With the NCAA Men's Tournament coming up, it's time to relive some of the biggest March Madness upsets in history.
As March approaches, there are few bigger events in American sports than the NCAA Tournament. The 64-team tournament brings together the best amateur athletes from around the country in one of the most thrilling multi-team competitions in sport.
What makes it even more fun than knockouts in professional sports, however, is the excitement from a shocking shock. That has become more common in recent years, but no less interesting. Inversion is what makes March Madness crazy.
With that in mind, let's take a look at eight of the most shocking and memorable March Madness upsets in the long history of the NCAA Tournament.
8. George Mason reached Final Four with a spectacular win over UConn (2006)
For more than two decades, UConn has had a program that is on par with college powerhouses such as Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan State. The Huskies' 2005-06 season was a perfect example of that as the team won 30-3, finished third domestically at the start of March Madness and had four future picks in the NBA Draft.
George Mason is the opposite. It only ranked for a week that season, with no player taller than 6 foot-8, and couldn't even win its own conference tournament. However, it was the Cinderella team of 2006 when they shockingly made it to the Elite Eight, and even UConn couldn't stop their magical trip to the Final Four. The failure would become one of the biggest in UConn's history and firmly establish George Mason as a household name in the university.
7. Commonwealth of Virginia reaches Final Four by beating Kansas (2011)
Kansas was one of the most battle-tested shows in the sport in 2011. The team won 32-2 and overcame the dangers of playing the Big 12, which had five other ranked teams. The Jayhawks made it into the Elite Eight as expected, and then they met that year's Cinderella team, Virginia Commonwealth University.
VCU didn't win the congress title and there's no NBA-level talent on the roster, but that doesn't matter. As the Rams set up a superb defensive performance, where they restricted Kansas to 35% of their shot from the field and a stunning 10% from three. They surprisingly secured a ticket to the Finals with one of the best March Madness flips ever.
6. Middle Tennessee Beginners Crush and Upset Michigan State (2016)
Michigan State is one of the major franchises of college basketball, so whenever Team Sparta loses in an NCAA Tournament, it's remarkable. However, their defeat in 2016 was historic as they placed their name on the 2nd seed list unfortunately having been eliminated in the opening round against the 15th seed.
What makes it all the more heartbreaking is that the Blue Raiders haven't had the best game of their lives as MSU has more assists and just four more turns than their opponents. But Middle Tennessee's five starters sometimes prevail as all five men score double-digits when the weaker teams win by margin.
5. Oral Roberts beat Ohio State in the first round (2021)
Oral Roberts is part of a growing tradition of 2021 with 15 seeds taking the No. 2. This time Ohio State was the victim, and that year's Buckeyes fans had to shoulder all of their pain over the set. Dynamic duo Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor. The pair played all 45 minutes of the game, including injury time, and dropped 59 of the team's 75 points in a stunning victory.
4. Steve Nash and Santa Clara rocked Arizona (1993)
Future NBA Hall of Famer Steve Nash officially put his name on the basketball map as a freshman at Santa Clara in 1993. Although he wasn't that team's top player, he was still a top player. a notable element of a team that shocked the Arizona team of six future NBA players, in the first round of that year's NCAA Tournament.
Arizona won 19 games in a row at a time and overcame the Pac-10 with a 17-1 grandstand record. While the Broncos barely entered the league. When it mattered most, however, they took defense to the next level and were able to take down an elite team of talent in the second half and pick up three points in the opening half.
3. Saint Peter's shocks the world and Kentucky with its first win at March Madness (2022)
Saint Peter's Peacocks took the basketball world by storm last year with their shocking record throughout the tournament. It all started for the small New Jersey school with one of the biggest March Madness games ever when they beat 2nd seed Kentucky in the opening round of the tournament.
Saint Peter's first NCAA Tournament win will be followed by many more in 2022; However, those won't outweigh their thrilling overtime win over Kentucky. The defeat also extended the legendary show's winless streak in the league to three years.
2. UMBC makes NCAA history ahead of Virginia (2018)
UMBC's 2018 win over Virginia shortlisted the top two on our all-time March Madness disruptor list as it was the first time in NCAA Tournament history that a 16th seed beat a single of the top four seeds in the group. This was no ordinary victory, however, UMBC beat Virginia in the second half, scoring 53 out of 74 points.
The Cavaliers not only ended the wrong history, but also embarrassed when they lost 20 points in the opening round of the 2018 tournament.
1. North Carolina State and Jim Valvano Support Akeem Olajuwon and Houston (1983)
While the North Carolina State Wolfpack surprised many by winning the 1983 ACC tournament, they were considered the underdog sixth seed in that year's tournament. However, they continued their hot streak throughout the tournament and had an appointment with the nation's top team, Houston, for the championship.
Houston is an all-star team featuring future Hall of Famers Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. After two losses at the start of the season, they won 26 games in a row and made it through the league. They were supposed to continue their reign of terror against the NC State in the title game.
However, head coach Jim Valvano and his team shocked the world with a header that created one of the most legendary celebrations in college basketball history that you can watch here. above. That's why it tops March Madness's all-time list.
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