It really felt like Penn could be the first 16 seed to beat a No. 1 — for about 30 minutes

For about 30 minutes, it really felt like Penn could make history. The No. 16 seed from the Ivy League got off to an incredible start against top-seeded Kansas, taking the lead early in the first half, then proceeded to build on it. With eight minutes left to go in the half, the Quakers led, 21-11.

Then, reality set in.

Those 30 minutes were tense, exciting, perhaps even hopeful if you’re not a Kansas fan. Maybe you thought about how cool it would be to witness one of the best moments in the history of college basketball live, or wondered when you should text your friends to tell them to turn on TBS. But, like No. 1 seeds usually do, Kansas squashed all of that before the game ever really had a chance to get interesting.

Besides having the benefits of better talent and a deeper squad, Kansas also had a home crowd. The Jayhawks were fortunate enough to be placed in Wichita this week, less than a three-hour drive from campus. While neutral crowds often get behind underdogs in the NCAA tournament, this crowd was very pro-Kansas. All it took for momentum to shift entirely was one Penn miss followed by a Kansas basket.

So Kansas, quickly, was able to take control of the game once it strung a couple of good possessions together. Penn’s 10-point lead was erased with ruthless efficiency, and the Jayhawks took a 33-26 lead into halftime. Despite letting Penn get back within four points on several occasions, Kansas never relinquished their lead, eventually winning comfortably, 76-60.

This was arguably the best chance a No. 16 seed has ever had of pulling off the first-ever upset of a No. 1. According to FiveThirtyEight, Penn was the strongest No. 16 seed the tournament has ever had, and the matchup between Kansas and Penn had the smallest gap in ELO — a rating system originally designed to measure the skill of chess players — between a No. 1 and No. 16 seed in history.

Another Ivy league team has the distinction of coming closest to pulling off the famed upset. Princeton nearly defeated Georgetown in 1989, with the Hoyas barely holding on to a 50-49 win.

While Penn was the best No. 16 seed ever, its schedule is still an indicator of the massive gap between bottom seeds and college basketball’s elite. The Quakers played one other top team this season — Villanova, another No. 1 seed — and lost by 28 points. Penn went 0-3 against RPI top 100 teams, also losing to Temple and Toledo.

A No. 16 seed is going to pull off the big upset someday, and fans are going to keep getting their hopes up every time one of them starts a game well. But the gap between Penn, the best No. 16 seed ever, and a fairly average No. 1 seed in Kansas was still substantial. We might be waiting for a while.