Mixing March Madness & Sadness: Nova is 22nd #1 Seed Losing in 2nd Round

For all the bitter disappointment experienced by fans of a highly-ranked team bowing out of the provocative NCAA Tournament such as Villanova, there is an equal amount of euphoria emanating from supporters of the victor (North Carolina State). 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 22 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 became the fifth #1 seed in the last six years joining the following crestfallen top-seeded teams: