March Madness upsets always manage to capture, as the kids say, “all the feels.”
For the school that pulls off the upset, there’s no feeling quite like it. It’s one thing if you’re a national-powerhouse school like Duke, Kentucky, or Kansas winning a first-round game—they’re supposed to do that. But for schools like Hampton, Santa Clara, and Middle Tennessee, a first-round win is often akin to winning a national championship for those players and fans, as anyone who attended a small school can tell you.
For the team that loses, there’s also nothing quite like it. When you’re a team headlined by future NBA Draft lottery picks, going up against guys who are probably never going to play a minute of professional basketball in their lives, you have to take care of business. And when you don’t, you let millions of people down—particularly the people who faithfully included you in their March Madness brackets.
There’s nothing more infuriating than watching a team you put money on lose to some small school nobody has even heard of. Very few people ever predict a No. 15 seed knocking off a No. 2, so while it might be cool to see Lehigh beat Duke (and to see Duke lose, for many people), that kind of upset is going to make a dent in a lot of people’s brackets. The possibility of something like that happening is what makes a perfect bracket virtually unattainable.
It’s safe to say we’ll see at least one obscure school get its 15 minutes of fame in this year’s NCAA Tournament, and about a million brackets will suffer as a result. But that’s what makes March Madness great: the unpredictability. Infuriating, but great.
And speaking of unpredictability, let’s look back at some of the least predictable games to ever take place: here are the 50 greatest upsets in March Madness history.
50. Michigan State over Murray State, 1990
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Okay, this isn’t actually an upset, considering that No. 1 seed Michigan State did defeat No. 16 seed Murray State. But it marks the closest a 16 has ever come to defeating a 1. Murray State forced overtime in this game, but lost 75-71. To this day, no 16 seed has ever won an NCAA tournament game.
49. Morehead State over Louisville, 2011
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No. 13 seed Morehead State took No. 4 seed Louisville to the final seconds of their first-round matchup in 2011, coming away with an impressive 62-61 win. And according to the record books, this was Rick Pitino’s last appearance in the NCAA tournament for quite some time, since the five seasons prior to that were vacated.
48. La Salle over Kansas State, 2013
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No. 13 seed La Salle got off to a flying start against No. 4 seed Kansas State, carrying an 18-point lead into halftime. They didn’t play quite as well in the second half, but they played well enough to come away with a 63-61 win.
47. Ohio over Michigan, 2012
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The Ohio Bobcats made a stunning run to the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 13 seed in 2012, catapulted by an impressive 65-60 upset against No. 4 Michigan. It was the school’s first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1964, and just its second NCAA tournament win since 1984.
46. Weber State over North Carolina, 1999
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Weber State is one of the best mid-major teams in the NCAA: The school has made the tournament 16 times, and has advanced past the second round five times. For a long time, however, knocking off a national powerhouse like North Carolina seemed out of the question.
That all changed in ‘99 though, when the No. 13 seeded Wildcats took down the No. 4 seeded Tar Heels, 76-74, in the biggest win in Weber State program history.
45. Davidson over Georgetown, 2008
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Stephen Curry first burst onto the national scene in 2008, when he took a No. 10 seeded Davidson team all the way to the Elite Eight. The team shockingly upset No. 2 seed Georgetown 74-70 in the second round that year, behind 30 points from the “Baby-Faced Assassin.”
44. Texas Western over Kentucky, 1966
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Texas Western dominated all season to the tune of a 27-1 record, but were considered underdogs against No. 1 overall seed Kentucky. This came in part because Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp, was clearly the best team in the country. But it also came in part because of the Miners’ all-black starting lineup. They were the first major college sports team to feature an all-black lineup.
The Miners overcame racism and the threat of an Adolph Rupp-coached Kentucky team to win the national championship, 72-65, in a win that struck a major and well-needed blow to racism in sports.
43. Villanova over Memphis, 1985
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Villanova’s Cinderella run to the Final Four as a No. 8 seed faced its biggest threat to that point against No. 2 seeded Memphis. They had gone 31-3 on the season, and were a No. 2 seed in the tournament — compared to Villanova, who went just 23-10 on the season. But ‘Nova won the game, 52-45, and advanced to play Georgetown in the championship game.
