 7 | 0 | 9.57 |
| Big Ten | Northeast | 6 | 0 | 15.00 |
| Big Twelve | Ivy League | 5 | 0 | 14.80 |
Most of the games played in the Round of 64; don’t end up as nail biters. However 43 games have been decided by a point or less.
| Year | Sd | Won | Sd | Lost | Score |
| 1989 | 1 | Georgetown | 16 | Princeton | 50-49 |
| 1989 | 1 | Oklahoma | 16 | East Tennessee St | 72-72 |
| 1995 | 2 | Arkansas | 15 | Texas Southern | 79-78 |
| 2008 | 2 | Duke | 15 | Belmont | 71-70 |
| 1995 | 3 | Purdue | 14 | Green Bay | 49-48 |
| 1996 | 3 | Texas Tech | 14 | Northern Illinois | 74-73 |
| 1985 | 4 | Loyola (IL) | 13 | Iona | 59-58 |
| 2004 | 4 | Wake Forest | 13 | VA Commonwealth | 79-78 |
| 1985 | 5 | Maryland | 12 | Miami (OH) | 69-68 |
| 2000 | 5 | Florida | 12 | Butler | 69-68 |
| 2003 | 5 | Notre Dame | 12 | Milwaukee | 70-69 |
| 1986 | 6 | St. Joseph’s | 11 | Richmond | 60-59 |
| 2000 | 6 | Purdue | 11 | Dayton | 62-61 |
| 2003 | 6 | Missouri | 11 | Southern Illinois | 72-71 |
| 2009 | 6 | Marquette | 11 | Utah St | 58-57 |
| 2009 | 6 | UCLA | 11 | VA Commonwealth | 65-64 |
| 1987 | 8 | Auburn | 9 | San Diego | 62-61 |
| 1990 | 8 | Ohio St | 9 | Providence | 84-83 |
| 1993 | 8 | Utah | 9 | Pittsburgh | 86-85 |
| 2004 | 8 | Alabama | 9 | Southern Illinois | 65-64 |
| 1998 | 9 | Illinois St | 8 | Tennessee | 82-81 |
| 2010 | 9 | Wake Forest | 8 | Texas | 81-80 |
| 1999 | 10 | Miami, Ohio | 7 | Washington | 59-58 |
| 2000 | 10 | Seton Hall | 7 | Oregon | 72-71 |
| 1985 | 11 | Auburn | 6 | Purdue | 59-58 |
| 1998 | 11 | Washington | 6 | Xavier | 69-68 |
| 2001 | 11 | Georgia St | 6 | Wisconsin | 50-49 |
| 2010 | 11 | Old Dominion | 6 | Notre Dame | 51-50 |
| 1990 | 12 | Ball St | 5 | Oregon St | 54-53 |
| 2001 | 12 | Gonzaga | 5 | Virginia | 86-85 |
| 2002 | 12 | Creighton | 5 | Florida | 83-82 |
| 2003 | 12 | Butler | 5 | Mississippi St | 47-46 |
| 1987 | 13 | Xavier | 4 | Missouri | 70-69 |
| 1998 | 13 | Valparaiso | 4 | Mississippi | 70-69 |
| 1999 | 13 | Oklahoma | 4 | Arizona | 61-60 |
| 2008 | 13 | San Diego | 4 | Connecticut | 70-69 |
| 2010 | 13 | Murray St | 4 | Vanderbilt | 66-65 |
| 2011 | 13 | Morehead St | 4 | Louisville | 62-61 |
| 1987 | 14 | Austin Peay | 3 | Illinois | 68-67 |
| 1998 | 14 | Richmond | 3 | South Carolina | 62-61 |
| 2005 | 14 | Bucknell | 3 | Kansas | 64-63 |
| 2006 | 14 | Northwestern St | 3 | Iowa | 64-63 |
| 2001 | 15 | Hampton | 2 | Iowa St | 58-57 |
Reference: HoopsTournament.net NCAA Tournament Database
