Worst March Madness Seeds to Reach Final Four

Everybody loves a Cinderella story. That’s a big reason why March Madness has become so popular. You never know who might come out of nowhere to make a magical run to the Final Four.

Although No. 1 seeds have made it to college basketball’s signature event 62 times and accounted for 25 of 39 national championships since the NCAA Tournament began seeding in 1985, some of the best-remembered teams defied the odds just by getting there.

NC State became the most recent team to join that club in 2024 when after winning 5 games in 5 days at the ACC Tournament just to earn entry into the NCAA field, the Wolfpack strung together 4 more victories to reach the Final Four as an 11-seed.

Here’s a look at some of the other Cinderellas who crashed the party and enjoyed an unexpected moment in the spotlight before the clock struck midnight:  

Worst Seeds To Make The Final Four

A team seeded No. 8 or lower has made it to the Final Four in each of the 4 years it has been played since the COVID pandemic and the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

Besides NC State in 2024, the other teams were No. 9 Florida Atlantic in 2023, No. 8 North Carolina in 2022 and No. 11 UCLA in 2021. Of that group, only the Tar Heels advanced to the championship game, where they lost to No. 1 seed Kansas.

Final Four Seed History

Seeding was introduced in 1979. Here’s a look at how each seed has fared in the NCAA Tournament since then. For instance, a No. 1 seed has reached the Final Four 71 times, advanced to the championship game 44 times and won March Madness 27 times.

Worst-Seeded NCAA Tournament Champions

Only 3 teams seeded below the top 4 have ever cut down the nets as national champions.

Eighth-seeded Villanova holds the distinction of being the lowest seed to win a title when it stunned defending champion Georgetown 66-64 in 1985. Commentators of the day suggested that it would take “the perfect game” for the Wildcats to beat Patrick Ewing and his Hoyas, a team they lost to twice during the regular season. But that’s what they did. With Most Outstanding Player Ed Pinckney leading the way, the Wildcats shot 78.6% from the floor, the highest percentage in Final Four history, and scored on all but 1 of their second-half field goal attempts to stun the Hoyas 66-64.

Three seasons later, Kansas won as a 6-seed behind the inspired individual play of star big man Danny Manning, Coached by Larry Brown, the team that became known as “Danny and the Miracles” bounced back from a 12-8 start (1-4 in the old Big 8), to win 15 of their final 18 games, Including 6 straight in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas beat 3 teams it had lost to during the regular season along the way, including conference rival Oklahoma in the final. Manning, who would become the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, put on a 1-man show in the final. He scored 31 points and pulled down 17 rebounds before clinching the 83-79 victory with a pair of free throws with 5 seconds remaining.

In 2014, UConn bounced back from an embarrassing 81-48 beatdown by Louisville in its final regular-season game, the largest defeat suffered by an eventual national champion, to win the title as a No. 7 seed. Kevin Ollie’s Huskies upset Villanova, Iowa State and Michigan State on the way to the Final Four, where they knocked off top overall seed Florida in the national semifinal before meeting an even lower seed, No. 8 Kentucky, in the championship game. They beat the Wildcats 60-54 behind 22 points and 6 rebounds from Most Outstanding Player Shabazz Napier.

Most Underdogs at a Final Four

The largest concentration of high seeds at a Final Four came in 2011 in Houston when No. 11 VCU, No. 8 Butler, No. 4 Kentucky and eventual champion UConn – a 3-seed – combined for a total of 26. 

In 2023, the quartet of No. 9 Florida Atlantic, No. 5s San Diego State and Miami and No. 4 UConn comprised the second-highest combined seed total of 23 in a Final Four that was the first ever without a team seeded 1, 2 or 3.

Conversely, there has only been 1 Final Four in which all the teams involved were the top seed in their region. It happened in 2008 when Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA and champion Kansas played for the title in San Antonio.

Lucky No. 8 and No. 11 seeds

Seven and 11 are lucky numbers in Vegas. But when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding, history suggests that your best chance of making it to the Final Four is if you’re seeded either eighth or 11th.

Six of each have accomplished the feat. That’s the same total of Final Four teams as the numbers 6- and 7-seeds combined.

Of the 6 No. 8 seeds that have gotten there, 4 have advanced to the championship game – North Carolina in 2022, Kentucky in 2014, Butler in 2011 and Villanova in 1985. They are the lowest seeds to get to the first Monday in April. The other 2, UNC and Wisconsin, comprised half of the Final Four in 2000 along with Michigan State and Florida.

The 11 seeds are LSU in 1986, George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, Loyola (Chicago) in 2018 and NC State in 2024.

Brett Friedlander

Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.