2000s: Top College Basketball Upsets

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Dec 17, 2009

2000s: Top College Basketball Upsets

Davidson 74, Georgetown 70 | 2008 NCAA second round

The result itself wasn't a complete stunner -- Davidson entered the tournament ranked No. 23 with a 22-game winning streak -- but the manner in which the Wildcats pulled it off certainly was. The second-seeded Hoyas, a Final Four team the previous year, led by 17 in the second half but were done in by 20 turnovers and the brilliance of Stephen Curry, who scored 25 of his 30 points after halftime. Davidson would extend its run with a victory against No. 3 Wisconsin in the next round.

Indiana 74, Duke 73 | 2002 NCAA regional semifinal

This could have made our Games of the Decade list. Down 17 midway through the first half against the top-seeded and defending national champion Blue Devils, the Hoosiers clamped down on defense and survived a wild finish to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1993. With Duke trailing by four, Jason Williams made a three-pointer while being fouled with 4.2 seconds left, but he missed the potential game-tying free throw and Carlos Boozer couldn't convert a putback.

Oral Roberts 78, Kansas 71 | Nov. 15, 2006

The 28-point underdogs led for the final 28 minutes at Phog Allen Fieldhouse against the No. 3 team in the country. Marchello Vealey made his first seven three-pointers and Caleb Green finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Golden Eagles. The Jayhawks lost only four more times all season and reached the Elite Eight as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Gardner-Webb 84, Kentucky 68 | Nov. 7, 2007

In Billy Gillispie's second game as coach of the winningest program in college basketball history, No. 20 Kentucky fell behind 14-0 and trailed by at least seven the rest of the way in a home loss to tiny Gardner-Webb, which finished 9-21 the previous season. "A lot of people are going to think this is a misprint," Bulldogs coach Rick Scruggs said. This marked just the start of a memorable week for the Atlantic Sun Conference: On the heels of GWU's victory, Mercer defeated No. 18 USC in O.J. Mayo's Trojans debut and Belmont dropped Cincinnati.

Vermont 60, Syracuse 57 (OT) | 2005 NCAA first round

Led by their wise-cracking, radio-show-hosting coach, Tom Brennan, and star forward Taylor Coppenrath, the No. 13 seed Catamounts knocked out fourth-seeded Syracuse, which was just two years removed from a national title. Senior guard T.J. Sorrentine swished a long three-pointer to boost Vermont's lead to four with just over a minute left in overtime. Syracuse's Gerry McNamara missed a desperation three with under a second remaining.

Northwestern State 64, Iowa 63 | 2006 NCAA first round

Jermaine Wallace's fadeaway baseline three-pointer just before the buzzer capped the 14th-seeded Demons' comeback from a 17-point deficit with 8 1/2 minutes left against the Big Ten tournament champions.

North Dakota State 62, Wisconsin 55 | Jan. 21, 2006

In the midst of a five-year NCAA reclassification from Division II to Division I, high-scoring guard Ben Woodside and the Bison snapped the Badgers' 27-game home non-conference winning streak and dropped Bo Ryan to 68-4 at home in his Wisconsin tenure. The Bison had more surprises in store: They beat then-No. 8 Marquette in Milwaukee a year later, and nearly knocked off defending champion Kansas as a No. 14 seed in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament.

Bucknell 64, Kansas 63 | 2005 NCAA first round

Facing one of the game's legendary programs and a team that had been ranked No. 1 in the preseason, the Bison had only five scholarship players and had to borrow the band from Northern Iowa because theirs was on spring break. Bucknell made its own sweet music with one of only two wins this decade for No. 14 seeds. Chris McNaughton banked in the winning hook shot with 10.5 seconds to go, and Wayne Simien missed a jump shot at the buzzer. It was the first opening-round loss for the Jayhawks in their last 21 tries.

Hampton 58, Iowa State 57 | 2001 NCAA first round

No 16th seed has won an NCAA tournament game, and in this decade, only one No. 15 seed managed a victory, and it came in spectacular fashion. Hampton's Tarvis Williams made a shot in the lane to give the underdog Pirates a 58-57 lead with just under seven seconds remaining, and Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley missed at the other end as the horn sounded. In a moment that has been part of March Madness montages ever since, Hampton coach Steve Merfeld was lifted in the air by his players, pumping his fists in jubilation.

George Mason 86, UConn 84 (OT) | 2006 NCAA regional final

The Patriots could have filled this list multiple times, thanks to first- and second-round victories against powerhouse programs Michigan State (a sixth seed) and defending national champion North Carolina (a third seed with an inexperienced team), but the real standout among the upsets was eliminating top-seeded, three-loss UConn with a second-half comeback. George Mason, which received much-discused at-large bid, became only the second No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four, and the first mid-major to do in 27 years.