Editor’s note: List goes back to start of modern era, when tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985

1) Saint Peter’s, 2022 (#15 seed)

The first #15 seeded teams to win an NCAA Tournament game were Richmond in 1991 and Santa Clara in 1993. Both followed up their stunning first round upsets with a double-digit second round loss. Coppin State in 1997 became the first #15 seed to almost reach the Sweet 16, losing in the second round to Texas in a game that came down to a blocked shot with four seconds remaining. Florida-Gulf Coast in 2013, a.k.a. “Dunk City,” made that leap to the Regional Semifinals as a #15 seed, upsetting Georgetown and San Diego State along the way. A decade later, Saint Peter’s, a tiny, Jesuit school in New Jersey with a peacock mascot, captured the imagination of basketball fans across the country with an incredible run to the Elite Eight. It started with a shocking victory over Kentucky, a team many had pegged as a championship favorite, followed by wins over #7 seed Murray State and #3 seed Purdue before a 20-point loss to North Carolina in the Regional Final. What makes the Saint Peter’s accomplishment even more improbable is that no #13 seed or #14 seed has ever reached the Elite Eight in 38 years of the modern tournament (they’re 0-6 and 0-2 respectively in the Regional Semifinals).

2) Gonzaga, 1999 (#10 seed)

Now a powerhouse program arguably on par with Duke or Kentucky, Gonzaga started their run of prominence as an overlooked #10 seed heading into the 1999 NCAA Tournament. It was just their second tourney appearance in school history, following a first round loss in 1994, and they made it count. Led by the dynamic guard duo of Richie Frahm and Matt Santangelo, they knocked off #7 seed Minnesota in the opening round, then stunned second-seeded Stanford in the second round, 82-74. It helped that the ‘Zags got to play those games in Seattle, just a few hour’s drive from their campus in Spokane but they kept the momentum going in the Regional Semifinals in Phoenix, taking down #6 seed Florida thanks to a late tip-in by Casey Calvary, punctuated by announcer Gus Johnson’s infamous call of “the slipper still fits!” The Bulldogs played eventual champion Connecticut tough in the Regional Finals but their undersized front line was dominated by Jake Voskuhl and Kevin Freeman in a 67-62 loss. Seemingly inspired by their defeat at his hands in the tournament opener, Minnesota hired away Gonzaga coach Dan Monson that summer and he was replaced by Mark Few, who led them to new heights over the next two decades and counting, including Final Four appearances in 2017 and 2021.

3) Oregon State, 2021 (#12 seed)

After years of subpar collective performances in the NCAA Tournament, the Pac-12 came back in a big way in 2021. Despite not having a single team seeded higher than #5, the conference placed four in the Sweet 16, three in the Elite Eight, and #11 seed UCLA made it all the way to the Final Four. Oregon State was playing in only its second NCAA Tournament in the 30 years since Gary Payton departed campus in 1990 to join the NBA. As a #12 seed, the Beavers had low expectations but not only did they pull off three consecutive upsets, they did so in dominating fashion, defeating #5 seed Tennessee, #4 seed Oklahoma State, and #8 seed Loyola-Chicago by an average margin of 10.3 points per game. With senior guard Ethan Thompson leading the way, they shot lights out from three-point range, a typical asset for a Cinderella squad. #2 seed Houston finally ended the run in the Regional Final, as Oregon State’s shooting went ice cold. They joined Missouri in 2002 as the only #12 seeds to reach the Elite Eight.

4) Navy, 1986 (#7 seed)

It’s a little strange to think of any team anchored by David Robinson as an underdog but the Navy program had been struggling for decades before he arrived on campus in 1983. In his junior season, they entered the NCAA Tournament as a #7 seed but ended it in the Elite Eight. The centerpiece was an upset of #2 seed Syracuse, led by All-American Pearl Washington, in their home court of the Carrier Dome, thanks to 35 points, 11 rebounds, and seven blocks from Robinson. A fellow Cinderella awaited in the Regional Semifinals, where Navy defeated #14 seed Cleveland State in a 71-70 thriller, punctuated by a game winning shot from Robinson. Top seed Duke was too much to overcome in the Regional Final, and Midshipmen were finally eliminated, 71-50. Robinson returned for his senior season but couldn’t recapture the March magic as Navy was defeated in the first round of the 1987 NCAA Tournament as a #8 seed by Michigan.

5) Dayton, 2014 (#11 seed)

Completely rebuilt by third-year head coach Archie Miller, Dayton reached the NCAA Tournament in 2014 for the first time in five years and overcame their #11 seeding to make the deepest run in the modern era in school history. It started, appropriately enough, with a thrilling upset over in-state rival and Miller’s former employer (as an assistant), Ohio State. Dayton advanced, 60-59, thanks to a last-second lay-in from senior guard Vee Sanford, then the Flyers applied their patented shut-down defense on #3 Syracuse in round two, holding the Orange to 0-of-10 from three-point range in a 55-53 win. Dayton shifted gears in the Regional Semifinals, using a balanced high-power scoring attack to defeat #10 seed Stanford, 82-72, but then seemed to run out of gas in the Regional Finals. They shot just 19-of-48 (39.6%) from the field in a 62-52 loss to Florida. Though Miller would lead them back to three more NCAA Tournaments during his stint, Dayton has still yet to return to the Final Four since the program’s sole appearance in 1967.

6) Temple, 1991 (#10 seed)
7) Temple, 2001 (#11 seed)

No matter what their seed was, Temple was always a threat in March under coach John Chaney. This was no more evident than in 1991, when they reached the Regional Finals as a #10 seed and in 2001, when they repeated the feat as a #11 seed. In 1991, led by soon-to-be lottery pick Mark Macon, they blew out #7 seed Purdue and #15 seed Richmond in the first two rounds. Their Regional Semifinals match-up with #3 Oklahoma State was a thriller, with Macon missing a potential game-winning buzzer beater in regulation before rattling off eight points in overtime to key a 72-63 upset. They kept it close all game in the Regional Finals against top seed North Carolina, thanks to 31 points and nine rebounds from Macon, but ultimately came up short, 75-72. 10 years later, the Owls made another miraculous run that ended with a loss to a top seed in the Elite Eight. They upset #6 seed Texas, #3 seed Florida, and #7 seed Penn State in consecutive games before losing to defending champion Michigan State. Though Temple also reached the Regional Finals in 1988, 1993, and 1999, they never could break through to the Final Four under Chaney, who eventually retired in 2006.

8) Boston College, 1994 (#9 seed)

Their 1994 second round upset over top seed and defending champion North Carolina is well-remembered but diehard college basketball fans recall that Boston College then proceeded to stun another legendary program in the Sweet 16. Just reaching the NCAA Tournament in 1994 was a victory for the Eagles, as it broke a decade-long drought. Seniors Bill Curley and Howard Eisley led a balanced scoring attack under coach Jim O’Brien, and they used long-range shooting to stun the Tar Heels, led by legendary coach Dean Smith and featuring star players Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse. In the Regional Semifinals, Boston College relied on its heavy pressure man-to-man defense to pair with the three-point barrage and take out Bob Knight’s #5 seeded Indiana, 77-68. One more win would have meant the first Final Four appearance in program history, but Boston College just couldn’t overcome #3 seed Florida in the Regional Finals.

9) Auburn, 1986 (#8 seed)

In his three years on campus, Charles Barkley led Auburn to its first NCAA Tournament appearance and its first Sweet 16 but right after he left for the NBA, the Tigers surprisingly made it even further. Led by Chuck Person, who came to campus as a fellow freshman with Barkley in ’82-’83, Auburn entered the 1986 tourney as a #8 seed and stunned top seeded St. John’s in the second round. It was a shocking result not just in the seeding differential but in the final margin, with Person putting in 27 points and 15 rebounds in an 81-65 shellacking. Auburn then took out #4 seed UNLV in the Regional Semifinals but couldn’t overcome a tough shooting night from Person in the Regional Finals and lost to #2 seed (and eventual champion) Louisville, 84-76.

10) Xavier, 2017 (#11 seed)

Sort of a spiritual cousin to Temple, Xavier has a long history of NCAA Tournament success in the modern era regardless of seed, but never enough to reach the Final Four. They’ve advanced as far as the Regional Finals three times, most recently and notably in 2017 as a #11 seed. The Musketeers were a #2 seed in the 2016 tournament but struggled in ’16-’17 with injuries and roster turnover. Few gave them much of a chance heading into March, but they kicked off an impressive run with a breezy 76-65 win over #6 seed Maryland in the first round. Xavier then blew the doors off #3 seed Florida State in round two, shooting 64.7% from three-point range in a 91-66 upset. They followed that up with another stunner in the Regional Semifinals, taking down #2 seed Arizona, 73-71. Their opponent in the Regional Finals was a team quite familiar with Cinderella runs, Gonzaga. But the Bulldogs were now a top seed and gave Xavier a real lesson in just how difficult it is to pull off four consecutive upsets, shutting down the tired and weary Musketeers in an 83-59 final.