More on that later.
42. Chattanooga over Georgia, 1997
41. Richmond over Indiana, 1988
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The Richmond Spiders have a penchant for knocking off powerhouse teams in the tournament. They took down Charles Barkley’s Auburn Tigers as a No. 12 seed in 1984, knocked off defending-champion Indiana in 1988, became the first-ever No. 15 seed to take down a No. 2 seed in 1991 against Syracuse, and took down No. 3 seed South Carolina in 1998.
As a No. 13 seed in 1988, the Spiders took down a dominant Hoosiers team in the first round, and defeated No. 5 Georgia Tech in the second round to advance to their first Sweet Sixteen in program history
40. Indiana over Duke, 2002
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Just two years after the controversial firing of Bob Knight, Indiana made a quasi-Cinderella run (they were a No. 5 seed) to the national championship game, on the back of some solid upsets. The biggest of these came against No. 1 seeded Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. After trailing 42-29 at halftime, the Hoosiers outscored the Blue Devils 45-31 in the second half to come away with a 74-73 win.
39. Kent State over Alabama, 2002
38. Mercer over Duke, 2014
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Despite the typical prowess of Duke basketball, the Blue Devils are known to choke early in the tournament from time to time. And that’s just what they did in 2014, losing to No. 14 seed Lehigh in the first round. The Blue Devils were outscored 44-36 in the first half.
37. Gonzaga over Stanford, 1999
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Gonzaga is an NCAA powerhouse now, but going into the 1999 tournament, they were anything but: They had made just one prior NCAA Tournament in their history, and had never advanced past the first round.
As a No. 10 seed, they won their first-round matchup against No. 7 Minnesota. Then, they recorded their biggest win in program history, knocking off No. 2 seeded Stanford 82-74. They won the following week as well to bring the team to the Elite Eight. Since then, it’s been smooth sailing for the Bulldogs.
36. Bucknell over Kansas, 2005
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No. 14 seed Bucknell pulled off the upset of the 2005 tournament when it knocked off No. 3 Kansas. It was the first tournament win in Bucknell’s century-plus of basketball, and would prove to be the biggest win in program history.
35. Ohio over Georgetown, 2010
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The Ohio Bobcats went just 7-9 in the MAC. That’s not particularly encouraging — considering that that conference isn’t exactly the Big East. And they faced Georgetown, from the Big East, as a No. 14 seed in round one — and a relatively weak No. 14 seed at that.
But the Bobcats rolled over Georgetown, 97-83, leading pretty much wire-to-wire. It was disappointing early exits like this that got Hoyas coach John Thompson III fired in 2017.
34. UAB over Iowa State, 2015
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UAB looked like an unlikely NCAA tournament candidate late in the 2015 season: The Blazers lost four of their last seven games of the season, and were just 16-15 at conference tournament time. But UAB put it all back together at just the right time: They ran through the Conference USA tournament to secure an automatic bid, and knocked off No. 3 seed Iowa State in the first round.
Timing is everything.
33. Harvard over New Mexico, 2013
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Harvard is known for plenty of things. Basketball is not one of them.
But for one hot minute in 2013, it was one of them. The Crimson took down No. 3 seed New Mexico, 68-62, as a No. 14 seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was the first NCAA tournament win in Harvard basketball history.
32. Dayton over Syracuse, 2014
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The Dayton Flyers busted brackets all over the country in the second round of the 2014 tournament, knocking off No. 3 seeded Syracuse Orange as a No. 11 seed. Their Cinderella run wouldn’t stop there; the Flyers made it all the way to the Elite Eight — their first since 1984.
31. Missouri over Ohio State, 2002
30. Missouri over UCLA, 2002
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No. 12 seed Missouri had its sights set on becoming the lowest-seeded team to ever make a Final Four. They didn’t quite achieve that, but a win against No. 8 UCLA did make them the lowest-seeded team to ever make an Elite Eight.
29. Kansas over Duke, 1988
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Kansas, a No. 6 seed, made an unlikely run to the Final Four in 1988. And while they were there, the Jayhawks made a pair of impressive upsets.
