Mixing March Madness & Sadness: Nova 23rd #1 Seed Losing in Second Round

For all the bitter disappointment experienced by fans of a highly-ranked team bowing out of the provocative NCAA Tournament such as defending champion Villanova, there is an equal amount of euphoria emanating from supporters of the victor (Wisconsin). The range of disparate emotions is one of the reasons there is such a fascination with upsets because nothing is guaranteed as evidenced by a power team knocked off its high horse by a darkhorse.

The ultimate in March Madness materialized in 1993 when Arizona, ranked fifth by AP, was stunned in the first round of the West Regional by Santa Clara (64-61). In terms of point spreads, it was the biggest upset in NCAA playoff history because Santa Clara was a 20-point underdog. The next largest point spread to not hold up occurred in 1986 when 17 1/2-point underdog Arkansas-Little Rock shocked Notre Dame in the Midwest Regional (90-83).

A total of 23 No. 1 seeds, including DePaul three straight years from 1980 through 1982, failed to reach the regional semifinals since seeding was introduced in 1979. Villanova, bowing out in this category for the second time in three seasons, became the sixth #1 seed in the last eight years - losing by an average of fewer than three points - joining the following crestfallen top-seeded teams: