Double Trouble: Odds Were Against NCSU Reaching NCAA Championship Game
April 1st, 2024 - 18:26
The good news for North Carolina State was that the Wolfpack became seventh double-digit seeded team to advance to the Final Four and third to do so with a double-digit margin of victory over four-game sweep. Although NCSU's next opponent (Purdue) lost twice to squads in this category (LSU in 1986 and VCU in 2011), the bad news is that all seven double-digit seeded F4 teams lost their national semifinal game by a double-digit average of 11 points.
| Year | Double-Digit Seeded F4 Team | Regional/Margin of Victories | Regional Results | National Semifinal Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | #11 Louisiana State | Southeast/4.3 ppg | Purdue (94-87), Memphis State (83-81), Georgia Tech (70-64) and Kentucky (59-57) | L to Louisville, 88-77 |
| 2006 | #11 George Mason | East/6.3 | Michigan State (75-65), North Carolina (65-60), Wichita State (63-55) and Connecticut (86-84) | L to Florida, 73-58 |
| 2011 | #11 Virginia Commonwealth | South/11.8 | Georgetown (74-56), Purdue (94-76), Florida State (72-71) and Kansas (71-61) | L to Butler, 70-62 |
| 2016 | #10 Syracuse | Midwest/13.3 | Dayton (70-51), Middle Tennessee State (75-50), Gonzaga (63-60) and Virginia (68-62) | L to North Carolina, 83-66 |
| 2018 | #11 Loyola of Chicago | South/5 | Miami FL (64-62), Tennessee (63-62), Nevada (69-68) and Kansas State (78-62) | L to Michigan, 69-57 |
| 2021 | #11 UCLA* | East/9.8 | Michigan State (86-80), Brigham Young (73-62), Abilene Christian (67-47), Alabama (88-78) and Michigan (51-49) | L to Gonzaga, 83-80 |
| 2024 | #11 North Carolina State | South/10 | Texas Tech (80-67), Oakland (79-73 in OT), Marquette (67-58) and Duke (76-64) | L to Purdue, 63-50 |
*UCLA is only double-digit seeded team reaching Final Four after participating in First Four (preliminary round).
NOTE: Only automatic qualifier among the first seven double-digit seeded teams reaching Final Four was Loyola of Chicago (2018).