11) Florida State, 2018 (#9 seed)

After their surprise run as a #11 seed in 2017, Xavier returned to the NCAA Tournament as a top seed in the West region in 2018. But this time they were the upset victim, and it was an act of revenge for Florida State. The Seminoles had been upset the year before by the Musketeers and found vengeance this time as a #9 seed in a 75-70 stunner. A few days later, they easily dispatched #4 seed Gonzaga, 75-60, to advance to the Regional Finals. It was a culmination of years of work from coach Leonard Hamilton, who had taken over the beleaguered program in 2002 and kept them mostly competitive in the difficult ACC for years. Looking to reach the Final Four for just the second time in school history (previously accomplished back in 1972), Florida State played a tough defensive battle in the Regional Finals against Michigan but ultimately fell short, 58-54.

“Led by senior star center Austin Croshere and sophomore point guard sensation God Shammgod, they entered the tournament as afterthoughts but exited the first weekend as heroes.”

12) Kent State, 2002 (#10 seed)

Before the days of George Mason, Butler, Wichita State, and VCU making Final Four runs, even a Regional Finals appearance from a mid-major school was a thrilling, few-and-far-between occurrence. Just a couple years after Gonzaga broke through out of the WCC, Kent State put the MAC on the map in 2002. The school had virtually no basketball success before Gary Waters took over as coach in 1996. He led them to a surprise second round appearance as a #13 seed in 2001 before taking a job with Rutgers. But the cupboard was hardly left bare for his successor, Stan Heath, with almost the entire ’00-’01 roster returning, including four seniors in the starting lineup. They won a school record 27 regular season games and entered the NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed. Led by their upperclassmen leadership and a balanced scoring attack, the Golden Flashes took down #7 seed Oklahoma State, #2 seed Alabama, and #3 seed Pittsburgh in succession. An emergent star in those three games was junior forward Antonio Gates, who would soon after embark on a legendary career as an NFL tight end. Kent seemed to have a legitimate chance at reaching the Final Four when the top seed in their region, Duke, was stunned by #5 seed Indiana, but the Hoosiers shot lights out in the Regional Finals, 15-of-19 on threes, to end the Flashes’ Cinderella run, 81-69.

13) Rhode Island, 1998 (#8 seed)

Just one year after he was fired by UCLA for recruiting violations, Jim Harrick re-emerged, taking over from the departing Al Skinner at Rhode Island. He inherited a solid roster, centered around senior guards Cuttino Mobley and Tyson Wheeler, and immediately led the Rams to their best NCAA Tournament finish in school history. Leaning on their quickness and distance shooting, Rhode Island stunned the much taller, much more talented on paper top seed Kansas (featuring 1st-Team All-Americans Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce) in the second round. In the Regional Finals, Rhode Island continued their Cinderella run by ending another, knocking out #13 seed Valparaiso, which featured Harrick’s son, Jim, Jr., as an assistant coach. Based on a combined 44 point performance from their star back court duo, the Rams actually led most of their Regional Finals game against #3 seed Stanford but they blew a six-point advantage in the final minute and were sent packing, 79-77. Perhaps Harrick took some solace in at least advancing further than his former recruits at UCLA, who were defeated in the Regional Semifinals as a #6 seed.

14) Texas, 1990 (#10 seed)

A mainstay of the NCAA Tournament in the ’90s and ’00s, when they made 18 appearances in 20 years, Texas was, in contrast, in the midst of a nine-year tourney drought when Tommy Penders took over as coach in 1988. He led them to the second round as a #11 seed in 1989, then took it a couple steps further as a #10 seed in 1990, reaching the brink of the Final Four. Featuring a high-powered, up-tempo offense built around seniors Travis May and Lance Blanks, the Longhorns mostly blitzed their ’89-’90 opponents, including a tournament-opening 100-88 win over #7 seed Georgia. In the second round, they were shut down by Purdue, but still managed to squeak by the #2 seed Boilermakers, in their home state of Indiana no less, erasing a late six-point deficit to advance, 73-72. Texas brought back the offensive fireworks in the Regional Semifinals, blowing past #6 seed Xavier 102-89, behind 32 points from Mays and 28 from Blanks. Their Regional Finals opponent was #4 seed Arkansas, a Southwest Conference rival, and it was an instant classic. The Razorbacks opened up a 16-point lead thanks to their full-court pressure defense, but had to hold on for dear life late, winning 88-85 when a Mays three-pointer in the final seconds just missed the mark. Texas eventually did make their first Final Four appearance of the modern era under Penders’ replacement, Rick Barnes, in 2003.

