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The Texas Longhorns are quickly becoming one of the underdog stories of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Sean Miller's squad, as the No. 11 seed in the West Region, has now upset two teams en route to the Sweet 16. First, the Longhorns took down arguably the country's best player, AJ Dybantsa, and the BYU Cougars in Round 1.
Then, on Saturday, Texas won a thriller against the third-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs -- meaning that for the first time since 2023, when they were a No. 2 seed, the Longhorns are onto the Sweet 16. Texas joins a rare group of No. 11 seeds to win a pair of March Madness games, but the Longhorns will have more work to do if they're going to make 11th-seed history.
Here's a look at the history of No. 11 seeds reaching the Sweet 16 in March Madness.
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History of 11 seeds in Sweet 16
The last time an 11th seed made the Sweet 16 was NC State in 2024; that year, the Wolfpack reached the Final Four.
According to BracketResearch.com, prior to Texas' win on Saturday, here's the breakdown of how deep 11 seeds have gone in the NCAA Tournament:
- Reached second round: 62 (of 160 total)
- Made Sweet 16: 27
- Made Elite Eight: 10
- Made Final Four: 6
- Made national championship: 0
No. 11 seed has ever made, or won, an NCAA Tournament title. However, Texas is now team No. 28 to made the Sweet 16 as an 11 seed -- and the Longhorns will look to join a group of six former 11 seeds to reach the Final Four.
Of those six teams, half have come in the last decade. Here are the 11 seeds to reach the Final Four, where all of them lost:
- 2024 NC State (lost to Purdue)
- 2021 UCLA (lost to Gonzaga)
- 2018 Loyola-Chicago (lost to Michigan)
- 2011 Virginia Commonwealth (lost to Butler)
- 2006 George Mason (lost to Florida)
- 1986 LSU (lost to Louisville)
Texas has already joined a select group of No. 11 seeds to make the Sweet 16. If the Longhorns continue their run, they'll only make more history.
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Loyola Chicago, NC State, UCLA's Sweet 16 runs
Here's a breakdown of the last three No. 11 seeds to make the Sweet 16: NC State in 2024, UCLA in 2021, and Loyola-Chicago in 2018.
Opponents
NC State: 6-seed Texas Tech, 14-seed Oakland, 2-seed Marquette
The Wolfpack made their run to the 2024 Sweet 16 by first upsetting Texas Tech in the first round, 80-67. However, their second-round win wasn't actually an upset.
No. 14 seed Oakland also advanced, and NC State took that squad down 79-73 in overtime in the second round.
In the Sweet 16, NC State beat Marquette 67-58, continuing its improbable run. The Wolfpack then went on to beat Duke in the Elite Eight, then lose to Purdue in the Final Four.
UCLA: 11-seed Michigan State (First Four), 6-seed BYU, 14-seed Abilene Christian, 2-seed Alabama
The Bruins' path to the Sweet 16, and eventually the Final Four, was even more difficult than most 11 seeds. UCLA emerged from the First Four games, beating Michigan State to claim their spot in the first round.
From there, the Bruins took down sixth-seeded BYU, 73-62, rode that momentum to beat a lower seed, Abilene Christian, in the second round, then pulled out an overtime win over No. 2 Alabama in the Sweet 16.
UCLA would go on to beat top-seeded Michigan in the Elite Eight, but lose to Gonzaga in the Final Four.
Loyola-Chicago: 6-seed Miami, 3-seed Tennessee, 7-seed Nevada
Loyola-Chicago's 2018 run is remembered as one of the best Cinderella stories of all-time, partially due to the magic of their team chaplain, Sister Jean. But the Ramblers also took down some tough competition on their run.
First, Loyola Chicago took down No. 6 Miami in a 64-62 upset in the first round. From there, the Ramblers squeaked by Tennessee, 63-62, to advance to the Sweet 16, where they beat Nevada.
Loyola-Chicago went on to take down Kansas State in the Elite Eight, then lose to Michigan in the Final Four.
Key Players
NC State
- G DJ Horne (16.9 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 2.1 Ast)
- F D.J. Burns (12.9 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 2.9 Ast)
- G Jayden Taylor (11.2 Pts, 3.6 Reb, 1.3 Ast)
The Wolfpack got plenty of contributions in 2024 as they went from a 17–14 regular season record, to an ACC Tournament title and March Madness run.
The biggest star was Burns, who became a March sensation by putting up 24 points vs. Oakland and 29 points vs. Duke, helping NC State reach the Final Four as a physically imposing forward.
UCLA
- G Johnny Juzang (16.0 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 1.6 Ast)
- G Jaime Jacquez (12.3 Pts, 6.1 Reb, 1.7 Ast)
- G Tyger Campbell (10.4 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 5.4 Ast)
The Bruins had one player named first-team all-conference in 2020-21, Tyger Campbell, and two named second-team all-conference, Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jacquez. In the Bruins' First Four win over MSU, Jacquez put up 27 points, setting a new career-high.
It was Juzang who stepped up for UCLA the rest of the way in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, however, scoring 27 points vs. BYU, 17 vs. Abilene Christian, 28 vs. Michigan and 29 in the loss to Gonzaga.
Loyola-Chicago
- G Clayton Cluster (13.2 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 4.1 Ast)
- G Marques Townes (11.1 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 2.4 Ast)
- G Donte Ingram (11.0 Pts, 6.4 Reb, 1.6 Ast)
A Cinderella team almost always needs a deep collection of contributors, and Loyola-Chicago had that recipe in 2018. Five different Ramblers averaged double-digit points in the season, with the team winning the MVC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.
As such, there was a different leading scorer for every Loyola-Chicago March Madness win. Custer had 14 against Miami in Round 1. Forward Aundre Jackson had 16 in the second-round win over Tennessee. Townes put up 18 points against Nevada. And guard Ben Richardson had 23 points against Kansas State in the Elite Eight.
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
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