All teams are listed by athletic brand names they used at the time of their wins, which do not always match those in use today.
The NCAA defines a tournament "upset" as a victory by a team seeded 5 or more lines below its defeated opponent.
The first 16 seed ever to win a game in an NCAA Division I basketball tournament was Harvard in 1998 against Stanford.
According to an Associated Press retrospective on the 10th anniversary of the game in 2008, "The difference between the teams was much smaller than usual for a No.
"[1] Harvard had two years of tournament experience and the nation's leading scorer that season in Allison Feaster.
First, Vanessa Nygaard tore an ACL in the Cardinal's final regular-season game against Oregon State.
Because the extent of her injury was not known at the time the tournament field was selected, the Cardinal still received a 1 seed.
Then, in the team's first practice after the tournament selection, leading scorer and rebounder Kristin Folkl also tore an ACL.
[1] Best outcomes for low seeds since expansion to 64 teams in 1994: Harvard (1998) numerous (10 teams) numerous (10 teams) Other than Harvard beating Stanford in 1998, no losing #16 seed has even lost by single digits and/or taken a game to overtime, with the closest margin of defeat being a 12-point loss by #16 Grambling to #1 Texas Tech in the same tournament.
Neither of these teams would win in the Sweet Sixteen, with Boston College losing to 5 seed Utah by three points in 2006 after missing three game tying shots in the last 20 seconds and Ole Miss losing by ten points to 5 seed Louisville in 2023.
The closest margin of defeat happened in 2007, when Marist lost to 1 seed Tennessee by 19 points.
The closest margin of defeat happened in 2014, when BYU lost to 1 seed UConn by 19 points.
One of the eleven 11 seeds (9.09%) who advanced from the round of 32 also achieved a victory in the Sweet Sixteen.
The only 11 seed who advanced from the Sweet Sixteen, Gonzaga in 2011, was defeated in the Elite Eight by one-seed North Carolina, 83-60.
The only 9 seed who advanced from the Elite Eight, Arkansas in 1998, was defeated in the Final Four by one-seed Tennessee, 86-58.
Although two 7 seeds have advanced from the Sweet Sixteen, both were defeated in the Final Four: Minnesota to second-seeded UConn, 67-58 in 2004, and Washington to fourth-seeded Syracuse, 80-59 in 2016.
Although two 6 seeds have advanced from the Elite Eight, neither faced a 1 seed (which winning against would be considered an official upset), and both were defeated in the Final Four: Alabama to fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech, 69-66 in 1994, and Notre Dame to third-seeded Tennessee, 80-66 in 1997.