Seeds of Doubt: #1 Seeded Squads Failing to Bear NCAA Tournament Fruit

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)