Top Ten Upsets in the NCAA Tourney Since 1980

By Lance Epstein

The word “upset” by its definition is to “defeat unexpectedly”. During March, it is the pinnacle for any lower seed or any underdog.

A word that can make experts look like they are amateurs just picking based on their favorite team, mascot or Alma matter.

The madness is the reason that someone you know may cry or jump for joy this Thursday. The word is upset and the month of March is the time of year it can captivate a nation.

The heartache of the Goliath (powerhouse) will bring joyful tears to the David’s eye (underdog). The games are played at neutral sites but as soon as that underdog sees the blood in the water, the fans stand to cheer for them.

With every basket, rebound and defensive play by the lower seed, the frustration grows on coach of the higher seed. Nail biting, nervous energy, and the can’t watch moments drives spectators to the brink of insanity.

Even with Brackets destroyed after the first round, fans continue to pull for the little guy, the unexpected and the unknown. It is the upsets, which the field of 65 the greatest tournament in the world.

Perennial powerhouses losing their minds to the gritty, overachieving and team no names that run crazily to midcourt in celebration.

The jubilation of a smile on the underdogs face to the weeping of a senior who has his heart ripped out from his chest.

There is nothing like watching the pandemonium at the end of the game on buzzer beater on the biggest stage in the biggest game, especially if it’s your team on this list. The top 10 upsets goes a little something like this…

10) #14 Bucknell Bison over #3 Kansas Jayhawks (2005)

Kansas entered the 2005 NCAA tournament as a team that every analyst was saying to watch out for. Wayne Simien was to eat up the undersized front line of the Bison. Keith Langford’s senior and prior tournament experience was to be too much for the Bison.

As for the Bucknell Bison, well lets just say no expected much of anything from the program that has been participating in collegiate basketball for 110 years and did not have a single victory in the NCAA tournament.

However, that is just where the Bison wanted the Jayhawks to think. Kansas was overconfident due to not being eliminated from the tournament in the first round since 1984.

Minute after minute, possession after possession the Bison managed to weather the Kansas storm. Eventually with just one minute left in the game, the crowd gave them their extra little boost. Even a Wisconsin team that they would possibly face two days later started cheering, “Here we go Bison, here we go!”

The Jayhawks appeared to be on their way to a narrow defeat of the Bison as Langford calmly sunk two free throws with 25.4 seconds left on the clock to give Kansas the 63-62.

Still that 25 seconds was a lot of time and it must have seemed like an eternity for the Jayhawks and their fans. With 10.5 seconds left Chris McNaughton hit his 13 and 14 points of the game as he banked home a hook shot over Simien to give the Bison the slim 64-63 lead.

Once again the Bison faithful and crowd held their collective breathes as Langford just missed giving the Jayhawks the lead and probably the game.

With a chance to ice the game, Bucknell’s John Griffin missed the front end of a one-and-one. Kansas pulled in the rebound and called a timeout with only 2.4 seconds left on the clock.

Guard Michael Lee heaved a pass the full length of the court to Simien, which was reminiscent of Duke’s inbounce play from Grant Hill-to-Chrisitan Laettner. Simien caught the ball, made a spectacular move to the hoop, put up the shot but it just rimmed out. Simien’s miss ended the career of Aaron Miles and Langford in misery but propelled the Bison to the second round against the Wisconsin Badgers.

The win by the Bison marked only the 14th time in tournament history that the number three lost in the first round.

No. 9: #15 Coppin State over #2 South Carolina (1997)

Coppin State entered the NCAA tournament as a thirty-point underdog to the second seeded and regular season Southeastern Conference champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

To put the Eagles further behind the eight ball, their best player, Terquin Mott sprained his ankle the day before the game.

On top of all that, in Coppin State’s two previous NCAA tournament appearances they lost to Cincinnati and Syracuse.

The Eagles were almost a shoe-in to lose the game and it appeared like it would not even be close. Well, they were right it really was not a close game because Coppin State blew the Gamecock’s out of the water.

Coppin State took the lead as Danny Singletary hit a mid-range jumper to take the 54-53 lead. From that point on the Eagles finished off the Gamecocks and the game on a 24-11 run and won the game 78-65.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions finally won a NCAA tournament game in their third appearance. Furthermore, the Eagles gave their conference the first ever win in the NCAA tournament as well.

