The thrill of an upset is crazy, seeing a small school beat a top seed is one of the most exciting experiences in sports. However, there is an agony to it, which is it probably killed your bracket and all hopes you had of winning some money.
An upset in March Madness is one of the most, if not, the most, exciting thing in the tournament. Over the last few seasons, we’ve seen a great number of upsets. We’ve seen a ton of 13 over 4s, 12 over 5s, and even 14 over 3s. Additionally, we’ve seen back-to-back-to-back seasons with a 15 seed beating a 2. Not only beating the 2 but advancing to the Sweet 16 or farther. Lastly, we’ve seen the only two 16 over 1s in the last few years.
No. 16 UMBC UPSETS No. 1 Virginia, 74-54
In what was easily the best and most exciting upset ever, UMBC, a school most people had never heard of, not only beat, but dominated, the overall 1 seed Virginia by 20 in March Madness 2018. UMBC was the first ever 16 seed to beat a 1 seed ever and fans were loving it.
The upset put the small UMBC school on the map for good and everybody was rooting for them in the second round as they took on 9-seed Kansas State. K-State ended the Retrievers’ historic run a couple of days later. As for Virginia, they only went to the Final Four and won the entire championship the very next year. Crazy comeback for the Cavaliers. A comeback Purdue fans hope happens to their squad in 2024.
No. 16 FDU UPSETS No. 1 Purdue, 63-58
Not as historic, and not as dominant, but we saw the second-ever 16 over 1 happen a year ago in March Madness 2023. It took FDU until the last minute of the game to secure a huge upset win over Zach Edey and Purdue. Purdue has now lost to a 15 seed or higher in the last two March Madness tournaments (2022 and 2023). Like UMBC, FDU’s upset tour only lasted a round, as they lost to Florida Atlantic in the second round.
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FDU’s head coach called the shot after their win in the first four, and that clip went viral after the upset win. “The more I watch Purdue play, the more I think we can beat ‘em,” FDU head coach Tobin Anderson said after their big first four W. It came to fruition and Coach Anderson and FDU stamped their legacy into the college basketball history books.
No. 15 Saint Peter’s UPSETS No. 2 Kentucky, 85-79
The sweethearts of the 2022 tournament were straight out of playing games in a normal high school-sized gymnasium. They went from playing in a small gym to stealing the show at the 2022 tournament in front of way bigger crowds. The Peacocks took the Kentucky Wildcats to OT and eventually dominated overtime and upset Kentucky.
Saint Peter’s not only upset Kentucky but upset Murray State and Purdue en route to an Elite 8 appearance. A 15 seed had never been to an elite 8 ever until 2022. Saint Peter’s technically was the 5th last team out of the tournament because their elite 8 game was the last game of the 4 games in the elite 8. It was a bummer to watch their historic run end at the hands of North Carolina. Kansas won the 2022 tournament, but Saint Peter’s stole the show.
No. 15 Oral Roberts UPSETS No. 2 Ohio State, 75-72
Oral Roberts defeated Ohio State in OT thanks to great play by star PG Max Abmas. Abmas made a name for himself in this tournament, becoming a March Madness legend. Abmas led an upset that had a little more juice behind it since it was the first time a 15 seed advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2013. It helped the excitement level that this was the first time fans have seen March Madness ball since 2019.
Oral Roberts was so close to an elite 8 appearance. Max Abmas missed a game-winning 3 at the buzzer in the Sweet 16 against Arkansas that would’ve sent them into the elite 8 vs. eventual champions, Baylor. The feeling of watching upsets was back and better than ever after a year off with COVID-19.
No. 15 Princeton UPSETS No. 2 Arizona, 59-55
Seeing an Ivy League school win in the tournament is rare, and it’s even rarer in the 15-seed or higher department. So rare that it hadn’t happened until the 2023 tournament when Princeton knocked off Arizona. Like Oral Roberts and Saint Peter’s, Princeton won their second-round matchup to advance to the Sweet 16. Princeton was looked at as a weak 15 seed because they shouldn’t have been there. They weren’t projected to win the Ivy League, Yale was.
The Princeton Tigers run was extremely taken for granted and forgotten about. That is because of the FDU upset win over Purdue. It’s too bad that their run was not in the spotlight as much as it should’ve been. Arizona was looked at by many as the strongest 2 seed in 2023 and Princeton beat them. Princeton went on to defeat 7-seed Missouri in the second round.