The first of these upsets came against Duke. The Blue Devils were a No. 2 seed in that tournament, and had gone 28-6 that season. But the Jayhawks, led by future NBA All-Star Danny Manning, stunned Duke with a 66-59 win. Manning had 25 points and 10 rebounds that night.
28. Kansas over Oklahoma, 1988
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Oklahoma was 35-3 on the season, and defeated Kansas in both of their matchups in the regular season. But in the national championship, the Jayhawks pulled off a stunner of a victory, behind 31 points from Danny Manning — who won Final Four Most Outstanding Player that year, along with the Naismith and Wooden awards.
27. Cleveland State over Indiana, 1986
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In ‘86, Cleveland State made its first NCAA tournament appearance in its 20-year existence with a big upset against No. 3 seeded Indiana, winning 83-79. The Vikings beat Saint Joseph’s in the next round as well, before losing to Navy by one point in the Sweet Sixteen.
26. UConn over Florida, 2014
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The Huskies have missed the NCAA tournament in three of Kevin Ollie’s first five seasons as head coach, and will likely do so again this year. But sandwiched between these failures in the Ollie era is one glaring success: A national championship in 2014. They entered the tournament as a No. 7 seed, but made it all the way to the Final Four.
At the final four, UConn knocked off No. 1 overall seed Florida, 63-53, behind 20 points from forward DeAndre Daniels. Had it not been for this season, Ollie would have probably been fired a long time ago.
25. Temple over Florida, 2001
24. Valparaíso over Ole Miss, 1998
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Guard Bryce Drew’s buzzer-beater over No. 4 seed Ole Miss during the first round of the 1998 tournament still stands as one of the most famous shots in the history of college basketball. It sealed the win for the No. 13 seeded Crusaders, who made a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16.
23. UConn over Duke, 1999
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The ‘99 Blue Devils might be the best Duke team to not win a championship. The team featured four future NBA lottery picks: Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon, Corey Magette, and William Avery. They were 37-1 going into the national championship game; a win would give them the single-season wins record.
Then UConn showed up.
It’s hard to call the Huskies a Cinderella; they were 33-2 coming into the game and were a No. 1 seed. But Duke was so good that you might have to give them that Glass Slipper just for beating them. Huskies star Rip Hamilton dropped 27 to lead the way, and gave UConn their first title.
22. Xavier over Arizona, 2017
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The Wildcats had won 26 of their past 28 games leading up to the NCAA tournament, and looked like a solid bet to advance to the Elite Eight. They faced No. 11 seed Xavier in the Sweet Sixteen, and the Musketeers continued their miracle run with a stunning win against Arizona, by a score of 73-71.
21. Norfolk State over Missouri, 2012
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A team from the MEAC knocking off a No. 2 seed from the SEC isn’t exactly common. Norfolk State knocked off Missouri 66-64 in the first-round of the 2012 tournament. This was one of two No. 2 vs. No. 15 upsets in that tournament. The other?
20. Lehigh over Duke, 2012
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No. 15 seed Lehigh, led by future NBA star C.J. McCollum, shocked a No. 2 seeded Duke team with a 75-70 first-round win. It was one of the most shocking losses in Blue Devils history, and the biggest win in Lehigh program history.
19. Wisconsin over Kentucky, 2015
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Kentucky came into the 2015 NCAA tournament trying to do something that no men’s college basketball team had done in almost 40 years: Finish a season undefeated.
The Wildcats had won all 34 of their regular season games, and had made it all the way to the Final Four. Just two games stood in between the Wildcats and perfection. And with a roster that featured future NBA first-rounders Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Trey Liles, they were the easy favorites to win it all.
Frank Kaminsky’s Wisconsin Badgers had other plans, however. He finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds as Wisconsin knocked off Kentucky, 71-64. And in the process, the Badgers knocked off millions of brackets across America, too.
