NCAA Tournament: Round of 32 Historical Breakdown
Posted by Andrew McKillop on March 17, 2011
Updated: 4/6/2011
Since 1985 the lower seeds have a slightly worse win percentage in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament’s Round of 32 (.221), in comparison to the Round of 64 (.249). Check out the breakdown below.
| Matchup | W | L | W Pct. |
| 1 vs. 8 | 41 | 10 | 0.804 |
| 1 vs. 9 | 53 | 4 | 0.930 |
| 2 vs. 7 | 47 | 17 | 0.734 |
| 2 vs. 10 | 23 | 17 | 0.575 |
| 3 vs. 6 | 33 | 26 | 0.559 |
| 3 vs. 11 | 22 | 11 | 0.667 |
| 4 vs. 5 | 30 | 28 | 0.517 |
| 4 vs. 12 | 16 | 11 | 0.593 |
| 5 vs. 13 | 11 | 3 | 0.786 |
| 6 vs. 14 | 11 | 2 | 0.846 |
| 7 vs. 15 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 10 vs. 15 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 11 vs. 14 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 12 vs. 13 | 8 | 1 | 0.889 |
| 5 vs. 4 | 28 | 30 | 0.483 |
| 6 vs. 3 | 26 | 33 | 0.441 |
| 7 vs. 2 | 17 | 47 | 0.266 |
| 8 vs. 1 | 10 | 41 | 0.196 |
| 9 vs. 1 | 4 | 53 | 0.070 |
| 10 vs. 2 | 17 | 23 | 0.425 |
| 11 vs. 3 | 11 | 22 | 0.333 |
| 12 vs. 4 | 11 | 16 | 0.407 |
| 13 vs. 12 | 1 | 8 | 0.111 |
| 13 vs. 5 | 3 | 11 | 0.214 |
| 14 vs. 11 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
| 14 vs. 6 | 2 | 11 | 0.154 |
| 15 vs. 7 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 15. vs. 10 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
As to be expected the Round of 32 is where teams from major conferences succeed. Only two non-major conferences have/had winning records in the Round of 32 since 1985.
| Conference | W | L | W Pct. |
| Great Midwest (Defunct) | 5 | 2 | 0.714 |
| Southern | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
| Atlantic Coast | 69 | 39 | 0.639 |
| Southeastern | 53 | 33 | 0.616 |
| Pacific Ten | 40 | 27 | 0.597 |
| Big Eight (Defunct) | 19 | 13 | 0.594 |
| Big East | 65 | 51 | 0.560 |
| Big Twelve | 30 | 27 | 0.526 |
| Big Ten | 54 | 54 | 0.500 |
| Missouri Valley | 8 | 8 | 0.500 |
| Southland | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
| Big West | 6 | 7 | 0.462 |
| Atlantic Ten | 18 | 23 | 0.439 |
| Metro (Defunct) | 6 | 8 | 0.429 |
| West Coast | 7 | 10 | 0.412 |
| Mountain West | 4 | 6 | 0.400 |
| Summit League | 2 | 3 | 0.400 |
| Conference USA | 11 | 17 | 0.393 |
| Independent | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
| Mid American | 4 | 7 | 0.364 |
| Horizon League | 6 | 11 | 0.353 |
| Colonial | 4 | 8 | 0.333 |
| Southwest Conf (Defunct) | 4 | 10 | 0.286 |
| Western Athletic | 8 | 21 | 0.276 |
| Ivy League | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
| Sun Belt | 2 | 10 | 0.167 |
| Metro Atlantic | 0 | 5 | 0.000 |
| Ohio Valley | 0 | 5 | 0.000 |
| America East | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
| Atlantic Sun | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
| Big Sky | 0 | 3 | 0.000 |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
| Patriot | 0 | 2 | 0.000 |
| American South (Defunct) | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Big South | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Southwestern Athletic | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
There have been 19 games decided by a point or less in the Round of 32 since 1985.
| Year | Sd | Team | Sd | Opponent | Score |
| 1985 | 2 | Memphis | 7 | UAB | 67-66 |
| 1985 | 11 | Boston College | 3 | Duke | 74-73 |
| 1987 | 5 | Notre Dame | 4 | Texas Christian | 58-57 |
| 1990 | 7 | UCLA | 2 | Kansas | 71-70 |
| 1990 | 10 | Texas | 2 | Purdue | 73-72 |
| 1991 | 4 | Utah | 5 | Michigan St | 85-84 |
| 1992 | 7 | Georgia Tech | 2 | Southern California | 79-78 |
| 1995 | 1 | UCLA | 8 | Missouri | 75-74 |
| 1997 | 6 | Iowa St | 3 | Cincinnati | 67-66 |
| 1997 | 6 | Louisville | 3 | New Mexico | 64-63 |
| 1997 | 10 | Texas | 15 | Coppin St | 82-81 |
| 1998 | 10 | West Virginia | 2 | Cincinnati | 75-74 |
| 2003 | 1 | Arizona | 9 | Gonzaga | 96-95 |
| 2003 | 5 | Wisconsin | 13 | Tulsa | 61-60 |
| 2004 | 9 | UAB | 1 | Kentucky | 76-75 |
| 2006 | 4 | Louisiana St | 12 | Texas A&M | 58-57 |
| 2008 | 3 | Stanford | 6 | Marquette | 82-81 |
| 2011 | 8 | Butler | 1 | Pittsburgh | 71-70 |
| 2011 | 5 | Arizona | 4 | Texas | 70-69 |
Reference: HoopsTournament.net NCAA Tournament Database
