With March Madness in full swing, it’s clear by now that fans love it when the Davids beat the Goliaths –
except, of course, when David beating Goliath ruins your bracket (I’m looking at you, Pitino). 2011 has got to be ripe with losing brackets, though, as this year’s Final Four is considered to be the least likely Final Four of all time (at least according to SI.com). It goes to show that even though you never really know who is going to take it all home, the underdog upsets never cease to surprise.
Through painstaking research and tape study, I have compiled this list of the 10 greatest upsets in March Madness history, most of which you can watch again for free (in-full) thanks to the online series, NCAA Vault:
10. VCU (11) over Kansas (1), 2011
I was watching this game as I was compiling this list so I felt it necessary to put it in here. Most people probably didn’t have the VCU Rams going to the Final Four in their brackets. Actually, they probably weren’t even listed on a lot of brackets, as VCU won a play-in game to get into the tournament. #1 seed Kansas started the game off with a 6-0 lead, but after that it was all Rams. Now we can see how they do against 8th seeded Butler who are making their second consecutive trip to the Final Four.
9. The Richmond Spiders, 1984, 1991, & 2011
12th seeded Richmond knocked off 5th seed Vanderbilt in this year’s first round, but this isn’t the first time they’ve pulled the upset special. In 1984, Richmond was a 12 seed and beat 5th seeded Auburn (some guy named Charles Barkley was on this team). Then in 1988, the Spiders were a 13 seed and knocked-off the defending champions, Indiana (4 seed), in the first round. In 1991, a 15th seeded Richmond team beat #2 Syracuse. This was the first time a 15 seed ever beat a 2 seed in the tournament. So, next year if you see Richmond as a low seed, maybe you should pick them to win.
8. Austin Peay (14) over Illinois (3), 1987
Austin Peay needed to beat Eastern Kentucky just to get into the tournament, and they did so with a 30-foot buzzer-beater. The first half of their game against Illinois ended with 5 points being scored in the last second of play. This game is most notable for ESPN analyst Dick Vitale declaring that Austin Peay had no chance to win, and that if they did, he would stand on his head. When the Governers won, Vitale kept up his end of the deal and stood on his head on ESPN.
7. Santa Clara (15) over Arizona (2), 1993
Arizona was a favorite to go all the way in 1993 and favored by 20 points in this game (even though they lost in the first round to #14 East Tennessee State the previous year). Not much was known about the Santa Clara Broncos, but after this game, future 2-time NBA MVP Steve Nash would become a household name. Arizona’s star player Damon Stoudemire shot 0-7, while Nash made 6 clutch free throws to close out the game and ensure victory for the Broncos.
6. Arkansas-Little Rock (14) over Notre Dame (3), 1986
BONUS DOUBLE UPSET Cleveland State (14) over Indiana (3), 1986
The 1986 tournament featured two upsets in the first round of 14 seeds over 3 seeds. On the same day, unknown Arkansas-Little Rock took out a Digger Phelps coached Notre Dame team while Cleveland State took out Bobby Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers. Arkansas-Little Rock would lose in the second round after pushing NC State to two overtimes before losing. Cleveland State, on the other hand, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and was one point away from advancing to the Elite Eight, but lost to Navy. ESPN carried the first round of the tournament this year and the nation got to see some great upsets live.
5. Gonzaga (10) over Florida (6), 1999
Gonzaga’s 1999 March Madness run to the Elite Eight was capped-off with this victory over Florida. En route to this surprising victory, the Bulldogs knocked off Minnesota (7) and Stanford (2) before losing to Connecticut (1) in the Elite Eight. No one had heard of Gonzaga until this tournament run, but since then they have made it to the tournament every year.
4. Valparaiso (13) over Ole Miss (4), 1998
Valparaiso had never won a game in the NCAA tournament before beating 4th seeded Ole Miss in the first round in 1998. Valparaiso was down by 2 points with 2.5 seconds on the clock. They had to inbound the ball the length of the court before even attempting a shot. In one of the best last-second plays ever, Bryce Drew caught the pass and threw up a 3 pointer as the buzzer sounded, giving Valparaiso the win that they rode to the Sweet Sixteen.
3. George Mason (11) over Connecticut (1), 2006
George Mason wasn’t even supposed to be in the tournament. After beating Michigan State, North Carolina (the defending champions), and Wichita State, however, the George Mason Patriots were one-win-away from a trip to the Final Four. Standing in their way was the favorite to win it all, the Connecticut Huskies. In a thrilling overtime game, the Patriots snuck by the Huskies 86-84 after overcoming a 12-point deficit and proving naysayers wrong by earning a spot in the Final Four.
2. North Carolina State (6) over Houston (1), 1983
Houston was known as “Phi Slama Jama,” a nickname given to the team to reflect their playing style, which focused on slam dunks from team leaders Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. NC State got out to an early lead, but Houston came back in the second half and with less than a minute to play the game, tied at 52. NC State’s Dereck Whittenburg launched up a last-second shot that fell short, but his teammate Lorenzo Charles grabbed the ball in mid-air and dunked it as time expired to give NC State the win. The players of Phi Slama Jama, famous for their dunking, were defeated on the grandest stage… by a dunk.
1. Villanova (8) over Georgetown (1), 1985
The Georgetown Hoyas were the defending national champions who had beaten the Villanova Wildcats two times already during the regular season. Oh, and they had player-of-the-year and future NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing on their team while Villanova had a guy named Dwayne McClain. On April Fools’ Day in 1985, the unranked Villanova Wildcats shot 78.6% from the field (a record that still stands) and only missed one shot in the entire second half. The upset rocked The Hoyas 66-64 and Villanova became the lowest seeded team to win the NCAA Championship.