South Carolina entered the game winners of 19 out of their last 22 games and probably would have been a No. 1 seed if they did not bow out early in the SEC conference tournament. Singletary and Coppin State became only the third ever fifteen seed to upset a number two seed.

No. 8: #15 Santa Clara Over #2 Arizona Wildcats (1993)

Before Steve Nash was a two-time NBA MVP he carved up the Arizona Wildcats and All-American point guard Damon Stoudamire. Lute Olson’s Wildcats came into the dance 24-4, the fifth ranked team in the country and with an abundance of confidence.

However they should have been weary considering they were a No. 3 seed the previous year where they lost to 14-seeded East Tennessee State.

Early in the contest, the Santa Clara Broncos held a 33-21 lead and appeared to be running away with the game. Nonetheless, the Wildcats went on a 25-0 run to take the 46-33 lead with just over 15 minutes left in the game.

Luckily for the Broncos, star forward Chris Mills picked up his fourth foul, which allowed the Broncos to slowly creep back into the game. Eventually the Broncos took the lead as the Wildcats went nearly fifteen minutes without hitting a field goal.

With 8.4 seconds left, Mills hit a three-pointer to cut the Broncos lead down to 64-61. With a chance to put the game in the deep freezer Nash missed two free throws but his teammate Kevin Dunne grabbed the offensive board and was fouled with 5.4 seconds left.

Like Nash, Dunne missed both free throws and the Cats had a chance. Stoudamire dribbled the ball and pulled up for a 23-foot, desperation three-pointer. The shot missed and Arizona became only the second number two seed to exit in the first round of the tournament.

No. 7: #15 Hampton Pirates over #2 Iowa State Cyclones (2001)

In 2001, the Hampton Pirates had the unlucky draw to face the ultra talented Iowa State Cyclone team. The Cyclones roster included future first round NBA draft pick in Jamaal Tinsley.

While the Cyclones were supposed to win, they were also believed to have the home court advantage as Larry Eustacy made his homecoming in Idaho.

However, as the Pirates kept the game close the crowd began to cheer and root for the underdog. With less than 20 seconds left in the game, the Cyclones held a one-point edge at 57-56 but that is when they began to feel a sinking feeling in their stomachs.

With eight seconds left Hampton’s Marseilles Brown passed to Tavaris Williams. Williams knocked down a runner in the lane with 6.9 seconds left to give the fifteen-seeded pirates a 58-57 lead.

Still, the Cyclones had a chance to advance to the second round of the tournament. Point guard Jamaal Tinsley went coast-to-coast and put a layup up with 1.2 seconds left, but the layup rolled out and mayhem ensued.

Once the final horn sounded and Tinsley’s shot rimmed out the band, cheerleaders and fans of the Pirates stormed the court like it was a regular season game. The last image of the game burned into the minds of fans is Pirates head coach Steve Merfeld shaking his firsts as forward David Johnson carried him around the court.

The Pirates managed a feat that only four previous teams have ever made, but they managed to do it in their first ever tournament appearance.

No. 6: #4 Arizona Wildcats over #1 Kansas Jayhawks (1997)

This particular game was known as the “bracket buster” game over the entire tournament. Considering every analyst, fan and even some coaches believed that he 34-1 Jayhawks might have been the best college basketball team in the history of college basketball.

Head coach Roy Williams trotted out four NBA caliber players in Scott Pollard, Raef Lafentz, Jacque Vaughn and Paul Pierce. In addition, experts question whether the Wildcats were even supposed to be a number four seed since they finished 19-9 and fifth in the Pacific Athletic Conference.

But Lute Olson’s young up and coming team knew that this Sweet 16 game was like a championship game. Also, the Wildcats had revenge on their mind since the Jayhawks eliminated the Cats the prior season in the Sweet 16.

Arizona was lead by two underclassmen on their way to one of the biggest upsets in modern college basketball history. Sophomore center A.J. Bramlett had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. However the star of the game was freshman point guard Mike Bibby that hit three consecutive three-pointers to propel Arizona on a 20-8 run.

Bibby finished the game with 20 point but the Jayhawks still had a chance to tie the game with the last possession. Unfortunately Kansas missed three opportunities for a three and Pierce’s last ditch effort at a three missed and the Wildcats began celebrating.

