Boston College Finishes Season With Worst Mark for Team Upsetting No. 1

February 19th, 2014 - 20:51

Will there be an ex-cuse? Boston College (8-24), despite posting the season's biggest upset with a win at Syracuse, has the dubious distinction of finishing a season with the worst mark for a team knocking off the nation's top-ranked club. Two separate Nebraska teams in an eight-year span from 1958 through 1965 finished with an overall losing record despite knocking off a nationally top-ranked club during the same season. BC, the only school in this losing-record group to beat a top-ranked foe on the road, joined the following chronological list of 10 opponents finishing a campaign with a sub-.500 mark despite upending a #1 team:

  • Northwestern (9-13 record in 1953-54; tied for fifth place in Big Ten; defeated Indiana, 100-90, on 2-13-54 for second of five straight conference victories after the Wildcats lost eight of their previous nine outings)

  • Nebraska (10-13 record in 1957-58; tied for fourth place in Big Seven; defeated Kansas State, 55-48, on 3-3-58 for the Huskers' fourth straight league victory after dropping eight of their first nine)

  • Maryland (10-13 record in 1958-59; tied for third place in ACC; defeated North Carolina, 69-51, on 2-21-59 after the Terrapins lost six of their previous seven games)

  • Nebraska (10-15 record in 1964-65; tied for sixth place in Big Eight; defeated Michigan, 74-73, on 12-12-64 before the Huskers lost 10 of their next 13 games)

  • Washington (11-16 record in 1978-79; tied for eighth place in Pacific-10; defeated UCLA, 69-68, on 2-22-79 as the Huskies lost 11 of their last 15 league games)

  • Wake Forest (13-15 record in 1988-89; seventh-place finish in ACC; defeated Duke, 75-71, on 1-21-89 in the midst of a streak where the Deacons lost six of eight games)

  • Clemson (12-19 record in 2000-01; ninth-place/last-place finish in ACC; defeated North Carolina, 75-65, on 2-18-01 to snap an eight-game losing streak in league competition for the Tigers before they subsequently lost four more in a row)

  • Florida State (12-17 record in 2001-02; tied for seventh place in ACC; defeated Duke, 77-76, on 1-6-02 before the Seminoles lost 12 of their last 16 games)

  • South Carolina (15-16 record in 2009-10; fifth-place finish in Eastern Division of SEC; defeated Kentucky, 68-62, on 1-26-10 to snap a three-game losing streak in league competition for the Gamecocks)

  • Boston College (8-24 record in 2013-14; 14th place in ACC; defeated Syracuse, 62-59, on 2-19-14 after cellar dweller Virginia Tech was the only DI school the Eagles had beaten since Thanksgiving)