Shock Treatment: Bottom of Bracket Racket Continues Via UH, MTSU and SFA

March 18th, 2016 - 15:18

In the first six years of the NCAA Tournament seeding process from 1979 through 1984 when the playoff field ranged from 40 to 53 teams, a total of 13 No. 1 and 2 seeds lost their openers. Notwithstanding the misleading media's spin, the NCAA tourney hasn't been saturated with authentic upsets since the playoff field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. On the other hand, there has been only four years in that span failing to provide a first-round shocker from the bottom of the bracket (1994, 2000, 2004 and 2007).

Teams seeded 13th or worse defeated teams seeded among the top four in a regional a total of 54 times in the last 32 years after #15 seed Middle Tennessee State led all the way in stunning #2 Michigan State, #14 seed Stephen F. Austin surprised #3 West Virginia and #13 seed Hawaii upset #4 California. It was the first time in NCAA history a #13, #14 and #15 seed all won on the same day. At least the setbacks weren't as ugly as a couple of sorry SEC setbacks when Navy overwhelmed LSU by 23 points in 1985 and Siena smothered Vanderbilt by 21 in 2008.

Thirty-eight of the first 54 poignant surprises were decided by fewer than seven points or in overtime. Arizona's stunning defeat against Santa Clara in 1993 materialized despite the Wildcats reeling off 25 unanswered points in a stretch bridging the last five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half. Gary Waters is the only coach to win two opening-round games in this category while in charge of two different schools (Kent State in 2001 and Cleveland State in 2009).

A #16 seed never has defeated a #1. Michigan State is the only #2 seed to lose its playoff opener after spending a portion of the regular season atop the AP national poll. Following is a rundown of the first 54 first-round knockouts by the bottom of the bracket (#13, #14 and #15 seeds) since the NCAA field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985:

#15 seed (8 victories)

Year #15 Seed Winner Coach #2 Seed Loser Score
1991 Richmond Dick Tarrant Syracuse 73-69
1993 Santa Clara Dick Davey Arizona 64-61
1997 Coppin State Ron "Fang" Mitchell South Carolina 78-65
2001 Hampton Steve Merfeld Iowa State 58-57
2012 Lehigh Dr. Brett Reed Duke 75-70
2012 Norfolk State Anthony Evans Missouri 86-84
2013 Florida Gulf Coast Andy Enfield Georgetown 78-68
2016 Middle Tennessee State Kermit Davis Jr. Michigan State 90-81

#14 seed (20 victories)

Year #14 Seed Winner Coach #3 Seed Loser Score
1986 Arkansas-Little Rock Mike Newell Notre Dame 90-83
1986 Cleveland State Kevin Mackey Indiana 83-79
1987 Austin Peay State Lake Kelly Illinois 68-67
1988 Murray State Steve Newton North Carolina State 78-75
1989 Siena Mike Deane Stanford 80-78
1990 Northern Iowa Eldon Miller Missouri 74-71
1991 Xavier Pete Gillen Nebraska 89-84
1992 East Tennessee State Alan LeForce Arizona 87-80
1995 Weber State Ron Abegglen Michigan State 79-72
1995 Old Dominion Jeff Capel Jr. Villanova 89-81 (3OT)
1997 Tennessee-Chattanooga William "Mack" McCarthy Georgia 73-70
1998 Richmond John Beilein South Carolina 62-61
1999 Weber State Ron Abegglen North Carolina 76-74
2005 Bucknell Pat Flannery Kansas 64-63
2006 Northwestern State Mike McConathy Iowa 64-63
2013 Harvard Tommy Amaker New Mexico 68-62
2014 Mercer Bob Hoffman Duke 78-71
2015 UAB Jerod Haase Iowa State 60-59
2015 Georgia State Ron Hunter Baylor 57-56
2016 Stephen F. Austin Brad Underwood West Virginia 70-56

#13 seed (26 victories)

Year #13 Seed Winner Coach #4 Seed Loser Score
1985 Navy Paul Evans Louisiana State 78-55
1987 Southwest Missouri State Charlie Spoonhour Clemson 65-60
1987 Xavier Pete Gillen Missouri 70-69
1988 Richmond Dick Tarrant Indiana 72-69
1989 Middle Tennessee State Bruce Stewart Florida State 97-83
1991 Penn State Bruce Parkhill UCLA 74-69
1992 Southwestern Louisiana Marty Fletcher Oklahoma 87-83
1993 Southern (La.) Ben Jobe Georgia Tech 93-78
1995 Manhattan Fran Fraschilla Oklahoma 77-67
1996 Princeton Pete Carril UCLA 43-41
1998 Valparaiso Homer Drew Mississippi 70-69
1999 Oklahoma Kelvin Sampson Arizona 61-60
2001 Indiana State Royce Waltman Oklahoma 70-68 (OT)
2001 Kent State Gary Waters Indiana 77-73
2002 UNC Wilmington Jerry Wainwright Southern California 93-89 (OT)
2003 Tulsa John Phillips Dayton 84-71
2005 Vermont Tom Brennan Syracuse 60-57 (OT)
2006 Bradley Jim Les Kansas 77-73
2008 San Diego Bill Grier Connecticut 70-69 (OT)
2008 Siena Fran McCaffrey Vanderbilt 83-62
2009 Cleveland State Gary Waters Wake Forest 84-69
2010 Murray State Billy Kennedy Vanderbilt 66-65
2011 Morehead State Donnie Tyndall Louisville 62-61
2012 Ohio University John Groce Michigan 65-60
2013 La Salle John Giannini Kansas State 63-61
2016 Hawaii Eran Ganot California 77-66