Jason Terry, Eugene Edgerson and Bramlett ran to the scores table, jumped on it and began celebrating in front of the stunned crowd.

Still today many players have stated that this loss over shadowed their careers at Kansas and that this upsets still lingers in their psyche today (here is article about how painful the loss was…http://www.ncaatop25.com/arizona.htm)

No. 5: #13 Princeton Tigers over #4 UCLA Bruins (1996)

One year removed from Tyus Edney’s miraculous run through the field of 64, the defending NCAA tournament champions, UCLA Bruins found themselves on the brink of an upset.

No one imagined a historic giant like UCLA who had 11 National Title banners hanging in Pauley Pavilion to lose to a team from the Ivy League, let alone in the first round of the tournament.

Princeton head coach Pete Carril knew that his team did not have the size nor did they have athleticism to match up with Toby Bailey’s UCLA Bruins. His strategy like it always had been was to run a low down style of offense scattered with numerous backdoor cuts and screens, which ran the shot clock down to nearly zero every possession.

Ultimately limiting the amount of possessions for the Bruins would help the underdog Tigers keep the game close. Additionally, it would drain the energy out of the Bruins to defend for the whole 35 seconds on the shot clock.

In a tie game with just 10 seconds left, Carril called for the timeless back cut. The Tigers ran the play to perfection; Steve Goodrich making a perfect bounce pass to freshmen forward Gabe Lewullis who hit the game-winning layup on the back cut with 3.9 seconds left in the game. The bucket gave soon-to-be retired Carril and Princeton the upset over the high-touted Bruins, 43-41.

No. 4: #15 Richmond Spiders over #2 Syracuse Orangemen (1991)

In the past, Richmond had been known as the “Giant killers” after they upset Charles Barkley’s Auburn Tigers in 1984 and then four years later took out defending champion Indiana. Apparently the Orangemen and head coach Jim Boeheim did not get the message.

The game plan that Richmond head coach Dick Tarrant implemented was to gain an early over the higher seeded Syracuse. His reasoning being that the crowd would begin to cheer for the underdog Spiders and will them to victory.

From start to finish Richmond held lead over powerhouse Syracuse. The Spiders were able to do this by slowing the tempo, which countered the Orangmen’s athleticism and size advantage. The Spiders eventually built a ten-point lead with Curtis Blair leading the way with 18 points.

While the Spiders seemed to be pulling away from the Orangemen, Boeheim’s squad made a run and cut the lead down to one point. With 21 seconds left in the game, Spiders’ freshmen guard Eugene Burroughs was fouled and had a chance to extend the lead. Burroughs made both free throws but the ‘Cuse still had a chance to tie the game.  Billy Owens and Michael Edwards both missed three-point attempts and the Spiders went on to the 73-69 victory.

The reason that this game ranks this high is because this was the first year that CBS had the exclusive rights to the first round of the NCAA tournament. Due to the wide-spread audience watching one of the biggest upsets of the tournament CBS in turn has invest billions of dollars to keep it on their next work. Moreover, this was the first 15-seed to ever upset a number two.

No. 3: #11 George Mason Patriots over #1 Connecticut Huskies (2006)

Before the start of the NCAA tournament, the George Mason Patriots were squarely on the bubble for an at-large bid. Most pundits, particularly ESPN, did not believe that the Patriots were worthy of an at-large bid.

Ultimately, the selection committee put the Patriots into the tournament and never regretted it. In the first two rounds, George Mason took out the defending champs in North Carolina and Michigan State, who participated in the Final Four the previous season.

Despite those impressive victories, neither team was as talented as the UConn Huskies, who were picked by almost every expert to be cutting down the nets in Indianapolis.

With the Elite Eight game against the Huskies only 20 miles away from George Mason’s campus at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., the crowd was definitely pro-Patriots.

In The first half appeared like the Huskies were going to runaway from the Patriots. As the second half began, the Patriots found themselves down 43-34.

But then the improbable happened; the Patriots outmuscled the Huskies by outrebounding them, 37-34. The Patriots were up by four points 74-70 with 17 seconds left to go but could not hold onto the lead. UConn cut the lead down to two and then with a chance to tie the game as Huskies guard Denham Brown threw up a prayer from underneath the basket. The ball bounced not one, not twice but three times before it went through the net as the clock had expired and sent the game into overtime.

