What a first weekend of March Madness! We had two 1-seeds, two 2-seeds, one 3-seed, and two 4-seeds fail to advance to the Sweet 16. Of course, the story of the weekend was 1-seed Purdue losing to play-in 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson. This is the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history. Purdue had 7'4" Zach Edey -- the national player of the year -- and FDU is the shortest team in Division 1, without any player taller than 6'6", and many of them were D-II transfers who came to FDU this year from St. Thomas Aquinas with first-year head coach Tobin Anderson. Purdue won the Big Ten regular season and conference tournament titles. FDU only got a bid to the NCAA Tournament on a technicality, losing in the Northeast Conference Tournament title game to Merrimack, who is ineligible to play in the postseason because they are still in the transition period from D-II. It was the first time an NEC team won a Round of 64 game in the NCAA Tournament. For more in-depth commentary on why this was the worst loss in NCAA Tournament history, check out this article, which is now my favorite article about college basketball ever written.
Aside from that, we had an amazing three pointer with 2.2 seconds left from 13-seed Furman's JP Pegues to give the Paladins a 68-67 win over 4-seed Virginia and their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1974. Also, 15-seed Princeton became the 11th 15-seed to upset a 2-seed, with their 59-55 First Round win over Arizona, followed by their dominant 78-63 win Sunday over 7-seed Missouri to advance to the Sweet 16. Between the First Four and Second Round, there were 14 games where the margin of victory was five points or fewer. Madness!
Six of the Sweet 16 teams are repeats from last year, but none of last year's four Final Four teams made it (more on that below). Here are the Sweet 16 teams, along with the last time they made the Sweet 16 (and their region, seeds, game time, and what station is televising the game):
East Region (New York)
(3) Kansas State (2018) vs. (7) Michigan State (2019) - Thursday 3/23 6:30 p.m. ET CBS
(4) Tennessee (2019) vs. (9) FAU (never) - Thursday 3/23 9:00 p.m. ET TBS
West Region (Las Vegas)
(4) UConn (2014) vs. (8) Arkansas (2022) - Thursday 3/23 7:15 p.m. ET TBS
(2) UCLA (2022) vs. (3) Gonzaga (2022) - Thursday 3/23 9:45 p.m. ET TBS
South Region (Philadelphia)
(1) Alabama (2021) vs. (5) San Diego State (2014) - Friday 3/24 6:30 p.m. ET TBS
(6) Creighton (2021) vs. (15) Princeton (1967) - Friday 3/25 9:00 p.m. ET TBS
Midwest Region (Kansas City)
(1) Houston (2022) vs. (5) Miami (2022) - Friday 3/24 7:15 p.m. ET CBS
(2) Texas (2008) vs. (3) Xavier (2017) - Friday 3/24 9:45 p.m. ET CBS
If you're like me -- and you better pray to Odin that you're not –- you not only love the NCAA Tournament, but you are fascinated with the history and statistical minutiae associated with the tournament. Like I've done the last couple years, I'm going to drop knowledge bombs on your mind. Here are 16 fun facts about this year's NCAA tournament. You know, 16. For the Sweet 16.
16. Purdue becomes the first school in NCAA Tournament history that has lost to both a 15-seed and a 16-seed, and they are the first school to ever get knocked out of the NCAA Tournament three years in a row by teams seeded 13 or worse (13-seed North Texas in 2021, 15-seed St. Peter's in 2022, and 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in 2023). You have no idea how much joy I took in writing that sentence.
Since Rick Mount led the Boilers to their first Final Four and only national title game appearance in 1969 -- where they were crushed by Lew Alcindor, Sidney Wicks, and the rest of the UCLA Bruins, 92-72 -- Purdue has made only one Final Four (1980), while four other schools from Indiana have made it to a total of 10 Final Fours, finished national runners up four times, and won three national titles:
-Butler (2010**, 2011**)
-Indiana (1973, 1976*, 1981*, 1987*, 1992, 2002**)
-Indiana State (1979**)
-Notre Dame (1978)
*won national title
**runner up
15. With Pitt's 59-41 win over Iowa State in the First Round, a First Four team yet again advanced to the Round of 32. Since the First Four format started in 2011, the only year in which none of the First Four winners advanced to the Round of 32 was 2019.
