March Madness: Will the 2018 NCAA Tournament be the year where a 16 seed finally beats a one seed?

A 16-seed has never defeated a 1-seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Could this be the year it finally happens?

16-seeds are 0-132 in NCAA Tournament history. 1-seeds have beaten 16-seeds by double-digits in all but 15 of those 132 games.

There is madness every year in March, but the 16-seeds are rarely involved.

This year might be different. The University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team enters the tournament with slightly higher expectations than normal for a team in their position.

The champions of the second edition of the Ivy League “Tournament” are being called the best 16-seed of all time.

Penn is facing off against Kansas, a blue-blood program known for to produce some early round upsets.

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The Jayhawks are really good this year. You have to be to earn a 1-seed. Seniors Devonte’ Graham and Svi Mykhailiuk form one of the best backcourts in the nation. They won the Big 12 regular season title for what feels like the 100th year in a row.

But, if any of the 1-seeds were going to fall, Kansas feels like the one. Xavier and Villanova feel safe as the winners of the play-in games for the last two 16-seeds seem less likely to upset for a number of reasons.

If Penn’s stout defense can limit the Jayhawks prolific backcourt, then the Quakers will have a chance to make history. It would be their first win in the tournament since 1994, ending a nine-game March Madness losing streak.

While Penn has the obvious best chance of pulling off the impossible upset, there seems to be one other 16-seed threat waiting in the shadows.

UMBC, fresh off of a thrilling win over a strong, veteran-heavy Vermont squad in the America East Championship game, will be facing a Virginia team that just lost the ACC Sixth Man of the Year De’Andre Hunter to a broken wrist.

Hunter is far from the best player on the Cavaliers, that title probably belongs to Kyle Guy, but losing a capable guard still robs the team of depth at the most important position. For a team with a style that does not translate very well to the tournament format, every little bit helps.

Jairus Lyles and company will give Virginia everything they can handle in the Retrievers second tournament appearance ever (their last and only other appearance came in 2008.)

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It would not be smart to start penciling a 16-seed over a 1-seed in all of your brackets, but this year’s crop feels a little feistier than usual. Mathematically, we are overdue on an upset of this magnitude. Penn and UMBC may have what it takes.

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