The first 16 seed ever to beat a 1 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), which upset Virginia on March 16, 2018.

Quick Scoop

  • Game: UMBC (16) vs. Virginia (1)
  • Tournament: 2018 NCAA Men’s March Madness
  • Result: UMBC blew out Virginia by around 20 points, becoming the first 16 seed to knock off a 1 seed in men’s tournament history.
  • Why it was historic: Before this game, 16 seeds were winless against 1 seeds since the field expanded in 1985.

If you’re counting women’s March Madness, Harvard was the first 16 seed to beat a 1 seed, upsetting Stanford in 1998.

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