18. Hampton vs. Iowa State, 2001
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In its first-ever NCAA tournament game, Hampton knocked off a No. 2 seed Iowa State, 58-57, in one of the most stunning upsets in NCAA tournament history. Iowa State choked at the free-throw line in this one, going just 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
17. Princeton over UCLA, 1996
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Defending national-champion UCLA came into the 1996 tournament as a No. 3 seed, and boasted a spectacular 16-2 in-conference record. It’s safe to say that not too many people picked an Ivy League team to take them down that year, but that’s just what Princeton did in a 43-41 win against the Bruins.
16. Coppin State over South Carolina, 1997
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Chances are, you had never heard of Coppin State before 1997.
After the first-round of the 1997 tournament though, everyone had heard of Coppin State—especially South Carolina fans. The No. 15 seed knocked off the No. 2 seed 78-65, outscoring the Gamecocks by 13 in the second half.
15. Loyola Marymount over Michigan, 1990
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Loyola Marymount’s run to the Elite Eight might just be the most emotional Cinderella run in NCAA history. The Lions’ best player, Hank Gathers, died suddenly on the court late in the season after succumbing to a heart condition. After his passing, the team continued to play hard for Hank — they made the tournament as a No. 11 seed, and pulled off three major upsets.
The most impressive of these upsets came against No. 3 seed Michigan in the second round. What was most impressive about it was that it wasn’t even close; Marymount put up 149 points on the heavily-favored Wolverines in a 149-115 rout.
14. Santa Clara over Arizona, 1993
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Very few people had heard of Santa Clara point guard Steve Nash when the No. 15 seeded team upset No. 2 seeded Arizona. Nash was just a freshman in college, but he hit eight of ten free throws on the day to pull off one of the most stunning upsets in NCAA tournament history — it was just the second time a No. 15 seed had knocked off a No. 2 seed.
13. LSU over Georgia Tech, 1986
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With an overall record of just 18-11 and a conference record of just 9-9, LSU was the definition of a bubble team in 1986. The Tigers ended up making the tournament narrowly as a No. 11 seed, and won their first two games by equally narrow margins. It took two overtimes to win their first-round game against Purdue, and the Tigers beat No. 3 seed Memphis by just two points in the second round to make it to the Sweet 16.
At the Sweet 16, they faced a No. 2 seeded Georgia Tech team, starring future NBA’ers Mark Price and John Salley, when they were heavy underdogs. But the Tigers prevailed, winning the game 70-64.
12. LSU over Kentucky, 1986
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Then, in the Elite Eight, The No. 11 seeded Tigers faced a No. 1 seeded Kentucky team that had defeated LSU three times that season — including twice in the last week of the season. LSU, however, proved the fourth time was the charm, defeating Kentucky 59-57, and becoming the first No. 11 seed to make a Final Four.
11. VCU over Kansas, 2011
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VCU was a relatively unknown program going into the 2011 tournament. The school had won just one NCAA Tournament game in the prior 25 seasons, and had never gone farther than the second round. They made the tournament by virtue of winning in the First Four round, and finished the tournament in the Final Four.
The Rams’ most impressive win along the way came in the Elite Eight against No. 1 seed Kansas. Kansas had been the second-ranked team at the end of the regular season, and featured NBA first-rounders Thomas Robinson, Markieff Morris, and Marcus Morris. For a No. 11 seed from the Colonial Athletic Association to win a game like that may be the most stunning Elite Eight upset in NCAA history.
10. Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown, 2013
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Georgetown basketball had been to the Final Four five times in program history. Conversely, Florida Gulf Coast had been in Division I for just six seasons. Nobody had ever heard of them.
But the No. 15 seed Eagles took care of business against the No. 2 seed Hoyas, and did so rather easily, winning 78-68. It marked just the seventh time a No. 15 seed advanced to the second round.
9. Florida Gulf Coast over San Diego State, 2013
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There was no way a No. 15 seed could make it to the Sweet Sixteen, right? Right?
Wrong. Florida Gulf Coast won their second-round matchup against No. 7 seed San Diego State, again rather easily, 81-71. The Eagles became the first — and to this date, only — No. 15 seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. They lost to Florida in that round, but the legend of Dunk City lives on forever.
8. Syracuse over UVA, 2016
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Syracuse has had many great teams over the years. The 2016 team did not look like one of them.
