10 Things to Know About March Madness
The history behind March Madness is a lot more than it may seem.
More stories from Branden Gallimore
The most important month for college basketball athletes is also a nationwide popularity.
1. The odds of filling out a perfect bracket are slim to none.
The odds of winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning are higher than the chance of filling out a perfect bracket. The exact odds of getting every game correct are 1 in 9.2 quintillion.
2. No bottom seed has ever came out on top against a top seed.
Everyone loves upsets, but a #16 seed has never beaten a first seed in the history of the tournament.
3. The 2008 tournament was one of the most predictable.
In the 2008 March Madness tournament, it was the first and only time ever that all #1 seeds made it to the final four.
4. 1939 was the first year of the tournament.
In 1939, the start of the tournament, only eight teams took part in it; The Oregon Webfoot came out on top.
5. Notre Dame shooting guard Austin Carr set a tournament record with 61 points.
In a first round matchup against Ohio State, Carr dropped the most points in tournament history, 61. Crushing the NBA legend David Robinson’s record of 50.
5. Glen Rice holds the record for the most total points scored in a single tournament.
Rice holds this with 148 points from the 1989 tournament. Christian Laettner holds the all-time tournament points record with 402 over 23 tournament games.
6. LMU and Michigan had the most points in a single game in tournament history.
LMU and Michigan finished with a score of 149-115, the most in tournament history.
7. North Carolina, despite all of their success, hold the record for least amount of points in a tournament game.
Back in 1941, the Tar-heels set a tournament low by only scoring 20 points in a second round game.
8. No #5 seed has ever won the tournament.
Despite three #5 teams making it to the big game, none have come out victorious.
9. UCONN is the only school to have the men’s and women’s team to win the tournament the same year.
Not only are they the only school to do this feat, they also have done it twice. The Huskies men and women came out victorious in 2004 and 2014.
10. Between 1967-1973, UCLA was the only school to be named champions.
UCLA is the most decorated school in tournament history. They have won 11 titles total; seven of which happened in a row.
