Seeds of Doubt: #1 Seeded Squads Failing to Bear NCAA Tournament Fruit
March 29th, 2019 - 21:35
North Carolina became the third #1 seed this decade - all ACC members - to be eliminated prior to the NCAA Final Four by more than 16 points. Five #1 seeds have been kayoed by at least 20 points before the national semifinals since seeding was introduced in 1979. Following are the nine #1 seeds in this category losing by more than 15 points:
Margin #1 Seed Regional Elimination Result Before F4 27 UCLA 1992 West Finals #2 Indiana (106-79) 25 Arizona 1998 West Finals #3 Utah (76-51) 20 Louisiana State 1980 Midwest Finals #2 Louisville (86-66) 20 Missouri 1994 West Finals #2 Arizona (92-72) 20 Virginia 2018 South First Round #16 Maryland-Baltimore County (74-54) 17 Ohio State 1991 Midwest Semifinals #4 St. John's (91-74) 17 North Carolina 2019 Midwest Semifinals #5 Auburn (97-80) 16 Duke 2011 West Semifinals #5 Arizona (93-77) 16 Oklahoma 2003 East Finals #3 Syracuse (63-47)