Happy March Madness: that time of the year, when for four weeks, everyone stops what they’re doing and shifts their attention to college basketball, watching some of the most exciting and entertaining basketball games of the entire spring. One of the reasons why the NCAA Tournament is nicknamed “March Madness” is due to all of the upsets a lower-seeded basketball team pulls out during the tournament. Another is a Cinderella run some of these teams embark on, with hopes of winning it all, while ruining everyone’s brackets. However, some games can be very dull snore fest for everyone watching in the Tournament. The matchups may bring classlessness from some opponents, and end up with a team, no one wants in the Final Four, winning it all.
Here are five of the worst March Madness games and five of the best games that left us speechless:
Worst: 2022 Arizona Wildcats Taunt TCU 85-80 in overtime in the Round of 32
The 2022 Arizona Wildcats had a very strong team entering the 2022 NCAA tournament, as they beat out Wright State 87-70, and then faced a tough Texas Christian University Horned Frogs team, in the Round of 32. Although the game was a very competitive battle between the Wildcats and Horned Frogs, the game is remembered for the Wildcats taunting the Horned Frogs by waving goodbye and blowing kisses to the TCU fans.
It wasn’t a good look for the Wildcats as karma came and bit them hard. Classless acts are not okay, as dignity on the court matters. Knowing there are more games in the tournament, and bad behavior comes back around, makes the difference. In the Sweet 16, they had their comeuppance, when they lost 60-72 to the Houston Cougars.
Best: 16-seeded UMBC knocked out one-seeded Virginia in blowout fashion, in 2018
Entering the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the 16-seeded UMBC Retrievers looked like another 16-seed team, that would go down in flames to the one-seeded Virginia Cavaliers, who were 20.5 favorites at the time. However, that was not the case, as the Retrievers put up a strong fight in a defensive battle with the Cavaliers. By the time the second half started, UMBC didn’t look back, as they went on a seven-point run, to start things off, and finished the game with a 20-point lead. The Cavaliers led the NCAA in scoring defense that year with 53.4 points per game and were outscored 53-33 as UMBC became the first men’s college basketball team to take down a one-seed, as a 16-seed.
UMBC also made 12 three-pointers while Virginia only made four three-pointers, all game. Jarius Lyles of UMBC, who scored 28 points, said after the game, “It’s always exciting to make history” which best summed up the meaning of March Madness! The 16-seeded Retrievers lost to the nine-seeded Kansas State Wildcats in the round of 32 while the Virginia Cavaliers went on to win the 2019 NCAA Championship over Texas Tech in the next tournament.
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Worst: North Carolina defeats Michigan State 89-72 in the 2009 NCAA Championship
A matchup between two historic teams- the Michigan State Spartans and the North Carolina Tar Heels. This match also featured two Hall of Fame coaches in Tom Izzo and Roy Williams. This would make for an exciting matchup, right? Wrong! The Tar Heels dominated with a 22-7 lead to start the game off and were up 55-34 at halftime. The Spartans tried to come back in the second half by cutting the lead down by 13 points, but, it was all too late, as the Tar Heels maintained control of the game and took advantage of the Spartans’ 21 turnovers.
Notable future NBA players in the game included Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington, and a young Draymond Green. This would be the Tar Heels’ most recent championship until 2017 while the Spartans haven’t won an NCAA Championship since 2000.
Best: 14-seeded Georgia State knocks out three-seeded Baylor in 2015
In 2015, two 14-seeded teams advanced to the Round of 32, the University of Alabama Birmingham Blazers and the Georgia State Panthers. The Panthers had former Louisville Cardinal, Kevin Ware, playing in his first NCAA Tournament game, two years after he suffered a very gruesome leg injury, that derailed his 2013 season. The Panthers came back from a 12-point deficit, making it a very close game. R.J. Hunter sunk the game-winning three-pointer, which caused his father, Panthers’ head coach, Ron Hunter, to fall off of his rolling chair in excitement.
Hunter scored 16 points, had three rebounds, and one assist in the victory. Georgia State ended up falling to Xavier 78-87 in the Round of 32 while Baylor captured the NCAA Championship in 2021 over Gonzaga.
Worst: One-seeded Kentucky obliterates five-seeded West Virginia
The 2015 Kentucky Wildcats were an unstoppable juggernaut of a team, that eventually fell to Wisconsin in the Final Four that season. Before that, they squared off against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sweet 16. This game is remembered for West Virginia’s Daxter Miles Jr. saying the Mountaineers would end Kentucky’s 36-game win streak. However, the game didn’t go as Miles Jr. predicted, as the Wildcats obliterated the Mountaineers, 78-39.
Miles Jr. ended the game scoreless for the Mountaineers, while Trey Lyles of Kentucky scored 14 points, had seven rebounds, and two assists. The ultimate lesson from this ugly game is to keep your ego in check before squaring off against your opponent because you’ll give them a ton of ammo to use against you. That’s exactly what Kentucky did that night!
