No. 9 seeds did the deed at the 2026 NCAA Tournament, going a perfect 4-0 on Thursday and Friday against those No. 8 seeds.
Iowa sealed the deal on Friday night when the 9th-seeded Hawkeyes outlasted No. 8 seed Clemson, 67-61, in a South Region first-round game in Tampa. That victory by the Big Ten over the ACC completed the 4-0 sweep for the No. 9 seeds, and it also earned some NCAA Tournament history.
It was the 6th time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that the 4 No. 9 seeds swept the 4 No. 8 seeds. The other 5 times that it happened were in 1989, 1994, 1999, 2001 and 2019. The 4-0 sweep by the 9-seeds at this year’s tournament also increased the No. 9 seeds’ all-time record against the 8-seeds to 87-77, so right now it doesn’t pay to have those white jerseys on during the 8-9 games because the dark, road jerseys worn by the 9-seeds have prevailed more often than not.
The other 9-seeds to prevail at this year’s tournament were Utah State, which outlasted No. 8 seed Villanova, 86-76, earlier Friday, and then on Thursday it was No. 9 seed Saint Louis taking down No. 8 Georgia, 102-77, and No. 9 seed TCU edging No. 8 Ohio State, 66-64.
The 4 No. 9 seeds who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament still have Final Four dreams, and here is what the Kalshi market currently sees among the top teams in the mix to make it all the way to Indianapolis:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
