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The greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history

Every year, the NCAA basketball season concludes with a unique post-season format involving sixty-five teams in a single elimination tournament. Round by round, the tournament produces the top 32, the sweet 16, the elite 8, and the final 4, all before the championship game. However, nearly every year, a team goes a lot farther than expected. Instead of losing in the first round as predicted, the team pulls off an upset and then surprises even more people by winning in the next round, and maybe even continuing to win until their run finally ends well after they were destined to lose. Every year, a few squads tend to find a glass slipper and become Cinderella for that year's tournament. However, in order to make this list, the underdog has got to do more than just win. The games they win along the way have to be most unpredictable, they have to face some sort of adversity, and they have got to truly astound the college basketball nation. Listed below, are the top ten teams that met this criteria.

#10. Wisconsin Badgers (2000)

Heading into the tournament, the Badgers didn't even look like they belonged. Placing sixth in the Big 10, with a conference record of 8-8, Wisconsin came into the tournament with a rare thirteen losses and a long history of hard-court ineptitude. With less than a month before the tournament selection, they seemed to be completely out of it. At that point, the Badgers posted a record of 13-12, but they then reeled off five straight to secure a spot in the tournament with an eight seed. Wisconsin then continued to surprise everyone, winning four and three straight against ranked opponents Arizona, LSU, and Purdue. In the final four, they faced Michigan State, a team they had already lost three times that season to. The fourth time wasn't a charm and the Badgers ended their run with a 42-54 loss.

#9. Louisiana State (1986)

Midway through the 1985-1986 season, LSU held a 14-0 record and was looking like a really great team. Then a bout of problems hit them including academic ineligibility, an office bugging attempt, a player disappearance, the spread of chicken pox, and a NCAA investigation. After the undefeated start, LSU lost 11 games and finished the regular season tied for fifth in the SEC. However, the Tigers were still able to get into the tournament with an eleven seed. The magical run that was to come was almost not to be as LSU just squeaked by Purdue in double overtime. They then followed up with wins over twelfth ranked Memphis, sixth


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

The greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history

  • 1 of 12

    by Ryan Schallenberger

    Every year, the NCAA basketball season concludes with a unique post-season format involving sixty-five teams in a single

    read more

  • 2 of 12

    by Sweetbob

    The biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history happened in 1983. The North Carolina State Wolfpack, coached by a young Jim

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  • 3 of 12

    by Michael Fox

    While it is true that the NCAA tournament victories of North Carolina State in 1983 and Villanova in 1985 are two of the

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  • 4 of 12

    by Torry Jones

    The greatest upset in NCAA tournament history is obviously the NC-State/Houston game in 1983. That one is without question.

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  • 5 of 12

    by Andrew Bohardt

    For many casual fans of college basketball, the greatest thing about the NCAA Tournament is the upsets. They love rooting

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The greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history

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