Also Read: 10 Best Individual March Madness Performances Since 2000 & Where They Got Drafted
Best: Virginia defeats Texas Tech, in overtime, in the 2019 NCAA championship game
One year after getting shocked by the UMBC Retrievers, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Virginia Cavaliers went on a mission to get to the National Championship game and win it all. Their opponent, in the way of that coveted championship, was the three-seeded, Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was a very close game, as Virginia led 32-29 at halftime. The Red Raiders wouldn’t go down without a fight, and they fought an intense battle in the second half. Texas Tech looked like they were going to win the game, but Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter hit a game-tying three-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation. Jarrett Culver of the Red Raiders tried to hit a game-winning three-pointer but was blocked by Braxton Key, and the game went to overtime.
Texas Tech tried everything they could to get the win in overtime. However, Virginia overpowered them, in the very end, and went on an 11-point run securing the National Championship 85-77 in overtime. It was the eighth Men’s National Championship game to go to overtime. It confirms the saying, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Worst: UCLA embarrasses Mississippi Valley State in the 2008 Round of 64
The UCLA Bruins led by Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and Darren Colliston held the Mississippi Valey State Delta Devils to 29 points, in their 70-29 victory. Love even said, “No Mercy for them. We didn’t feel too bad for them.” Mississippi Valley State scored the fewest points in the NCAA Tournament since 1946, and that is a painful record to have.
UCLA went on to the Final Four that season before falling to the Memphis Tigers, 78-63. Mississippi Valley State had one more NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012, but they were bounced out of the First Four by Western Kentucky, in a 58-59 loss. The Delta Devils haven’t been back to the NCAA Tournament since.
Best: Two-Seeded Villanova stuns one-seeded North Carolina in the 2016 NCAA Championship game
In one of the craziest games in any NCAA Tournament, the two-seeded Villanova Wildcats and one-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels squared off in a very close, neck-and-neck battle. The Tar Heels led 39-34 at halftime, but Villanova came back and gave the Tar Heels the challenge of their lives. The Wildcats were up by 67-57 at one point in the second half, before the Tar Heels came back, as Marcus Paige tied the game with 4.7 seconds left to play.
Villanova came out of a timeout as Ryan Arcidiacono passed the ball, with two seconds left, to Kris Jenkins, who hit the game-winning buzzer-beater with a final score of 77-74 making it one of the greatest NCAA March Madness games ever played. This was Villanova’s second NCAA Championship since 1985 when they stunned Georgetown. The Tar Heels returned to the National Championship game in 2017 and won it all 71-65 against the Gonzaga Bulldogs while Villanova won it all 79-68 against Michigan in 2018.
Worst: Butler vs UConn 2011 NCAA Championship game
Arguably one of the worst NCAA March Madness games of all time, the game was a battle between the Butler Bulldogs and the UConn Huskies. Butler led UConn 22-19, at halftime, and CBS’s Greg Anthony said, “This is the worst half of basketball I’ve ever seen in a National Championship game.” In the second half, Butler only made six of 37 shots as UConn’s defense blocked 10 shots. In the end, the Huskies defeated the Bulldogs 53-41 and Kemba Walker was named MVP of the game.
Walker led all players on the floor with 16 points and nine rebounds while Butler’s Shelvin Mack had 13 points, nine rebounds, and an assist. Butler’s head coach, Brad Stevens, coached the Bulldogs for two more seasons until the Boston Celtics made him their head coach. UConn won another National Championship in 2014 against the Kentucky Wildcats and won the 2023 NCAA National Championship game against San Diego State.
Best: 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson stuns One-seeded Purdue in 2023
In most NCAA Tournaments, we expect the 16-seeded teams to go down in flames rather than continue marching on. That wasn’t the case when the 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson Knights played a very close and competitive game against the one-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. The Knights forced eight turnovers, in the first half of the game, and were up 32-31 at halftime. They outscored the Boilermakers, 7-5, to start the second half of the game. Purdue’s Zach Edey played a great game, as he had 21 points and 15 rebounds on the night, and kept Purdue afloat. However, his efforts weren’t enough, as Purdue had a couple of missed opportunities to win the game, and Fairleigh Dickinson played some outstanding team basketball throughout the game and won 63-58 becoming the second men’s 16-seeded team to knock out a one-seed.
UMBC Athletics tweeted “WE HAVE A FRIEND NOW!” immediately after the game. FDU’s hopes of becoming the first 16-seed to reach the Sweet 16 were dashed immediately after, as they lost 70-78 to Florida Atlantic University. The FDU Knight’s improbable victory, will always live on, in sports history, as an incredible upset, and give us hope, that anything is possible. That is the real gift, of March Madness!
