Top March Madness Upsets of All Time
Upsets are what March Madness is make of! We have two upsets in the first day of the Round of 64 in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. No. 11 Duquesne defeated No. 6 BYU earlier today and No. 13 Oakland just defeated No. 3 Kentucky. But what are the top March Madness upsets of all time? Jason Radowitz takes a closer look.
Jason Radowitz - March 21, 2024, 9:38 PM EDT
5 minTop March Madness Upsets of All Time
Recently, we've had some wild bracket-busters in the NCAA Tournament.
Upsets we could've never imagined would ever happen a dozen years ago are happening at a much higher rate than ever before.
Let's revisit some of the craziest upsets in March Madness history!
Top March Madness Upsets of All Time
2023: 16. FDU Defeats 1. Purdue
The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights weren't even guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament's opening round. Instead, the Knights had to win their game in the First Four and then clinch a spot as the No. 16 seed against the nation's top-rated team, the Purdue Boilermakers.
FDU led the Boilermakers at halftime, 32-31. However, nobody wanted to believe the Knights would actually stick around in the second half.
But they did. The Knights held Purdue to 27 points in the second half to earn a stunning 63-58 win over the Big Ten Champions.
2023: 15. Princeton Defeats 2. Arizona
Purdue's loss wasn't the only stunner in 2023.
No. 15 seed Princeton escaped the First Round of the NCAA Tournament with a 59-55 win over Arizona.
Like FDU, the Princeton Tigers held their opponent to under 30 points in the second half. Even better, the Wildcats only scored 24 points in the second half.
Princeton was a 15.5-point underdog and won outright. This upset often gets overlooked because of FDU's win. But any other year (other than 2022), this would've been talked about a lot more.
2022: 15. St. Peter's Defeats 2. Kentucky
The St. Peter's Peacocks tied the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half, 37-37. They also stuck with the Wildcats in the second half, tying that half, 34-34.
When the game went to overtime, most people were in denial. We all expected Kentucky to get in gear for the final five minutes and avoid disaster.
Instead, the Peacocks put on a three-point clinic and knocked off Kentucky 85-79 in overtime.
St. Peter's made history as a 15-seed. They made it all the way into the Elite Eight in 2022.
2021: 15. Oral Roberts Wins Overtime Thriller Over 2. Ohio State
Two stars were born that night.
Kevin Obanor scored 30 points, while Max Abmas added 29 points in the win. Both eventually transferred into Power 5 teams.
Anyway, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles earned an exciting 75-72 win over Ohio State as a No. 15 seed. The Golden Eagles led at halftime and had many fans on notice by the second half.
Obanor outplayed EJ Liddell, and Abmas held his own against Duane Washington Jr. Nobody expected that. Oral Roberts had legitimate Power-5 players on the squad and nobody knew.
2018: 16. UMBC Stuns 1. Virginia
The March Madness chaos really began once UMBC knocked off Virginia in 2018.
Before UMBC, a 16-seed had never defeated a No. 1 seed. However, UMBC didn't just beat Virginia. They dominated the entire game and won by 20.
This is probably the most incredible upset in college basketball history.
2016: 15. MTSU Couldn't Miss Against 2. Michigan State
Middle Tennessee State shot beyond 50% from deep and scored 90 points in a major upset over Michigan State in 2016.
2013: 15. FGCU Dunks All Over 2. Georgetown
There's nothing like FGCU nowadays. There were more stunning upsets than this one. However, FGCU made their tournament run special with iconic dunks that proved the chemistry they had built throughout their time together. There will never be another dunk city in March Madness.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL ODDS
