March Madness: How many times has a 15-seed beaten a 2-seed?

The No. 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks pulled off the massive, overtime upset win over the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday.

The first day of the 2022 NCAA Tournament was, well, madness! Earlier on Thursday, March 17, there were some huge upsets, including No. 11 Michigan beating No. 6 Colorado State and No. 5 Iowa losing to No. 12 Richmond. As it turns out, there was more upsets on the schedule.

The No. 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks defeated the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats 85-79 in overtime to advance to the Round of 32. And with that everyone who had Kentucky advancing deep into the NCAA Tournament is tearing up their brackets.

With this, what were the other times that the No. 15 seed sent the second seed packing from the NCAA Tournament?

March Madness: How many times has a 15-seed beaten a 2-seed?

Saint Peter’s is now the 10th No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed in the opening round of March Madness. Here are the other times that this has happened:

• 1991: Richmond defeated Syracuse 73-69
• 1993: Santa Clara defeated Arizona 64-61
• 1997: Coppin State defeated South Carolina 78-65
• 2001: Hampton defeated Iowa State 58-57
• 2012: Lehigh defeated Duke 75-70
• 2012: Norfolk State defeated Missouri 86-84
• 2013: Florida Gulf Coast defeated Georgetown 78-68
• 2016: Middle Tennessee defeated Michigan State 90-81
• 2021: Oral Roberts defeated Ohio State 85-79

As you can see, a No. 15 seed beat a No. 2 seed for the second consecutive year following Saint Peter’s win. In 2021, Oral Roberts sent Ohio State packing in the Round of 64. The last time that a No. 15 seed won in the first round in back-to-back years was in 2012 and 2013, when Lehigh, Norfolk State and Florida Gulf Coast beat Duke, Missouri, and Georgetown, respectively.

For those who wanted to know who was the first No. 15 seed to win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, that feat belongs to the 1991 Richmond Spiders.

There you have it, there are 10 No. 15 seeds to be victorious in the first round of March Madness. We shall see if that list will grow in the near or distant future.

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