When the NCAA Tournament begins, every team begins with a 0-0 record. The slate is wiped clean, and the postseason truly begins.
Anything can happen in a game. That's the magical thing about the NCAA Tournament. Watching lower seeds who shouldn't have a chance pull off the miracle against the giants. David beating Goliath.
March Madness 2026 begins on Sunday, March 15, with the Selection Show, as the 68-team, four-region field will be revealed, and the trek to the Final Four in Indianapolis begins. Watch the biggest college basketball tournament, the NCAA Tournament, for free on DAZN (check your region for availability). Every game, every upset, and all the drama are at your fingertips.
Many upsets have occurred since the expansion to 64 teams in 1985 and then to 68 in 2011.
DAZN News took some time and revealed the three biggest upsets in the history of the Men's NCAA Tournament.
Up until this point in time, a No.16 had never beaten a No. 1. There had been some scares, but the top seed always pulled out. No. 1 seeds were 135-0 against 16 seeds.
The score at halftime was tied at 21-21. Shocking? Absolutely, but there wasn't much thought given to UMBC playing another great 20 minutes of basketball and shocking the sports world. Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Virginia had the second-best chance to cut down the nets. The only ones who gave it any thought were the people inside the UMBC locker room in Charlotte, N.C. And that's all that mattered.
UMBC dominated the final 20 minutes and outscored the Cavaliers 53-33 in the second half to win 74-54 and become the first 16 seed to ever beat a No. 1 seed.
The Retrievers, who shot 54.2% from the field and 50% from three-point range, were led by Jairus Lyles as he scored 28 points, had four rebounds, and three assists.
UMBC showed that anything is possible and any team can be beaten on any given day.
It didn't take as long for the second No. 1 seed to fall. Unlike UMBC, Fairleigh Dickinson was highly confident they could beat the Big 10 powerhouse. Head coach Tobin Anderson felt that after watching game tape of the Boilermakers.
"The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them," Anderson said in a moment captured on camera.
Anderson's prediction turned out be the correct one as Fairleigh Dickinson topped Purdue 63-58 to become the second and currently the last team to dethrone a No. 1 seed. Sean Moore led the way for Fairleigh Dickinson with 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Fairleigh Dickinson's monumental run only lasted one more game, coming up short against Florida Atlantic in the second round.
At this point in time, the NCAA Tournament was six years into its 64-team format. No major upsets had occurred in the opening round. That all changed in the 1991 tournament.
Richmond had been no stranger to pulling off upsets. In the 1988 NCAA Tournament, the Spiders, then a No. 13-seed, shocked No. 4 seed Indiana.
Three years later, the Spiders led from start to finish to top the Orangemen 73-69 to pull off what was at the time, the biggest opening round upset in NCAA history as it was the first time a No. 15 seed beat a No. 2 seed.
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