NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament upsets

An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, a single-elimination tournament, this generally constitutes a lower seeded team defeating a higher-seeded (i.e., higher-ranked) team; a widely recognized upset is one performed by a team ranked substantially lower than its opponent.

This is the list of victories by teams seeded 11 or lower in the tournament since it expanded to 64 teams in 1985; as these low-seeded teams were automatically paired against higher-seeded teams at the start of the tournament, their opening victories are almost always considered upsets (to date only one 11th or lower seeded team in the first round won having been the betting "favorite"; this occurred in 2017 when twelfth seeded Middle Tennessee defeated fifth seeded Minnesota in the Round of 64). Most victories by these teams in later rounds were usually against better seeded opponents as well.

On March 16, 2018, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Retrievers became the first 16-seed to upset a 1-seed when they defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 74–54 in the first round.[1]

Round of 64

This round was called the First Round until 2011, when the introduction of the First Four caused the round to be renamed the Second Round. Starting with the 2016 tournament, it returned to being called the First Round. There were ten wins by double-digit seeds in 2016, which was the most in tournament history. In 2001 and 2012, there were nine upsets during First Round play.[2]

16 vs. 1

Before 2018, 16-seeded teams were 0–132 against 1-seeds. There were multiple occurrences of a 16-seed getting within single digits, with the most recent being Weber State losing to top-seeded Arizona 68–59 in 2014. Twice had a 16-seeded team come within one point of winning, both times in 1989. Top seeded Georgetown squeaked out a 50–49 win against Princeton, and East Tennessee State had a 17-point lead on Oklahoma, before the Sooners came back and won 72–71. The only time a 16 has ever taken a 1-seed into overtime came in 1990, when Murray State ultimately lost to Michigan State 75–71 after an extra period.[3]

There has only been one game where a 16-seed beat a 1-seed (0.71%) since 1985, out of 140 games played:

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2018	UMBC	Virginia	74–54

15 vs. 2

There have been eight 15-seeds that have defeated 2 seeds (5.71%) in the first round:[4]

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2016	Middle Tennessee	Michigan State	90–81
2013	Florida Gulf Coast	Georgetown	78–68
2012	Lehigh	Duke	75–70
	Norfolk State	Missouri	86–84
2001	Hampton	Iowa State	58–57
1997	Coppin State	South Carolina	78–65
1993	Santa Clara	Arizona	64–61
1991	Richmond	Syracuse	73–69

14 vs. 3

There have been twenty-one 14-seeds that have defeated 3 seeds (15.00%) in the first round:

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2016	Stephen F. Austin	West Virginia	70–56
2015	Georgia State	Baylor	57–56
	UAB	Iowa State	60–59
2014	Mercer	Duke	78–71
2013	Harvard	New Mexico	68–62
2010	Ohio	Georgetown	97–83
2006	Northwestern State	Iowa	64–63
2005	Bucknell	Kansas	64–63
1999	Weber State	North Carolina	76–74
1998	Richmond	South Carolina	62–61
1997	Chattanooga	Georgia	73–70
1995	Old Dominion	Villanova	89–81 (3 OT)
	Weber State	Michigan State	79–72
1992	East Tennessee State	Arizona	87–80
1991	Xavier	Nebraska	89–84
1990	Northern Iowa	Missouri	74–71
1989	Siena	Stanford	80–78
1988	Murray State	NC State	78–75
1987	Austin Peay	Illinois	68–67
1986	Cleveland State	Indiana	83–79
	Arkansas–Little Rock	Notre Dame	90–83

13 vs. 4

There have been twenty-nine 13-seeds to defeat 4 seeds (20.71%) in the first round:

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2019	UC Irvine	Kansas State	70–64
2018	Marshall	Wichita State	81–75
	Buffalo	Arizona	89–68
2016	Hawaii	California	77–66
2013	La Salle	Kansas State	63–61
2012	Ohio	Michigan	65–60
2011	Morehead State	Louisville	62–61
2010	Murray State	Vanderbilt	66–65
2009	Cleveland State	Wake Forest	84–69
2008	Siena	Vanderbilt	83–62
	San Diego	Connecticut	70–69 (OT)
2006	Bradley	Kansas	77–73
2005	Vermont	Syracuse	60–57 (OT)
2003	Tulsa	Dayton	84–71
2002	UNC Wilmington	USC	93–89 (OT)
2001	Kent State	Indiana	77–73
	Indiana State	Oklahoma	70–68 (OT)
1999	Oklahoma	Arizona	61–60
1998	Valparaiso	Ole Miss	70–69
1996	Princeton	UCLA	43–41
1995	Manhattan	Oklahoma	77–67
1993	Southern	Georgia Tech	93–78
1992	Southwestern Louisiana	Oklahoma	87–83
1991	Penn State	UCLA	74–69
1989	Middle Tennessee	Florida State	97–83
1988	Richmond	Indiana	72–69
1987	Xavier	Missouri	70–69
	Missouri State	Clemson	65–60
1985	Navy	LSU	78–55

12 vs. 5

There have been fifty 12-seeds to defeat 5 seeds (35.71%) in the first round:

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2019	Murray State	Marquette	83–64
	Oregon	Wisconsin	72–54
	Liberty	Mississippi State	80–76
2017	Middle Tennessee[lower-alpha 1]	Minnesota	81–72
2016	Little Rock	Purdue	85–83 (2 OT)
	Yale	Baylor	79–75
2014	Stephen F. Austin	VCU	77–75 (OT)
	North Dakota State	Oklahoma	80–75 (OT)
	Harvard	Cincinnati	61–57
2013	Ole Miss	Wisconsin	57–46
	California	UNLV	64–61
	Oregon	Oklahoma State	68–55
2012	South Florida	Temple	58–44
	VCU	Wichita State	62–59
2011	Richmond	Vanderbilt	69–66
2010	Cornell	Temple	78–65
2009	Wisconsin	Florida State	61–59 (OT)
	Arizona	Utah	84–71
	Western Kentucky	Illinois	76–72
2008	Villanova	Clemson	75–69
	Western Kentucky	Drake	101–99 (OT)
2006	Montana	Nevada	87–79
	Texas A&M[lower-alpha 2]	Syracuse	66–58
2005	Milwaukee	Alabama	83–73
2004	Manhattan	Florida	75–60
	Pacific	Providence	66–58
2003	Butler	Mississippi State	47–46
2002	Creighton	Florida	83–82 (2 OT)
	Tulsa	Marquette	71–69
	Missouri	Miami (Florida)	93–80
2001	Gonzaga[lower-alpha 1]	Virginia	86–85
	Utah State	Ohio State	77–68 (OT)
1999	Missouri State	Wisconsin	43–32
	Detroit	UCLA	56–53
1998	Florida State	TCU	96–87
1997	College of Charleston	Maryland	75–66
1996	Drexel	Memphis	75–63
	Arkansas	Penn State	86–80
1995	Miami (Ohio)	Arizona	71–62
1994	Wisconsin–Green Bay	California	61–57
	Tulsa	UCLA	112–102
1993	George Washington	New Mexico	82–68
1992	New Mexico State	DePaul	81–73
1991	Eastern Michigan	Mississippi State	76–56
1990	Dayton	Illinois	88–86
	Ball State	Oregon State	54–53
1989	DePaul	Memphis State	66–63
1987	Wyoming	Virginia	64–60
1986	DePaul	Virginia	72–68
1985	Kentucky	Washington	66–58

11 vs. 6

Fifty-two 11 seeds have defeated 6 seeds (37.14%) in the first round:

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2019	Ohio State	Iowa State	62–59
2018	Loyola–Chicago	Miami (FL)	64–62
	Syracuse	TCU	57–52
2017	Rhode Island	Creighton	84–72
	USC	SMU	66–65
	Xavier	Maryland	76–65
2016	Northern Iowa	Texas	75–72
	Gonzaga	Seton Hall	68–52
	Wichita State	Arizona	65–55
2015	Dayton	Providence	66–53
	UCLA	SMU	60–59
2014	Tennessee	Massachusetts	86–67
	Dayton	Ohio State	60–59
2013	Minnesota	UCLA	83–63
2012	Colorado	UNLV	68–64
	North Carolina State	San Diego State	79–65
2011	Marquette	Xavier	66–55
	VCU	Georgetown	74–56
	Gonzaga	St. John's	86–71
2010	Washington	Marquette	80–78
	Old Dominion	Notre Dame	51–50
2009	Dayton	West Virginia	68–62
2008	Kansas State	USC	80–67
2007	Winthrop	Notre Dame	76–64
	VCU	Duke	79–77
2006	Milwaukee	Oklahoma	82–74
	George Mason	Michigan State	75–65
2005	UAB	LSU	82–68
2003	Central Michigan	Creighton	79–73
2002	Wyoming	Gonzaga	73–68
	Southern Illinois	Texas Tech	76–68
2001	Georgia State	Wisconsin	50–49
	Temple	Texas	79–65
2000	Pepperdine	Indiana	77–57
1998	Washington	Xavier	69–68
	Western Michigan	Clemson	75–72
1996	Boston College	Indiana	64–51
1995	Texas	Oregon	90–73
1994	Penn	Nebraska	90–80
1993	Tulane	Kansas State	55–53
1991	Creighton	New Mexico State	64–56
	Connecticut	LSU	79–62
1990	Loyola Marymount	New Mexico State	111–92
1989	Minnesota	Kansas State	86–75
	Evansville	Oregon State	94–90 (OT)
	South Alabama	Alabama	86–84
	Texas	Georgia Tech	76–70
1988	Rhode Island	Missouri	87–80
1986	LSU	Purdue	94–87 (OT)
1985	Boston College	Texas Tech	55–53
	UTEP	Tulsa	79–75
	Auburn	Purdue	59–58

Round of 32

This round was called the Second Round until 2011, when the introduction of the First Four caused this round to be renamed the Third Round. Starting with the 2016 tournament, it returned to being called the Second Round.

16 seeds

No 16-seed has ever won a second-round game. The only 16-seed to ever play in a Second Round game were the UMBC Retrievers in 2018; they lost to Kansas State 50–43.

15 seeds

There has only been one 15-seed that won its second-round game.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2013	Florida Gulf Coast	(7) San Diego State	81–71

14 seeds

There have been two 14-seeds to win their second-round games. Both were against 6 seeds.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
1997	Chattanooga	(6) Illinois	75–63
1986	Cleveland State	(6) St. Joseph's	75–69

13 seeds

There have been six 13 seeds to win their second-round games. Seeds of the losing teams are in parentheses.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2013	La Salle	(12) Ole Miss	76–74
2012	Ohio	(12) South Florida	62–56
2006	Bradley	(5) Pittsburgh	72–66
1999	Oklahoma	(5) Charlotte	85–72
1998	Valparaiso	(12) Florida State	83–77 (OT)
1988	Richmond	(5) Georgia Tech	59–55

12 seeds

There have been twenty-one 12 seeds to win their second-round games. Seeds of the losing teams are in parentheses.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2019	Oregon^†	(13) UC Irvine	73–54
2013	Oregon	(4) Saint Louis	74–57
2011	Richmond^†	(13) Morehead State	65–48
2010	Cornell	(4) Wisconsin	87–69
2009	Arizona^†	(13) Cleveland State	71–57
2008	Western Kentucky^†	(13) San Diego	72–63
	Villanova^†	(13) Siena	84–72
2005	Milwaukee	(4) Boston College	83–75
2003	Butler	(4) Louisville	79–71
2002	Missouri	(4) Ohio State	83–64
2001	Gonzaga^†	(13) Indiana State	85–68
1999	Missouri State	(4) Tennessee	81–51
1996	Arkansas	(4) Marquette	65–56
1994	Tulsa	(4) Oklahoma State	82–80
1993	George Washington^†	(13) Southern	90–80
1992	New Mexico State^†	(13) Southwestern Louisiana	81–73
1991	Eastern Michigan^†	(13) Penn State	71–68 (OT)
1990	Ball State	(4) Louisville	62–60
1987	Wyoming	(4) UCLA	78–68
1986	DePaul	(4) Oklahoma	74–69
1985	Kentucky	(4) UNLV	64–61

