We don't mean to burst anyone's fantasy bubble. But, while it's true the occasional lower seed has crashed the Final Four in recent years, it's No. 1's that have increasingly emerged to grab national championships.
Based on its performances in this year's tournament, Louisville, the last surviving top seed, figures to extend the hegemony of the top dogs.
Just to give the Cardinals another edge, they're the only Final Four team in 2013 that has experience on the game's most scrutinized stage.
No. 1 seeds have won 18 of the 34 titles contested since seeding of the tournament field began in 1979. Of the last dozen champions, including Kentucky last year, eight were top seeded. That's two of every three.
The 2008 Final Four was the only one in which every entrant was a top seed. There have been four years in which no Final Four squad was a No. 1 seed, 2011 being the most recent example.
This is the first year since 2003 no ACC team commanded a No. 1 seed.
More notably, 2013 marks the third straight season without an ACC entrant in the Final Four. That's the longest such drought since 1958-61, long before the NCAA began allowing multiple entrants from the same conference (1975).
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| Year | Seed, Team | Seed, Team | Seed, Team | Seed, Team | Non-Power League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1 Louisville | 4 Michigan | 4 Syracuse | 9 Wichita State | Wichita State |
| 2012 | 1 Kentucky | 2 Kansas | 2 Ohio St. | 4 Louisville | |
| 2011 | 3 UConn | 4 Kentucky | 8 Butler | 11 VCU | Butler, VCU |
| 2010 | 1 Duke | 2 West Virginia | 5 Butler | 5 Michigan St. | Butler |
| 2009 | 1 UNC | 1 UConn | 2 Michigan St. | 3 Villanova | |
| 2008 | 1 UNC | 1 Kansas | 1 Memphis | 1 UCLA | Memphis |
| 2007 | 1 Florida | 1 Ohio State | 2 Georgetown | 2 UCLA | |
| 2006 | 2 UCLA | 3 Florida | 4 LSU | 11 George Mason | George Mason |
| 2005 | 1 UNC | 1 Illinois | 4 Louisville | 5 Michigan State | Louisville* |
| 2004 | 1 Duke | 2 UConn | 2 Oklahoma St. | 3 Georgia Tech | |
| 2003 | 1 Texas | 2 Kansas | 3 Marquette | 3 Syracuse | Marquette* |
| 2002 | 1 Maryland | 1 Kansas | 2 Oklahoma | 5 Indiana | |
| 2001 | 1 Duke | 1 Michigan St. | 2 Arizona | 3 Maryland | |
| 2000 | 2 Michigan St. | 5 Florida | 8 UNC | 8 Wisconsin | |
| 1999 | 1 Duke | 1 UConn | 1 Michigan St. | 4 Ohio State | |
| 1998 | 1 UNC | 2 Kentucky | 3 Stanford | 3 Utah | Utah |
| 1997 | 1 UNC | 1 Kentucky | 1 Minnesota | 4 Arizona | |
| 1996 | 1 Kentucky | 1 UMass | 4 Syracuse | 5 Mississippi St. | UMass |
| 1995 | 1 UCLA | 2 Arkansas | 2 UNC | 4 Oklahoma St. | |
| 1994 | 1 Arkansas | 2 Arizona | 2 Duke | 3 Florida | |
| 1993 | 1 UNC | 1 Kentucky | 1 Michigan | 2 Kansas | |
| 1992 | 1 Duke | 2 Indiana | 4 Cincinnati | 6 Michigan | Cincinnati* |
| 1991 | 1 UNC | 1 UNLV | 2 Duke | 3 Kansas | UNLV |
| 1990 | 1 UNLV | 3 Duke | 4 Arkansas | 4 Georgia Tech | UNLV |
| 1989 | 1 Illinois | 2 Duke | 3 Michigan | 3 Seton Hall | |
| 1988 | 1 Arizona | 1 Oklahoma | 2 Duke | 6 Kansas | |
| 1987 | 1 Indiana | 1 UNLV | 2 Syracuse | 6 Providence | UNLV |
| 1986 | 1 Duke | 1 Kansas | 2 Louisville | 11 LSU | Louisville* |
| 1985 | 1 Georgetown | 1 St. John's | 2 Memphis | 8 Villanova | Memphis |
| 1984 | 1 Georgetown | 1 Kentucky | 2 Houston | 7 Virginia | Houston |
| 1983 | 1 Houston | 1 Louisville | 4 Georgia | 6 N.C. State | Houston, Louisville* |
| 1982 | 1 Georgetown | 1 UNC | 3 Louisville | 6 Houston | Louisville*, Houston |
| 1981 | 1 LSU | 1 Virginia | 2 UNC | 3 Indiana | |
| 1980 | 2 Louisville | 5 Iowa | 6 Purdue | 8 UCLA | Louisville* |
| 1979 | 1 Indiana St. | 2 DePaul | 2 Michigan St. | 9 Penn | DePaul*, Ind. St., Penn |
*Currently members of the Big East
| Seed | No. | Seasons Won |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2002, 2001, 1999, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1990, 1987, 1984, 1982 |
| 2 | 7 | 2004, 2000, 1998, 1991, 1986, 1980, 1979 |
| 3 | 5 | 2011, 2006, 2003, 1989, 1981 |
| 4 | 1 | 1997 |
| 6 | 2 | 1988, 1983 |
| 8 | 1 | 1985 |