With the end of the college football season and the NFL season nearing a close, it is almost time for sports fans to shift their focus to college basketball. With the tournament set to begin in a little over six weeks, it is a wide-open race in terms of what teams can win it all. Making college basketball picks today is a challenge with all the balanced teams this season. Read below to learn about some March Madness facts you may not have heard about.
61 Points is the Top Individual Mark in Tournament History
61 points marks the most points scored by an individual player in a single game in tournament history. This was done in 1970 by Notre Dame star Austin Carr, as he led his team to victory in a first-round matchup against the Ohio Bobcats. It will be very hard for any player in today’s time to beat this mark. You can bet that this record continues to stand for quite some time.
UNC has had its Failures as Well
Despite being one of the most successful teams in tournament history, UNC also has a record that no team wants to have. They have the record for the least points scored in a tournament game, which is 20.
Again, this is another record that you can pretty much bet your life on that it won’t be broken, but hey, when it comes to March Madness, nothing is out of the realm of possibilities.
35 Teams have Cut Down the Nets
There have been 35 different teams all time that has been crowned champions of the college basketball world. UCLA has the most March Madness wins with 11, and Kentucky is following behind in a close second with eight championships.
There are over 350 current Division I men’s basketball teams, all of which technically have a shot for the title. Only one will walk away as kings of the college basketball world.
Even an Eight Seed can get it Done
Although there are usually one or two Cinderella stories each year, the clock almost always strikes midnight for these teams before getting to the final game. However, this wasn’t the case for Villanova when they were an eight seed.
During the tournament played in 1985, the defending champion Georgetown Hoyas lost in a historic championship game to the Villanova Wildcats. Villanova’s success story, I’m sure, brings hope to all eight seeds and worse every year when the tournament rolls around.
Double-Digit Seeds can Reach the Final Four
Even if your team is given a double-digit seed, it doesn’t mean they can’t make it all the way to the Final Four. In the history of the tournament, there have been a total of five double-digit seeded teams to make it to the end of the tournament and reach the final four teams.
The most recent team to do this is Loyola Chicago, who went on a magical run in 2018 as an 11 seed but eventually lost to the Michigan Wolverines in the semifinal game.
One Seeds Can Lose
It was long thought that one seeds could never lose to 16 seeds. This was the case until 2018 when UMBC beat top-seeded Virginia in what was one of the most historic upsets in March Madness history. UMBC has given hope to all future 16 seeds and their dreams of advancing to the round of 32. We have not seen a 16 seed beat a one seed since, but we now know that it is possible and have to consider it in all future NCAA tournaments.
2023 Should Bring Madness
With there being no top team and it being a wide-open race, this year’s tournament should truly live up to its name. We can expect to see madness in every game, with upsets and dramatic finishes being a common theme in this year’s edition of March Madness.
