Top Ten Biggest Upsets of the 2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
This list consists of the best and biggest upsets of the 2023-24 Men's College Basketball Tournament.
Oakland University, located in Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills, Michigan, is a public research university that was founded in 1957. It was founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson, the wife of the founder of Dodge Motor Company, when she donated a plot of land to Michigan State University.This would eventually come to be known as Michigan State University - Oakland, and would stay that way until 1970, when it became an independent institution. Athletic programs at Oakland University compete under the nickname "Grizzlies". They are most known for their upset victory against Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in 2024.
In easily what was considered the best upset of the tournament, Oakland defeated Kentucky 80-76. This came off the back of Jack Gohlke's legendary performance, scoring 32 points and making 10 3-point shots in the process. It was also the first tournament win for Oakland's head coach of 30 years.
In one of the most surprising upsets of the tournament, Yale defeated Auburn in an incredibly tight game. Yale was able to pull through in the end, with a final score of 78-76. Yale was led by John Poulakidas and his 28-point performance, in an incredible game overall by the Bulldogs.
While Grand Canyon was a team that many people did expect to keep it close, or even win, the way they defeated St. Mary's was nothing short of incredible. They were able to win handedly, with a final score of 75-66, putting away St. Mary's and advancing to the next round in style.
Wisconsin, coming off a loss in the Big Ten Final, was crushed by an incredibly strong James Madison team who has proven to be a formidable opponent for Big Ten teams this season. In a 72-61 final, James Madison showed that their top 25 ranking earlier in the season was not a fluke.
In a game where BYU had to move down a seed in order not to play on Sunday, they were certainly trapped by Duquesne, one of the hottest teams in the country at the time of their game. Defeating BYU by a score of 71-64, Duquesne got their first tournament win in over 50 years, in a good moment for their head coach who will be retiring after the season.
North Carolina State, another one of the hottest teams in the country, coming off of a miraculous ACC title run, defeated Texas Tech by a fair margin, with the final score being 80-67. This continues their amazing run, and they hope to keep up the hot run of form as the tournament continues.
Colorado came into their game against Florida coming off an impressive defeat of Boise State in the First Four. Colorado would go on to fight tooth and nail against Florida, in one of the best games of the tournament by far. In a stunning finish, Colorado defeated Florida 102-100, capping off the game with an incredible buzzer beater by KJ Simpson.
Another conference winner that would've been on the bubble otherwise, Oregon came in against a South Carolina team who had vastly outperformed expectations. However, Oregon got the upper hand against South Carolina, with Oregon player Jermaine Cousinard putting up an incredible 40 points in the win.
Texas A&M, a team that many did not consider guaranteed to be in the tournament before the SEC tournament, defeated a very good Nebraska team by a large margin. With a 98-83 win, Texas A&M continued their hot streak and proved to many of their doubters that they did indeed belong in the tournament.
In a game where many people stated that Florida Atlantic was drastically over-seeded, Northwestern may have proven the people correct by defeating Florida Atlantic in dramatic fashion. With a final score of 77-65, Northwestern ran away with the game late, with Ryan Langborg and Boo Buie leading the way to a Wildcat victory.