how often has a 16 seed beat a 1 seed

A 16 seed has beaten a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament just twice.

These historic upsets shattered the near-perfect dominance of top seeds since seeding began in 1979. No. 1 seeds hold an overwhelming 158-2 record against 16 seeds through the 2025 tournament, translating to a .987 winning percentage across 160 first-round matchups.

The Landmark Upsets

Only two 16 seeds have ever pulled off this feat:

• 2018: UMBC 74, Virginia 54 – University of Maryland-Baltimore County became the first 16 seed to topple a 1 seed, ending Virginia's perfect streak on the road to their title defense.

• 2023: Fairleigh Dickinson 63, Purdue 58 – FDU stunned the massive Purdue squad (featuring 7'4" Zach Edey), advancing to the second round in another modern miracle.

Before UMBC's breakthrough, 1 seeds were flawless at 135-0 since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Close Calls and Stats

16 seeds have flirted with glory several times but fallen short:

Year| Matchup| Score| Margin
---|---|---|---
1989| Georgetown vs. Princeton| 50-49| 1 pt. 6
1989| Oklahoma vs. ETSU| 72-71| 1 pt. 6
1990| Michigan State vs. Murray State| 75-71 (OT)| 4 pts. 6
2014| Arizona vs. Weber State| 68-59| 9 pts. 6

"For 33 straight years, No. 1 seeds went undefeated... until two mid-major programs decided that streak had gone on long enough."

Why So Rare?

The talent chasm is massive—1 seeds boast elite talent, while 16s are often first-time tournament darlings. Yet both upsets came recently (post-2018), fueling bracket buzz. As of March 2026 tournament talk, no further upsets have occurred, keeping the record at two.

TL;DR: Twice ever—UMBC in 2018 and FDU in 2023.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.