March Madness' biggest upsets and deepest runs in the NCAA tournament by Cinderella teams
Upsets are the essence of the NCAA March Madness tournament.
Whether it's the 1985 Villanova Wildcats or the 2018 Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers, the lore of "Cinderella" stories are the lure for many to the NCAA tournament.
Though they invariably lead to college basketball fans' brackets being busted, upsets hold a mass appeal that can turn players into folk heroes and teams into America's darlings.
Here's a rundown on the underdogs and upsets of the NCAA tournament since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985:
What does an upset mean in March Madness?
The simplest way to explain it is when a lower-seeded team wins over a higher seed, but there are many ways to define an underdog — whether by betting odds or the first through 16th seedings of each region.
Since the 1985 expansion of the NCAA tournament to 64 teams, the NCAA has defined upsets as "when the winning team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines worse than the losing team."
What is the average number of upsets in March Madness?
By the NCAA’s definition above, the annual average is about 8.5 upsets per tournament with as few as three in 2007 and as many as 14 in 2021.
According to the NCAA, there have been at least 10 upsets in 15 of the past 39 tournaments (and nine in the past 13 years, indicating a trend in favor of the underdog). There were nine uspets last season.
Has a No. 16 seed ever beaten a No. 1?
It's happened twice.
On March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina, University of Maryland-Baltimore Country stunned top-ranked Virginia 74-54 in a game that never was close despite the Retrievers being 20-point underdogs. (The Cavaliers would rebound to win the national championship in 2019.)
On March 17, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio, Fairleigh Dickinson beat Purdue 63-58. It was the second consecutive victory for the Knights, who won 84-61 over fellow No. 16 seed Texas Southern in the First Four.
Has a No. 15 seed ever beaten a No. 2?
It's happened 11 times: Richmond over Syracuse in 1991; Santa Clara over Arizona in 1993; Coppin State over South Carolina in 1997; Hampton over Iowa State in 2001; Norfolk State over Missouri in 2012; Lehigh over Duke in 2012; Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown in 2013; Middle Tennessee State over Michigan State in 2016; Oral Roberts over Ohio State in 2021; Saint Peter's over Kentucky in 2022; Princeton over Arizona in 2023.
What is a Cinderella team in March Madness?
It's a lower-seeded team that makes a deep run in the NCAA tournament. The term is probably most associated with the eighth-seeded Villanova team that won the national championship in 1985 (beating heavily favored archrival Georgetown in the title game).
Among the other Cinderella runs of note: Eighth-seeded Butler reaching the championship game (for the second consecutive year) in 2011, No. 15 Saint Peter's making the Elite Eight in 2022, and 10th-seeded Davidson (led by a then-unheralded) Steph Curry making the Elite Eight in 2008.
Has a double-digit seed ever made the Final Four?
It's happened seven times, most recently last year with 11th-seeded North Carolina State, which tied the mark for the lowest seed to reach the NCAA tournament semifinals.
The other 11 seeds to reach the Final Four: LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyola Chicago (2018) and UCLA (2021). Syracuse made the 2016 Final Four as a No. 10 seed.
What’s the lowest-seeded team to ever win the national championship?
Villanova won as an eighth seed in 1985, followed by Connecticut as a No. 7 seed in 2014 and Kansas (led by Danny Manning) as a sixth seed in 1988.
North Carolina State's 1983 team, which is considered among the original Cinderella teams, won the national title as a sixth seed but before the field was expanded from 32 to 64 teams in 1985.
What are the biggest upsets in March Madness history?
All of the above wins by No. 16 and No. 15 seeds would fall in this category.
According to the point spreads, the four biggest upsets by underdogs expected to lose by at least 20 points: Farleigh Dickinson in 2023, Norfolk State in 2012, UMBC in 2018 and Santa Clara in 1993.
Why is the NCAA tournament called March Madness?
According to the NCAA, the term originated with Illinois high school basketball in 1939. Its widespread connection to the NCAA tournament started with announcer Brent Musberger during the 1982 tournament.
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