5 Most Shocking Upsets of March Madness 2017

Post by Nick Spino

1) No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 1 Villanova Wildcats - Round of 32

Final Score: Wisconsin: 65, Villanova: 62

With the came tied at 59 with two minutes remaining in the second half, Wisconsin's Bronson Koenig hit a 3-pointer to put the Badgers in front. Down by one point, Villanova's Donte DiVincenzo stole a pass and was then fouled by Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes. DiVencenzo tied the game after making one of two free throws. With 11.4 seconds remaining, Hayes made a layup to put Wisconsin ahead by two. On the ensuing possession, Villanova's Josh Hart had the ball stolen by Wisconsin's Vitto Brown, who was then fouled and made one of two free throws. Villanova had a chance to hit a game-tieing three-pointer to send the game to overtime, but could not convert. The defending-national champions and number one overall seed could only make it past one round of this year's NCAA Tournament.


2) No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks vs No. 2 Duke Blue Devils - Round of 32

Final Score: South Carolina: 88, Duke: 81

Duke had a 30-23 advantage at halftime after South Carolina went ice cold from the field, missing 20 of their last 22 field goal attempts prior to the intermission. However, the Gamecocks came out of the halftime break on fire, shooting 70 percent from the field in the second half. Duke trailed by 10 with under four minutes remaining in the game. A late Jayson Tatum three-pointer had a potential spark for Duke, but South Carolina continued to deliver on offense and continued trading baskets with Duke, making it impossible for the Blue Devils to avoid the upset. Duke was predicted by so many to win the national championship, but failed to make it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.


3) No. 7 Michigan Wolverines vs No. 2 Louisville Cardinals - Round of 32

Final Score: Michigan: 73, Louisville: 69

Michigan took it's first lead of the game with 8:51 to go in the second half after Louisville outplayed the Wolverines since the game tipped. The Wolverines played well since taking the lead for the first time and found themselves up by four points with one minute left in regulation. The Cardinals cut the lead to two points with under 20 seconds left, but Michigan's free throws prevailed, making it impossible for Louisville to muster a comeback. The Cardinals failed to advance past the second round of the NCAA Tournament after a self-imposed ban forced the team to be held out of last year's tournament despite an impressive 23-8 record on the season.


4) No. 11 USC Trojans vs No 6. SMU Mustangs - Round of 64

Final Score: USC: 66, SMU: 65

The Trojans, who trailed for nearly the entire game, pulled ahead for the first time in the final minutes and for good when USC's Elijah Stewart hit a three-pointer with 37 seconds left in the game. Brackets nationwide predicted USC to come up short in their Round of 64 matchup with SMU after defeating Providence in a play-in game. Instead, it was another double-digit comeback for USC, which trailed by as many as 17 points in their play-in game versus Providence and trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half against SMU. The Trojans are poised to continue their cinderella run after losing in the first round of last year's tournament.


5) No. 11 Xavier Musketeers vs No. 3 Florida State Seminoles - Round of 32

Final Score: Xavier: 91, Florida State: 66

Xavier went on a 12-0 run in the first half that put them ahead by 10 at halftime. The Musketeers then put together a 14-2 run during the second half, pushing their margin over FSU to 20. The Seminoles failed to cut the lead beyond 17 points after that. It's plain and simple: Xavier absolutely dominated this one, which was probably more surprising than Xavier winning the game to begin with. Despite FSU's significant size advantage, Xavier controlled the paint, outscoring their opponent there by 10 points. Throughout the game, the Seminoles were unable to respond to Xavier's runs and tried to shoot their way out of it from beyond the arc, but were notably unsuccessful. Xavier made 11 of 17 from three-point range, while FSU made only 4 of 21. Similar to this game, Xavier was listed as an underdog in the team's previous matchup vs No. 6 Maryland in the Round of 64, but that didn't stop the Musketeers. They ended up pulling off the upset and won by 11, which most definitely was surprising, but not as surprising as the complete beatdown that they put on Florida State en route to a spot in the Sweet 16.