Can the history behind how earlier March Madness matchups have played out helped you fill out your 2017 bracket before the tournament starts tomorrow? These stats will only look at the NCAAM College Basketball Tournaments since 1985, the first year the event involved the current 64 team bracket format. This will look at how matchups have gone in the first round of the tournament, the round of 64, as well as which teams have made the Final Four most often.
How the round of 64 has played out
The have been seven times starting with the 1985 tournament where there were ten or more times that a lower seeded team upset a higher seeded one in the round of 64.
There were upsets ten in 2009, 2010 and 2011, eleven in 1989, twelve in 1999 and thirteen in 2001 and 2016. On the opposite end there have been five times since 1985 that there were five upsets or fewer in the round of 64.
There were only five upsets in 1988, 2007 and 2015, four upsets in 2004 and a meager three upsets in 2000. Let's also take a look at how the games have gone based on a team's seeding. Starting in 1985 teams that are 9 seeds have won 49.21% of the time, 10 seeds have won 39.06% of the time, while 11 and 12 seeds have won 35.93% of the time. On the lower ended 13 seeds have won 20.31% of the time, 14 seeds 16.40% and 15 seeds 6.25%. A 16 seeded team has never won.
Which teams have made the Final Four the most?
Starting with 1985 there have been nineteen teams that have made the Final Four at least three times. Duke leads the way with 12 appearances followed by North Carolina (10), Kentucky (8), Kansas (8) and Michigan State (7). All of these teams made the tournament this year. Florida (5), UCLA (4), Louisville (4), Arizona (4), Michigan (4), Villanova (3), Arkansas (3) and Wisconsin (3) are all the other teams with at least three appearances in the tournament this year.
Thirteen of the nineteen team that have made the Final Four at least three times since 1985 are in the tournament this year and would be good beats to get back to the Final Four again, especially the one-seeded teams like Villanova, North Carolina and Kansas.
