2-Seeds · Bracket Research

Before 2012, 2-seeds went 10 straight years without losing in the First Round. In the thirteen tournaments since that streak, we’ve seen seven 2-seeds drop their first game. Is this the start of a new trend? Or a weird statistical anomaly? Who knows? Let’s see what happens this year!

Overall Performance

149 (of 160) advanced to the Second Round
102 went on to the Sweet 16
72 reached the Elite 8
31 reached the Final 4
13 made the championship game
5 won the tournament

Performance Over the Last 10 Years

36 (of 40) advanced to the Second Round
25 went on to the Sweet 16
16 reached the Elite 8
6 reached the Final 4
1 made it to the championship game and won it

Record in the Second Round

vs 7-seeds: 65-27
vs 10-seeds: 37-20

Feats of Strength

2016 Villanova was the last team to win the tournament as a 2-seed.
The previous 2-seed winner was Connecticut, 12 years earlier, in 2004.
All four 2-seeds advanced to the Elite 8 twice:
- 1995 – Massachusetts, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Arkansas
- 1996 – Georgetown, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, and Kansas