14. Two teams got their first-ever NCAA Tournament win:
- 9-seed FAU, which beat 8-seed Memphis in the First Round and 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the Second Round
- 16-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which beat fellow 16-seed Southeast Missouri State in the First Four
13. For only the 6th time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, no 12-seeds beat any 5-seeds. Here are the years it has happened: 1988, 2000, 2007, 2015, 2018, and 2023.
12. Not only was FAU's exciting win over Memphis Friday night the Owls' first-ever NCAA Tournament win, but their win over Fairleigh Dickinson in the Second Round put them in their first-ever Sweet 16. It's the second year in a row and the 25th time since the tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that a team is playing in its first Sweet 16. Here is when it has happened (and the seed numbers of the teams), and to be clear, I am excluding teams that advanced further than the Sweet 16 when the tournament was 16 or fewer teams from 1939 to 1952, but have only advanced to the Sweet 16 once since 1985 (for instance, Washington State was the runner-up in 1941, but has only made it to the Sweet 16 once since 1985):
-2023: FAU (#9)
-2022: St. Peter's (#15)*
-2013: Florida Gulf Coast (#15)
-2010: Northern Iowa (#9)
-2005: Wisconsin-Milwaukee (#12)
-2004: Nevada (#10)
-2002: Kent State (#10)*
-2011: Mississippi (#3), San Diego State (#2), VCU (#11)**
-1999: Gonzaga (#10)*, Southwest Missouri State (now known as Missouri State) (#12)
-1998: Valparaiso (#13)
-1997: Tennessee-Chattanooga (#14)
-1993: George Washington (#12)
-1992: UMass (#3)
-1991: Eastern Michigan (#12)
-1990: Xavier (#6)
-1989: Seton Hall (#3)**
-1988: Rhode Island (#11), Richmond (#13)
-1987: Florida (#6)
-1986: Cleveland State (#14)
-1985: Auburn (#11), Louisiana Tech (#5)
*Advanced to Elite Eight
**Advanced to Final Four
11. All in all, 7 higher-seeded teams upset lower-seeded teams in the First Round, and 5 higher-seeded teams upset lower-seeded teams in the Second Round.
10. Let's not forget about 15-seed Princeton upsetting 2-seed Arizona in the First Round and 7-seed Missouri in the Second Round to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1967. It's also the Ivy League's first Sweet 16 appearance since Cornell went in 2010 and only the second Sweet 16 appearance for the league since Penn went to the Final Four in 1979. The 56 years between Sweet 16 appearances ties Princeton for the second-longest drought between Sweet 16 appearances. Here are the droughts between Sweet 16 appearances of 35 or more years (since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 16 teams in 1951):
-58 years: LaSalle (1955-2013)
-56 years: Cornell (1954-2010); Princeton (1967-2023)
-52 years: Virginia Tech (1967-2019)
-51 years: Bradley (1955-2006), St. Mary's (1959-2010)
-46 years: Penn State (1955-2001)
-44 years: South Carolina (1973-2017)
-42 years: Oregon (1960-2002)
-41 years: Butler (1962-2003)
-40 years: USC (1961-2001)
-39 years: Davidson (1969-2008), Oregon State (1982-2021), Tulsa (1955-1994)
-38 years: Ohio (1964-2002)
-35 years: Houston (1984-2019), West Virginia (1963-1998)
As long as we're looking at droughts, let's look at which schools have current Sweet 16 droughts of 50 or more years. Again, it's since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 16 teams in 1951. I'm adding a year, since they obviously aren't in this year's Sweet 16 -- and, of course, teams that are no longer Division 1 teams are not included, nor are teams that have never made the Sweet 16. Here they are:
-73 years (1951): Montana State, San Jose State
-71 years (1953): Holy Cross
-70 years (1954): Rice
-67 years (1957): Canisius, Lafayette, St. Louis
-66 years (1958): Dartmouth, Manhattan
-65 years (1959): Boston University
-64 years (1961): Morehead State
-61 years (1963): Bowling Green
-60 years (1964): Seattle (although they were not D-1 from 1980 to 2008)
-57 years (1967): SMU
-56 years (1968): Columbia, East Tennessee State, TCU
-55 years (1969): Colorado, Colorado State, Duquesne
-54 years (1970): Jacksonville, Niagara, Santa Clara, St. Bonaventure, Utah State
-53 years (1971): Drake, Fordham, Pacific
-52 years (1972): Weber State
-50 years (1974): Furman, New Mexico
9. Back to FAU and Princeton. They are the first Conference USA and Ivy League teams to make it to the Sweet 16 since 2009 and 2010, respectively. Here's every conference's last Sweet 16 team. Note that, with all of the conference realignments over the years, this is for the conference itself and teams playing in that conference when they made the Sweet 16, and not necessarily for teams currently in each conference. I'm going to do it by how many years it's been since the conference's last Sweet 16, listing the relevant teams. For conferences with no Sweet 16s ever, I'll list the year they were founded.
