We are 10 weeks into the NCAA season, and what a roller coaster the top 25 has already been, especially the number one spot. Ok, I shouldn’t be so dramatic, the #1 spot has just been rotating between Duke, Villanova, and Michigan State, but the games that knocked them from the top positions were quite unbelievable.
Duke got knocked out of the spot by an unranked Boston College in December after holding it for the first five weeks of the season. They also just lost to an unranked NC State this past weekend. Villanova then held the spot the next three weeks (and are at the top spot again this week) until they were ousted by an unranked Butler at the end of December. Michigan State was at the top spot for one pitiful week before getting destroyed by unranked Ohio State.
Unranked teams are pulling off amazing upsets like it’s already March Madness and it’s getting me pumped for the tourney. I know we are still a few months away from the Big Dance, but who cares, lets take a look back at some of my favorite upsets in NCAA tournament history.
5. Lehigh vs Duke 2012
It’s the first round of the 2012 NCAA tournament and Duke is sitting pretty as the number 2 seed in the South division. Coach K’s team went 27-6 in the regular season and they were loaded with talent including Austin Rivers, Seth Curry, and big men Ryan Kelly and Mason and Miles Plumlee. They looked to make a deep run and had what should have been an easy matchup against a fifteen seed, no name Lehigh team to start it off.
Lehigh had different plans though. The Mountain Hawks went 27-7 in the regular season and were winners in the Patriot conference tournament. They stayed with the Blue Devils all first half, heading into the locker rooms at halftime down by just two. If you were like me (and most viewers), you thought “Coach K is going to rip his team a new one and they will come out 2nd half on fire and win by 25.” That, however, was not the case.
Lehigh, being led by guard C.J. McCollum (who ended with a game high 30 points), came out with hot hands and gave viewers one hell of a game to watch. The game went back and forth majority of the second half until Lehigh went up 56-54 with a little over 3 minutes left. Lehigh’s defense never let up, didn’t give the Blue Devils any easy shots, and stayed hovering around the rim for the rebounds. Lehigh ended up pulling out the upset 75-70, stunning all Blue Devils fans around the country. This still puts a smile on my face, not only because Duke lost, but also because Kentucky won it all that year.
4. Middle Tennessee State vs Michigan State 2016
My alma mater pulled off one of the most recent upsets in tournament history. The 15 seed Blue Raiders were 25-9 in the regular season and beat out Old Dominion by two in the Conference USA championship to stamp their way into the Big Dance. Number two seed Michigan State went 29-5 in the regular season, and just like Duke four years before, were poised to be a top contender to win it all.
MTSU came out hot, starting the game on a 15-2 run before the timeout break, and the crowd was going nuts. Kermit Davis’ team didn’t slow down, taking a 41-35 halftime lead thanks to a 4-point play with a little over a minute left (you know Izzo went insane when one of his players fouled on a three).
The second half wasn’t much better for the Spartans, trying desperately to play catch up and gain momentum back. The Blue Raiders continued to dominate the second half and beat the Spartans 90-81. I obviously would have loved to have seen MTSU make a deeper run, but ended up getting blown out by 10th seed Syracuse 75-50 in the round of 32.
3. Florida Gulf Coast vs Georgetown 2013
Florida Gulf Coast University was founded in 1991 and, at the time, was only in their second year of postseason eligibility. They knocked off Mercer in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship to get invited to tourney for the first time in the young school’s history. They were seeded at #15 and were set to play #2 Georgetown. Obviously not many people had heard their name before, but the Eagles sure as hell changed that quickly.
FGCU, being led by senior guard Sherwood Brown, became the most exiting team to watch in the tournament and earned the nickname “Dunk City” because of the ridiculous amount of dunks and alley-oops they put up against the Hoyas. They went into halftime with a two point lead, but the second half is where they blew the game out of the water. They refused to slow down, even when they were up 65-58 with a little under two minutes left and they threw down an alley-oop on a fast break to put the dagger in the hearts of all Georgetown players and fans.
