The single elimination NCAA Tournament—unlike the NBA’s best-of-seven playoffs—is completely unpredictable. No team gets homecourt advantage, every game counts, and no one wants to go home early. Thus, the tourney—and especially the opening round—sees plenty of upsets like second-ranked Michigan State falling to lightly regarded Middle Tennessee on March 18. Yet the Spartans aren’t the only team to suffer a first-round shocker. They’re just the latest.
Here are the 10 biggest first-round upsets since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985:
10. 2012: Norfolk State (15) Over Missouri (2), 86–84
How’s this for debuts? Norfolk State, in their first ever NCAA Tournament game, became just the fifth 15-seed to ever beat a 2-seed when they shocked a 30-win Missouri team in an absolute offensive slugfest.
The high-scoring affair featured six 20-point scorers—three on each side—while both teams hit better than 50 percent from the floor. Spartan center Kyle O'Quinn led all players with 26 points and 14 rebounds as the Tigers were badly out-rebounded 35–17.
Amazingly, Norfolk State pulled off this upset without a single bench player registering a point.
9. 1997: Coppin State (15) Over South Carolina (2), 78–65
Eddie Fogler’s Gamecocks had won 19 of 21 games and were heading into their first-round contest with the Eagles as 30-point favorites. To make it seem even more improbable, Coppin State’s best player, Terquin Mott, was limited by a sprained ankle.
Despite the bum ankle, Mott contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Eagles took a 55–54 lead with just over six minutes left and never looked back. The epic win was just the third ever by a 15-seed.
8. 2001: Hampton (15) Over Iowa State (2), 58–57
Led by future NBA point guard Jamaal Tinsley, the Cyclones had won back-to-back Big 12 Conference titles and were coming off a regional finals appearance the previous season. But they quickly found themselves in a dogfight with a team that was making its first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa State led 57–56 in the final seconds before Hampton senior forward Tarvis Williams’s turnaround jumper in the lane went in with 6.9 seconds left to put the Pirates ahead. The Cyclones had one last chance, but Tinsley missed a difficult running lay-in (through traffic) with a second left. With the win, Hampton became the fourth 15-seed to upset a 2-seed.
7. 2007: Virginia Commonwealth (11) Over Duke (6), 79–76
Normally, an 11-seed beating a 6-seed is not considered much of an upset, but when that 6-seed wears “Duke” across its jersey, it becomes the exception.
Mike Kzryzewski’s program hadn’t lost in the first round since 1996 (they were seeded eighth that year) when they ran into VCU in 2007. But following the graduations of J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams the year before, the team had clearly taken a step back and the Rams took full advantage of the opportunity.
Five VCU players scored in double digits, including 22 points from sophomore guard Eric Maynor—who hit the game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds left—as the Rams pulled off the improbable win.
6. 1996: Princeton (13) Over UCLA (4), 43–41
The defending champion Bruins had plenty of talent left in the tank from the previous season, and may have been looking past the Ivy League champions when they stepped on the court in this memorable first-round matchup. They soon found themselves playing at Princeton coach Pete Carril’s methodical half-court pace—and not playing it very well.
Tigers freshman forward Gabe Lewullis scored off a now-memorable backdoor play with 3.9 seconds left on the clock to win this thriller, which stunned the Bruins and sent coach Carril off to retirement in style.
5. 2005: Bucknell (14) Over Kansas (3), 64–63
Kansas had made the Final Four two of three previous seasons and had won 21 straight first-rounders before matching up with unknown Bucknell in 2005. Should have been just another day at the office for one of the winningest programs ever, right? Wrong.
The Jayhawks had been the preseason No. 1 team in the country that season but after a 20–1 start to the season had faltered down the stretch, losing five of their last eight. Still, few expected Bucknell, which had never won a tournament game, to give them a problem.