- Zero years (2023):
- AAC: Houston
- ACC: Miami
- Big 12: Kansas State, Texas
- Big East: UConn, Creighton, Xavier
- Big Ten: Michigan State
- Conference USA: FAU
- Ivy League: Princeton
- Mountain West: San Diego State
- Pac-12: UCLA
- SEC: Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee
- West Coast: Gonzaga
- 1 year (2022)
- MAAC: St. Peter's
- 2 years (2021)
- Missouri Valley: Loyola (IL)
- Summit: Oral Roberts
- 9 years (2014)
- Atlantic 10: Dayton
- 10 years (2013)
- Atlantic Sun: Florida Gulf Coast
- 11 years (2012)
- MAC: Ohio
- 12 years (2011)
- Colonial: VCU
- Horizon: Butler
- 15 years (2008)
- Southern Conference: Davidson
- Sun Belt: Western Kentucky
- 19 years (2004)
- WAC: Nevada
- 31 years (1992)
- Big West: New Mexico State
- 38 years (1985)
- Southland: Louisiana Tech
- 41 years (1982)
- Big Sky: Idaho
- 50 years (1973)
- Ohio Valley: Austin Peay
- Never
- America East (founded 1979)
- Big South (founded 1983)
- MEAC (founded 1970)
- NEC (founded 1981)
- Patriot League (founded 1986)
- SWAC (founded 1920)
8. The ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 each only had one team advance to the Sweet 16 (Miami and Michigan State). Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, here are the major conferences –- which I define as the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 8/Big 12, Pac-10/Pac-12, and the Big East (until 2013) –- that only advanced one team (or no team) to the Sweet 16:
-ACC: 6 times (one team in 2007-2008, 2010, 2014, 2017, and 2023)
-Big East (until 2013): 5 times (no team in 1986 and 1993, and one team in 1988, 1992, and 2001)
-Big 8/Big 12: 13 times (no team in 1990 and 1998, and one team in 1985-1986, 1992, 1996-1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2013, and 2021)
-Big Ten: 9 times (no team in 1995-1996 and 2006, and one team in 1985, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2021, and 2023)
-Pac-10/Pac-12: 22 times (no team in 1985-1987, 1993, 1999, 2004, 2012, and 2018, and one team in 1988-1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2009-2011, 2016, and 2023)
-SEC: 14 times (no team in 1988 and 2009, and one team in 1990-1992, 1997-1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2015-2016, and 2022)
7. Princeton became only the fourth 15-seed ever to advance to the Sweet 16 -- but the third in a row! -- and only the 12th team ever seeded 13 or higher to advance to the Sweet 16. Of those, only St. Peter's (last year) advanced to the Elite 8. Here are all ten:
2023: #15 Princeton
2022: #15 St. Peter's
2021: #15 Oral Roberts
2013: #13 LaSalle, #15 Florida Gulf Coast
2012: #13 Ohio
2006: #13 Bradley
1999: #13 Oklahoma
1998: #13 Valparaiso
1997: #14 UT-Chattanooga
1988: #13 Richmond
1986: #14 Cleveland State
6. Defending champ Kansas got upset by Arkansas in the Second Round, losing 72-71. It was the sixth tournament in a row that the defending champ lost before the Sweet 16 and the 26th time since seeding began in 1979 that the defending champ failed to make it to the Sweet 16. If you're counting, that means a defending champ is more likely than not to fail to make it to the Sweet 16. Setting aside that grammatical garble, here is a breakdown of defending champions who have lost before the Sweet 16 or failed to make the NCAA Tournament since 1979:
2023: Kansas (lost in Round of 32)
2022: Baylor (lost in Round of 32)
2021: Virginia (lost in Round of 64)
2019: Villanova (lost in Round of 32)
2018: North Carolina (lost in Round of 32)
2017: Villanova (lost in Round of 32)
2015: UConn (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
2013: Kentucky (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
2012: UConn (lost in Round of 64)
2010: North Carolina (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
2008: Florida (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
2006: North Carolina (lost in Round of 32)
2005: UConn (lost in Round of 32)
2000: UConn (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
1996: UCLA (lost in Round of 64)
1994: North Carolina (lost in Round of 32)
1993: Duke (lost in Round of 32)
1990: Michigan (lost in Round of 32)
1989: Kansas (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
1988: Indiana (lost in Round of 64)
1987: Louisville (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
1986: Villanova (lost in Round of 32)
1984: NC State (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
1982: Indiana (lost in Round of 32)
1981: Louisville (lost in Round of 32)
1980: Michigan State (did not make the NCAA Tournament)
6. Speaking of which, with Kansas's loss to Arkansas and Duke's loss to Tennessee in the Second Round -- combined with the fact that North Carolina and Villanova did not make the NCAA Tournament -- all four teams from last years Final Four failed to advance to the Sweet 16. This is only the 8th time this has happened since the tournament expanded to more than 16 teams beginning in 1953, though the second time in the last three years. Here's a list of the other years it happened, with the prior year's Final Four teams that didn't make it to the Sweet 16, and since the 2020 tournament was canceled because of COVID, I'm counting the 2019 tournament as the one before 2021 (the order of the teams is champ, runner-up, and other two Final Four Teams):
-2023: Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Villanova (2022)
-2021: Virginia, Texas Tech, Auburn, Michigan State (2019)
-2006: North Carolina, Illinois, Louisville, Michigan State (2005)
-1988: Indiana, Syracuse, Providence, UNLV (1987)
-1986: Villanova, Georgetown, Memphis State, St. John's (1985)
-1981: Louisville, UCLA, Iowa, Purdue (1980)
-1980: Michigan State, Indiana State, DePaul, Penn (1979)
-1978: Marquette, North Carolina, UNC Charlotte, UNLV (1977)
4. Five double-digit seeds won their first round games, which is the fewest since 2017 and below the average. In the 37 tournaments since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, there have been 236 double-digit seeds that have won their first round games, which is an average of 6.38 per year. Here is a year-by-year list of every double-digit seed that has won its first round game since 1985:
2023: 5 (#10 Penn State, #11 Pitt, #13 Furman, #15 Princeton, #16 Fairleigh Dickinson)
2022: 7 (#10 Miami, #11 Iowa State, #11 Michigan, #11 Notre Dame, #12 New Mexico State, #12 Richmond, #15 St. Peter's)
2021: 9 (#10 Maryland, Rutgers, #11 Syracuse, UCLA, #12 Oregon State, #13 North Texas, #13 Ohio, #14 Abilene Christian, #15 Oral Roberts)
