The 13 Biggest Upsets In March Madness History

There are plenty of reasons the NCAA Tournament is one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, and the prospect of seeing a regular-season juggernaut lose to a team that seemingly had no business beating them is certainly one of them.

It’s virtually impossible to pick a perfect bracket due to the upsets that help make March Madness as magical as it is, and we’ve been treated to plenty of stunning moments and Cinderella runs courtesy of underdogs that have managed to pull a David by slaying the Goliath they were up against.

However, there are some upsets that really stand out from the rest of the pack courtesy of these stunners that have transpired in the first round over the decades.

2018: #16 UMBC Beats #1 Virginia

The NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, and there wasn’t a single 16-seed that managed to beat a top-seeded team for more than 30 years.

However, as most college basketball fans know, that was no longer the case after 2018 courtesy of UMBC.

The Golden Retrievers were literal underdogs against a Virginia team listed as a 20.5-point favorite at a time when 16 seeds were 0-135, and there was little reason to believe they’d get the first entry in the win column.

There was a minor Upset Alert when the two teams headed into the locker room tied at 21 at halftime. Most people assumed the Cavaliers would make the necessary adjustments in the locker room, but UMBC quickly surged to a sizeable lead and made history with the decisive 74-54 victory.

Their dreams of a Cinderella run were dashed with a loss to Kansas State in the second round. Virginia, on the other hand, redeemed itself with a national championship the following year.

2023: #16 Fairleigh Dickinson Beats #1 Purdue

Fairleigh Dickinson needed to beat  Texas Southern in the First Four to earn the right to face off against Purdue, and the Knights headed into the matchup as 23.5-point underdogs against a Boilermakers team that revolved around Zach Edey.

FDU actually had a one-point lead at the half, and while Purdue treated us to a decidedly more competitive contest than the one between UMBC and UVA, the Knights were able to fend off the comeback attempt and secure the 63-58 victory.

It was also a short-lived run for the winning team that lost to FAU in the next round.

1991: #15 Richmond Defeats #2 Syracuse

Those are the only two times a 16-seed has beaten one of the top ones, but we’ve also got plenty of instances where a 15-seed was able to shock the world.

That happened for the first time in NCAA Tournament history in 1991 courtesy of Richmond, which had put together a solid run of seasons under head coach Dick Tarrant.

The Spiders were facing a Jim Boeheim-led team with a star in the form of Billy Owens, and they kept the Orange guessing by repeatedly switching up their defensive scheme and managed to take a 10-point lead in the second half of a game they won by a score of 73-69.

Unfortunately, they were unable to beat Temple in the next round.

1993: #15 Santa Clara Beats #2 Arizona

The Santa Clara team that faced off against Arizona in 1993 had a freshman guard on its roster by the name of Steve Nash, and most basketball fans got their first look at him when the two teams met in the first round that year.

The Wildcats were 19-point favorites and managed to go on a 25-0 run at one point during the contest,  but the Broncos were able to crawl out of a 13-point hole in the second half with the help of Nash, who hit six free throws in clutch time to help Santa Clara seal the 64-61 win.

Temple once again spoiled the fun, as the Owls eliminated them in the second round.

1997: #15 Coppin State Beats #2 South Carolina

UMBC is not the only school in Baltimore responsible for a massive upset, as Coppin State got in on the action more than two decades before that historic feat.

The Eagles were 30-point underdogs when they headed to Pittsburgh to face off against South Carolina in search of the program’s first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament.

They managed to get it in a fairly resounding manner, as they ended up checking that box with the 78-65 victory.

They almost pulled off another shocker against Texas but were ultimately sent home by the Longhorns with an 82-81 loss.

2001: #15 Hampton Beats #2 Iowa State

Hampton had only played at the DI level for six years when it made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2001, and it seemed like its presence was going to be fairly short-lived.

Iowa State had a formidable weapon thanks to Jamaal Tinsley, and the Cyclones were largely in charge of a game they led by a score of 57-48 with seven minutes to go in the second half.

However, things took a turn when the Pirates started to put up points while Iowa State failed to answer, and Tarvis Williams capped off a 10-0 run with a jumper with 6.9 seconds left that gave Hampton the 58-57 lead that would stand until the clock expired.

They met Georgetown in the second round but were unable to hang with a Hoyas team that sent them home.

