*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 national runner-up North Carolina, 83-66, in the Final Four, but history had already been made.
The Orange’s magical run added to what is an impressive resume for No. 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 No. 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 those eight No. 10 seeds have performed in the Elite Eight 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 that Steph Curry's Davidson Wildcats made in 2008 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 until they lost against Kansas.
RELATED: Read an oral history of Curry's time at Davidson and 2008 tournament run
No. 10 seeds are 55-85 against No. 7 seeds to date in the NCAA tournament, including a 3-1 mark in the 2019 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 No. 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.
In 2019, three No. 10 seeds – Florida, Minnesota and Iowa – advanced to the second round. Those three teams won by an average of 8.7 points in the first round but each one of them lost to a No. 2 seed in the Round of 32. Iowa, however, took Tennessee to overtime before losing 83-77. No. 10 seed Minnesota lost to No. 2 seed Michigan State by 20 points and No. 10 seed Florida lost to No. 2 seed Michigan by 15.
Brackets: Andy Katz's latest March Madness bracket predictions