2019: 8 (#10 Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, #11 Ohio State, #12 Liberty, Murray State, Oregon, #13 UC Irvine)
2018: 6 (#10 Butler, #11 Loyola (IL), Syracuse, #13 Buffalo, Marshall, #16 UMBC)
2017: 5 (#10 Wichita State, #11 Rhode Island, USC, Xavier, #12 Middle Tennessee State)
2016: 10 (#10 Syracuse, VCU, #11 Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, Wichita State, #12 Little Rock, Yale, #13 Hawaii, #14 Stephen F. Austin, #15 Middle Tennessee State)
2015: 5 (#10 Ohio State, #11 Dayton, UCLA, #14 UAB, Georgia State)
2014: 6 (#10 Stanford, #11 Dayton, Tennessee, #12 Harvard, North Dakota State, Stephen F. Austin)
2013: 8 (#10 Iowa State, #11 Minnesota, #12 California, Mississippi, Oregon, #13 LaSalle, #14 Harvard, #15 Florida Gulf Coast)
2012: 9 (#10 Purdue, Xavier, #11 Colorado, North Carolina State, #12 South Florida, VCU, #13 Ohio, #15 Lehigh, Norfolk State)
2011: 6 (#10, Florida State, #11 Gonzaga, Marquette, VCU, #12 Richmond, #13 Morehead State)
2010: 8 (#10 Georgia Tech, Missouri, St. Mary's, #11 Old Dominion, Washington, #12 Cornell, #13 Murray State, #14 Ohio)
2009: 8 (#10 Maryland, Michigan, USC, #11 Dayton, #12 Arizona, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin, #13 Cleveland State)
2008: 6 (#10 Davidson, #11 Kansas State, #12 Villanova, Western Kentucky, #13 San Diego, Siena)
2007: 2 (#11 Winthrop, VCU)
2006: 8 (#10 Alabama, NC State, #11 George Mason, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, #12 Montana, Texas A&M, #13 Bradley, #14 Northwestern State)
2005: 5 (#10 NC State, #11 UAB, #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee, #13 Vermont, #14 Bucknell)
2004: 3 (#10 Nevada, #12 Manhattan, Pacific)
2003: 5 (#10 Arizona State, Auburn, #11 Central Michigan, #12 Butler, #13 Tulsa)
2002: 7 (#10 Kent State, #11 Southern Illinois, Wyoming, #12 Creighton, Missouri, Tulsa, #13 UNC-Wilmington)
2001: 9 (#10 Butler, Georgetown, #11 Georgia State, Temple, #12 Gonzaga, Utah State, #13 Indiana State, Kent State, #15 Hampton)
2000: 3 (#10 Gonzaga, Seton Hall, #11 Pepperdine)
1999: 8 (#10 Creighton, Gonzaga, Miami (OH), Purdue, #12 Detroit, Southwest Missouri State, #13 Oklahoma, #14 Weber State)
1998: 8 (#10 Detroit, West Virginia, St. Louis, #11 Washington, Western Michigan, #12 Florida State, #13 Valparaiso, #14 Richmond)
1997: 5 (#10 Providence, Texas, #12 Charleston, #14 Tennessee-Chattanooga, #15 Coppin State)
1996: 6 (#10 Santa Clara, Texas, #11 Boston College, #12 Arkansas, Drexel, #13 Princeton)
1995: 6 (#10 Stanford, #11 Texas, #12 Miami (OH), #13 Manhattan, #14 Old Dominion, Weber State)
1994: 5 (#10 George Washington, Maryland, #11 Pennsylvania, #12 Tulsa, Wisconsin-Green Bay)
1993: 4 (#11 Tulane, #12 George Washington, #13 Southern, #15 Santa Clara)
1992: 5 (#10 Iowa State, Tulane, #12 New Mexico State, #13 Southwest Louisiana, #14 East Tennessee State)
1991: 8 (#10 BYU, Temple, #11 Connecticut, Creighton, #12 Eastern Michigan, #13 Penn State, #14 Xavier, #15 Richmond)
1990: 5 (#10 Texas, #11 Loyola Marymount, #12 Ball State, Dayton, #14 Northern Iowa)
1989: 8 (#10 Colorado State, #11 Evansville, Minnesota, South Alabama, Texas, #12 DePaul, #13 Middle Tennessee State, #14 Siena)
1988: 4 (#10 Loyola Marymount, #11 Rhode Island, #13 Richmond, #14 Murray State)