The Orange went just 9-9 in the ACC that season, and just barely made the tournament as a No. 10 seed. Nevertheless, they won their first round, and second round, and Sweet Sixteen games to make it all the way to the Elite Eight. They faced No. 1 seed Virginia, and pulled off a 68-62 win to cap off an unlikely run to the Final Four.
7. Richmond over Syracuse, 1991
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Coming into this game, no No. 15 seed had ever defeated a No. 2. That all changed with this game.
The Spiders outplayed the Orange big time in this one, keeping it close the whole way through and shooting a whopping .490 from the field. Seven No. 15 seeds have won in the first round since this game, but this one remains perhaps the most shocking.
6. George Mason over UConn, 2006
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George Mason became one of the great tournament Cinderella stories when they made it to the Elite Eight as a No. 11 seed, where they were to face UConn. Most predicted their run would end in that round, as they faced a dominant UConn team that featured three future NBA first-rounders (Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams, and Hilton Armstrong).
But Mason continued its amazing run, shocking the heavily-favored Huskies in an 86-84 overtime win. Few Cinderella's have captivated the nation quite like George Mason did in 2006.
5. NC State over UCLA, 1974
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It’s safe to say there will never be a dynasty quite as dominant as John Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams again. The Bruins won seven consecutive championships from 1967-73, and had won nine of ten championships dating back to 1964. To put that into context, no other program currently has nine titles in its entire history.
So when UCLA went down to NC State in the 1974 Final Four, it was a huge deal. The game was tied at the end of 40, before the Wolfpack outscored the Bruins 13-10 in overtime. Future Nuggets star David Thompson recorded 28 points for NC State, delivering in the clutch.
NC State won that year’s national championship game against Marquette, 76-64. UCLA was relegated to the national third-place game (which was a thing back then), which they won.
4. Middle Tennessee over Michigan State, 2016
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Michigan State was the second-most popular championship pick on ESPN’s Tournament Challenge in 2016; 22.3 percent of all entries had the Spartans winning it all. They also spent time at No. 1 during the season, so they were a particularly strong No. 2 seed.
Until they faced Middle Tennessee, that is. Just 0.9 percent of ESPN entrants predicted that game correctly.
3. Duke over UNLV, 1991
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In 1991, UNLV had 34 wins—and one big loss.
The Runnin’ Rebels had won 45 games in a row dating back to the previous year, when they beat Duke 103-73 in the national championship. They had made it to the final four for the second consecutive year, and won three out of their first four games by double-digits.
But the early-90s Duke dynasty of Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, and Grant Hill was fully launched on March 30, 1991, when they won 79-77 against UNLV. Laettner, everyone’s favorite player, led the way with 28 points, to stun the closest team to go undefeated since Indiana in 1976.
2. NC State over Houston, 1983
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Never mind their championship chances; NC State’s tournament chances were in serious question towards the end of the season in 1983. They were just 16-10 on March 3, and had lost two consecutive in-conference games. Their tournament chances ultimately survived and advanced by virtue of winning the ACC tournament, which earned them an automatic bid.
Houston, on the other hand, had gone 31-2 leading up to the championship game, and boasted two future Hall of Famers in Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
NC State’s Cinderella run to the NCAA championship game looked like it would end quickly to a far-superior Houston team. But the Wolfpack got out to an early lead, and never looked back. They won their final ten games of the season, and went from potentially missing the tournament to an NCAA championship — while knocking off an all-time great Houston team. The image of head coach Jim Valvano running across the court after the win remains one of the most iconic in NCAA history.
1. Villanova over Georgetown, 1985
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The 1985 Hoyas looked like a sure bet in the national championship game against No. 8 seed Villanova. They had gone 35-2 on the season, had won 17 straight games coming into the championship, and they were led by Patrick Ewing — college basketball’s best player. No team seeded No. 8 or lower had ever won a championship game either, so Georgetown looked like a shoe-in.
But the Ed Pinckney-led Wildcats shocked the world, keeping the game close all night and shooting for a Final Four record .786 percent from the field. ‘Nova won the game 66-64, in one of the greatest games — and greatest upsets — in college basketball history.
