usually by their records and previous tournament performances
Villanova
Michigan was a #3 seed when they won the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in 1989.
You have the advantage, or you may be seeded higher in a tournament.
In the March Madness tournament bracket, seeds are used to rank and organize the teams based on their performance and record during the regular season. Higher seeded teams are typically expected to perform better and have an advantage over lower seeded teams. The bracket is set up so that higher seeded teams face lower seeded teams in the early rounds, with the ultimate goal of determining the best team in the tournament.
Kansas was the #6 seed in the Midwest bracket in 1988.
In 2006, the third seeded (in the Minneapolis bracket) University of Florida gators defeated the #2 seeded UCLA (in the Oakland bracket) in the national championship. Neither team was a number one seeed
#1 seeded Kansas defeated Kentucky in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, by a score of 88-76.
The NCAA tournament seeding is determined by a selection committee that ranks the teams based on their performance during the regular season. The teams are then placed in a bracket with higher-seeded teams facing lower-seeded teams in each round. The seeding impacts the teams' paths to the championship by determining who they will play in each round. Higher-seeded teams typically have an easier path as they face lower-ranked opponents, while lower-seeded teams face tougher competition.
16 seed, beat duke last year
The 11 seed is a play-in game in the NCAA basketball tournament because it allows for more teams to participate in the tournament and provides an opportunity for lower-seeded teams to earn a spot in the main bracket.
The play-in game for the 11 seed in the tournament is held to determine the final team that will advance to the main bracket. This game gives lower-seeded teams a chance to compete for a spot in the tournament and adds excitement to the event.
The lowest seeded team to make it all the way to the Final Four in the NCAA basketball tournament was an 11 seed and it happened four times:11 seeded LSU in 198611 seeded George Mason in 200611 seeded VCU in 201111 seeded Wichita State in 2013