No. 15 Lehigh UPSETS No. 2 Duke, 75-70
A Lehigh team led by CJ McCollum had one of the biggest upsets of all time when they took down a title contender in the Duke Blue Devils. This game was incredible, but the play of CJ McCollum was insane. He took over the game and led a very shocking upset. This was during a time when Duke fans were going through a roller coaster of emotions. CJ McCollum shattered the hearts of Duke fans everywhere.
Unlike the other 15 seeds on this list, Lehigh’s exciting run came to an end in the next round. It came at the hands of Xavier. This game helped CJ McCollum’s draft stock and could’ve very well helped him become the NBA star that he is.
No. 14 Stephen F. Austin UPSETS No. 3 West Virginia, 70-56
In a year when West Virginia was known to be a great defensive team, Stephen F Austin was the one who knocked them out with stellar defensive play. The biggest upset in the 2016 NCAA tournament was 14-seed Stephen F Austin dominating 3-seed West Virginia. Mountaineer players admitted to taking SFA lightly and blaming their loss on that and lack of quality practice. Not often do you hear teams make excuses for bad losses like this.
SFA went on to take on Notre Dame in the following round. The Fighting Irish ended all hopes of a SFA Cinderella run. It was short-lived, but it was the only big upset for a while until 2021. Because of this, the significance of it continued to rise until Oral Roberts defeated Ohio State.
No. 14 Abilene Christian UPSETS No. 3 Texas, 53-52
Abilene Christian’s head coach was fired up after the win over Texas. He kept saying this is what March is all about and that their small school beat up the University of Texas. He was absolutely right. This game showed exactly what March is all about and why it is straight madness. A back-and-forth ending, ended in Abilene Christian knocking down two clutch free throws to win the game. Another upset that was unfortunately outshined by another higher upset in Oral Roberts vs Ohio State.
Abilene Christian was done after their loss to UCLA in the second round. Although they lost, their head coach started to get corny by continuing to talk about how a small college in Texas beat the University of Texas. It was cool when it happened, but when you go on to lose the next round, it’s overdoing it to keep talking about it.
No. 11 Loyola Chicago UPSETS No. 9 Kansas State, 78-62
Loyola Chicago had one of the most exciting runs in March Madness history in 2018. This upset isn’t the game vs Kansas State, but the entire run. The Ramblers were led by school icon Sister Jean. They got all the way to the Final Four, beating teams with buzzer-beaters and blowouts. Sister Jean became an icon and the college of Loyola Chicago will always be remembered and talked about every March if they have a chance to make the tourney.
Loyola started their run with an incredible game-winner against 6-seeded Miami. The excitement was starting, but probably because they had a crazy buzzer-beater. They advanced to the round of 32 where they had their biggest upset over 3-seed Tennessee on another game-winner. Now excitement was riding super high and Sister Jean was now a known icon. A lucky roll by the MVC player of the year put the dagger in Tennessee.
They moved on to the Sweet 16 to defeat Nevada. Not a game-winner this time, but a 3-point shot with 6 seconds left when they were up 66-65 is pretty close. In the Elite 8, they dominated Kansas State and a possible championship for the Fighting Sister Jean’s was a go. Unfortunately for America, Loyola was beaten in the Final Four by 3-seed Michigan in what was a tough loss. The Ramblers may have lost, but they will always be remembered, and so will Sister Jean.
No. 11 UCLA UPSETS No. 1 Michigan, 51-49
UCLA had a very underrated run to the Final Four. Going through 5 teams to get there instead of the typical 4. This was because they battled Michigan State in the First Four. UCLA is borderline blue blood, so their run wasn’t as exciting as Loyola. Nevertheless, UCLA shocked the world by reaching the Final Four as an 11 seed. Their way of getting bounced was a lot more heartbreaking than Loyola’s.
From the First Four to the Final Four, the UCLA Bruins started their quest in the First Four against Tom Izzo and Michigan State. After defeating them, they were officially in the tournament, where they beat BYU and Abilene Christian right away in the first weekend. They then went on to beat the 2-seed Alabama and the 1-seed Michigan in the second weekend to move on to the Final Four. Coming out of the First Four to beat the 2 and 1 seed in your region is impressive. Another upset/run that isn’t talked about enough.
However, the Bruins were stunned badly. With a few seconds left Johnny Juzang made a layup to tie the game. Right after that Jalen Suggs banked in a 40-foot three to eliminate UCLA’s incredible run.
