NEWSLETTER
March Madness and the NCAA Basketball Tournament bring all sorts of chaos, drama, and fun to the beginning of spring. The top teams across the country compete for a shot at a college basketball championship. Let’s look at some March Madness fun facts such as low-scoring games, perfect brackets, big upsets, and more.
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When Did the First NCAA Tournament Take Place?
March Madness began back on March 17, 1939. The first tournament in college basketball history had just eight teams. The NCAA Division I Championship was won by Oregon that year in a 46-33 win in the title game over Ohio State. Oregon didn’t make another Final Four until 2017. Quite a wait for an NCAA Tournament team between Final Four appearances.
Biggest Upsets in the NCAA Tournament
In the 2018 NCAA Tournament, UMBC did the impossible. They defeated number one seed Virginia 74-54. It was the first time in NCAA history a 16 seed beat a number 1. Virginia went on to win the National Championship game the following year.
Other massive upsets include number 15 seed Middle Tennessee beating number 2 Michigan State in 2016 and Saint Peter’s beating number 2 seed Kentucky in 2022. Saint Peter’s made it all the way to the Elite 8. They were the first number 15 seed to ever reach the Elite 8.
The number two seed Ohio State Buckeyes lost to number 15 seed Oral Roberts in 2021.
Odds of a Perfect Bracket
We have all been in search of the perfect bracket. Sorry to say it, it’s impossible. Well, according to the math, it’s just impossible. It’s just extremely difficult.
The NCAA calculated you have a 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 (9 quintillion) chance to create a perfect bracket. This is if you flip a coin or guess. If you have a little college basketball knowledge, the odds jump to 1 in 120.2 billion. Like your chances?
A few years ago, Warren Buffet offered $1 billion to anyone who could achieve a perfect bracket. It wasn’t done and still hasn’t. It’s difficult for people to pick the Sweet 16 correctly. The chaos and upsets of the tournament make it hard to predict what will happen. A piece of advice, don’t take your March Madness brackets too seriously if you can.
Highest Individual Scorer in Tournament History
Christian Laettner is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Tournament history. He holds the record after scoring 407 points in the tournament over the course of his career at Duke under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Only nine players have more than 300 points.
Austin Carr from Notre Dame holds the single-game scoring record. He scored 61 points in 1970 vs Ohio.
Lowest Scoring NCAA Tournament Game
The fewest points in an NCAA Tournament game happened back in 1941. Pittsburgh beat North Carolina 26-20 in the 1941 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It surpassed the 30-29 win by Duquense of Western Kentucky from 1940 in the men’s tournament.
Highest Scoring NCAA Tournament Game
NCAA March Madness hasn’t gone without some high-scoring affairs. The highest in the history of the tournament belongs to Loyola Marymount’s 149-115 win over defending champion Michigan in 1990. That game is 30 points more than the next highest which also belongs to Loyola Marymount.
Loyola Marymount beat Wyoming 119-115 in the 1988 First Round. The squad also holds the number three position when they were beaten 131-101 by UNLV in the Elite 8 in 1990.
Lowest Seed to Reach the Final Four
An 11 seed has reached the Final Four five teams. It’s the lowest seed to each reach the National Semifinal. It was done by UCLA in 2021, Loyola-Chicago in 2018, VCU in 2011, George Mason in 2006, and LSU in 1986.
VCU and UCLA were the first teams in March Madness history to reach the Final Four after starting in the First Four play-in games after the tourney expanded to 68 teams.
Coaches with the Most National Championships and Final Fours
The legendary John Wooden holds the record for most National Championships with 10. He also holds the record for most consecutive NCAA Championships as his UCLA Bruins won seven in a row from 1967-73.
Coach K from Duke holds the record for most tournament wins with 101 while Roy Williams is second in tournament victories with 77. Krzyzewski reached the Final Four a record 13 times. Coach K never went more than 10 years without reaching a Final Four. Wooden made 12 Final Fours while Dean Smith made 11.
Most NCAA Tournament Appearances
College basketball fans are plenty familiar with Kentucky when playing March Madness trivia. The Wildcats have the most tournament appearances ever with 59. North Carolina is second all-time. The Tar Heels hold the record for Final Four appearances as they’ve reached over 20 Final Fours. They reached their 21st in 2022.
Fun Facts About March Madness
There is no shortage of fun facts about the NCAA Tournament. What can we expect in 2023? Will a seed lower than number 11 reach the 2023 Final Four? Will a 16 seed upset another number 1? Regardless, the entire tournament brings a ton of fun to the month of March. It’s chaotic and dramatic. You never know what could happen.
March Madness Fun Facts FAQs
Kentucky has made the tournament 59 times. North Carolina is second with 52 while Kansas has 50 and UCLA 49.
John Wooden won 10 national championships as a coach at UCLA. He was able to win the NCAA Championship seven times in a row from 1967-73.
North Carolina has reached the Final Four a record 21 times. UCLA is second with 19 and Kentucky is third with 17.
Fans will argue about different games. One of the biggest was when number 16 UMBC beat number one seed Virgina. Others include number 15 seeds Middle Tennessee in 2016 over Michigan State and Saint Peter’s over Kentucky in 2022.
The 1979 championship game between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson drew a 24.1 TV rating. Michigan State and Magic Johnson beat Indiana State for the National Title.
