Syracuse is the only 10 seed to reach the Final Four.
*Note: All data is from the 1985 tournament to the present.
It had never happened before. But that didn’t stop Syracuse. In 2016, the Orange became the first No. 10 seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams with its 68-62 victory against Virginia. Syracuse fell to eventual runner-up North Carolina, 83-66, in the semifinal game, but history had already been made.
The Orange’s magical run added to what is an impressive resume for 10 seeds. Twenty-three teams seeded 10th have reached the Sweet 16 and eight of those teams have advanced to the Elite Eight.
LSU began the 10 seed hot streak in 1987 when the Tigers made a run through the Midwest bracket. LSU lost by only one point to top-seeded Indiana in the Elite Eight. Here are how 10 seeds have performed there over the years:
| Year | Winner | Loser | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | No. 1 Indiana | No. 10 LSU | 77-76 |
| 1990 | No. 4 Arkansas | No. 10 Texas | 88-85 |
| 1991 | No. 1 North Carolina | No. 10 Temple | 75-72 |
| 1997 | No. 4 Arizona | No. 10 Providence | 96-92 |
| 1999 | No. 1 UConn | No. 10 Gonzaga | 67-62 |
| 2002 | No. 5 Indiana | No. 10 Kent State | 81-69 |
| 2008 | No. 1 Kansas | No. 10 Davidson | 59-57 |
| 2016 | No. 10 Syracuse | No. 1 Virginia | 68-62 |
The run Steph Curry's Davidson Wildcats made started with a six-point win against Gonzaga and developed into one of the best Cinderella stories in college basketball history. On March 21, 2008, Curry scored 40 points in the 82-76 win against the Bulldogs and the Wildcats rode his hot hand till they lost against Kansas.
RELATED: Read an oral history of Curry's time at Davidson and 2008 tournament run
The 10 seeds are 52-84 against 7 seeds to date in the NCAA tournament and 11-15 in games decided by three points or less. While large 10-7 upsets aren't unusual, blowouts are. West Virginia had the widest margin of victory for a 10 seed when it beat Temple, 82-52, in 1998. West Virginia used that momentum to beat second-seeded Cincinnati in the second round on a banked-in, game-winning shot before it lost against Utah by three points in the Sweet 16.
Last year, Butler was the only 10 seed to advance to the Round of 32. The Bulldogs beat Arkansas by 17 and then lost by three against a 2 seed in the Purdue Boilermakers. The other three 10 seeds — Oklahoma, Providence and Texas — all lost in their opening games by single digits.
