What is the NCAA Tournament?
The NCAA Tournament is the annual college basketball tournament that takes place every March. The tournament is single-elimination and is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Basketball regular season. The tournament features 68 teams, divided into four regions, with the top seeds in each region receiving a “bye” in the first round. The tournament is also known as “March Madness” and is one of the most popular sporting events in the United States.
The Seeding System
The NCAA Tournament uses a seeding system to determine which teams are placed in each region and which team plays which in the first round. The teams are seeded based on their regular season records and rankings. The top four teams in each region are given the highest seeds, with the one seed being the best and the four seed being the worst. The other teams are seeded in descending order from five to sixteen.
What is a 14 Seed?
A 14 seed is the lowest seed in the NCAA Tournament, and as such is always given the toughest matchup in the first round. 14 seeds are matched up against the three seed in each region, and as such, have very little chance of making it past the first round.
Has a 14 Seed Ever Won?
The answer to this question is yes, a 14 seed has won the NCAA Tournament. In fact, 14 seeds have won a total of four times in the history of the tournament. Below is a list of those four teams.
- 1986: Cleveland State
- Cleveland State, playing in their third consecutive NCAA Tournament, upset the three seed Indiana in the first round.
- 1997: Chattanooga
- Chattanooga pulled off an upset in the first round, beating the three seed Georgia Tech.
- 2001: Hampton
- Hampton shocked the college basketball world when they beat two seed Iowa State in the first round.
- 2012: Lehigh
- Lehigh became the fourth 14 seed to pull off an upset when they beat two seed Duke in the first round.
How Far Have 14 Seeds Advanced?
The four teams that have won in the first round as a 14 seed have advanced no further than the second round. Three of the four teams, Cleveland State, Chattanooga, and Hampton, lost in the second round, while Lehigh lost in the third round.
14 Seeds Making Noise
Even though 14 seeds have only won four games in the history of the tournament, they have come close to winning many more. In 2018, a 14-seed Stephen F. Austin almost pulled off an upset of three seed Texas Tech, but ultimately fell short. In 2017, a 14 seed New Mexico State pushed two seed Baylor to the wire before eventually losing.
14 Seeds in Recent Years
In recent years, 14 seeds have had some success. In 2019, 14 seed Yale made it to the second round before losing to the three seed LSU. In 2018, 14 seed Montana pushed three seed Michigan to the limit before ultimately losing.
Will a 14 Seed Ever Win the NCAA Tournament?
The odds of a 14 seed winning the NCAA tournament are incredibly slim, but it’s not impossible. With the way the tournament is structured, a 14 seed would need to win six games in a row to win the title, which has never been done before.
Upset Potential
14 seeds have the potential to cause an upset in the first round of the tournament, as we have seen in the past. 14 seeds are matched up against the three seed in each region, and with the tournament being single-elimination, anything can happen.
Conclusion
The answer to the question of “has a 14 seed ever won the NCAA tournament?” is yes. Four times in the history of the tournament, a 14 seed has pulled off an upset in the first round and won the game. However, no 14 seed has ever gone on to win the tournament. 14 seeds have the potential to cause an upset in the first round, but the odds of a 14 seed winning the tournament are incredibly slim.