North Carolina isn't exactly a Cinderella story in the true sense of the word, but the Tar Heels have taken a difficult road to the national championship.
UNC entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed in the East region and took down No. 9 Marquette, No. 1 Baylor, No. 4 UCLA, No. 15 Saint Peter's and West region No. 2 Duke to reach the national championship for the 12th time in program history.
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Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the Tar Heels have never reached the title game as anything but a No. 1 seed. They won titles in 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017 and lost in 2016 after entering the field as one of the top-four overall teams.
The Blue Blood program now has a chance to make underdog history if it can complete its unbelie Dayton Flyers shirt vable run to a title on Monday. Just how historic would the win be in the history of March Madness? The Sporting News dives into the history of the lowest seeds to win a title.
Has an 8-seed ever won the NCAA Tournament?
UNC would join some exclusive company should it win the tournament after entering as a No. 8 seed.
There has only been one team to win the national championship as a No. 8 seed– That was No. 8 Villanova in 1985, when the Wildcats won the first-ever tournament that featured 64 teams.
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Villanova began its tournament by defeating No. 9 Dayton in the Southeast region and then stunning No. 1 Michigan in the second round. It then defeated No. 5 Maryland in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 UNC in the Elite Eight. In the Final Four, the Wildcats beat No. 2 Memphis State to secure a mat Ferris State Bulldogs shirt chup with the re UNC vs. Duke Rivalry shirt igning national champion and East champion, No. 1 Georgetown.
Backed by a then NCAA-record 78.6 percent FG percentage, the Wildcats edged out the Hoyas 66-64 to win the program's first national championship.
Lowest seeds to win the NCAA Tournament
That Villanova team is not only the lone No. 8 seed to win a title, but also the lowest seed ever to win a national championship.
The lowest seed ever to reach the Final Four is an 11 seed, which has happened five times — LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyola Chicago (2018) and UCLA (2021).
There have only been two other No. 8 seeds reach the national championship game. The next team after Villanova was No. 8 Butler in 2011, when the Bulldogs lost to No. 3 Connecticut. The next came in 2014 when No. 8 Kentucky lost in the title game to No. 7 Connecticut.
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Since the field expanded to 64 teams, No. 1 seeds have overwhelmingly dominated the title winning. There have been 23 national champions that entered the field as one of the top seeds, and only 13 from any other seed. Here's a look at all the national champions that weren't No. 1 seeds.
| Year | Champion | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | No. 2 Louisville | No. 1 Duke |
| 1991 | No. 2 Duke | No. 3 Kansas |
| 1998 | No. 2 Kentucky | No. 3 Utah |
| 2004 | No. 2 Connecticut | No. 3 Georgia Tech |
| 2016 | No. 2 Villanova | No. 1 North Carolina |
| 1989 | No. 3 Michigan | No. 3 Seton Hall |
| 2003 | No. 3 Syracuse | No. 2 Kansas |
| 2006 | No. 3 Florida | No. 2 UCLA |
| 2011 | No. 3 Conn UNC vs. Duke Rivalry Shirts ec Belmont Abbey Crusaders clothes ticut | No. 8 Butler |
| 1997 | No. 4 Arizona | No. 1 Kentucky |
| 1988 | No. 6 Kansas | No. 1 Oklahoma |
| 2014 | No. 7 Connecticut | No. 8 Kentucky |
| 1985 | No. 8 Villano NCAA Crewneck Sweatshirts va | No. 1 Georgetown Kentucky vs. Louisville Rivalry Jerseys |
There has never been a team not named "Connecticut" that has beaten an eight-seed in the national championship game. That has to make Tar Heel fans feel good, right?