1987: 6 (#10 LSU, Western Kentucky, #12 Wyoming, #13 Southwest Missouri State, Xavier, #14 Austin Peay)
1986: 5 (#10 Villanova, #11 LSU, #12 DePaul, #14 Arkansas-Little Rock, Cleveland State)
1985: 5 (#11 Auburn, Boston College, UTEP, #12 Kentucky, #13 Navy)
3. The average seed number for Sweet 16 teams this year is 4.875, which is a little above average. Of course, if the seeding played out as it should (i.e., all teams seeded 1-4 advancing to the Sweet 16, which has never happened), the average seed number would be 2.5. Here is the average seed of Sweet 16 teams since 1979 (with the years when the average seed number was 5 or higher bolded):
2023: 4.875
2022: 5.3125
2021: 5.875
2019: 3.0625
2018: 5.3125
2017: 4.0625
2016: 4.125
2015: 4.375
2014: 4.9375
2013: 5.0625
2012: 4.5625
2011: 5
2010: 5
2009: 3.0625
2008: 4.375
2007: 3.1875
2006: 4.4375
2005: 4.5
2004: 4.5625
2003: 4.1875
2002: 4.6875
2001: 4.5625
2000: 5.3125
1999: 5.5
1998: 4.75
1997: 4.8125
1996: 3.6875
1995: 3.1875
1994: 4.25
1993: 4.0625
1992: 4.1875
1991: 4
1990: 5.5
1989: 3.125
1988: 4.3125
1987: 4.25
1986: 5.5625
1985: 4.875
1984: 3.8125
1983: 3.5
1982: 3.1875
1981: 4.5625
1980: 4.125
1979: 3.8125
2. We have five mid-majors in the Sweet 16 -- FAU, Gonzaga, Houston, Princeton, and San Diego State -- which is the most since 2011 and tied for the highest amount with five other years for the most since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. (I consider schools in conferences other than the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC to be mid-majors, even if a school is now in one of those conferences, so, for instance, Butler and Xavier were mid-majors before joining the Big East a couple years ago, but are no longer mid-majors. It's not a perfect science. Deal with it.) 27 mid-majors have advanced to the Final Four since 1979. Here is a year-by-year breakdown of the number of mid-major teams that made it to the Sweet 16 since 1979:
2023: 5 (FAU, Gonzaga, Houston, Princeton, and San Diego State)
2022: 3 (Gonzaga, Houston, St. Peter's)
2021: 4 (Gonzaga*, Houston*, Loyola (IL), Oral Roberts)
2019: 2 (Gonzaga, Houston)
2018: 3 (Gonzaga, Loyola (IL)*, Nevada)
2017: 1 (Gonzaga*)
2016: 1 (Gonzaga)
2015: 2 (Gonzaga, Wichita State)
2014: 2 (Dayton, San Diego State)
2013: 3 (Florida Gulf Coast, LaSalle, Wichita State*)
2012: 2 (Ohio, Xavier)
2011: 5 (Butler*, BYU, Richmond, San Diego State, VCU*)
2010: 5 (Butler*, Cornell, Northern Iowa, St. Mary's, Xavier)
2009: 3 (Gonzaga, Memphis, Xavier)
2008: 4 (Davidson, Memphis*, Western Kentucky, Xavier)
2007: 4 (Butler, Memphis, Southern Illinois, UNLV)
2006: 5 (Bradley, George Mason*, Gonzaga, Memphis, Wichita State)
2005: 2 (Utah, UW-Milwaukee)
2004: 4 (Nevada, St. Joseph's, UAB, Xavier)
2003: 2 (Butler, Marquette*)
2002: 2 (Kent State, Southern Illinois)
2001: 2 (Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Temple)
2000: 2 (Gonzaga, Tulsa)
1999: 4 (Gonzaga, Miami (OH), SW Missouri State, Temple)
1998: 3 (Rhode Island, Utah*, Valparaiso)
1997: 3 (St. Joseph's, Utah, UT-Chattanooga)
1996: 3 (Cincinnati, Massachusetts*, Utah)
1995: 3 (Massachusetts, Memphis, Tulsa)
1994: 2 (Marquette, Tulsa)
1993: 4 (Cincinnati, George Washington, Temple, Western Kentucky)
1992: 5 (Cincinnati*, Memphis State, Massachusetts, New Mexico State, UTEP)
1991: 4 (Eastern Michigan, Temple, UNLV*, Utah)
