Surprises like Dayton's upset of Syracuse in 2014 are what makes March Madness so special. (Photo credit: ChadCooperPhotos / Foter / CC BY)
Perhaps the best part of the NCAA tournament is the March Madness upsets.
Each year, it seems at least one team surprises us all and takes down a heavyweight or two, making a mess of everybody’s March Madness picks on their tournament brackets.
There’s a ton of parity in college basketball these days, much more than there used to be. #12 over #5 has become a very popular upset pick, since the lower-ranked team has won more than a third of those all-time meetings.
Just in case you needed reminding of this or other trends before you make your March Madness predictions, we present our top 10 March Madness Cinderella stories since the turn of the century (this list was compiled before the 2016 tournament).
#10 – Northwestern State Demons, 2006
Upsets don’t come in much more dramatic fashion than when #14 Northwestern State took down #3 Iowa 64-63 in the first round of the 2006 tourney.
The Demons staged a huge comeback (down 17 points in the second half) and then won the game on Jermaine Wallace’s fadeaway three-pointer with 0.5 seconds to go.
#9 – Vermont Catamounts and Bucknell Bison, 2005
Perennial powerhouses Syracuse and Kansas both went down in the first round of the 2005 tourney.
#13 Vermont stunned the Big East champion Orange, drilling consecutive three-pointers in overtime to down #4 Syracuse 60-57.
Later in the same day, Bucknell became the first #14 seed to win a tournament game in six years when it shocked the #3 Jayhawks 64-63.
#8 – Northern Iowa Panthers, 2010
Teams holding a lead in the final minute often run as much time off the clock as they can before attempting a shot. Northern Iowa’s Ali Farokhmanesh didn’t, leading to one of the most memorable moments in tournament history.
With his #9 Panthers leading #1 Kansas by a single point, Farokhmanesh let a three-pointer fly with the shot clock still in the 30s and 34 seconds left on the game clock.
He swished it, putting Northern Iowa up four points and drawing a ‘YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS WITH THAT SHOT’ from CBS commentator Dan Bonner.
Northern Iowa held on for the 69-67 upset and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
#7 – Hampton Pirates, 2001
No one gave the 15th-seeded Pirates a chance going into their first-round matchup with Iowa State, which featured future NBA first-round picks Marcus Fizer and Jamaal Tinsley.
But Hampton’s Tarvis Williams hit a go-ahead shot with 6.9 seconds left and Tinsley missed a lay-in at the buzzer as the Pirates prevailed 58-57.
#6 – Norfolk State Spartans and Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 2012
Just like Syracuse and Kansas went down in the opening round of the 2005 tournament, two more giants were felled to start the 2012 competition.
A pair of #2 seeds, Duke and Missouri, were quickly shown in the door by upstart #15 seeds Norfolk State and Lehigh.
Norfolk’s Kyle O’Quinn broke an 81-81 tie with a three-point play with 35 seconds to go and the Spartans survived a three-point attempt at the buzzer by Missouri, the Big 12 champion and a trendy pick to go to the Final Four, to win 86-84.
Paced by C.J. McCollum’s 30 points, Lehigh led much of the first half, then took the lead for good midway through the second on the way to a 75-70 win over Duke. The Blue Devils hit just six of 26 three-point attempts in the contest.
Honourable mention also goes to the #13 seed Ohio Bobcats, who finished a memorable day by beating #4 Michigan 65-60.
#5 – Butler Bulldogs, 2010
Sure, the Bulldogs were a #5 seed, so you might not think of them as Cinderella. But no one could have predicted Butler coming mere inches away from winning the 2010 national championship.
The Bulldogs took down powerhouses Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State to become the smallest school to reach the national title game since Jacksonville in 1970. And Butler gave the Blue Devils all they could handle, pulling to within one point in the final minute.
But the Bulldogs’ stunning run fell just short as, down two points with time running out, NBA-bound Gordon Hayward’s desperation heave from half court caught backboard and rim before falling to the floor.
#4 – Dayton Flyers, 2014
Some people referred to the Dayton Flyers as Ohio State’s little brother before the 2014 NCAA tournament, but not after Dayton upset the in-state rival Buckeyes in the opening round. The Flyers then upended #3 Syracuse two days later and advanced to the Elite Eight with a victory over Stanford in the Sweet Sixteen.
Dayton’s victories even overshadowed #14 Mercer shocking #3 Duke 78-71 in Round 1.
#3 – Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, 2013
Hardly anyone had even heard of Florida Gulf Coast before the #15 Eagles stunned #2 Georgetown 78-68 in the first round of the 2013 tourney. FGCU then posted another 10-point win over #7 San Diego State to become the first #15 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
What made the Eagles extra memorable was their high-flying exuberance, especially at the tensest moments. FGCU put away its win over Georgetown with a massive alley-oop in the final two minutes and captured more and more of our hearts with every huge throwdown they made.
#2 – George Mason Patriots, 2006
George Mason became just the second #11 seed to reach the Final Four in 2006, and the Patriots did it with style.
Mason defeated Michigan State, North Carolina and #1 seed Connecticut to advance to the national semifinals before its run was ended by eventual champion Florida.
#1 – Virginia Commonwealth Rams, 2011
VCU barely even made it to the 2011 NCAA Tournament, needing to win a play-in game over USC to qualify. The Rams’ inclusion in the tournament was highly criticized by high-profile college basketball analysts like Jay Bilas and Dick Vitale, but that seemed to only motivate VCU.
After defeating USC in the play-in game to earn a #11 seed, the Rams hammered Georgetown and Purdue by 18 points in their first two games, edged Florida State 72-71 in overtime and surprised #1 Kansas 71-61.
VCU’s shocking run came to an end with a 70-62 loss to Butler in the Final Four.