For some people, the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament is the most exciting sporting event of the year. Sixty-eight teams from across the country battle it out over three weeks until only one remains and confetti pours down.
For most fans, the unpredictable early rounds are the most compelling. Everyone has a favorite No. 12 seed over a No. 5 seed, or a 13-over-4 upset, and after the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, stunned Virginia in 2018, there is even precedent for a 16th seed toppling a 1.
Here are six potential first-round upsets: