Lowest Seeds to Reach College Basketball March Tournament Rounds

March college basketball is ultimate stage for Cinderella stories. Throughout the years, many lower-seeded teams have defied the odds to make surprising tournament runs.

But who is the lowest seed to ever win it all?

Before we reveal the underdogs who've taken home the championship trophy, let’s break down the lowest seeded college basketball teams to advance through each round of the tournament.

Lowest Seed to Make Round of 16

15-seed: Florida Gulf Coast (2013), Oral Roberts (2021), Saint Peter's (2022), and Princeton (2023)

Princeton is the most recent 15 seed make it to the Round of 16. They are also the only Ivy to make it this far in the tournament. The Tigers defeated 2 seed Arizona and 7 seed Missouri but ultimately lost to 6 seed Creighton.

Lowest Seed to Make Round of 8

15-seed: Saint Peter's (2022)

The 2022 Saint Peter's Peacocks are the lowest seed to ever reach the regional finals. Prior to the start of the tournament, the Peacocks didn't have a March tournament win in program history. They went on to beat 2 seed Kentucky, 7 seed Murray State, and 3 seed Purdue before losing to 8 seed North Carolina in the Round of 8.

Lowest Seed to Make the Semifinals

11-seed: LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyla Chicago (2018), UCLA (2021), NC State (2024)

There are six 11 seeds that have made it to the Round of 4, the most recent Cinderella story being the 2024 NC State Wolfpack. NC State upset 2 seed Marquette in the Round of 16 and 4 seed Duke in the regional finals. Their run ended against 1 seed Purdue in the semifinals who beat the Wolfpack 63-50.

Lowest Seed to Play in the Championship

8-seed: Villanova (1985), Butler (2011), Kentucky (2014), North Carolina (2022)

In the same year that Saint Peter's made their historic run, North Carolina became the fourth 8 seed to make it to the national championship. In an extremely close title game, the Tar Heels lost to 1 seed Kansas, 72-69.

Lowest Seed to Win the Championship

8-seed: Villanova (1985)

In perhaps the biggest upset in college basketball tournament history, 8 seed Villanova defied the odds to win it all in 1985. They beat 1 seed Georgetown in a close matchup that ended 66-64 with the Wildcats on top.

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