There have been 2 times that a 16 seed has beaten a 1 seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament.

Quick Scoop: How many 16 seeds have beat a 1 seed?

In the entire history of the men’s March Madness since seeding began, 16 seeds are 2–158 against 1 seeds heading into the 2026 tournament. Those two famous shockers are:

  1. 2018 – UMBC (16) vs. Virginia (1)
    • UMBC beat Virginia 74–54 , becoming the first 16 seed ever to topple a 1 seed.
 * It blew up brackets everywhere and instantly became one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
  1. 2023 – Fairleigh Dickinson (16) vs. Purdue (1)
    • FDU stunned Purdue 63–58 , making it the second and (so far) most recent 16-over-1 upset.
 * Both wins came in the modern 64/68-team era, which added to the “this almost never happens” storyline.

Extra context

  • Since the field expanded, 1 seeds have utterly dominated, with a winning percentage around .987 vs. 16s.
  • Before UMBC in 2018, 16 seeds were winless for decades despite a few close calls and near upsets that became cult stories among college hoops fans.

So if you’re filling out a bracket and wondering “how many 16 seeds have beat a 1 seed?” — the answer is still just two , and picking it to happen again is betting on one of the rarest events in March Madness.

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