Although there’s an air of unpredictability about March Madness – the clue is in the name, in the end there’s a jarring sense of regularity with which the best college basketball teams come out on top.
Since the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams in 1985, 25 of the champions that have followed have been the top seeded side – in eleven other years, the outfit seeded 2-4 has prevailed.
There have been just three exceptions to the rule in the best part of 40 years – helping to contextualize the extraordinary achievement of Villanova in that inaugural expanded edition in 1985.
They overachieved to some tune to become the first – and only – eighth seed to win March Madness.
Against All Odds
The history books reveal why so many stick with the top seeds when it comes to placing a bet on the March Madness futures. It also explains why Houston, the betting favorite to win the NCAA Championship in 2024, have been backed into -385 to beat Texas Tech (+340) in their bracket meeting.
Interest is rather more cautious in those seeded outside the fabled four, which explains why Villanova were able to go under the radar so unexpectedly in 1985.
There was little in the regular season displays of Rollie Massimino’s team to suggest that a history-making charge at the NCAA national title was in the offing. They finished the campaign with a 19-10 record, losing five games in seven at one point – but they had just about enough on the board to make it into the March Madness draw.
Villanova edged past Dayton in the first round of the tournament, returning from Ohio with the slimmest of 51-49 victories.
Next up they faced the much-more fancied Michigan Wolverines, whose outstanding 25-3 record during the regular season marked them out as a team to beat. But that’s exactly what Villanova did in a giant-killing for the ages, running out 59-55 victors.
The NCAA Southeast Regional semi-final saw them clash with Maryland, and once again it was the underdog that came out on top in another narrow 46-43 win.
At this point, Villanova’s players were already in dreamland – but more history was still to be made…
National Champions
The scene was set for the NCAA Southeast Regional final, with the North Carolina Tar Heels – one of the most decorated teams in college sports – standing in the way of Villanova and another unlikely victory.
Unlikely, but not impossible. Powered by the performances of future NBA stars Ed Pinckney, Dwayne McClain and his near-namesake Gary McLain, the Pennsylvania school once again raised eyebrows – this time with a more comprehensive 56-44 win.
For a college like Villanova to make the Final Four of March Madness was, at the time, almost unheard of, but Massimino and co were yet to rest on their laurels. They faced another surprise package, Memphis State, in the semi-finals, and once again they proved too hot to handle in a 52-45 triumph.
Dare to dream, they say. But surely Villanova wouldn’t overcome the all-conquering Georgetown, who were led by the future eleven-time NBA all-star Patrick Ewing, right?
On this day, the Knicks drafted Patrick Ewing, one of the greatest 75 players in NBA history
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 18, 2023
A nip-and-tuck first half saw the Wildcats go in 29-28 to the good, before the lead started changing hands with regularity in the second period – but it’s who’s in front at the final buzzer that counts, and once again Villanova had scrapped their way to victory 66-64.
Jaws dropped; they’d pulled off a feat never matched before or since. Whatever happens in the next 40 years of March Madness, we’ll still be talking about Villanova’s Cinderella story.