15) Davidson, 2008 (#10 seed)

A popular Cinderella pick in 2008 bracket pools thanks to the presence of star sophomore Stephen Curry, #10 seed Davidson made good on that promise, almost all the way to the Final Four. A school from the mid-major Southern Conference as a legitimate Final Four threat would have seemed inconceivable just a few years prior, but this was in the immediate wake of George Mason’s miracle run. Davidson started their tournament with a bang, with Curry scoring 40 points in an 82-76 victory over former perennial Cinderella, Gonzaga. Things looked dire in the second round against #2 Georgetown, as the Wildcats fell behind by 17 points soon after halftime. But Curry spurred a furious comeback, scoring 25 points in the second half while Davidson forced 20 turnovers in a 74-70 upset. In the next round, they dominated tape-to-tape, holding #3 seed Wisconsin to 37% shooting from the floor in a 73-56 drubbing. #1 seed Kansas was a daunting task in the Regional Final and ultimately proved too much, as the exhausted Curry scored 25 points, his lowest output of the tournament, and a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Jason Richards missed the mark. Kansas advanced, 57-55, and ultimately won the national title just over a week later. Curry returned for his junior year in ’08-’09 and hopes were high for another deep March run but Davidson struggled in the regular season and wound up missing the tournament altogether.

16) Tulsa, 2000 (#7 seed)

As a longtime proving ground for future star coaches like Nolan Richardson and Tubby Smith, Tulsa has had its fair share of NCAA Tournament upsets. It’s never reached the Final Four but came tantalizingly close in 2000. Coached by Bill Self, in his third and final season with the program before moving on to Illinois, Tulsa captured a school record 29 regular season wins in ’99-’00 and was ranked #14 in the final AP poll but had to settle for a #7 seed in the tournament due to their easy schedule in the WAC. They showed up the selection committee and any other doubters once March Madness commenced, blowing out #10 seed UNLV in the opening round, overcoming #2 seed Cincinnati (who was playing without their injured star Kenyon Martin) in the second round, then upending #6 seed Miami in the Regional Semifinals. Tulsa was shockingly the higher seed in the Regional Finals match-up but were still the underdog against #8 seed North Carolina, who was coming off their own upsets of Stanford and Tennessee. Behind their bruising front line, featuring Brendan Haywood and future NFL star Julius Peppers, the Tar Heels opened up a big lead early. The scrappy Golden Hurricanes battled back but ultimately fell just short, with a final score of 59-55.

17) LSU, 1987 (#10 seed)

Just one year after their miraculous run to the 1986 Final Four as a #11 seed, LSU came as close as one could to repeating the feat in 1987. Still working out the kinks of the “freak defense” that carried them to the Final Four one year prior, LSU was underwhelming in the ’86-’87 regular season, finishing with an 18-14 record and barely making the tournament again, this time as a #10 seed. But once again that versatile defensive scheme mixed with off-beat lineup decisions paid dividends for coach Dale Brown in March. They took down #7 seed Georgia Tech, #2 seed Temple, and #3 seed DePaul in succession to reach the Elite Eight in Cincinnati. One year earlier, LSU became the first and only team to defeat the #1, #2, and #3 seeds in a region and they incredibly almost repeated it in 1987. The Tigers staked a solid lead against top seed Indiana in the Regional Final, sparking hotheaded coach Bob Knight to throw numerous temper tantrums, including an incident in which he threatened an NCAA official at the scorer’s table. Things shifted completely in the final five minutes, with LSU unable to score a single point (in fact, they took just one field goal attempt and committed four turnovers) and Indiana rallying with a 10-0 run to win 77-76. The Hoosiers soon after won the NCAA title while LSU fans ended up waiting until 2006 to finally reach the Final Four again.

18) Missouri, 2002 (#12 seed)

Quin Snyder made three Final Four appearances during his playing days at Duke but things went differently for him as a coach. Just 32 years old when he took the head position at Missouri (after reaching two more Final Fours with Duke as an assistant under Coach K), Snyder led the Tigers to the tournament in his first four years but only once did they come even close to playing in the championship rounds. That surprise run came in 2002, when they started the season strong, ranked as high as #2 in the AP poll in December, but struggled down the stretch and were the last at-large bid into the tourney as a #12 seed. Led by Kareem Rush, the first major recruit of the Snyder era, Missouri started things off with an upset of #5 seed Miami and #4 seed Ohio State in a complete blowout. They then got a bit of a break as top seed Cincinnati was stunned by UCLA, and the #8 seed Bruins then fell to Missouri in the Regional Semifinals, 82-73. Waiting in the Elite Eight was their Big 12 rivals, Oklahoma, who had blown them out in their lone regular season match-up. Things were closer this time but ultimately the same result, as Hollis Price keyed an 81-75 Sooners win. It was a disappointing end, but Missouri did become the first #12 seed to reach as far as the Regional Finals (only Oregon State in 2021 have since joined them on that list). Snyder led Missouri to just one more tournament appearance, a second round loss, before getting fired in 2005. This was one of three times they’ve reached the Regional Finals in the modern era, but the program has yet to log a Final Four appearance.

