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Biggest Betting Upsets in March Madness History

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By Larry Rupp

The calendar has turned to March, which means the legendary NCAA Tournament for college basketball is right around the corner. Fans across the country fill out brackets each and every year in hopes of predicting the next great team to raise the trophy. The first two rounds taking place over a long weekend are also some of the biggest betting days of the year.

Most of the early matchups feature teams that have not played each other before and it can lead to a couple of unexpected victors. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the three biggest betting upsets in March Madness history. All closing spreads were provided by Oddsshark.

3/16/2012: No. 15 Norfolk State (+21.0) defeats No. 2 Missouri 86-84

The Missouri Tigers were widely regarded as a National Championship contender heading into the 2012 tournament after posting a 30-4 record during the regular season. They even capped it all off with a Big 12 tournament title, but ran into a hungry Norfolk State team in the first round. Future NBA role player Kyle O’Quinn led all scorers with 26 points and 14 rebounds as the Spartans pulled off an upset win as 21-point underdogs.

Everything went right for head coach Anthony Evans’ squad in this one. The Spartans shot 54.2% from the floor and nailed 10 of their 19 three–point attempts. The real difference was made on the glass, though. Norfolk State outrebounded Missouri 37 to 25 and brought down a ridiculous 13 offensive boards. There was simply no one on the Tigers’ roster capable of stopping O’Quinn in the paint and it ended up costing them in the end.

3/16/2018: No. 16 UMBC (+20.5) defeats No. 1 Virginia 74-54

Of course, it’s hard to forget what went down in Charlotte in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed in college basketball history when it took down mighty Virginia. The Retrievers not only won outright as 20.5-point underdogs, but they crushed UVA by a whopping 20 points despite being tied at halftime. That is as crazy as it gets.

Guard Jordan Lyles was unstoppable in this one, hitting 9 of his 11 shots from the floor and 7 of his 9 free throw attempts (28 total points). The most surprising part of this contest may have been the Cavaliers’ struggles from beyond the arc. Virginia hit just 4 of their 22 three-point attempts and could not find their shooting stroke whatsoever. UMBC was able to grab momentum early and rode it all the way to the finish line.

3/14/1997: No. 15 Coppin State (+19.0) defeats No. 2 South Carolina 78-65

You have to go way back before the turn of the century to learn about the third-biggest betting upset in March Madness history. The Coppin State Eagles took down the SEC regular season Champion South Carolina Gamecocks after ending the game on a 38-18 scoring run. Head coach Fang Mitchell made the decision to lean on his bench players and it paid off in a massive way.

Danny Singletary may not have started the game, but he led all scorers with 22 points. However, it was on the foul line where the rest of the Coppin State players made their mark. The Eagles constantly drove to the rim and it led to 34 free throw attempts (26 makes). The Gamecocks didn’t have the same luck, gathering just 16 shots from the charity stripe. Keep in mind Coppin State nailed just 2 three-pointers in this game. The dominance displayed down low was simply relentless.

Picture Credit: Al Sermeno

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