8 vs. 9 seed history in March Madness: Exploring dominance and trends

March Madness begins this week as the First Four kicks things off on Tuesday followed by the first round on Thursday. The 8 vs. 9 seed matchup has historically been considered the closest and most evenly matched game in the first round.

This year, the East Region will see the No. 8 Florida Atlantic Owls clash with the No. 9 Northwestern Wildcats. The Midwest Region will pit the No. 8 Utah State Aggies against the No. 9 TCU Horned Frogs.

The South Region will feature the No. 8 Nebraska Cornhuskers against the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies. Finally, the No. 8 Mississippi State Bulldogs will face the No. 9 Michigan State Spartans in the West Region.

On that note, here's a look at the March Madness history of the 8 vs. 9 seed matchup over the years:

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8 vs. 9 seed history in March Madness

The matchup between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds has been the closest of any since March Madness expanded the tournament to 64 teams in 1985.

No. 9 seeds are the only lower-ranked seed to have a winning record in the first round against the higher-ranked seed, as they are 78-74 against No. 8 seeds across 38 NCAA Tournaments. Over the last 10 NCAA Tournaments, though, the matchup has been split evenly, with both No. 8 and No. 9 seeds winning 20 games each.

All four No. 8 seeds have advanced to the second round of March Madness just three times since the tournament expansion: 2000, 2002 and 2015. It has been far more common for all four No. 9 seeds to advance to the second round, which has happned five times: 1989, 1994, 1999, 2001 and 2019.

While the No. 9 seed has had more success than the No. 8 seed in the first round, that has not been the case throughout the tournament. There have been just eight No. 9 seeds to reach the Sweet Sixteen, five to reach the Elite Eight and two to reach the Final Four. No No. 9 seed has reached the national title.

Meanwhile, 16 No. 8 seeds have appeared in the Sweet Sixteen, nine in the Elite Eight, five in the Final Four and four in the national championship. The Villanova Wildcats are the only team seeded No. 8 or lower to win a national title, doing so in 1985, the inaugural year of the 64-team tournament.