Biggest March Madness Upsets of All Time

The NCAA Basketball Tournament is known as March Madness for a reason. The tourney often produces shocking upsets where small, unknown schools knock off giants.

Here's one opinion of the biggest March Madness upsets in history, counted down from eight to one.

8. No. 15 Coppin State beats No. 2 South Carolina, 1997 First Round
In its previous game against a big-name school, Coppin State had lost by 36 points to Illinois. So few expected the Eagles to challenge South Carolina. But not only did Coppin State pull off the upset, they did so by 13 points in a comfortable 78-65 victory. Danny Singletary poured in 22 points to help Coppin State earn its place in March Madness history.

7. No. 14 Bucknell beats No. 3 Kansas, 2005 First Round
Yes, a team with the nickname Bison actually knocked off the No. 1 RPI Jayhawks. That's just how crazy March Madness gets sometimes. Despite a controversial intentional foul call in the final minute that helped Kansas take a 1-point lead, Bucknell answered with a basket to win 64-63. The upset ruined everyone's NCAA tournament brackets and earned an ESPY Award.

6. No. 15 Hampton beats No. 2 Iowa State, 2001 First Round
Nobody really believed Iowa State deserved its No. 2 seed, so it wasn't surprising to see them go out before the Elite Eight. But the First Round? To Hampton? The historically black school in Virginia pulled out a 58-57 victory when Iowa State missed two shots in the final seconds, earning the biggest March Madness upset of 2001.

5. No. 8 Villanova beats No. 1 Georgetown, 1985 Championship Game
With Patrick Ewing taking charge, the Hoyas had a massive talent advantage in the 1985 NCAA title game and were 10-point favorites. But the Wildcats produced one of the most impressive offensive performances in March Madness history, shooting an insane 78% from the floor. Even so, they just managed to eke out a 66-64 win, becoming the lowest seed to take college basketball's top prize.

4. No. 2 Duke beats No. 1 UNLV, 1991 Final Four
A #2 beating a #1 shouldn't be a big upset, but in 1991 it was, because UNLV was considered invincible. The Runnin' Rebels were undefeated, with a 45-game winning streak, and were two wins away from their second straight national championship. Duke had lost to UNLV by 30 points a year earlier in the championship match, but this time the Blue Devils got revenge in a 79-77 win.

Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Duke went on to win the national championship, while UNLV dropped off the radar and never became a serious NCAA threat again.

3. No. 15 Richmond beats No. 2 Syracuse, 1991 First Round
The Richmond Spiders became the first #15 seed ever to win an NCAA March Madness game when they knocked off Syracuse in 1991. Though the contest was tight, 73-69, Richmond never trailed against the Orange, holding an 8-point halftime lead and carrying it to victory. The Spiders shot nearly 50% from the floor in pulling off the giant college basketball upset.

2. No. 13 Princeton beats No. 4 UCLA, 1996 First Round
It seems that every single year, Princeton and the Ivy League schools get no respect from the NCAA seeding committee. In 1989, Princeton lost by one point to Georgetown as a #16 seed, so the school had already proven it could play with the big boys.

Just days after legendary coach Pete Carril announced his imminent retirement, his team pulled one of the biggest March Madness upsets of all-time, shocking the defending champion Bruins. Princeton ran down the shot clock and executed its offensive system to perfection, walking away with a 43-41 win in one of the lowest scoring games ever.

1. No. 11 George Mason beats No. 1 Connecticut, 2006 Elite Eight
Every NCAA tournament has a Cinderella team, and in 2006 it was George Mason. The 11th-seeded Patriots had never won a single game in the tourney, but they displayed remarkable resiliency time and again.

Their first-round win over Michigan State was surprising enough. But they followed that up by knocking off the defending champions from North Carolina, even after falling behind 16-2 early on. A lucky break allowed them to face Wichita State in the Sweet 16, where they triumphed to advance to the Elite Eight.

Everybody thought the Cinderella run was over against Connecticut, one of the best teams in the country, but George Mason prevailed 86-84 in overtime. The most amazing about the upset is that George Mason blew a 4-point lead with 10 seconds left in regulation. But instead of folding in overtime, they came out even more determined.

George Mason became the lowest-seeded team to reach the Final Four in 20 years, where they finally fell to the Florida Gators. But the Patriots' stunning win over UConn remains the biggest upset in March Madness history.

Sources:
www.espn.com
www.sports-reference.com/cbb

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