While most teams would have deflated, the Patriots did not. In overtime, the Patriots looked more like the team destined to win it all and the Huskies as the mid-major that looked over powered.

The Patriots leading scorer in the NCAA tournament Folarin Campbell hit a fade-away jumper to put the Patriots up 84-80. But like regulation, forward Jai Lewis missed three free throws down the stretch to give the Huskies a chance at the win.

At the end UConn’s luck ran out as Brown missed a three pointer at the buzzer. The crowd began chanting “C-A-A,” which many thought was for the Colonial Athletic Association. In reality it stood for Connecticut Assassin Association.

This upset was historic because it tied the Patriots for the highest seed to ever make it to the Final Four. More significantly, the Patriots became the only Mid-major team to make the Final Four since the Larry Bird’s 1979 Indiana State Sycamores.

No. 2: #8 Villanova Wildcats over #1 Georgetown Hoyas

On paper the 1985 National Championship Game was a huge mismatch. The Hoyas strolled into the game with the number one defense in all of college basketball.  Georgetown was the defending national champions looking to start a dynasty under head coach John Thompson.

Additionally, the Hoyas had three future NBA players in Patrick Ewing, Reggie Williams and David Wingate. Moreover, the Hoyas had previous defeated the Wildcats twice during the regular season. Every pundit stated that the only way that the upstart Villanova Wildcats would win the game is if they played a perfect game.

The stars must have aligned for the Villanova Wildcats because they played the game of their lives and it was indeed perfect. Even though the Hoyas made more field goals then the Wildcats and had nearly double the amount of field goal attempts, they could not beat the determined Wildcats.

The Wildcats shot a blistering 78 percent on 22 of 28 shooting from the field. Georgetown’s number one field goal defense (39.9 percent) seemed to be nonexistent against Rollie Massimino’s shooting stars. The tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Ed Pickney scored 16 points and unheralded guard Harold Jenson put up in 14 points on a perfect five-of-five shooting.

Today this game is considered by many to be the biggest upset in tournament history. Also, the Wildcats are still the highest seed ever to win the National Championship.

However, the lasting image is Villanova’s senior forward Dwayne McClain on his knees catching the inbounds pass, cradling the ball in this right hand and point upward to the sky with his left as the clock never struck twelve on the Cinderella Wildcats.

No. 1:  #6 North Carolina State Wolfpack over Houston Cougars (1983)

It is fitting that the biggest upset of all-time also might have been the greatest finish to a college basketball game ever.

Entering the title game the Houston Cougars were the number one team in the country in both national poles, had a 25 game win streak and the swagger that championship teams need to have to go all the way.

Furthermore, experts were anointing the Cougars the championship after they beat the No. 2 ranked team in the country Louisville, known as the “Doctors of Dunk” in the national semifinal.

Meanwhile, the national media overlooked the Wolfpack. The ACC Tournament champions won games against two top 10 teams in Virginia and UNLV on their way to the Final Four.

As the game began the Wolfpack slowed the tempo against the high-powered Cougars. The Wolfpack’s stifling defense began to frustrate the Cougars. In the first half the Cougars shot 31 percent from the field and trailed Jim Valvano’s miracle kids 33-25.

As the second half started, the Cougars heated up, going on a 17-2 run and took the lead 42-35.

As the game wound down, the Wolfpack found themselves down 52-48. Then with two minutes to play Dereck Whittenburg hit not one, but two long jumpers to tie the game at 52 and set the stage for the ultimate finish.

In the final seconds of the game, Whittenburg had to scramble to recover a pass that was deflected by Houston’s Clyde Drexler. Whittenburg managed to get a shot off at the hoop but caught all air and it appeared like the game was headed to overtime. But then out of nowhere, Lorenzo Charles caught the ball and slammed it home as time expired. Wolfpack fans stormed the court, while coach Valvano ran frantically around the court looking for one of his own players to hug. As Valvano scrambled for a hug, Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston players fell to the court in shock of what just transpired.

In the years since Lorenzo Charles dunked home the title for the Wolfpack, the play has been highlighted on Sportscenter, ESPN and every other sports network over a million times. That dunk will live in infamy for Cougar fans and won over a national audience. It is the dunk that gave credence to the name “March Madness,” and defined what we know as the “upset.”