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

Illinois' departure was by double digits against Loyola of Chicago but there have been other top seeds bowing by larger margins. Three #1 seeds from ACC in the previous decade were 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. Arizona won two of the following nine games when #1 seeds in this category lost 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)