^† Not an upset strictly according to seeding, as the victory was against a lower-seeded opponent

11 seeds

There have been twenty-two 11 seeds to win their second-round games and advance to the Sweet 16. Seeds of the losing teams are in parentheses.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2018	Loyola Chicago	(3) Tennessee	63–62
	Syracuse	(3) Michigan State	55–53
2017	Xavier	(3) Florida St.	91–66
2016	Gonzaga	(3) Utah	82–59
2015	UCLA^†	(14) UAB	92–75
2014	Tennessee^†	(14) Mercer	83–63
	Dayton	(3) Syracuse	55–53
2012	NC State	(3) Georgetown	66–63
2011	Marquette	(3) Syracuse	66–62
	VCU	(3) Purdue	94–76
2010	Washington	(3) New Mexico	82–64
2006	George Mason	(3) North Carolina	65–60
2002	Southern Illinois	(3) Georgia	77–75
2001	Temple	(3) Florida	75–54
1998	Washington^†	(14) Richmond	81–66
1991	Connecticut^†	(14) Xavier	66–50
1990	Loyola Marymount	(3) Michigan	149–115
1989	Minnesota^†	(14) Siena	80–67
1988	Rhode Island	(3) Syracuse	97–94
1986	LSU	(3) Memphis	83–81
1985	Auburn	(3) Kansas	66–64
	Boston College	(3) Duke	74–73

^† Not an upset strictly according to seeding, as the victory was against a lower-seeded opponent

Sweet Sixteen

12 seeds

There has been only one 12 seed to ever win a Sweet 16 game.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2002	Missouri	(8) UCLA	82–73

11 seeds

There have been eight 11 seeds to win in the Sweet Sixteen and advance to the Elite Eight.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2018	Loyola Chicago	(7) Nevada	69–68
2017	Xavier	(2) Arizona	73–71
2014	Dayton	(10) Stanford	82–72
2011	VCU	(10) Florida State	72–71 (OT)
2006	George Mason	(7) Wichita State	63–55
2001	Temple	(7) Penn State	84–72
1990	Loyola Marymount	(7) Alabama	62–60
1986	LSU	(2) Georgia Tech	70–64

Elite Eight

11 seeds

There have been four 11 seeds to win in the Elite Eight and advance to the Final Four. However, none of these teams advanced any further, losing their national semifinal matchups.

Year	Winner	Loser	Score
2018	Loyola Chicago	(9) Kansas State	78–62
2011	VCU	(1) Kansas	71–61
2006	George Mason	(1) Connecticut	86–84 (OT)
1986	LSU	(1) Kentucky	59–57

Footnotes

1. Entered the game as the betting favorite in Las Vegas sports books.[5]
2. Entered the game as even money in Las Vegas sports books.[5]

References

1. Wilco, Daniel (March 17, 2018). "Last perfect bracket busts after UMBC pulls off biggest upset in NCAA tournament history". NCAA.com. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved March 18, 2018. UMBC (The University of Maryland Baltimore County) scored the biggest upset in the history of the NCAA tournament, beating top overall seed Virginia 74–54 Friday night, and becoming the first 16 seed to win a game in 136 tries.
2. "NCAA tourney upsets match first-round record". ESPN.com. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
3. Axson, Scooby. "Close calls for No. 1 seeds in NCAA Tournament". Sports Illustrated.
4. Herwitt, Josh. "Top 10 Upsets of the NCAA Tournament". Fox Sports.
5. Lipscomb, Keith (March 17, 2019). "March Madness bracket facts for 2019 NCAA tournament". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 17, 2019.