Dunk City ended up winning 78-68 and were set to play # 7 San Diego State in the round of 32. At the time, no # 15 seed had ever advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and FGCU was ready to break that streak. And that they did. Both teams went shot for shot in the first half, and San Diego State went into halftime up by one. Florida Gulf Coast came out second half playing the style they did against Georgetown and pulled off the win 81-71. I was really pulling for this team to go deep because they were so exciting to watch. Unfortunately, they ended up falling to Florida 62-50 in the Sweet Sixteen but brought history to the tournament and their school.
2. George Mason vs Michigan State… And North Carolina… And Wichita State… and UConn 2006
George Mason was, without a doubt, the best Cinderella team in NCAA tourney history. They came in at the 11th seed after a 27-7 season and had their first matchup against 6th seed Michigan State. After being up at 3 at the half, they ended up taking down the Spartans 75-65. They then had to go through #3 seed North Carolina. They struggled first half, going into the locker rooms down 27-20, but the Patriots came out on fire second half. They ended up outscoring the Tar Heels 33-45 in the second half to pull out the victory 65-60 and continue their run in the Big Dance.
Their next matchup was against #7 seed Wichita State. George Mason absolutely destroyed the Shockers first half 35-19. Wichita State tried clawing their way back second half but ended up losing 63-55 sending Mason to the Elite Eight against #1 seed, and overall favorite, UConn. The first half, George Mason seemed to show signs of decline, and many feared their run may be over heading into halftime down 43-34.
The Patriots stunned the basketball world again. They came out second half striking fast and often, clawing their way back eventually taking a 74-70 lead with under 30 seconds to play. UConn then scored and got the quick foul with 5.5 seconds left. All George Mason had to do was make the 1 and 1 and put the game in the bag. However, they ended up missing the first free throw and the Huskies quickly drove down the court and made a layup as the buzzer was going off, sending the game into overtime.
Both teams kept going back and forth scoring in overtime, making this one of the most exciting games of the year. George Mason got ahead 86-81 with 25 seconds left and UConn answered with a big 3 with 10 seconds on the clock, putting them down by two. George Mason was again put on the free throw line with 6 seconds left, and again all they had to do was make the free throws to put the game away. However, again, they missed and UConn quickly drove down the court but instead of going for an easy two, they tried to win on a last second 3 pointer but hit the back of the rim, sending underdog George Mason to the Final Four. The dream stopped there though, as George Mason ended up falling short to the Florida Gators 73-58.
1. North Carolina State vs Houston 1983
Okay, so I wasn’t born when this game was played, but I have seen the game and highlights from it numerous times, so I do know how incredible this game really was. NC State went 26-10 in the regular season and had to win the ACC tournament to get their ticket to play in March. They did so, beating out Virginia by 3, and ended up getting the #6 seed in the West division. They beat out #11 Pepperdine 69-67 in overtime, #3 seed UNLV 71-70, 10th seed Utah 75-56, #1 Virginia (again) 63-62, and #4 Georgia 67-60 to get to the biggest game in college basketball against the best team.
Houston was an absolute powerhouse that year, going 31-2 in the regular season, being led by eventual NBA legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The Cougars were destroying teams in the tournament, winning by an average of 12 points and were the obvious favorite to become champions. Jim Valvano’s Wolfpack didn’t let Houston’s size and talent intimidate them and went up first half 33-25. Houston came back and, for the rest of the game, the score went back and forth.
With less than a minute left, the game was tied 52-52 and NC State had the ball. This was played before the shot clock was introduced in 1985-86 season, so NC State’s plan was to hold the ball for the last second shot. Houston played incredible defense for that last minute, almost causing a few turnovers and almost nabbing a steal. With 4 seconds left, NC State’s Dereck Whittenburg throws up a desperation shot between the three point line and the half court line that comes up short and forward Lorenzo Charles leaps up last second and slams it in at the buzzer, giving NC State a 54-52 win. Jimmy V running out on the court in pure excitement will always be one of the most iconic images in NCAA history.
Wes Calhoun covers the NBA and NCAA basketball for The SoBros Network. He drinks beer and bourbon while cursing at the TV watching games which will most likely lead to a heart attack. Go Cats! Follow on Twitter: @WesCalhoun1229
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