Case Study: National Champions By Seed (Since 1979)

[Black Sheep ITVI]

SEASON	NATIONAL CHAMPION	SEED
1979​	Michigan State	2​
1980​	Louisville	2​
1981​	Indiana	3​
1982​	North Carolina	1​
1983​	North Carolina State	6​
1984​	Georgetown	1​
1985​	Villanova	8​
1986​	Louisville	2​
1987​	Indiana	1​
1988​	Kansas	6​
1989​	Michigan	3​
1990​	UNLV	1​
1991​	Duke	2​
1992​	Duke	1​
1993​	North Carolina	1​
1994​	Arkansas	1​
1995​	UCLA	1​
1996​	Kentucky	1​
1997​	Arizona	4​
1998​	Kentucky	2​
1999​	Connecticut	1​
2000​	Michigan State	1​
2001​	Duke	1​
2002​	Maryland	1​
2003​	Syracuse	3​
2004​	Connecticut	2​
2005​	North Carolina	1​
2006​	Florida	3​
2007​	Florida	1​
2008​	Kansas	1​
2009​	North Carolina	1​
2010​	Duke	1​
2011​	Connecticut	3​
2012​	Kentucky	1​
2013​	Louisville*	1​
2014​	Connecticut	7​
2015​	Duke	1​
2016​	Villanova	2​
2017​	North Carolina	1​
2018​	Villanova	1​
2019​	Virginia	1​
2021​	Baylor	1​
2022​	Kansas	1​
2023​	Connecticut	4​
2024​	Connecticut	1​
2025​	Florida	1​

Please note that NCAA tournament seeding began in 1979.

 

[MarkPftw]

And yet, we'll have dummies on here telling us games in November and December don't mean **** because Cal had a miracle run with 8 seed UK in 2014.

 

[philstat]

Damn, really what that list shows is how irrelevant we have truly become, UCONN, UF, Duke, UNC, KU and Villanova have dominated our last title over the past 20-25 years.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

I'm curious where this came from. I have noticed numerous things lately starting at 1979 for championships. Seems a bit odd that they all start one year after our '78 title. 47 years is not a very logical cutoff point.

 

[Black Sheep ITVI]

I'm curious where this came from. I have noticed numerous things lately starting at 1979 for championships. Seems a bit odd that they all start one year after our '78 title. 27 years is not a very logical cutoff point.

NCAA tournament seeding began in 1979.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

NCAA tournament seeding began in 1979.

I honestly did not think about that. Actually 1978 was the first year to feature seeding. 1979 was the first year the entire field was seeded. 1978 featured seeds one through four in each region. Seems logical to me to include '78 since a seeded team did win it. That could be my obvious bias though.

1978 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records

Here's everything you need to know about the 1978 NCAA tournament. This includes the bracket, scores, stats and records.

www.ncaa.com

1978 NCAA Division I basketball tournament - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Black Sheep ITVI]

I honestly did not think about that. Actually 1978 was the first year to feature seeding. 1979 was the first year the entire field was seeded.

1978 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records

Here's everything you need to know about the 1978 NCAA tournament. This includes the bracket, scores, stats and records.

www.ncaa.com

Any of my case studies that involve seeding will usually begin with 1979 because of that very reason. Any of my case studies that are related specifically to NCAA tournament performance may usually begin with 1985 because that's the year the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams. I never choose a starting point arbitrarily. Also, if I'm trying to review the current era, that will usually be for 10 literal years. I'll look forward to sharing more of these soon and if you have something you'd like me to cover, let me know.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

This shows me how impressive UCONN has been as 4 of their 6 titles were not 1 seeds.

 

[paulcalhoun_rivals397471]

I didn't mean to imply you were playing games. I assumed you sourced it from somewhere. I have had videos popping up on YT that start at '79 for titles with no mentions of seeding is why I was curious about the cutoff point.

 

[BlueBomb]

SEASON	NATIONAL CHAMPION	SEED
1979​	Michigan State	2​
1980​	Louisville	2​
1981​	Indiana	3​
1982​	North Carolina	1​
1983​	North Carolina State	6​
1984​	Georgetown	1​
1985​	Villanova	8​
1986​	Louisville	2​
1987​	Indiana	1​
1988​	Kansas	6​
1989​	Michigan	3​
1990​	UNLV	1​
1991​	Duke	2​
1992​	Duke	1​
1993​	North Carolina	1​
1994​	Arkansas	1​
1995​	UCLA	1​
1996​	Kentucky	1​
1997​	Arizona	4​
1998​	Kentucky	2​
1999​	Connecticut	1​
2000​	Michigan State	1​
2001​	Duke	1​
2002​	Maryland	1​
2003​	Syracuse	3​
2004​	Connecticut	2​
2005​	North Carolina	1​
2006​	Florida	3​
2007​	Florida	1​
2008​	Kansas	1​
2009​	North Carolina	1​
2010​	Duke	1​
2011​	Connecticut	3​
2012​	Kentucky	1​
2013​	Louisville*	1​
2014​	Connecticut	7​
2015​	Duke	1​
2016​	Villanova	2​
2017​	North Carolina	1​
2018​	Villanova	1​
2019​	Virginia	1​
2021​	Baylor	1​
2022​	Kansas	1​
2023​	Connecticut	4​
2024​	Connecticut	1​
2025​	Florida	1​

View attachment 1229646


Please note that NCAA tournament seeding began in 1979.

Well, if you're trying to depress me even more, congrats, you succeeded.

 

[SenseMaker_Cats]

Noticed an * next to Louisville any body know what that’s ***** for?

---

 

[megablue]

It would be interesting to know the percentages, based on seeding, that made the Final Four.

 

[RunninRichie]

Is this @Im the village idiot

 

[Black Sheep ITVI]

Is this @Im the village idiot

Yes that's why I added ITVI add the end.

 

[Black Sheep ITVI]

It would be interesting to know the percentages, based on seeding, that made the Final Four.

Good idea. I'll do that as one of my next case studies!

 

[megablue]

Good idea. I'll do that as one of my next case studies!

Trust me, I wasn't trying to put you, or anyone else, to work. It's just that winning it all is so damn hard and the stats are so telling:
61% are 1-seeds
76% are 1-2 seeds
87% are 1-2-3 seeds

I couldn't help but wonder what the stats would show for simply REACHING the FINAL FOUR ???????
To my view, regards the tournament championship, you'd better be in the TOP TEN seeds or you are really just hoping for a miracle.
That is why we need a roster that will produce a top-tier team that is rated in the TOP TEN all year long and still playing well at the end of the year.
We need MUCH BETTER TALENT and MUCH BETTER COACHING than we've had recently. It's just that simple ...

 

[20MRoster]

And yet, we'll have dummies on here telling us games in November and December don't mean **** because Cal had a miracle run with 8 seed UK in 2014.

And let's not lose sight that the team had ELITE talent that was raw and young and took time to gel. Was a preseason top 5 team, so lived up to lofty expectations in the end. Also benefited from getting the mid-major 1 seed (Wichita State was a great team w/ 3 NBA players but they're still a mid major and UK out-talented them by far). Throw in some CLUTCH shots from one of the 5 stars.

So a lot of things need to fall in place for that miracle run. It all starts with talent (real talent, not the 8th stringers that the goobers here get hard for these days) and then have to have things go your way. You cannot just re-create that scenario on a whim.