1990: 4 (Ball State, Loyola Marymount, UNLV**, Xavier)
1989: 2 (Louisville, UNLV)
1988: 4 (Louisville, Rhode Island, Richmond, Temple)
1987: 3 (DePaul, UNLV*, Wyoming)
1986: 5 (Cleveland State, DePaul, Louisville**, Navy, UNLV)
1985: 3 (Louisiana Tech, Loyola (IL), Memphis State*)
1984: 6 (Dayton, DePaul, Houston*, Louisville, Memphis State, UNLV)
1983: 4 (Houston*, Louisville, Memphis State, Utah)
1982: 6 (Fresno State, Houston*, Idaho, Louisville*, Memphis State, UAB)
1981: 5 (BYU, St. Joseph's, UAB, Utah, Wichita State)
1980: 2 (Lamar, Louisville**)
1979: 8 (DePaul*, Indiana State*, Louisville, Marquette, Penn*, Rutgers, San Francisco, Toledo)
*Advanced to Final Four
**Won NCAA title
1. There are 3 teams seeded 8 or lower that advanced to the Sweet 16, which seems to be about the average. Fifteen teams seeded 8 or higher have advanced to the Final Four (Villanova in 1985 was the only national champion). Here is a year-by-year breakdown of the number of teams seeded #8 or lower that made it to the Sweet 16 since 1979:
2023: 3 (#8 Arkansas, #9 FAU, #15 Princeton)
2022: 5 (#8 North Carolina*, #10 Miami, #11 Iowa State, #11 Michigan, #15 St. Peter's)
2021: 5 (#8 Loyola (IL), #11 Syracuse, #11 UCLA*, #12 Oregon State, #15 Oral Roberts)
2019: 1 (#12 Oregon)
2018: 4 (#9 Florida State, #9 Kansas State, #11 Loyola (IL)*, #11 Syracuse)
2017: 2 (#8 Wisconsin, #11 Xavier)
2016: 2 (#10 Syracuse*, #11 Gonzaga)
2015: 2 (#8 NC State, #11 UCLA)
2014: 4 (#8 Kentucky*, #10 Stanford, #11 Dayton, #11 Tennessee)
2013: 4 (#9 Wichita State*, #12 Oregon, #13 LaSalle, and #15 Florida Gulf Coast)
2012: 3 (#10 Xavier, #11 NC State, and #13 Ohio)
2011: 5 (#8 Butler*, #10 Florida State, #11 Marquette, #11 VCU*, and #12 Richmond)
2010: 4 (#9 Northern Iowa, #10 St. Mary's, #11 Washington, #12 Cornell)
2009: 1 (#12 Arizona)
2008: 3 (#10 Davidson, #12 Villanova, #12 Western Kentucky)
2007: 0
2006: 2 (#11 George Mason*, #13 Bradley)
2005: 2 (#10 North Carolina State, #12 UW-Milwaukee)
2004: 3 (#8 Alabama, #9 UAB, #10 Nevada)
2003: 2 (#10 Auburn, #12 Butler)
2002: 4 (#8 UCLA, #10 Kent State, #11 Southern Illinois, #12 Missouri)
2001: 3 (#10 Georgetown, #11 Temple, #12 Gonzaga)
2000: 4 (#8 North Carolina*, #8 Wisconsin*, #10 Seton Hall, #10 Gonzaga)
1999: 5 (#10 Gonzaga, #10 Miami (OH), #10 Purdue, #12 Southwest Missouri State, #13 Oklahoma)
1998: 4 (#8 Rhode Island, #10 West Virginia, #11 Washington, #13 Valparaiso)
1997: 3 (#10 Texas, #10 Providence, #14 UT-Chattanooga)
1996: 2 (#8 Georgia, #12 Arkansas)
1995: 0
1994: 2 (#9 Boston College, #10 Maryland, #12 Tulsa)
1993: 1 (#12 George Washington)
1992: 2 (#9 UTEP, #12 New Mexico State)
1991: 3 (#10 Temple, #11 Connecticut, #12 Eastern Michigan)
1990: 4 (#8 North Carolina, #10 Texas, #11 Loyola Marymount, #12 Ball State)
1989: 1 (#11 Minnesota)
1988: 2 (#11 Rhode Island, #13 Richmond)
1987: 2 (#10 LSU, #12 Wyoming)
1986: 4 (#8 Auburn, #11 LSU*, #12 DePaul, #14 Cleveland State)
1985: 4 (#8 Villanova**, #11 Auburn, #11 Boston College, #12 Kentucky)
1984: 1 (#10 Dayton)
1983: 1 (#10 Utah)
1982: 1 (#8 Boston College)
1981: 2 (#8 Kansas State, #9 St. Joseph's)
1980: 2 (#8 UCLA*, #10 Lamar)
1979: 2 (#9 Penn*, #10 St. John's)
*Advanced to Final Four
**Won NCAA title
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