2012: #15 Norfolk State Beats #2 Missouri

2012 was a big year for 15 seeds thanks to the two of them that ensured plenty of brackets were decimated by the time the first round wrapped up.

The first upset came courtesy of Norfolk State, which treated us to an absolute classic against Missouri in their opening-round matchup.

The Tigers were 21-point favorites, but they were unable to live up to those expectations against an opponent that refused to go away and headed into the final minute of the contest (which took close to 15 minutes to play) with a lead before Mizzou tied things up.

However, Norfolk State was able to answer with a lay-up that drew a foul before converting the free throw to take the lead they’d never lose en route to an 86-84 win.

They lost to  Florida in the second round, but they’ll always have that moment.

2012: #15 Lehigh Beats #2 Duke

Norfolk State pulled off the upset on the same day Lehigh was scheduled to play Duke, and it seemed safe to assume there wouldn’t be another of that magnitude.

However, Lehigh had a secret weapon in the form of CJ McCollum when they headed into hostile territory to meet Duke for a game in Greensboro, North Carolina.

McCollum dropped 30 points on the Blue Devils as the Mountain Hawks eliminated the blue bloods from the NCAA Tournament with a 75-70 win.

Unfortunately, they weren’t able to keep the momentum going and lost to Xavier two days later.

2013: #15 Florida Gulf Coast Beats #2 Georgetown

Two words: Dunk City.

Florida Gulf Coast was a relative newcomer to the Division I level in 2013, and the Eagles were “only” 13-point underdogs against Georgetown heading into their first-round showdown.

Most people had never even heard of FGCU before the game, but they got very familiar with it when they kicked off their first March Madness appearance with a bang with a 78-68 win over the Hoyas.

That marked the start of an improbable run that saw the high-flying team go on to beat San Diego State to earn a spot in the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Florida.

2016: #15 Middle Tennessee Beats #2 Michigan State

in 2016, bettors placed more money on the Spartans to win the NCAA Tournament than any other team; Tom Izzo’s squad was riding a March Madness streak stretching back to 1998 and hadn’t lost a first-round game since becoming the first victim during George Mason’s Cinderella run in 2006.

Middle Tennessee had a six-point lead at halftime,  and while the Spartans were able to get within one with around eight minutes left in the contest, the Blue Raiders prevailed as 16.5-point underdogs to get the 90-81 win.

The celebration was somewhat short-lived, as Syracuse beat Middle Tennessee in a 25-point blowout in the next round.

2021: #15 Oral Roberts Beats #2 Ohio State

2021 marked the start of a solid run for 15 seeds, as one of them managed to get a victory three years in a row—although the first two required overtime to settle things.

We’ll kick things off with Oral Roberts, which found itself facing a talented Ohio State team that seemed like it was poised to make a deep run.

The Golden Eagles had a three-point lead at the half but ended up trailing by the same amount in the final minute of the game before managing to force an overtime period where things were knotted at 64.

The Buckeyes had multiple chances to tie things up down 75-72 with the final possession but failed to hit either of the threes they attempted in the closing seconds as their season came to a stunning end.

Oral Roberts, on the other hand, managed to get another win against Florida before losing to Arkansas in the Sweet Sixteen.

2022: #15 St. Peter's Beats #2 Kentucky

St. Peter’s was responsible for one of the more enjoyable Cinderella stories in recent memory, and it all started during its first-round tilt with Kentucky.

This was a surprisingly tight contest from the start, as the two teams traded blows the entire game and ended up tied at 71 by the end of regulation.

The Wildcats were able to jump out to a four-point lead in the final frame, but the Peacocks managed to surge back and took the lead that stood until they walked away with the 85-79 win.

St. Peter’s subsequently dispatched Murray State and Purdue before its wildly unlikely run came to an end with a loss to UNC in the Elite Eight.

2023: #15 Princeton Beats #2 Arizona

Arizona has the unenviable distinction of being the only team to show up on this list two times for all of the wrong reasons.

The two teams played each other tight in the first half, but it seemed like the Wildcats were able to take control in the second; they had a 10-point lead with around eight minutes to go.

With that said, the Tigers didn’t hear no bell and scored nine unanswered points in the last five minutes before securing the 59-55 win.

Princeton kept the good times rolling with a 15-point win over Missouri in the next round before their season ended courtesy of Creighton.