It’s madness! Here’s a look at all the No. 15 seeds that have beaten a No. 2 seed
For the third year in a row – but for just the 11th time since the field expanded to 64 in 1985 – a No. 2 seed has fallen in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Arizona collapsed down the stretch and lost 59-55 to 15th-seeded Princeton in a South Region game in Birmingham, Ala. Princeton closed the game on a 9-0 run and meets No. 7 Missouri in the second round Saturday.
The Wildcats came in averaging 82.7 points per game, but the Tigers – who won the Ivy League tournament after finishing second in the regular season – clamped down defensively, especially on the perimeter. Arizona was shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range but finished 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) against Princeton.
The loss means that in Arizona’s past five tournament appearances, it has been eliminated four times by a double-digit seed. And the Wildcats became the first team to be eliminated twice by a 15 seed.
Here is a look at the other 15-over-2 wins in NCAA tournament history.
2022: St. Peter’s over Kentucky 85-79
St. Peter’s shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from 3-point range. The nine made 3-pointers was the Peacocks’ second-highest total of the season. Defensively, they held the much more talented Wildcats to 42.6 percent, including 4-of-15 from beyond the arc. St. Peter’s lost in the Elite Eight to eventual national runner-up North Carolina.
2021: Oral Roberts over Ohio State 75-72 (OT)
The Golden Eagles won the Summit League as the No. 4 seed and were given little chance against the Buckeyes because their defense was so bad. No matter: G Max Abmas and F Kevin Obanor bombed away from 3-point range (a combined 10-of-22) to lift ORU to the upset. Those two combined for 59 points and 16 rebounds. Ohio State rallied late and missed a shot at the end of regulation that could have won it, then Obanor dominated in the extra period. Ohio State outrebounded ORU 49-32, but the Buckeyes committed 16 turnovers to the Golden Eagles’ six. ORU lost in the Sweet 16.
2016: Middle Tennessee State over Michigan State 90-81
The Blue Raiders were more athletic and played their free-wheeling style, not bothered by Michigan State’s physicality. MTSU hit 11 3-pointers, and all five starters scored in double figures as it carved up the Spartans’ defense. Michigan State shot 55.6 percent from the field — and lost.
2013: Florida Gulf Coast over Georgetown 78-68
The guys from “Dunk City” had their fun at the expense of the Hoyas. Florida Gulf Coast gradually pulled away because of its surprisingly good defense (the Hoyas shot just 37.4 percent) and superior athleticism. The overriding memory is PG Brett Comer tossing an alley-oop pass to Chase Fieler to send the crowd into a frenzy in the final minutes. Play-by-play man Kevin Harlan in the aftermath of the play: “They are like a circus.” FGCU lost in the Sweet 16.
2012: Norfolk State over Missouri 86-84
This was Mizzou’s last NCAA appearance as a member of the Big 12. It became memorable for more than that. The Tigers took a buzzsaw to the rest of the field in the Big 12 tourney, winning their three games by a combined 47 points. But Norfolk State carved up Mizzou’s defense, with four players scoring in double figures and three scoring at least 20. Future NBA C Kyle O’Quinn had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Norfolk State.
2012: Lehigh over Duke 75-70
Norfolk State’s upset of Mizzou came in an afternoon TV window; this came later that same night. Duke was playing in Greensboro, N.C., about 60 miles from its campus. But the Blue Devils had no answer for future NBA star C.J. McCollum, who had 30 points, six rebounds and six steals. Duke was effective in the paint, but was just 6-of-26 from 3-point range.
2001: Hampton over Iowa State 58-57
Tarvis Williams hit a 4-footer in the lane with 6.9 seconds left to lift the Pirates to the improbable win. The lasting image is of then-coach Steve Merfeld being carried around by Pirates reserve David Johnson, pumping his fists in celebration. Williams scored on an assist by Marseilles Brown – who was a guard on the Richmond team that won as a No. 14 seed against South Carolina in 1998.
1997: Coppin State over South Carolina 78-65
Against the Gamecocks, coach Ran “Fang” Mitchell’s team took a 55-54 lead with 6:12 left and steadily pulled away down the stretch. Coppin State was the more physical team and outrebounded the Gamecocks by nine to give the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference its first-ever NCAA tournament win. “They took it to us, and we were passive. We should have been a lot more aggressive,” Gamecocks guard B.J. McKie told reporters afterward.
1993: Santa Clara over Arizona 64-61
The Broncos incredibly overcame a 25-0 run that spanned the end of the first half and the start of the second, then held the Wildcats without a field goal for more than 15 minutes. Santa Clara missed four free throws in the final 7.5 seconds – including two by then-freshman Steve Nash – but still hung on.
1991: Richmond over Syracuse 73-69
The Spiders never trailed and hit three free throws in the final 21 seconds in ousting Syracuse. Richmond’s bench outscored Syracuse’s reserves 32-3. The Spiders had 18 assists on 25 made baskets. In an interesting twist, Richmond flummoxed Syracuse with a match-up zone.