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Outright Madness: The Greatest Upsets And Cinderella Runs In NCAA Tournament History [VIDEO]

Scott Cook Contributor
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It’s that time again. The craziest three weeks in sports are upon us. It is mid-March, and madness is sure to ensue.

Millions of people across the country are carefully filling out their brackets, while college players and coaches from championship favorites to Cinderella hopefuls are preparing to take center stage in the sporting world.

No matter how much time you spend pondering your bracket, it’s bound to get busted. Every year a nobody knocks-off a national powerhouse and becomes the darling of the country — until April anyway. Here is a look back at the 10 most memorable upsets and the 10 best Cinderella runs in March Madness history.

UPSETS

Honorable Mention: 1999 – (14) Weber State defeats (3) North Carolina, 76-74

Top 25 NCAA Tournament Upsets of All-Time

10.) 1996 – (13) Princeton defeats defending national champions (4) UCLA, 43-41

Princeton vs. UCLA - 1996 NCAA Tournament

9.) 2005 – (14) Bucknell defeats (3) Kansas, 64-63

2005: No. 14 Bucknell over No. 3 Kansas 64-63

8.) 2006 – (14) Northwestern State defeats (3) Iowa, 64-63

March Madness Buzzer Beater - 2006 Northwestern State vs Iowa

7.) 1995 – (14) Old Dominion defeats (3) Villanova, 89-81 in triple overtime

1995: No. 14 Old Dominion over No. 3 Villanova 89-81 OT

6.) 1997 – (15) Coppin State defeats (2) South Carolina, 78-65

1997: No. 15 Coppin State over No. 2 South Carolina 78-65

5.) 2012 – (15) Lehigh defeats (2) Duke, 75-70

RunTheFloor.com Lehigh beats Duke

4.) 1991 – (15) Richmond defeats (2) Syracuse, 73-69

1991: Richmond shocks Syracuse and makes history

3.) 2012 – (15) Norfolk State defeats (2) Missouri, 86-84

Top 25 NCAA Tournament Upsets of All-Time

2.) 2001 – (15) Hampton defeats (2) Iowa State, 58-57

2001: No. 15 Hampton over No. 2 Iowa State 58-57

1.) 1993 – (15) Santa Clara defeats (2) Arizona, 64-61

1993: No. 15 Santa Clara over No. 2 Arizona 64-61

CINDERELLA RUNS

Honorable Mention: 2010 (9) Northern Iowa to the Sweet Sixteen

The Panthers defeated (8) UNLV and (1) Kansas before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to (5) Michigan State.
Northern Iowa over Kansas

10.) 2013 – (13) LaSalle to the Sweet Sixteen

The Explorers knocked off (13) Boise State in a First Four play-in game to make the official field of 64. They then defeated (4) Kansas State and (12) Ole Miss before losing to (9) Wichita State in the Sweet Sixteen.
La Salle Defeats Kansas State 63-61 in Round 2 of NCAA Tourney on 3 22 13

9.) 2006 – (13) Bradley to the Sweet Sixteen

The Braves knocked off (4) Kansas and (5) Pittsburgh before losing to (1) Memphis in the Sweet Sixteen.
Kansas vs Bradley highlights.

8.) 1998 – (13) Valparaiso to the Sweet Sixteen

The Crusaders defeated (4) Ole Miss on a miraculous buzzer-beating 3 pointer to advance to the second round. They then beat (12) Florida State to move to the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to (8) Rhode Island.
1998: The Bryce Drew Shot - Valpo upsets Ole Miss

7.) 2010, 2011 – Butler back-to-back trips to national championship game

In 2010, the 5th-seeded Bulldogs defeated (12) UTEP, (13) Murray State, (1) Syracuse, (2) Kansas State and (5) Michigan State to advance to the finals. They lost the (1) Duke in the championship game. Gordon Hayward nearly drained a half-court shot at the buzzer that would have won the game.
The Final Minute of the National Title Game

In 2011, the Bulldogs did it again — this time as No. 8 seed. They defeated (9) Old Dominion, (1) Pittsburgh, (4) Wisconsin, (2) Florida and (11) Virginia Commonwealth to advance to the championship. This time they lost to (3) Connecticut.

6.) 1983 – (6) North Carolina State wins national championship

The Wolfpack, coached by the legendary Jim Valvano, defeated (11) Pepperdine, (3) UNLV, (10) Utah, (1) Virginia and (4) Georgia to advance to the finals. They then defeated the heavily-favored (1) Houston Cougars, who were led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, on a buzzer-beating dunk to win the title.
March Madness Buzzer Beater - 1983 NC State vs Houston

5.) 1985 – (8) Villanova wins national championship

The Wildcats defeated (9) Dayton, (1) Michigan, (5) Maryland, (2) North Carolina and (2) Memphis State to advance to championship game. They completed their miraculous run by defeating (1) Georgetown to take home the title.
1985: Villanova upsets Georgetown

4.) 2013 – (15) Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet Sixteen

In their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, the Eagles of appropriately dubbed ‘Florida Dunk Coast,’ defeated (2) Georgetown and (7) San Diego State to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they ultimately lost to (3) Florida.
FGCU Crazy Dunks Compilation [HD]

3.) 2008 – (10) Davidson to the Elite Eight

The Wildcats, led by future NBA superstar Stephen Curry, upset (7) Gonzaga, (2) Georgetown and (3) Wisconsin to make the Elite Eight, where they lost a heart-breaker to (1) Kansas, 59-57.
Stephen Curry Full Highlights 2008 NCAA Rigional SF vs Wisconsin - 33 Pts

2.) 2011 – (11) Virginia Commonwealth to the Final Four

The Rams defeated (11) Southern California in a play-in game to make the field of 64. They then beat (6) Georgetown, (3) Purdue, (10) Florida State and (1) Kansas to become the first play-in team to ever make the Final Four. They lost their Final Four matchup to another Cinderella, (8) Butler.
2011: No. 11 VCU over No. 1 Kansas 71-61

1.) 2006 – George Mason to the Final Four

The Patriots defeated (6) Michigan State, (3) North Carolina and (7) Wichita State to move to the Elite Eight. They then beat number-one ranked Connecticut in a thriller to advance to the Final Four, where they ultimately lost to (3) Florida.
2006: No. 11 George Mason over No. 1 UConn 86-84 (OT)