March Madness - Biggest First Round Upsets
by Robby Maddux
Wagering NCAA Basketball Online - Round 1 Biggest March Madness Upsets
online betting fan, you'll most likely agree it's one of sport's greatest tournaments. Here's a look at my top-five Round 1 biggest upsets of all-time.
March Madness Round 1's Top-Five Biggest Upsets:
5—(14) Indiana 79, 1986—Cleveland State's unlikely victory over a primed Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers briefly made the school a household name. Following the upset Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey said, "Pressure is insidious and it wears people down. I tell our players they play as hard as they can or they don't play." Coach Mackey way referring to his team's "Run N' Stun" style. The Vikings stunned Indiana en route to advancing to the Sweet 16, where they lost to a Navy team that was led future NBA great David Robinson. The meeting is still arguably the most unlikely Sweet 16 match-up since the start of the 64-team bracket. Knight was leery of the match-up going in. His team was coming to the Dance after being routed at Michigan in a game that decided the Big 10 title, and the focus of the Hoosiers was in question.
4—(13) Vermont 60, (4) Syracuse 57, 2005—With 1:12 left in overtime and his team leading Syracuse by a point, Vermont senior guard T.J. Sorrentine calmly pulled up with his feet inches away from the half-court circle, for what seemed like an ill-advised insane shot if you bet on basketball or not with over a minute remaining, but he sank it finding nothing but net. "When that went in, I thought I might burst," said Vermont coach Tom Brennan, who retired after his team went on to lose to Michigan State in the second round, and is now an ESPN analyst. It was a great going-away present for Vermont coach Brennan at the expense of a Big East power.
3—(14) Illinois 67, 1987—In the second half, with Clarksville, Tenn. based Austin Peay leading the Illini by three points, the then virtual unknown Dick Vitale told a national audience that he'd stand on his head if the Governors won. When they did, Vitale visited Austin Peay and went bald-side down for 10 seconds. Besides being a great upset, it was the game that transformed Vitale—a balding and washout of an ex-coach—into Dickie V, the cacophonous ESPN commentator, BABY! The man who coined the colorful phrase ''Diaper Dandy'' is also a motivational speaker.
2—(15) Arizona 61, 1993—Santa Clara coach Dick Davey was very open about his team's chances of upsetting Arizona. "Our chances are not good," he said. "It could get ugly." It did when Arizona went on a 25-0 run halfway through the game. Basketball wagering fans that invested in the heavily favored Wildcats began making plans on what to spend their winnings on. But the Broncos bounced back, and a freshman point guard named Steve Nash from Canada hit six straight foul shots down the stretch to help Santa Clara stave off the Wildcats. The rally energized a huge majority of fans who began rooting for the heavy underdogs. Santa Clara became just the then-second No. 15 seed to win a tournament game since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Broncos had just one returning starter from the year before and a roster filled with freshmen, including Nash who would later go on to win back-to-back NBA MVP's with the Phoenix Suns
1—(15) Richmond 73, (2) Syracuse 69, 1991—Coming into this game Syracuse was well aware of coach Dick Tarrant's Richmond Spiders reputation as giant killers. In 1984, Richmond downed Charles Barkley and Auburn, then in 1988 the Spiders spun a web and caught Bobby Knight's defending champion Indiana off guard for the upset. However, the 1991 upset of Syracuse was the Spider's biggest catch. Richmond became the first No. 15-seed to beat a No. 2 and they never trailed in doing so, taking control from the opening tap. Orange's All-American Billy Owens was powerless in stopping the Spiders bite. The win was hugely magnified as it was the first year that CBS had rights to the opening round of the tournament. Richmond's prime time shocker on network television, solidified CBS' to date multi-billion dollar ownership rights to the Big Dance's every game since.
Round 1, for the most part, has generated some of the NCAA tournament's biggest upsets, simply because the highly seeded teams are mostly ousted before the second round tips off. BetUS NCAA basketball odds annually become tighter in Round 2, and beyond, so when underdogs win in the second-round it’s less magnified due to smaller spreads. But that's not to say there's not major stunners past the opening round, as upsets of all sizes occur throughout the Big Dance, which is the beauty of the tournament and puts slippers on Cinderella's.
Before filling out your brackets, or betting the NCAA basketball lines with BetUS in the opening round, here's some Round 1 straight up trends from every NCAA tournament game to date to keep in mind.
—No. 1 seeds are a perfect 96-0 against No. 16 seeds in the first round.
—No. 2 seeds are 92-4 over No. 15 seeds in the first round.
—No. 3 seeds have gone 81-15 versus No. 14 seeds in the first round.
—No. 4 seeds are 79-17 against No. 13 seeds in the first round.
—No. 5 seeds are just 65-31 against No. 12 seeds in the first round, making them most susceptible to a first round upset.
—No. 6 seeds have fared better against No. 11 seeds than No. 5s vs. No. 12s, with a 66-30 record in the first round.
—No. 7 seeds are 60-36 against No. 10 seeds.
—No. 8 seeds have lost more than they’ve won against No. 9 seeds with a 44-52 record in the first round.
