Alabama basketball earned a 2 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and will open up March Madness against 15 seed Robert Morris on Friday in Cleveland. It's the third time in five straight tournament appearances under Nate Oats that Alabama has been a 1 or 2 seed in the Big Dance.
Alabama has had little trouble dispatching the lower seeded teams the two previous times under Oats. In the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Alabama defeated Rick Pitino's Iona 68-55. In 2023 as the No. 1 overall seed, the Crimson Tide rolled to a 96-75 win over Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.
Big NCAA Tournament upsets have become more prevalent in recent years, though. Before 2012, only four 15 seeds had ever pulled an upset over a 2 seed. Since 2012, it has happened seven more times.
While it didn't happen in last year's tournament, we're only two years removed from the last 15-over-2 upset. In 2023 Princeton defeated Arizona 59-55. Last year was actually the first time in three years that there wasn't a 15-over-2 in the Big Dance.
A history of 15 seeds upsetting 2 seeds in March Madness
A 15 has beaten a 2 seed 11 times in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
The first ever 15-over-2 upset in the NCAA Tournament occurred in 1991 when the Richmond Spiders stunned Jim Boeheim and Syracuse.
Two years later in 1993, Steve Nash and Santa Clara upset Arizona.
In 2012, there were two 15 seeds to beat 2 seeds in the same NCAA Tournament. Lehigh upset Duke 75-70 and Norfolk State knocked off Missouri 86-84.
One of the more famous upsets came in 2013 when Dunk City came to life as Florida Gulf Coast beat Georgetown 78-68. High-flying FGCU was the Belle of the Ball and became the first 15 seed to win multiple tournament games as they beat 7 seed San Diego State in the second round before falling to Florida in the Sweet 16.
Eight years later, Oral Roberts joined Florida Gulf Coast by winning two tournament games. They upset 2 seed Ohio State in the first round and then knocked off Florida in the second round before falling by two points to Arkansas in the Sweet 16.
In 2022, it was Saint Peter's that made the furthest run in the NCAA Tournament by advancing all the way to the Elite Eight. The Peacocks upset Kentucky in overtime in the first round before beating Murray State and Purdue to advance to the Regional Final. Their run ended there with a 20-point loss to North Carolina.
Princeton made it to the Sweet 16 in 2023. After beating Arizona in the first round, the Tigers knocked off Missouri before losing to Creighton.
The full history of 15 seeds over 2 seeds:
1991: Richmond over Syracuse
1993: Santa Clara over Arizona
1997: Coppin State over South Carolina
2001: Hampton over Iowa State
2012: Lehigh over Duke
2012: Norfolk State over Missouri
2013: Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown
2016: Middle Tennessee State over Michigan State
2021: Oral Roberts over Ohio State
2022: Saint Peter's over Kentucky
2023: Princeton over Arizona