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How many times have a No. 1 seed and No. 8 seed played for the national championship?

How many times have we seen a No. 1 seed and No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament play for the championship? We’ve got the list of all those games here.

By Teddy Ricketson
Villanova coach Rollie Massimino victorious being carried by players after winning game vs Georgetown. Lexington, KY. Set Number: X31325 TK3 R15

The 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament concludes with the championship game on Monday, April 4th. The No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks will take on the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels. The 2022 NCAA Men’s Championship game will air on TBS with the tipoff scheduled for 9:20 p.m. ET from the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

A No. 1 seed is expected to be in the championship game, but the same certainly can’t be said for the No. 8 seed. North Carolina is only the fourth 8-seed to play in the national title game. In fact, the No. 8 seed is the lowest seed to have made an appearance in the championship. So far, 8-seeds are 1-2 in championship games. In 1985, No. 8 Villanova won the championship over No. 1 Georgetown for the lone 8-seed victory. No. 8 Butler lost to No. 3 Connecticut in 2011 and No. 8 Kentucky lost to No. 7 Connecticut in 2014.

Villanova is the only 8-seed to not only face a No. 1 seed in the championship, but the only team to win the NCAA Men’s Championship as an 8-seed. North Carolina looks to be the second team to ever take down a No. 1 seed in the championship game on Monday.

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