It is predicted that 40 million people participate in predicting the NCAA tournament. How many games played messed up your bracket? My favorite upset in March Madness history is the UMBC vs. Virginia game this year! What a great game and big upset for a lot of people!
1. UMBC over Virginia (2018)
Number 16 UMBC pulled through and beat number 1 Virginia, 74-54. This game was such a great game with the underdog pulling through and winning!
2. Norfolk over Missouri (2012)
Number 15, Norfolk, beat number 2, Missouri, with a last minute pass and layup and foul and ending the game 86-84!
3. Virginia Commonwealth over Kansas (2011)
Number 11 Virginia Commonwealth outplayed number 1 Kansas and won 71-61. Kansas started off their season 18-0 and they had 5 NBA picks while Virginia Commonwealth was not ranked and started their season 10-5. What opposite teams and an even crazier game!
4. George Mason over UConn (2006)
George Mason, number 11, played a tough game and beat number 1, UConn, 86-84.
UConn had 4 future NBA first-rounders and a 5th who went early on in the second while George Mason had no NBA players and their tallest guy was 6'8". What a great underdog game!
5. Santa Clara over Arizona (1993)
Arizona, number 2, had a rough loss to number 15, Santa Clara! The final score was 64-61. What a close game! Arizona had 6 future NBA players at the time and Santa Clara had 1 NBA player and a record of 15-11. What a huge upset in March Madness history!
6. Duke over UNLV (1991)
Duke and UNLV had a close game, but UNLV pulled through to impress the crowd. The final score was 79-77. UNLV had 3 future top 12 NBA players including Larry Johnson, top pick number 1. On the other hand, Duke lost 3 of their top 4 scorers. What opposite teams and a great game!
7. Richmond over Syracuse (1991)
Number 15, Richmond brought shock to the crowd as they beat number 2, Syracuse. Final score: 73-69. Before 1991, number 15 seeds did not win any games and number 2 seeds were the same as number one seeds: undefeated. What are the odds of a number 15 seed beating a number 2 seed? Leave it to Richmond to beat number 2, Syracuse.
8. Kansas over Oklahoma (1988)
What a tough game! Before the game, Oklahoma ended their season 35-3 and Kansas was unranked and ended their season 18-11. Oklahoma was a monster of a team with averaging 100 points per game. On the other side, Kansas had lost 8 of their last 17 games and it did not look like they were going to the NCAA's.
9. Villanova over Georgetown (1985)
Georgetown, number 1, finished their season with a record of 25-2 while Villanova ended their last 21 games with 11-10 record. This game was definitely a David and Goliath game! The final score was 66-64.
10. North Carolina State over Houston (1983)
North Carolina was unranked for most of their season and finished their season 17-10 while Houston had 2 of the greatest players, NBA Hall of Famers, Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon. The final score was 54-52.