Does it really matter how many Quadrant 1 wins a team has? Do Quadrant 1 (Q1) wins give any indication of a team’s title chances in the NCAA Tournament?
Yes! And there are only three teams so far, this year, that have enough.
The Magic Number is 9
Each of the past 15 national champions entered the NCAA Tournament with at least nine Q1 wins. Even 7-seed Connecticut had 10 Q1 wins before they ripped through the 2014 tournament for the title.
| Year | Seed | Champion | Q1 Wins | Q1 Losses |
| 2003 | 3 | Syracuse | 11 | 2 |
| 2004 | 2 | UConn | 13 | 5 |
| 2005 | 1 | North Carolina | 12 | 3 |
| 2006 | 3 | Florida | 14 | 4 |
| 2007 | 1 | Florida | 14 | 4 |
| 2008 | 1 | Kansas | 11 | 2 |
| 2009 | 1 | North Carolina | 10 | 3 |
| 2010 | 1 | Duke | 9 | 4 |
| 2011 | 3 | UConn | 14 | 7 |
| 2012 | 1 | Kentucky | 15 | 2 |
| 2013 | 1 | Louisville | 11 | 5 |
| 2014 | 7 | UConn | 10 | 5 |
| 2015 | 1 | Duke | 14 | 3 |
| 2016 | 2 | Villanova | 13 | 4 |
| 2017 | 1 | North Carolina | 14 | 6 |
How’s the 2018 Field Shaping Up?
Here are this year’s teams with at least 9 Q1 wins.
- North Carolina – 13
- Kansas – 12
- Virginia – 12
- Villanova – 10
- Florida – 9