19) Providence, 1997 (#10 seed)

One decade after their emotional, surprise run to the Final Four under Rick Pitino, Providence once again placed their stamp on March Madness in 1997. Led by senior star center Austin Croshere and sophomore point guard sensation God Shammgod, they entered the tournament as afterthoughts but exited the first weekend as heroes, dominating #7 seed Marquette in the opening round (81-59) and then stunning #2 seed Duke in Charlotte, 98-87. The Friars faced a Cinderella #14 seed in the Regional Semifinals in Chattanooga, and had to hold them off in a tough 71-65 win. In a thrilling, high-octane Regional Final, Providence got huge performances from Shammgod (23 points) and Ruben Garces (16 points, 19 rebounds) but couldn’t stop Miles Simon and #4 seed Arizona. The Friars overcame a 12-point second half deficit and had two chances to win it in regulation but after Shammgod and Corey Wright missed potential game-winners, the game went to overtime where Arizona prevailed, 96-92. Croshere struggled in the game with foul trouble and was soon after an NBA lottery pick. Shammgod left school early to declare for the draft but fell to the second round and never panned out in his time with the Wizards. Like many teams on this list, Providence can at least hang their hat on the fact that they were defeated by the eventual national champs. The program has made seven more NCAA Tournament appearances since 1997, but have yet to return to the Sweet 16, let alone the Elite Eight or Final Four.

20) Alabama, 2004 (#8 seed)

Though it’s a football school through-and-through, Alabama has had some modern era success on the hardcourt in March. The Crimson Tide reached the Sweet 16 in five of the first seven post-expansion NCAA Tournaments. But it’s made it that far just once since 1991 and in that run made its first and only Elite Eight appearance. That came in ’03-’04, right at the height of Mark Gottfried’s roller coaster tenure as head coach. Alabama entered the tournament as a #8 seed and started things off in thrilling fashion, advancing past Southern Illinois, 65-64, thanks to a last second game winner from senior guard Antoine Pettway. Trailing by 13 points in the second half against top seeded Stanford in the second round, Alabama went on a 16-0 run to take the lead and then held on late with some clutch free throw shooting in a 70-67 stunner. It was only the second loss of the season for Stanford, who was the #1 ranked team overall in the tournament. The Crimson Tide then had one more surprise in store in the Regional Semifinals, upending #5 seed Syracuse, 80-71. Though Alabama was blown out in the Regional Final, at least it was at the hands of the eventual champions, Connecticut.

21) Loyola Marymount, 1990 (#11 seed)

Though it ended short of the Final Four, Loyola Marymount in 1990 is one of the most uplifting Cinderella stories in NCAA Tournament history, one that still inspires to this day and even got its own “30 for 30” documentary. Coached by the legendary Paul Westhead and deploying his patented run-and-gun offense, the Lions were looking like a legitimate Final Four contender in ’89-’90 when tragedy struck during the West Coast Conference Tournament. One of the team’s two All-Americans, Hank Gathers, collapsed during a game and soon after passed away from a rare heart condition. Loyola Marymount took the floor again a couple weeks later with heavy hearts and low expectations and the team’s other All-American, Bo Kimble, a righty, shot his first three throw left-handed in tribute to the lefty Gathers. It went in, and the high-octane Lions subsequently blew away New Mexico State, 111-92. They proceeded to run #3 seed and defending champion Michigan off the floor in the second round, 149-115, behind 37 points from Kimble and 41 from senior guard Jeff Fryer. LMU then found themselves in a defensive struggle in the Regional Semifinals but still prevailed, 62-60 over #7 seed Alabama. Despite another incredible performance from Kimble, with 42 points and 11 rebounds, the Lions finally got a taste of their own medicine in the Regional Finals, losing to eventual national champion UNLV, 131-101. Though they didn’t quite reach the Final Four, Loyola Marymount paid stirring tribute to Gathers. This was especially true of Kimble, who ultimately made every free throw he attempted left handed.