High-seeded mid-majors struggle. Low-seeded majors star as Cinderella.

REGIONAL BREAKDOWNS: East | Midwest | South | West 

The undefeated Shockers, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, are this year's mid-major darling. As a No. 9 seed, Wichita State made it all the way to the Final Four last season.

Getting back there will be tough, especially in a loaded region that features Kentucky, Louisville, Duke and Michigan. That's three of the last four national champions and last season's runner-up.

Perhaps more importantly, history hasn’t been kind to mid-majors when they come into the tournament with a high seed.

Of the 24 schools from mid-major conferences that have been seeded No. 4 or higher in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, only three have reached the Final Four. All three came out of Conference USA — Marquette (2003), Louisville (2005) and Memphis (2008).

Wichita State is the sixth mid-major to get a No. 1 seed since 2003. Memphis reached the Elite Eight as a No. 1 in 2006 and 2007 before losing the title game to Kansas in 2008. St. Joseph's made the Elite Eight as a No. 1 seed in 2004. Gonzaga lost the aforementioned second-round game to the Shockers in 2013.

Butler (2010, 2011), VCU (2011) and George Mason (2006) also made the Final Four in recent seasons, but none were seeded No. 4 or higher. The Bulldogs were No. 5 and No. 8 seeds, respectively, in their Final Four appearance. The Rams and Patriots were both No. 11 seeds.

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Now the Shockers carry a high seed, along with Creighton and San Diego State, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the West Region.

Creighton has eight tournament appearances since 2000, but has failed to advance to the Sweet 16 in any of them. San Diego State has six tournament appearances under Steve Fisher, but that includes just one Sweet 16 appearance.

Here are some other trends to know with mid-major teams, none of which favor high seeds.

— Three mid-major teams (Gonzaga, St. Louis and New Mexico) had seeds of No. 4 or higher last season. None advanced past the second round.

— No school with a No. 4 seed or higher outside of the traditional power conferences has advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2008.

— Mid-majors with a No. 4 seed or higher are 7-14 against other high seeds in the round of Sweet 16 or later.

— Two mid-majors seeded No. 4 or higher have lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That was No. 4 Dayton, which fell to No. 13 Tulsa in 2003, and No. 3 New Mexico, which lost to No. 14 Harvard in 2013.

So be careful with the high-seeded mid majors. As history suggests, Wichita State, Creighton and San Diego State might have trouble wearing that high-seed target.

MID-MAJORS WITH NO. 4 SEED OR HIGHER SINCE 2003 2013 4 St. Louis A-10 Second Round 2013 3 New Mexico MWC First Round 2013 1 Gonzaga WCC Second Round 2011 2 San Diego State MWC Sweet 16 2011 3 BYU MWC Sweet 16 2010 3 New Mexico MWC Second Round 2009 2 Memphis C-USA Sweet 16 2009 4 Gonzaga WCC Sweet 16 2009 4 Xavier A-10 Sweet 16 2008 1 Memphis C-USA Lost title game 2008 3 Xavier A-10 Elite Eight 2007 4 Southern Illinois MVC Sweet 16 2007 1 Memphis C-USA Elite Eight 2006 3 Gonzaga WCC Sweet 16 2006 1 Memphis C-USA Elite Eight 2005 3 Gonzaga WCC Second Round 2005 4 Louisville C-USA Final Four 2004 2 Gonzaga WCC Second Round 2004 4 Cincinnati C-USA Second Round 2004 1 St. Joseph’s A-10 Elite Eight 2003 3 Xavier A-10 Second Round 2003 4 Louisville C-USA Second Round 2003 4 Dayton A-10 First Round 2003 3 Marquette C-USA Final Four