As the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Duke Blue Devils are one of the favorites to cut down the nets and win the national championship. And they might have some bizarre form of luck on their side. Apparently defeating the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers in the NCAA Tournament is a weird predictor when it comes to winning the national championship.
For seven of Mount St. Mary’s NCAA Tournament appearances in program history, the team that beat the Mountaineers went on to win the title in the year that follows. For example, in 1995, the Mountaineers were eliminated by Kentucky in the tournament. Kentucky did not win the 1995 championship, instead they won the 1996 championship.
That held true again in 1999 when Michigan State defeated Mount St. Mary’s in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans were crowned national champs in 2000. 2008 comes along and this time it’s North Carolina who beats the Mountaineers in the tournament. You guessed it, the Tar Heels would cut down the nets the year after in 2009.
The most recent came in 2017 when Villanova knocked the Mountaineers out of the Big Dance. And yes, it was the Wildcats who took home the glory in 2018.
So how does this crazy chain of events bode well for Duke? Well, the Blue Devils beat Mount St. Mary’s in the round of 64 last season.
It’s important to note that this trend has not always come true. In 2014, the Mountaineers were in a First Four game where they lost to Albany. Albany obviously did not win the NCAA Tournament championship. That was again the case in 2021 when Mount St. Mary’s lost to Texas Southern in the First Four.
And it doesn’t appear to have any bearing as to whether the Mountaineers make the tournament outright or have to go through the First Four. In 2017 and 2025, Mount St. Mary’s won a First Four game to get into the tournament officially.
Duke will obviously hope that the overall trend holds true.
