You’d think that 10-seeds have performed the best among all the double-digit seeds.  Not so fast, my friend!  Up to the Sweet 16, their historical performance is virtually equal to that of the 11- and 12-seeds.  Like the them, at least one 10-seed usually advances to the Second Round.

Overall Performance

• 58 (of 148) advanced to the Second Round
• 24 went on to the Sweet 16
• 9 reached the Elite 8
• 1 reached the Final 4

Performance Over the Last 10 Years

• 15 (of 40) advanced to the Second Round
• 4 went on to the Sweet 16
• 2 reached the Elite 8
• 1 reached the Final 4

Bracket Performance History and Advice

• First Round:  39% win their First Round game, which equates to an 86% chance of at least one upset.  In the last 28 tournaments, only once (2007) has a 10-seed failed to advance.
• Second Round:  Only 16% of 10-seeds advance past the Second Round.
• Sweet 16:  Of the 24 teams to reach this round, nine of them continued to the next.  Four out of the last 10 Sweet 16’s included a 10-seed.
• Elite 8:  Only 6% make it this far.
• Final 4:  It’s happened once, ever.
• Final:  Never reached the final.

Record in the Second Round (by seed matchup)

• vs 2-seeds:  19-34
• vs 15-seeds:  5-0

Interesting that 10-seed’s winning percentage vs 7-seeds (0.392) is only slightly better than vs 2-seeds (0.358).

Feats of Strength

• In 2016, Syracuse became the first 10-seed to advance to the Final Four.
• In 1999 all four 10-seeds advanced to the second round.  Three of them went on to the Sweet 16.
• Besides Syracuse in 2016, the other two (since 2002) are:
  • 2008 Davidson – Led by Steph Curry, Davidson lost by 2 points to eventual champion Kansas
  • 2022 Miami – Lost by 26 to eventual champion Kansas
• 10-seeds reached the Elite 8 a total of 9 times:
  • 1987 – LSU
  • 1990 – Texas
  • 1991 – Temple
  • 1997 – Providence
  • 1999 – Gonzaga
  • 2002 – Kent State
  • 2008 – Davidson
  • 2016 – Syracuse
  • 2022 – Miami